We see them.
They all wear it on their heads—
They all wear it on their heads—
The Thunderbird,
The Thunderbird.
Then I wept,
Then I wept.
In his trance vision the author of this song saw a large camp of Arapaho, and in the midst of the camp circle, as in the old days, were sitting the seven priests of the Chĭ′nachichi′bät, each wearing on his head the Thunderbird headdress, already described and figured under song number 14. This vision of the old life of the tribe brought up sorrowful memories and caused him to weep. In the similar song next given the singer laments for the Chĭ′nachichi′bät and the bä′qati gaming wheel. The priests here referred to were seven in number, and constituted the highest order of the military and social organization which existed among the Blackfeet, Sioux, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and probably all the prairie tribes excepting the Comanche in the south, among whom it seems to have been unknown. The society, so far as it has come under the notice of white men, has commonly been designated by them as the “Dog Soldier” society—a misapprehension of a name belonging probably to only one of the six or eight orders of the organization. The corresponding Blackfoot organization, the Ikunuhkatsi or “All Comrades,” is described by Grinnell in his “Blackfoot Lodge Tales.” The Kiowa organization will be noted later.
Among the Arapaho the organization was called Bĕni′nĕna, “Warriors,” and consisted of eight degrees or orders, including nearly all the men of the tribe above the age of about seventeen. Those who were not enrolled in some one of the eight orders were held in but little respect, and were not allowed to take part in public ceremonies or to accompany war expeditions. Each of the first six orders had its own peculiar dance, and the members of the principal warrior orders had also their peculiar staff or badge of rank.
First and lowest in rank were the Nuhinĕ′na or Fox men, consisting of young men up to the age of about 25 years. They had no special duties or privileges, but had a dance called the Nuha′wŭ or fox dance.