118 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [YOL V. 



Silver Islet and Nepigon, and upon the Nepigon River are 

 pictographs so accurately drawn that Indians from the far north have 

 been known to interpret their meaning. Upon the Missouri river near 

 Cow Island, and about thirty miles south of Benton, there are figures of 

 lodges, men fighting and similar pictures upon the face of the high cliffs, 

 and so great is their elevation that the Indians say they are the works of 

 the spirits. When the South Piegan Indians visited these rocks, they 

 used them as models when they returned home, drawing figures on robes 

 similar to those they had seen. Henry Shoecat, an intelligent young 

 Indian who was acting as interpreter for the Mounted Police, informed 

 me during my residence among the Blood Indians that there are some 

 pictured rocks which he had seen between Helena and Sun River, in 

 Montana, and others on the south side of Chief Mountain. Indians and 

 white men have told me repeatedly of the wonderful ivriting stones on 

 the Milk River, about forty miles from Lethbridge, and near the West 

 Butte, where the Mounted Police have a post. These stones are covered 

 with figures, some of which the Indians say were written by the spirits, 

 but the better interpretation given by many of the Indians is that war- 

 parties of the Bloods and Piegans passing to and fro were in the habit of 

 writing upon these rocks, stating the number of men and horses there 

 were in the camps of their enemies. This is the opinion of Jerry Potts, 

 the Piegan chief and Mounted Police guide and interpreter. When 

 Henry Shoecat was acting as interpreter at the police post near the 

 zvriting stones, the m.en stationed there were in the habit of writing upon 

 these stones, thus mingling the figures made by white men with the 

 native pictography. Not far distant from the writing stones, and on Milk 

 River, are several caves which have been visited by Jerry Potts and others,, 

 in which there are stone couches and drawings upon the walls. 



The Blackfoot system of pictography was used by the Indians on the 

 outside of their lodges. Figures were painted in different colours which 

 were a record of the exploits of the master of the lodge. The scalp- 

 locks were fastened above the picture-writing, the latter passing around, 

 the figures generally enclosed between two lines, running evenly around 

 the lodge leaving a space from two to three feet wide for the pictographs. 

 The lodges of Medicine Calf, Red Crow and Bull Shield were especially 

 noticeable in the early years. Some of the Indians could draw pictures 

 of animals upon paper very well. Hunting and war scenes on paper or 

 leather were also well executed. 



One of my Blood Indian young men drew for me upon two sheets of 

 foolscap, two specimens of the native pictography, which are here showa 

 (Plates I., II.). 



