March, 1905. The Cheyenne — Dorsey. ii 



2.— THE KEEPER OF THE MEDICINE-ARROWS. 



Next to the Prophet comes the Keeper of the great medicine- 

 arrows, the emblem of the whole Cheyenne tribe. The Keeper is 

 appointed by the Prophet, or, sometimes, by the warriors. He must 

 be a medicine-man, and one of the assistant Arrow-Keepers. He 

 must understand all sacred chants and all rituals pertaining to the 

 Medicine- Arrow ceremony. Not only this, but he must be of ex- 

 traordinarily good character, a natural leader, and counselor of the 

 whole Cheyenne tribe, but not necessarily a chief. The present 

 Keeper of these medicine-arrows is Little-Man. He was not a chief 

 at first, but some ten years ago he was appointed a chief, so at the 

 present time he is a Keeper of the medicine-arrows and one of the 

 forty chiefs also. His family and his tipi are held sacred because the 

 medicine-arrows hang in his tipi. His tipi is called the home of the med- 

 icine-arrows, and he is the father of them because he cares for them. 

 He makes a vow that he will take good care of them in order to pre- 

 serve them. In the Cheyenne camp, which is made in a horseshoe 

 circle, the Keeper's tipi stands out in front of the other tipis about one 

 hundred yards on the right wing of the circle. No nuisance is allowed 

 around the Keeper's tipi at any time. In former times the Keeper's 

 wife walked and carried the medicine-arrow bundle on her back when 

 the Cheyenne were traveling. Later on, after the white man came 

 to this country with horses, she rode on horseback, but still had the 

 bundle tied on her back. The Keeper as a medicine-man does not 

 have to take part in the ceremony, if he can get another medi- 

 cine-man to assist him. If a Keeper of the medicine-arrows does 

 not give satisfaction, then all the warriors come together and hold a 

 council, and appoint another Keeper. They go in a body and get 

 the bundle and give it to the man they have appointed. 



3.— THE FOUR ASSISTANT MEDICINE-ARROW KEEPERS. 



The medicine-arrow Keeper has four regular assistants. These 

 four assistants are the only ones who may handle the arrows. All 

 other medicine-men have to reach this degree. Whenever the regular 

 annual Medicine- Arrow ceremony takes place, and when the medicine- 

 arrows have been brought into the sacred lodge, these four men are 

 there to inspect the four medicine-arrows. If any of the eagle feathers 

 that are on the arrows need renewing these four assistants are the 

 ones to do the work. The feathers are from the eagle. Every other 

 article used on the great medicine-arrows comes from the buffalo, the 



