[351] Serpent worship had much vogue among many North American tribes. The Algonquian believed in a great serpent in the Great Lakes which raised storms, and destroyed canoes. Among Siouan tribes the snake was a holy or at least mysterious being. See Dorsey, "Siouan Cults," p. 366. Upon the whole subject of serpent worship consult Brinton, Myths of the New World, pp. 129-143.—Ed.
CHAPTER XXVII
A FEW WORDS RESPECTING THE ARIKKARAS
The Arikkaras on the Missouri are a tribe which, many years ago, separated from the Pawnees, and settled on the Lower Missouri, where they inhabited two villages.[352] At the time of Lewis and Clarke's travels these Indians lived on friendly terms with the Whites; but, in consequence of subsequent misunderstandings, they became their most inveterate enemies, and killed all the traders who ventured into the vicinity of their territory. After they had defeated the keel-boats of General Ashley, and the unsuccessful expedition of Colonel Leavenworth, they became more insolent than ever; and, as they had no longer any prospect of trading on the Missouri, and other circumstances unfavourable to them took place, they removed, in the year 1832, and settled at a great distance in the prairie, where they are said to dwell, on the road to Santa Fe, above the sources of the river La Platte. Their villages on the Missouri have been entirely abandoned and desolate since that time.[353]
The Arikkaras are tall, robust, well-made men; some of them are nearly six feet (Paris measure) in height. Their physiognomy does not materially differ from that of the neighbouring tribes, especially of the Mandans and Manitaries, and their women are said to be the handsomest on the Missouri, but also the most licentious.[354] Their costume is likewise not very different from that of the Mandans; their robes are mostly painted of a reddish-brown colour. They have renounced the costume, and the greater part of the customs of the Pawnees. At the time when they left the Missouri, they amounted to between 3000 and 4000 souls, of whom 500 were warriors, and possessed a great many horses and dogs; they can now bring 600 men into the field, and are still a warlike people. Ross Cox, in his journey to the Columbia, calls them a powerful tribe, which is, perhaps, rather too strong an expression. The most detailed accounts respecting this people, with which I am acquainted, are in Brackenridge's and Bradbury's travels;[355] yet they are very meagre, though the former had opportunities of observing them for {407} some time, on friendly terms. Perhaps he had not an interpreter sufficiently acquainted with the language. I will state what I have learned from some Mandans, especially from Mato-Topé, who lived a long time among the Arikkaras.
Brackenridge gives an imperfect description of the construction of their huts, which does not much differ from that of the Mandans. This writer says that the villages of the Arikkaras were very dirty, and compares them with some old European towns. As it must, however, be supposed that Brackenridge had never seen European towns, where the police are more strict than in American towns, his comparison does not hold good. Both Brackenridge and Bradbury were very well received by these people, and some white men were living among them, who served as interpreters. When a stranger was once in their villages he was hospitably treated, and invited to many of their festivals. When he left, however, he had to be on his guard, especially against the war parties, who seldom spared a white man.
The agriculture of the Arikkaras was the same as that of their neighbours. In the education of their children they are said to have been more strict, for, when the children behaved ill, they were severely corrected. Among the more northern nations also, a better system prevails than among the Mandans and Manitaries: it frequently happens, among the Chippeways, that, when a boy rudely passes before the older men, they take him by the arm and give him a good thrashing. If a young man is idle, and will not go hunting, his father has been known to drive him before him a mile, beating him all the way, and then telling him that, if he returns without any game, he shall be punished still more severely. Like most of the Indian tribes, the Arikkaras have their bands, or unions, and likewise distinct dances. They are as follows:—
1. The band of the bears. It consists of old men, who, in their dance, wear some parts of the bear's skin, a necklace of bears' claws, &c.
2. The mad wolves. They wear a wolf's skin on their back, with a slit, through which they put the head and arm.