  This is one of the most striking of the special uses to which pictography has been applied by the North American Indians. For convenience, the characters may be divided into: First, tribal; Second, gentile; and Third, personal designations. TRIBAL DESIGNATIONS.A large number of these graphic distinctions are to be found in the Dakota Winter Counts. Rev. J. Owen Dorsey reports that the Tsi[c]u side of the Osage tribe, when on a war party, have the face painted red, with mud upon the cheek, below the left eye, as wide as two or more fingers. The HaÑka side of the tribe paint the face red, with a spot of mud upon the right cheek, below the eye, as wide as two or more fingers. For an ingenious method of indicating by variation of incisions on trees, the tribal use of paint by the Absaroka and Dakota respectively, see page 62. Figure 68 shows the tribal designation of the Kaiowa by the Dakota, taken from the winter count of Battiste Good, 1814-’15. He calls the winter “Smashed-a-Kaiowa’s-head-in winter.” The tomahawk with which it was done is in contact with the Kaiowa’s head. Fig. 68.—Kaiowa. The sign for Kaiowa is made by passing the hands—naturally extended—in short horizontal circles on either side of the head, and the picture is probably drawn to represent the man in the attitude of making this gesture, and not the involuntary raising of the hands upon receiving the blow, such attitudes not appearing in Battiste Good’s system. Figure 69 is the tribal sign of the Arikara made by the Dakotas, taken from the winter count of Battiste Good for the year 1823-’24, which he calls “General-——-first-appeared-and-the-Dakotas-aided-in-an-attack-on-the-Rees winter”; also “Much-corn winter.” Fig. 69.—Arikara. The gun and the arrow in contact with the ear of corn show that both whites and Indians fought the Rees. The ear of corn signifies “Ree” or Arikara Indians, who are designated in gesture language as “Corn Shellers.” Figure 70 is the tribal designation of the Omahas by the Dakotas, taken from the winter count of Battiste Good. Fig. 70. Omaha. A human head with cropped hair and red cheeks signifies Omaha. This tribe cuts the hair short and uses red paint upon the cheeks very extensively. This character is of frequent occurrence in Battiste Good’s count. Figure 71 is the tribal designation of the Pani by the Dakotas, taken from Battiste Good’s winter count for the year 1704-’05. Fig. 71.—Pani. He says: The lower legs are ornamented with slight projections resembling the marks on the bottom of an ear of corn [husks], and signifies Pani. A pictograph for Cheyenne is given in Figure 78, page 173, with some remarks. Figure 72 is the tribal designation for Assiniboine by the Dakotas from winter count of Battiste Good for the year 1709-’10. Fig. 72.—Assiniboine. The Dakota pictorial sign for Assiniboine or Hohe, which means the voice, or, as some say, the voice of the musk-ox, is the outline of the vocal organs, as they conceive them, and represents the upper lip and roof of the mouth, the tongue, the lower lip, and chin and neck. The view is lateral, and resembles the sectional aspect of the mouth and tongue. Figure 73 is the tribal designation of the Gros Ventres, by the same tribe and on the same authority. Fig. 73.—Gros Ventre. Two Gros Ventres were killed on the ice by the Dakotas in 1789-’90. The two are designated by two spots of blood on the ice, and killed is expressed by the blood-tipped arrow against the figure of the man above. The long hair, with the red forehead, denotes the Gros Ventre. The red forehead illustrates the manner of applying war paint, and applies, also, to the Arikara and Absaroka Indians, in other Dakota records. The horizontal blue band signifies ice. Stephen Powers says (Contrib. to N. A. Ethnology, III, p. 109) the He adds: Among the Mattoal— The women tattoo pretty much, all over their faces. In respect to this matter of tattooing there is a theory entertained by some old pioneers which may be worth the mention. They hold that the reason why the women alone tattoo in all other tribes is that in case they are taken captives their own people may be able to recognize them when there comes an opportunity of ransom. There are two facts which give some color of probability to this reasoning. One is that the California Indians are rent into such infinitesimal divisions, any one of which may be arrayed in deadly feud against another at any moment, that the slight differences in their dialects would not suffice to distinguish the captive squaws. A second is that the squaws almost never attempt any ornamental tattooing, but adhere closely to the plain regulation mark of the tribe. Paul Marcoy, in Travels in South America, N. Y., 1875, Vol. II, page 353, says of the PassÉs, Yuris, BarrÉs, and Chumanas, of Brazil, that they mark their faces (in tattoo) with the totem or emblem of the nation to which they belong. It is possible at a few steps distant to distinguish one nation from another. GENTILE OR CLAN DESIGNATIONS.Rev. J. Owen Dorsey reports of the Osages that all the old men who have been distinguished in war are painted with the decorations of their respective gentes. That of the Tsi[c]u wactake