The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

by J. G. Wood

The process by which it is made capable of resisting the effects of water has yet to be undergone. A hole is made in the ground, and a quantity of rotten wood is piled in it, so that when lighted it will continue to smoulder for a long time, and produce smoke, but no flame. Around the hole are stuck a number of sticks, which are then tied together at the top, so as to make the framework of a sort of tent. The wood is then set on fire, the hides are placed within the tent, and over the sticks are wrapped other hides carefully fastened together, so as to prevent the smoke from escaping. For several days the hides are left in the smoke, and at the expiration of that time they have assumed the peculiar quality which has been described. The whole of the processes are conducted by women, manual labor being beneath the dignity of a man and a warrior.

The headdress of a North American Indian deserves some attention. Variable as are the modes of dressing the hair, no warrior ever wears his hair short. By so doing he would be taking an unfair advantage of an adversary. When a warrior is killed, or even totally disabled, the successful adversary has a right to take his scalp, in which he would be much impeded if the hair was short. Moreover, he would lose the honorable trophy with which he is entitled to fringe his garments. So for a warrior to wear his hair short would be a tacit acknowledgment that he was afraid of losing his scalp, and all the men therefore always leave at least one lock of hair attached to the crown of the head.

The process of scalping will be presently described, when we treat of war.

A great chief always wears, in addition to the ordinary headdress of the warrior, a plume of eagle feathers, by which he is made as conspicuous as possible, so that the enemy shall have no difficulty in recognising him. The form of plume varies according to the different tribes. That of the Crows may be seen in an [illustration] on page 1284. That of the Mandans is [represented] on the following page. It is made of a long strip of ermine, to which are fastened the quill feathers of the war eagle, so as to form a crest beginning at the back of the head and descending to the feet. These quills are so valuable that a perfect tail of the war eagle is considered to be worth a first-rate horse.

In the present instance two horns may be seen projecting from the headdress. This is a decoration very rarely seen, and only conferred by the chief and council upon the most distinguished warriors. Even the head chief will not be able to assume them unless by the general vote of the council, and in the case of the Mandans the second chief wore them, while the head chief was not privileged to do so.

Even a brave may wear them, though he be below the rank of chief.

They are made from the horns of the bison bull, divided longitudinally, scraped nearly as thin as paper, and highly polished. They are loosely attached at the base, so that they can be flung backward or forward by the movement of the head, and give a wonderful animation to the action of the wearer when he is speaking.

This elaborate headdress is very seldom worn, and is only assumed on occasions of special state, such as public festivals, war parades, or the visits of other chiefs. In battle the wearer always assumes the headdress by way of challenge to the enemy. There is good reason for not always wearing this dress. I have worn the dress formerly used by Mah-to-toh-pa, and found it to be hot, heavy, and inconvenient.

As a contrast to the dress of a noted warrior, we may take that of a mere dandy, a few of whom are sure to be found in every tribe. They are always remarkable for elegance of person and effeminacy of nature, having the greatest horror of exposing themselves to danger, and avoiding equally the bear, the bison, and the armed enemy. Consequently they may not deck themselves with the plumage of the war eagle, every feather of which signifies a warrior slain by the warrior’s own hand. Neither may they adorn their necks with the claws of the grizzly bear, their robes with scalp-locks and paintings, nor their bodies with the scarlet streaks that tell of honorable wounds received in battle.