152 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 185 
importance for a leader than kinship ties. Lowie (1917, p. 2) men- 
tioned that the moiety was important in politics, in sharing new 
property or meat, and possibly in the use of eagle pits. Several of 
these pits, incidentally, are still located in the vicinity of Crow-Flies- 
High Village. One, for example, is in Verendrye National Monu- 
ment across the Missouri River a few miles downstream from the 
village. 
The informants did not recall hearing of any disturbances in the 
village from raids by predatory bands of Indians, thus it is evident 
that the military situation was not the serious matter that it was at 
the time they went into exile about a decade earlier. It may be re- 
membered that rifle cartridges found in one of the cabins bore the 
manufacturer’s date of 1885; hence, by that time the weapons were 
used primarily for hunting game. 
HISTORY OF CROW-FLIES-HIGH’S BAND 
The history of Crow-Flies-High Village began early in the 1870’s. 
There was a Hidatsa chief named Heart, or Crow-Flies-High, who 
lived at Like-A-Fishhook Village, better known now as Fort Bert- 
hold. This was the economic, political, and military center of the 
combined Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa tribes, and this chief was 
one of the leaders of the community. 
These were difficult times at Fort Berthold. The buffalo herds 
were depleted, and the remnants were hundreds of miles to the west. 
Government assistance was inadequate, the Indian gardens were small, 
and much damage was being caused by the rigorous climate, grass- 
hoppers, and worms (Sperry, 1874, p. 242). Besides, the Dakota 
Indians were hostile, and several villagers had been killed by them. 
In 1874, for example, the Dakota lured a war party from the village, 
led them into an ambush and killed five Arikara and one Mandan 
(ibid., p. 243). Diseases also took a heavy toll of life. Nearly half 
of the Indians, according to Sperry, were actually living off the reser- 
vation, “serving as scouts at military posts hereabouts, hunting for 
game, visiting friends among other tribes, or making winter quarters 
at various places between Forts Buford and Peck, where the conditions 
for getting a living during the winter” were more favorable than 
they were nearer home (ibid., p. 242). Some of them hunted for 4 
or 5 months out of the year. A few were encouraged by the Agency 
to cut wood for steamboats which were expected on the river the next 
season (ibid., p. 242). But in general the outlook for the future 
seemed bleak, indeed, and Hidatsa social organization was showing 
signs of deterioration. 
According to informant data the rift in Crow-Flies-High’s band 
occurred in this manner. There were two subchiefs who went to the 
Indian Agent claiming to represent all the natives on the reservation, 