is as follows: The face is first whitened all over with white clay; then a red spot is made on the forehead, and the lower part of the face is reddened; then with the fingers the man scrapes off the white clay, forming the dark figures, by letting the natural color of the face show through. In Schoolcraft, V, 73, 74, it is stated that by totemic marks the various families of the Ojibwa denote their affiliation. A guardian spirit has been selected by the progenitor of a family from some object in the zoological chain. The representative device of this is called the totem. A warrior’s totem never wants honors in their reminiscences, and the mark is put on his grave-post, or adjedatig, when he is dead. In his funeral pictograph he invariably sinks his personal name in that of his totem or family name. These marks are, in one sense, the surname of the clan. The personal name is not indicative of an Indian’s totem. The same custom, according to Rev. J. Owen Dorsey, prevails among the Omahas; and with the exception of that portion which relates to the drawing of the totemic mark upon the grave post the above remarks apply also to the Dakotas, of Northern Dakota, according to the observations of Dr. Hoffman. The Pueblos, remarked Mr. James Stevenson in a conversation with the writer, depict the gens totems upon their vari PERSONAL DESIGNATIONS.This head may be divided into (1) Insignia, or tokens of authority. (2) Connected with personal name. (3) Property marks. (4) Status of the individual. (5) Signs of particular achievement. INSIGNIA OR TOKENS OF AUTHORITY.A large number of examples are presented in connection with other divisions of this paper. Many more are noted in Schoolcraft, especially in Vol. I, plates 58 and 59, following page 408. In addition the following may be mentioned: Figure 74 is a copy of a drawing made by Lean-Wolf, second chief of the Hidatsa, to represent himself. The horns on his head-dress show that he is a chief. The eagle feathers on his war-bonnet, arranged in the special manner portrayed, also show high distinction as a warrior. His authority as “partisan,” or leader of a war party is represented by the elevated pipe. His name is also added with the usual line drawn from the head. He explained the outline character of the wolf, having a white body with the mouth unfinished, to show that it was hollow, nothing there, i. e., lean. The animal’s tail is drawn in detail and dark to distinguish it from the body. Fig. 74.—Lean-Wolf. Partisan. The character for “partisan” is also shown in the Dakota winter counts for the year 1842-’43. See Plate XXIII. Figure 75 (extracted from the First Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, Fig. 227), drawn and explained by an Oglala Dakota, exhibits four erect pipes to show that he had led four war parties. Fig. 75.—Two-Strike as Partisan. PERSONAL NAME.The names of Indians as formerly adopted or bestowed among themselves were and still remain connotive, when not subjected to white influence. They very often refer to some animal, predicating an attribute or position of that animal. On account of their objective, or at least ideographic, character, they almost invariably admit of being expressed in sign-language; and for the same reason they can with the same ease be portrayed in pictographs. Abundant proof of this is given in two collections infra, viz., the Ogalala Roster and the Red-Cloud Census. The device generally adopted by the Dakotas to signify that an object drawn in connection with a human head or figure was a name totem or a personal name of the individual, is to connect that object with the figure by a line drawn to the head or more frequently to the mouth of the latter. The same tribes make a distinction in manifesting that the gesture-sign for the object gestured is intended to be the name of an individual, by passing the index forward from the mouth in a direct line after the conclusion of the sign for the object. This signifies, “that is his name,”—the name of the person referred to. A similar designation of an object as a name by means of a connected line is mentioned in Kingsborough’s Mexico, Vol. I, Plate 33, part 4, and text, Vol. VI, page 150. Pedro de Alvarado, one of the companions of Cortez, was red-headed. Because of this the Mexicans called him Tonatihu, the “Sun,” and in their picture-writing his name was represented by a picture of that luminary attached to his person by a line. As a general rule Indians are named at first according to a clan or gentile system, but in later life one generally acquires a new name, or perhaps several names in succession, from some special exploits or adventures. Frequently a sobriquet is given which is not complimentary. All of the names subsequently acquired as well as the original names are so connected with material objects or with substantive actions as to be expressible in a graphic picture, and also in a pictorial sign. The determination to use names of this connotive character is shown by the objective translation, whenever possible, of such European names as it became necessary for them to introduce frequently into their speech. William Penn was called Onas, that being the