AN INDIAN WHO HELPED THE MUSEUM 250 
of his people. At the proper age he put himself under the care of a famous 
medicine man and finally inherited the rituals and formula long used by his 
teacher. His face was rather feminine and commonplace, except the eyes. 
‘ 
No one seeing him in a ceremony when the “spirit was with him” would 
ever forget the eyes that seemed to light up his whole face. Sharp, the 
well-known painter, has caught them fast on his canvas. His names, as 
with the Indian, changed at various periods of life. To us he wished to be 
known as “The Bear-One.”’ 
We first saw The-Bear-One in one of his ceremonies. He wore a robe 
having blue emblems upon a yellow ground, a simple head-dress of running 
fisher skins and carried a small feather wand. Through the open front 
of the robe his body appeared painted an even yellow with star and moon 
signs on the breast. This robe and its accessories may be seen in the Plains 
Hall. Not long after, we called upon him. The interview was uneventful 
and confined to a discussion of our purpose to record faithfully certain facts 
of Indian life and to preserve certain objects pertaining thereto. While 
he was respectfully attentive, he seemed not particularly interested. On 
leaving we remarked that his robe would be a fitting object for our collection. 
He made no reply, but a burst of laughter from his woman indicated the 
absurdity of the request. We went our way and the man and his robe 
were forgotten for a time. One day we received an unexpected call from 
him, the woman trudging at his heels. He stated that we had asked the 
robe of him, that such was quite unusual, but that our purpose was credit- 
able; that we were sincere in our efforts to learn the ways of his people, 
that the memory of them be not lost. Hence, we could have the robe under 
certain conditions. If he gave the robe to an Indian, he would lose the 
right to its ceremonial use and the protection of the powers of nature asso- 
ciated therewith; but that he would part with it to us at the cost of making 
another if we would follow out certain instructions as to its care at our 
hands and would agree to leave behind the full right to the ceremony. 
The restrictions as to the care of the robe were necessarily discussed fully, 
we feeling that no agreement should be made that could not be kept. At 
one stage of this he became indignant and rose to his feet with the remark, 
“You came to me with a request, I have come to you with that which you 
requested and now you receive me as a mere bargainer.”” A frank apology 
on our part saved the day and at last common ground was found. At a 
sign the woman took from under her shawl the old buffalo-hide case con- 
taining the robe and placed it in my hands. The-Bear-One urged me to 
open it and see that all was correct. It was. Without further comment 
the pair went their way. 
We went about our work and waited. The important things were yet 
to be done. Unless we could get the ritual of that robe, the significance of 
