Among the Santees in past times, a man who should dream of buffalo must announce it in the following manner: He takes the head of a buffalo he has killed, carefully removes the skin, preserving it as nearly whole as possible, and throws away the skull and the flesh. He then restores the skin to its natural shape and lets it cure. When this has taken place, a few feet square of earth is set apart at the back of the lodge, the sods cut off, and the exposed earth made fine. This is the “U-ma-ne.” Upon this earth a new blanket, formerly a robe, is spread. The blanket or robe must not belong to a woman. The buffalo head is placed in the center of the blanket, and one side of the head (is) painted blue, and the other (side) red. Upon the blue side, tufts of white swan’s down are tied to the hair of the head. Sometimes small eagle feathers are substituted, and, very rarely, large feathers. Upon the red side, tufts of down-colored red are similarly tied. These decorations look like “a woman’s sunbonnet,” as they cover the head and fall to the shoulders. The pipe is only filled and presented to the head. The feast kettle is hung over the fire. When all is in readiness, the man who prepared the head thus addresses it: “Grandfather! Venerable man! Your children have made this feast for you. May the food thus taken cause them to live, and bring them good fortune.” An Indian of remarkable intelligence, whose father before him had been a priest of the higher class, explained that in some religious festivals the buffalo and the earth were spoken of as one, and (were) so regarded. “Therefore if any one should revile or ridicule the buffalo, ever so softly, the earth would hear and tell the buffalo, and he would kill the man.”
Bushotter furnished two articles on the buffalo, translations of which are appended.
ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO.
§ 240. The buffalo originated under the earth. It is said that in the olden times, a man who was journeying came to a hill where there were many holes in the ground. He explored them, and when he had gone within one of them, he found plenty of buffalo chips, and buffalo tracks were on all sides; and here and there he found buffalo hair which had come out when the animals rubbed against the walls. These animals were the real buffalo, who dwelt underground, and some of them came up to this earth and increased here to many herds. These buffalo had many earth lodges, and there they raised their children. They did many strange things. Therefore when a man can hardly be wounded by a foe, the people believe that the former has seen the buffalo in dreams or visions, and on that account has received mysterious help from those animals. All such men who dream of the buffalo, act like them and dance the buffalo (bull) dance. And the man who acts the buffalo is said to have a real buffalo inside him, and a chrysalis lies within the flat part of the body near the shoulder-blade; on account of which the man is hard to kill; no matter how often they wound him, he does not die. As the people know that the buffalo live in earth lodges, they never dance the buffalo dance in vain.
THE TATAŊGNAŚKIŊYAŊ OR MYTHIC BUFFALO.
§ 241. It is said that a mythic buffalo once attacked a party of Indians, killing one of them. The others fled and climbed a tree, at which the buffalo rushed many times, knocking off piece after piece of the tree with his horns till very little of it was left. Then one of the Indians lighted some tinder and threw it far off into the tall grass, scorching the buffalo’s eyes, and seriously injuring his horns, causing the hard part of the latter to slip off, so that the animal could no longer gore any one. But as he was still dangerous, one of the men determined to fight him at the risk of his own life, and so he slipped down from the tree, armed with a bow and some arrows. He finally gave the buffalo a mortal wound. Then all the men came down the tree and cut up the buffalo after flaying him. They were about to carry off the body of their dead comrade in a robe, when they were obliged to climb a tree again because another mythic buffalo had appeared. He did not attack them, but went four times around the body of the slain man. Then he stopped and said, “Arise to your feet.” All at once, the dead man came to life. The buffalo addressed him, saying, “Hereafter you shall be mysterious, and the sun, moon, four winds, day and night shall be your servants.” It was so. He could assume the shape of a fine plume, which was blown often against a tree, to which it stuck, as it waved repeatedly.
THE BEAR.