word for feather-quill in the Mohawk dialect. The name of the second French governor of Canada was Montmagny, erroneously translated to be “great mountain,” which words were correctly translated by the Iroquois into Onontio, and this expression becoming associated with the title has been applied to all successive Canadian governors, though the origin having been generally forgotten, it has been considered to be a metaphorical compliment. Governor Fletcher was named by the Iroquois Cajenquiragoe, “the great swift arrow,” not because of his speedy arrival at a critical time, as has been supposed, but because they had somehow been informed of the etymology of his name, “arrow-maker” (Fr. flÉchier). A notable example of the adoption of a graphic illustration from a similarity in the sound of the name to known English words is given in the present paper in the Winter Count of American-Horse for the year 1865-’66, page 144, where General Maynadier is made to figure as “many deer.” While, as before said, some tribes give names to children from considerations of birth and kinship according to a fixed rule, others confer them after solemn deliberation. They are not necessarily permanent. A diminutive form is frequently bestowed by the affection of the parent. On initiation a warrior always assumes or receives a name. Until this is established he is liable to change his name after every fight or hunt. He will generally only acknowledge the name he has himself assumed, perhaps from a dream or vision, though he may be habitually called by an entirely different name. From that reason the same man is sometimes known under several different epithets. Personal peculiarity, deformity, or accident is sure to fix a name, against which it is vain to struggle. Girls do not habitually change names bestowed in their childhood. It may also be remarked that the same precise name is often given to different individuals in the same tribe, but not so frequently in the same band, whereby the inconvenience would be increased. For this reason it is often necessary to specify the band, sometimes also the father. For instance, when the writer asked an Indian who Black-Stone, a chief mentioned in the Dakota winter counts, was, the Indian asked, first, what tribe was he; then, what band; then, who was his father; and, except in the case of very noted persons, the identity is not proved Among the many peculiarities connected with Indian personal names, far too many for discussion here, is their avoidance of them in direct address, terms of kinship or relative age taking their place. Major J. W. Powell, in some remarks before the Anthropological Society of Washington, on the functions performed by kinship terms among Indian tribes, stated that at one time he had the Kaibab Indians, a small tribe of northern Arizona, traveling with him. The young chief was called by white men “Frank.” For several weeks he refused to give his Indian name, and Major Powell endeavored to discover it by noticing the term by which he was addressed by the other Indians; but invariably some kinship term was employed. One day in a quarrel his wife called him “Chuarumpik (Yucca-heart.)” Subsequently Major Powell questioned the young chief about the matter, who explained and apologized for the great insult which his wife had given him by stating that she was excused by great provocation. The insult consisted in calling the man by his real name. The following is quoted for comparison with the name-system of the Indians of Guiana, from Everard F. im Thurn, op. cit., p. 219, et seq.: The system under which the Indians have their personal names is intricate, and difficult to explain. In the first place, a name, which may be called the proper name, is always given to a young child soon after birth. It is said to be proper that the peaiman, or medicine-man, should choose and give this name; but, at any rate now, the naming seems more often left to the parents. The word selected is generally the name of some plant, bird, or other natural object. Among Arawak proper names may be mentioned Yambenassi (night-monkey) and Yuri-tokoro (tobacco-flower), and among Macusi names Ti-ti (owl), Cheripung (star?), and Simiri (locust-tree). But these names seem of little use, in that owners have a very strong objection to telling or using them, apparently on the ground that the name is part of the man, and that he who knows the name has part of the owner of that name in his power. To avoid any danger of spreading knowledge of their names, one Indian, therefore, generally addresses another only according to the relationship of the caller and the called, as brother, sister, father, mother, and so on; or, when there is no relationship, as boy, girl, companion, and so on. These terms, therefore, practically form the names actually used by Indians amongst themselves. But an Indian is just as un The original of Figure 76 was made by Lean-Wolf, second chief of the Hidatsa, for Dr. W. J. Hoffman in 1881, and represents the method which this Indian has employed to designate himself for many years past. During his boyhood he had another name. This is a current, or perhaps it may be called cursive, form of the name, which is given more elaborately in Figure 74. Fig. 76.