Government of Snake and Copper Head Tribes — Women worked hard — Marriage Laws — Children taught the use of weapons early — Funeral ceremonies of the Copper Heads — Their Religion.

The Snakes and Copper Heads are ruled over by one General Chief, or Inkupudia, who remains in power for life unless deposed by the vote of all the tribes. Since the union of the tribes there has been but one General Chief, now (in 1860) eighty years of age, named O-wash-kah-ke-naw. He reigns supreme to a certain extent and appoints sub-chiefs to govern the different tribes. These sub-chiefs are appointed for a period of time and not for life. The General Chief makes known his laws or decrees for the government of the tribes in various matters, and it is the duty of the sub-chiefs to communicate these decrees to the tribes under their charge. The laws in relation to stealing are very strict. Any one proved to have stolen from a person belonging to the associated tribes is condemned to death, and is generally burned at the stake. It is looked upon as very disgraceful for an Indian to tell a lie to his fellows.

The men dress with leggins fastened to their moccasins. The leggins extend up to the knees. A tunic of furs is worn about the waist, and the bare place between the tunic and the leggins is daubed with oil and paint. From the waist upwards the body is daubed with oil and paint, and the hair is worn long, extending down over the breast and back. The women are dressed in a somewhat similar manner.

The men do nothing but hunt and fight, leaving the women and captives to do the drudgery. The women are very hard worked, having to collect wood for fires, cut up the game, carry the heavy burdens and do the other work which the warrior considers beneath his dignity to perform. They are very hardy and can perform with ease labors which many white men would shrink from.

The marriage laws vary among different tribes. Among the Copper Heads the marriage is for life. The Utahs marry for twelve moons, and if at the end of that time they separate they cannot re-marry at any subsequent time. If there is a boy born of the marriage, it goes with the father, and if a girl the mother takes it. The Snakes marry for three years, and if after that time they choose to live together they are married for life.

The birth of a child is accomplished without any trouble or assistance from either doctor, midwife or nurse. The mother retires to her lodge, or if on the march, steps aside and spreads her blanket, and in the course of two or three hours she is up and about her accustomed work, or on the march, as if nothing had happened.

The child, when young, is wrapped around with bandages, strapped to a board and carried on the mother's back. When in the lodge, or at any other time that she wishes to take the child down, the board with the infant on it is set to lean against the wall or is hung to a peg.

As soon as a boy is able to run about his education for the chase and the war path is commenced. A bow three and a half feet long, strung with the sinews of the deer or elk, is placed in his hand, and a bundle of two feet arrows, with flint heads and feathered shafts, is given him. With these he practices at a mark until he is proficient. A board is then set up and a circle about six inches in diameter is described on it. The young Indian takes his position at a short distance from the board and commences throwing his knife at it with the endeavor to strike the center of the circle. When he succeeds in doing this frequently, he increases his distance from the board, and keeps on retreating until he can strike the circle with unerring aim from as great a distance as his strength will permit.

The tomahawk practice comes next. A mark is described on the bark of a tree, and the young Indian throws his tomahawk at it with great force, endeavoring to make it whirl three times in the air, and then to strike with the sharp pick at the back of the axe head so that it shall remain sticking in the mark. As in the knife practice, success at one distance is immediately followed by a retreat of a few paces until the feat can be accomplished at a considerable distance. The same routine is gone through with the axe part so that it shall cleave the bark in the very center of the mark. At about ten years of age, a long bow with arrows of proportionate length, is put into the hands of the boy, and when he becomes of sufficient age to manage it properly he is instructed in the use of the rifle.

The boys are incited to begin hunting and trapping early, and their first success in trapping a beaver, shooting a martin or spearing a muskrat is celebrated with as much triumph as is the first scalp taken in battle by a young warrior. When about twelve years old the boys join the hunting parties, and are very expert in the use of the bow. Many widows are supported entirely by their sons who have just passed their twelfth year.

The small children and the very old people are allowed the use of cooked meat, but all others eat their food raw. No salt is used but pepper is frequently obtained from the Russian and Hudson Bay trading posts, and is eaten with the food as a great addition. Besides the privilege of eating cooked meat the very old people are well cared for by the tribe, and are allowed to remain in their lodges without being called out to hunt or work. Everything is done for them and they enjoy perfect rest until their death.

The Copper Heads do not, in general, bury their dead in the same manner with many of the tribes in the United States territory. In some cases, when a warrior dies, the dead body is placed in a birch bark canoe in which are also laid the dead warrior's rifle, tomahawk, pipe, knife and all the other articles belonging to him when alive. Two blankets and provisions to last six months are also placed in the canoe. A poor miserable dog is next procured and hung up by the hind legs to a tree or pole stuck in the ground. The throat of the dog is cut and the animal suffered to bleed to death. The object of this ceremony is to provide a dog to hunt with in the spirit land and the bad blood is let out so as to fit the animal for its new sphere of existence. A poor dog is as serviceable as a good one for the happy hunting grounds if the bad blood is taken out. Some powdered roots are then sprinkled over the body, and the canoe with its contents is launched on the river, if there is one in the neighborhood, and the deceased warrior goes on his way to the happy hunting grounds. If there is no river near, the canoe with its contents is placed on the branches of a tree, or on a temporary scaffold, and left there. Sometimes in conformity with the wishes of the deceased the body is buried under the roots of a tree or placed in a hollow log to wait until there is some good company to join in the journey to the happy hunting grounds.

The religion of these tribes is very simple. They worship the Great Spirit by standing and praying with arms uplifted to the sky. At times when they see a dark storm-cloud rising up the sky they address it, believing the Great Spirit to be hid within it. After a prayer, on some particular occasions, they drink "snakyeye" or whiskey, and dance with whooping and yelling. They do not believe in a place of punishment hereafter. Those who have committed crimes in this world will be punished here by their tribe, or else the Great Spirit will visit them with sickness or trouble. After this life is over, the spirits all go to the happy hunting grounds, where there is plenty of game and where no enemies will come to disturb them.