§ 242. The Assiniboin address prayers to the bear.[183] They offer it sacrifices of tobacco, belts, and other esteemed objects. They celebrate feasts in its honor, to obtain its favors and to live without accidents. The bear’s head is often preserved in the camp during several days, mounted in some suitable position and adorned with scraps of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with a variety of necklace collars, and colored feathers. Then they offer it the calumet, and ask it that they may be able to kill all the bears they meet, without accident to themselves, in order to anoint themselves with his fine grease and make a banquet of his tender flesh.
THE WOLF.
§ 243. Smet says, “The wolf is more or less honored among the Indians” (i. e. the Assiniboin) “Most of the women refuse to dress its skin for any purpose. The only reason that I could discover for this freak is, that the wolves sometimes go mad, bite those they meet and give them the hydrophobia. It is doubtless to escape this terrible disease and to avoid the destruction of their game, that the Indians make it” (the wolf) “presents, and offer it supplications. In other cases, he is little feared.” The “little medicine wolf” is in great veneration among the Assiniboin. As soon as an Indian hears his barks, he counts the number; he remarks whether his voice is feeble or strong, and from what point of the compass it proceeds. All these things are regarded as good or bad omens. If the undertakings of the Indians result, as they occasionally do, in success, after hearing the barking of the little wolf, this animal is honored by a grand feast after the return of the party.[184]
§ 244. That some of the Dakota reverenced the wolf is evident from the fact that there is a society, called the Wolf Society, but known among the white people as the Dog Society. That society has many beautiful songs, according to Bushotter, and its membership is confined to young men. All the wolf stories belong to this society. Three of these stories follow this section.
§ 245. The man who met the ghost woman after fleeing from the two ghost men[185] encountered a wolf, who pitied him and showed him the way to a camp, where he was received and adopted into the tribe. This man always remembered the wolf as a kind animal, and when he killed any game, he threw a portion outside of the camp, as an offering to the wolf.
§ 246. There was once a handsome young Teton, whose wife’s father disliked him and plotted against him. He dug a pit within his lodge, covering it with skins. Then he invited his son-in-law to a feast. The son-in-law met a wolf, whom he saluted, asking him the way to the village. The young man was persuaded to recline on the skins, which gave way, precipitating him into the pit. The father-in-law and his two single daughters covered the skins with earth, and removed their tent elsewhere on the morrow, when all the people started on a journey. After some days, the wolf who had met the man went to the deserted camping place in search of food. On reaching the place where the accident (?) had happened, he heard a human cry. So he dug away the earth, removed the skins, and found the man, whom he recognized. The wolf pitied him, and said, “As you did not kill me when we met, you shall now be saved.” So he howled, and very soon many wolves appeared. They found a lariat, which they lowered into the pit, and by grasping the other end with their teeth, they pulled the man up. He was very grateful, promising never to harm a wolf. Just then a weeping woman appeared, gazing in surprise at the man, as he was very thin, looking like a ghost. She was his wife, and her heart was soon made glad when he told her of his rescue.
§ 247. Once upon time a man found a wolf den, into which he dug to get the cubs. The mother came, barking, and she finally said to him, “Pity my children;” but he paid no attention to her. So she ran for her husband, who soon appeared. Still the man persevered. Then the wolf sang a beautiful song, “O man, pity my children, and I will instruct you in one of my arts.” He ended with a howl, causing a fog. When the wolf howled again the fog disappeared. Then the man thought, “These animals have mysterious gifts,” and he tore up his red blanket into small pieces, which he put as necklaces on the cubs, whom he painted with Indian red, restoring them to their place in the den. Then the grateful father exclaimed, “When you go to war hereafter, I will accompany you, and bring to pass whatever you wish.” So they parted as friends. In the course of time the man went on the war path. As he came in sight of a village of the enemy, a large wolf met him, saying, “By and by I will sing and you shall steal their horses when they least suspect danger.” So they stopped on a hill close to the village, and the wolf sang. After this he howled, making a high wind arise. The horses fled to the forest, many stopping on the hillside. When the wolf had howled again, the wind died away, and a mist arose; so the man took as many horses as he pleased.