—Lean-wolf. Figure 77 is taken from the winter count of Battiste Good for the year 1841-’42. He calls the year “Pointer-made-a-commemoration-of-the-dead winter.” Also “Deep-snow winter.” Fig. 77.—Pointer. The extended index denotes the man’s name, “Pointer,” the ring and spots, deep snow. The spots denoting snow occur also in other portions of this count, and the circle, denoting quantity, is also attached in Figure 141, p. 219, to a forked stick and incloses a buffalo head to signify much meat. That the circle is intended to signify quantity is probable, as the gesture for “much” or “quantity” is made by passing the hands upward from both sides and together before the body, describing the upper half of a circle, i. e., showing a heap. Figure 78 is also from the winter count of Battiste Good for the year 1785-’86. This year he calls “The-Cheyennes-killed-Shadow’s-father winter.” Fig. 78.—Shadow. The umbrella signifies Shadow; the three marks under the arrow, Cheyenne; the blood-stained arrow in the man’s body, killed; Shadow’s name and the umbrella in the figure intimates that he was the first Dakota to carry an umbrella. The advantages of the umbrella were soon recognized by the Dakotas, and the first they obtained from the whites were highly prized. In the record prepared by Battiste Good this is the only instance where the short vertical lines below the arrow signify Cheyenne. In all others these marks are numerical, and denote the number of persons killed. That these short lines signify Cheyenne may be attributable Mr. P. W. Norris has presented a buffalo robe containing a record of exploits, which was drawn by Black-Crow, a Dakota warrior, several years ago. The peculiarity of the drawings is, that the warrior is represented in each instance in an upright position, the accompanying figure being always in a recumbent posture, representing the enemy who was slain. Instead of depicting the personal name above the fallen personage with a line connecting the two, the name of the enemy is placed above the head of the victor in each instance, a line extending between the character and the speaker or warrior whose exploits the characters represent. The latter seems to proclaim the name of his victim. A pipe is also figured between the victor and the vanquished, showing that he is entitled to smoke a pipe of celebration. A copy of the whole record was shown to the Mdewakantawan Dakotas, near Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in 1883, and the character reproduced in Figure 79, about which there was the most doubt, was explained as signifying “many tongues,” i. e., Loud-Talker, being the name of the person killed. Fig. 79.—Loud-Talker. The circle at the end of the line running from the mouth contains a number of lanceolate forms, the half of each of which is black, the other white. They have the appearance of feathers. These figures signify voice, the sounds as issuing from the mouth, and correspond in some respect to those drawn by the Mexicans with that significance. The considerable number of these figures, signifying intensity, denotes loud voice, or, as given literally, “loud talker,” that being the name of the victim. It is however to be noted that “Shield,” an Oglala Dakota, says the character signifies Feather-Shield, the name of a warrior formerly living at the Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota. AN OGALALA ROSTER.Plates LII to LVIII represent a pictorial roster of the heads of families, eighty-four in number, in the band or perhaps clan of Chief Big-Road, and were obtained by Rev. S. D. Hinman at Standing Rock Agency, Dakota, in 1883, from the United States Indian agent, Major McLaughlin, to whom the original was submitted by Chief Big-Road when brought to that agency and required to give an account of his followers. Chief Big-Road and his people belong to the Northern Ogalala (accurately Oglala), and were lately hostile, having been associated with Sitting-Bull in various depredations and hostilities against both settlers and the United States authorities. Mr. Hinman states that the translations of the names were made by the agency interpreter, and although not as complete as might be, are, in the whole, satisfactory. Chief Big-Road “is a man of fifty years and upwards, and is as ignorant and uncompromising a savage, in mind and appearance, as one could well find at this late date.” The drawings in the original are on a single sheet of foolscap paper, made with black and colored pencils, and a few characters are in yellow ocher—water-color paint. On each of the seven plates, into which the original is here divided from the requirements of the mode of publication, the first figure in the upper left-hand corner represents, as stated, the chief of the sub-band, or perhaps, “family” in the Indian sense. On five of the plates the chief has before him a decorated pipe and pouch, the design of each being distinct from the others. On Plates LIV and LV the upper left hand figure does not have a pipe, which leads to the suspicion that, contrary to the information so far received, the whole of the figures from Nos. 11 to 45 inclusive, on Plates LIII, LIV, and LV, constitute one band under the same chief, viz., No. 11. In that case Nos. 23 and 36 would appear to be leaders of subordinate divisions of that band. Each of the five chiefs has at least three transverse bands on the cheek, with differentiation of the pattern. It will be noticed that each figure throughout the plates, which carries before it a war club, is decorated with three red transverse bands, but that of No. 30, on Plate LIV, and No. 48 on Plate LVI, have the three bands without a war club. The other male figures seem in some instances to have each but a single red band; in others two bands, red and blue, but the drawing is so indistinct as to render this uncertain. It will be observed, also, that in four instances (Nos. 14, 44, 45, and 72) women are depicted as the surviving heads of families. Their figures do not have the transverse bands on the cheek. Also that the five chiefs do not have the war club, their rank being shown by pipe and pouch. Those men who are armed with war clubs, which are held vertically before the person, indicate (in accordance with a similar custom among other branches of the Dakota Nation, in which, however, the pipe is held instead of the club) that the man has at some time led war parties on his own account. See pages 118 and 139. English names of the figures in the Ogalala Roster.
The information yet obtained from the author of the pictograph concerning its details is meager, and as it will probably be procured no unimportant conjectures are now hazarded. It is presented for the ideography shown, which may in most cases be understood from the translation of the several names into English as given in the preceding list. A few remarks of explanation, occurring to the writer, may be added: No. 34, on plate LIV, with the translation Red-earth-woman, appears from the scalp-lock and the warrior’s necklace to be a man, and Red-earth-woman to be his name. No. 62 on Plate LVII, probably refers to an Ogalala who was called Arapaho, the interpretation, as well as the blue cloud, being in the Dakota language “Blue cloud,” a term by which the Arapaho Indians are known to the Dakotas, as several times mentioned in this paper. In No. 65, Plate LVII, the cloud is drawn in blue, the searching being derived from the expression of that idea in gesture by passing the extended index of one hand (or both) forward from the eye, then from right to left, as if indicating various uncertain localities before the person, i. e., searching for something. The lines from the eyes are in imitation of this gesture. In No. 77, Plate LVIII, is a reproduction of the character given in Red-Cloud’s Census, No. 133. See Plate LXVII. The figure appears, according to the explanation given by several Ogalala Dakota Indians, to signify the course of a whirlwind, with the transverse lines in imitation of the circular movement of the air, dirt, leaves, etc., observed during such aËrial disturbances. In No. 78 of the same plate the lines above the bird’s head again appear to signify sacred, mystic, usually termed “medicine” in other records. Similar lines are in No. 64, Plate LVII. RED-CLOUD’S CENSUS.The pictorial census, shown in Plates LIX to LXXIX, was prepared under the direction of Red-Cloud, chief of the Dakota at Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota Territory, about two years ago. The individuals referred to and enumerated are the adherents of Red-Cloud, and do not represent all the Indians at that Agency. Owing to some disagreement the agent refused to acknowledge that chief as head of the Indians at the agency, and named another as the official chief. The Indians under Red-Cloud exhibited their allegiance to him by attaching, or having their names attached, to seven sheets of ordinary manilla paper, which were sent to Washington and, while in the custody of Dr. T. A. Bland, of that city, were kindly loaned by him to the Bureau of Ethnology to be copied by photography. The different sheets were apparently drawn by different persons, as the drawings of human heads vary enough to indicate individuality. The first sheet of the original series contains in the present series of plates Nos. 1-130; the second sheet, Nos. 131-174; third sheet, Nos. 175-210; Dr. V. T. McGillycuddy, Indian agent at Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota, in correspondence, gives the impression that the several pictographs, representing names, were attached as signatures by the several individuals to a subscription list for Dr. T. A. Bland, before mentioned, the editor of The Council Fire, in support of that publication, and with an agreement that each should give twenty-five cents. The subscribers were, in fact, the adherents of Red-Cloud. The motive for the collection of pictured names is of little consequence, its interest, as that of the foregoing Ogalala Roster, being in the mode of their portrayal, together with the assurance that they were the spontaneous and genuine work of the Indians concerned. Many suggestions regarding the origin of heraldry and that of proper names can be obtained from this and the preceding series of plates. The translation of the names corresponding with the figures is as follows: English names of the figures in Red-Cloud’s census.
The remark made above (page 176) in connection with the Ogalala Roster, acknowledging the paucity of direct information as to details while presenting the pictographs as sufficiently interpreted for the present purposes by the translation of the personal names, may be here repeated. The following notes are, however, subjoined as of some assistance to the reader: No. 2. Top-man, or more properly “man above,” is drawn a short distance above a curved line, which represents the character for sky inverted. The gesture for sky is sometimes made by passing the hand from east to west describing an arc. The Ojibwa pictograph for the same occurs in Plate IV, No. 1, beneath which a bird appears. No. 9. The character is represented with two waving lines passing upward from the mouth, in imitation of the gesture-sign good talk, spiritual talk, as made by passing two extended and separated fingers (or all fingers separated) upward and forward from the mouth. This gesture is made when referring either to a shaman or to a christian clergyman, or to a house of worship, and the name seems to have been No. 15. The gesture for come or to call to one’s self is shown in this figure. No. 24. The semicircle for cloud is the reverse in conception to that shown above in No. 2. No. 26. Arapaho, in Dakota, magpiyato—blue cloud—is here shown by a circular cloud, drawn in blue in the original, inclosing the head of a man. No. 38. Night appears to be indicated by the black circle around the head, suggested by the covering over with darkness, as shown in the gesture for night by passing both flat hands from their respective sides inwards and downwards before the body. The sign for kill is denoted here by the bow in contact with the head, a custom in practice among the Dakota of striking the dead enemy with the bow or coup stick. See also Figure 130, page 211. No. 43. Night is here shown by the curve for sky, and the suspension, beneath it, of a star, or more properly in Dakota signification, a night sun—the moon. No. 59. Cloud is drawn in blue in the original; old is signified by drawing a staff in the hand of the man. The gesture for old is made in imitation of walking with a staff. No. 69. This drawing is similar to No. 38. The differentiation is sufficient to allow of a distinction between the two characters, each representing the same name, though two different men. No. 131. The uppermost character is said to be drawn in imitation of a number of fallen leaves lying against one another, and has reference to the season when leaves fall—autumn. No. 161. The thunder-bird is here drawn with five lines—voices—issuing from the mouth. No. 201. The waving lines above the head signify sacred, and are made in gesture in a similar manner as that for prayer and voice in No. 9. No. 236. This person is also portrayed in a recent Dakota record, where the character is represented by the “woman seated” only. The name of this man is not “Sits-like-a-Woman,” but High-Wolf—ShÚnka mÁnita wangÁtia. This is an instance of giving one name in a pictograph and retaining another by which the man is known in camp to his companions. No. 250. The word medicine is in the Indian sense, before explained, and would be more correctly expressed by the word sacred, or mystic, as is also indicated by the waving lines issuing from the mouth. No. 289. The character for sacred again appears, attached to the end of the line issuing from the mouth. PROPERTY MARKS.The Serrano Indians in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California, formerly practiced a method of marking trees to indicate the corner boundaries of patches of land. According to Hon. A. F. Coronel, of the above-named city, the Indians owning areas of territory of whatever size would cut lines upon the bark of the tree corresponding to certain cheek lines drawn on their own faces, i. e., lines running outward and downward over the cheeks or perhaps over the chin only, tattooed in color. These lines were made on the trees on the side facing the property, and were understandingly recognized by all. The marks were personal and distinctive, and when adopted by land owners could not be used by any other person. This custom still prevailed when Mr. Coronel first located in Southern California, about the year 1843. So is the account, but it may be remarked that the land was probably owned or claimed by a gens rather than by individuals, the individual ownership of land not belonging to the stage of culture of any North American Indians. Perhaps some of the leading members of the gens were noted in connection with the occupancy of the land, and their tattoo marks were the same as those on the trees. The correspondence of these marks is of special importance. It is also noteworthy that the designations common to the men and the trees were understood and respected. Fig. 80.—Boat paddle. Arikara. Among the Arikara Indians a custom prevails of drawing upon the blade of a canoe or bull-boat paddle such designs as are worn by the chief and owner to suggest his personal exploits. This has to great extent been adopted by the Hidatsa and the Mandans. The marks are chiefly horseshoes and crosses (see Figure 80), referring to the capture of the enemy’s ponies and to coups in warfare or defense against enemies. The squaws being the persons who generally use the boats during the course of their labors in collecting wood along the river banks, or in ferrying their warriors across the water, have need of this illustration of their husbands’ prowess as a matter of social status, it being also a matter of pride. The entire tribe being intimately acquainted with the courage and bravery of any individual, imposition and fraud in the delineation of any character are not attempted, as such would surely be detected and the impostor would be ridiculed if not ostracised. See in connection with the design last figured, others under the heading of Signs of Particular Achievements, page 186. The brands upon cattle in Texas and other regions of the United The following translation from Kunst and Witz der Neger (Art and Ingenuity of the Negro) is inserted for the purpose of comparison between Africa and America. The article was published at Munich, Bavaria, in Das Ausland, 1884, No. 1, p. 12. “Whenever a pumpkin of surprisingly fine appearance is growing, which promises to furnish a desirable water-vase, the proprietor hurries to distinguish it by cutting into it some special mark with his knife, and probably superstitious feelings may co-operate in this act. I have reproduced herewith the best types of such property marks which I have been able to discover.” These property marks are reproduced in Figure 81. Fig. 81.—African property mark. STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUAL.Several notices of pictographs under this head appear in other parts of this paper; among others, designations of chiefs, sub-chiefs, partisans, medicine men or shamans, horse thieves, and squaw men, are shown in the Winter Counts and in the Ogalala Roster. See also Figure 120, page 204. Captives are drawn in Figure 180, page 242. With reference to the status of women as married or single see pages 64 and 232. For widow, see page 197. Marks for higher and lower classes are mentioned on page 64. To these may be added the following, contributed by Mr. Gatschet: Half-breed girls among the Klamaths of Oregon appear to have but one perpendicular line tattooed down over the chin, while the full-blood women have four perpendicular lines on the chin. Tattooing, when practiced at this day, is performed with needles, the color being prepared from charcoal. SIGNS OF PARTICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS.Eagle feathers are worn by the Hidatsa Indians to denote acts of courage or success in war. The various markings have different significations, as is shown in the following account, which, with sketches of the features made from the original objects, were obtained by Dr. Hoffman from the Hidatsa at Fort Berthold, Dakota, during 1881. Fig. 82.—First to strike enemy. Hidatsa. A feather, to the tip of which is attached a tuft of down or several strands of horse-hair, dyed red, denotes that the wearer has killed an enemy and that he was the first to touch or strike him with the coup stick. Figure 82. Fig. 83.—Second to strike enemy. Hidatsa. A feather bearing one red bar, made with vermilion, signifies the wearer to have been the second person to strike the fallen enemy with the coup stick. Figure 83. Fig. 84.—Third to strike enemy. Hidatsa. A feather bearing two red bars signifies that the wearer was the third person to strike the body. Figure 84. Fig. 85.—Fourth to strike enemy. Hidatsa. A feather with three bars signifies that the wearer was the fourth to strike the fallen enemy. Figure 85. Beyond this number honors are not counted. Fig. 86.—Wounded by an enemy. Hidatsa. A red feather denotes that the wearer was wounded in an encounter with an enemy. Figure 86. Fig. 87.—Killed a woman. Hidatsa. A narrow strip of rawhide or buckskin is wrapped from end to end with porcupine quills dyed red, though sometimes a few white ones are inserted to break the monotony of color; this strip is attached to the inner surface of the rib or shaft of the quill by means of very thin fibers of sinew. This signifies that the wearer killed a woman belonging to a hostile tribe. The figure so decorated is shown in Figure 87. In very fine specimens it will be found that the quills are directly applied to the shaft without resorting to the strap of leather. Fig. 88.—Killed an enemy. Dakota. The following scheme, used by the Dakotas, is taken from Dahcotah, or Life and Legends of the Sioux around Fort Snelling, by Mrs. Mary Eastman. New York, 1849. Colors are not given, but red undoubtedly predominates, as is known from personal observation. A spot upon the larger web denotes that the wearer has killed an enemy. Figure 88. Fig. 89.—Cut throat and scalped. Dakota. Figure 89 denotes that the wearer has cut the throat of his enemy, and taken his scalp. Fig. 90.—Cut enemy’s throat. Dakota. Figure 90 denotes that the wearer has cut the throat of his enemy. Fig. 91.—Third to strike. Dakota. Figure 91 denotes that the wearer was the third that touched the body of his enemy after he was killed. Fig. 92.—Fourth to strike. Dakota. Figure 92 denotes that the wearer was the fourth that touched the body of his enemy after he was killed. Fig. 93.—Fifth to strike. Dakota. Figure 93 denotes that the wearer was the fifth that touched the body of his enemy after he was killed. Figure 94 denotes the wearer has been wounded in many places by his enemy. Fig. 94.—Many wounds. Dakota. The following variations in the scheme were noticed in 1883 among the Mdewakantawan Dakotas near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. In personal ornamentation, and for marks of distinction in war, feathers of the eagle are used as among the other bands of Dakotas. A plain feather is used to signify that the wearer has killed an enemy, without regard to the manner in which he was slain. When the end is clipped transversely, and the edge colored red, it signifies that the throat of the enemy was cut. A black feather denotes that an Ojibwa woman was killed. Enemies are considered as Ojibwas, the latter being the tribe with whom the Mdewakantawan Dakotas have had most to do. When a warrior has been wounded a red spot is painted upon the broad side of a feather. If the wearer has been shot in the body, arms, or legs, a similar spot, in red, is painted upon his clothing or blanket, immediately over the locality. These red spots are sometimes worked in porcupine quills, or in cotton fiber as obtained from the traders. Marks denoting similar exploits are used by the Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara Indians. The Hidatsa claim to have been the originators of the devices, which were subsequently adopted by the Arikara with slight variation. All of the information with reference to the following figures, 95 to 103, was obtained by Dr. W. J. Hoffman, from chiefs of the several tribes at Fort Berthold, Dakota, during the summer of 1881. The following characters are marked upon robes and blankets, usually in red or blue colors, and often upon the boat paddles. Frequently an Indian may be seen who has them even painted upon his thighs, though this is generally resorted to only on festal occasions, or for dancing: Fig. 95.—Successful defense. Hidatsa, etc. Figure 95 denotes that the wearer successfully defended himself against the enemy by throwing up a ridge of earth or sand to protect the body. Fig. 96.—Two successful defenses. Hidatsa, etc. Figure 96 signifies that the wearer has upon two different occasions defended himself by hiding his body within low earthworks. The character is merely a compound of two of the preceding marks placed together. Figure 97 signifies that the one who carries this mark upon his blanket, leggings, boat paddle, or any other property, or his person, has distinguished himself by capturing a horse belonging to a hostile tribe. Fig. 97.—Captured a horse. Hidatsa, etc. Fig. 98.—First to strike an enemy. Hidatsa. Figure 98 signifies among the Hidatsa and Mandans that the wearer was the first person to strike a fallen enemy with a coup stick. It signifies among the Arikara simply that the wearer killed an enemy. Fig. 99.—Second to strike an enemy. Hidatsa. Figure 99 represents among the Hidatsa and Mandans the second person to strike a fallen enemy. It represents among the Arikara the first person to strike the fallen enemy. Fig. 100.—Third to strike an enemy. Hidatsa. Figure 100 denotes the third person to strike the enemy, according to the Hidatsa and Mandan; the second person to strike him, according to the Arikara. Fig. 101.—Fourth to strike an enemy. Hidatsa. Figure 101 shows among the Hidatsa and Mandan the fourth person to strike the fallen enemy. This is the highest and last number; the fifth person to risk the danger is considered brave for venturing so near the ground held by the enemy, but has no right to wear the mark. The same mark among the Arikara represents the person to be the third to strike the enemy. Fig. 102.—Fifth to strike an enemy. Hidatsa. Figure 102, according to the Arikara, represents the fourth person to strike the enemy. Fig. 103.—Struck four enemies. Hidatsa. According to the Hidatsa, the wearer of the accompanying mark, Figure 103, would have figured in four encounters; in the two lateral ones, each, he was the second to strike the fallen enemy, and in the upper and lower spaces it would signify that he was the third person upon two occasions. The mark of a black hand, sometimes made by the impress of an actually blackened palm, or drawn natural size or less, was found upon articles of Ojibwa manufacture in the possession of Hidatsa and Arikara Indians at Fort Berthold, Dakota, in 1881. These Indians say it is an old custom, and signifies that the person authorized to wear the mark has killed an enemy. The articles upon which the designs occurred came from Red Lake Reservation, Minnesota, the Indians of the latter locality frequently going west to Fort Berthold to trade bead and other work for horses. Further signs of particular achievements are given in Figures 174, 175, 176, 177, and 179, and others may be noticed frequently in the Dakota Winter Counts. |
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