DENSMOUE] CHIPPEWA MUSIC- — II 91 



Analysis. — Four renditions of this song were recorded with a short 

 interval between the second and third. The rhythm was accurately 

 repeated, even the slight variations in time being duplicated. It is a 

 taunting, mocking melody, different from any other war song and 

 admirably expressing the idea contained in the words. Compare No. 

 38, which is also a song of derision. 



The leader appointed four men to act as his aids during the entire 

 expedition. These men, like the messenger sent with the tobacco, 

 were called oc'lcdbe'wis. They attended to all the preparations for 

 the expedition and made the arrangements for the dances. held before 

 leaving the village. One of them carried the leader's pipe and the 

 other carried the drum when the war party was on tlie march. They 

 also arranged for the camps on the expedition. A war party always 

 carried a generous supply of "medicine," also materials necessary for 

 making and mending moccasins. Part of the equipment was provided 

 by the leader, who also borrowed the "banner" or "flag" borne by 

 the war party. This was made of eagle feathers sewed on a strip of 

 cloth about 4 feet long, which was fastened lengthwise to a pole. 

 Odjib'we stated that in the old days he knew of only one such banner 

 among the Mississippi Band of Chippewa, made by a man named 

 Gaga'glwlgwun' ("raven feather") and loaned to the war parties. 

 It was considered the common property of the warriors, but this man 

 was its custodian in time of peace, and it was preserved in his family 

 after hostilities ceased. At the present time (1912) there is one war 

 flag preserved at White Earth, but this is believctl not to be the one 

 made by Gaga 'gi wig wun'. It was carried in the wars against the 

 Sioux by Mi'gisins' (Little Eagle), and is now in the possession of his 

 daughter. In plate 16 this banner is shown, held by the daughter of 

 Mi'gMns', though a woman would not have carried such a banner in 

 actual warfare. Mi'gMns' was so distinguished a warrior that a song 

 in his honor is still sung at White Earth (No. 126, Bulletin 45). A 

 similar banner, used at Waba'cing, is shown in plates 44 and 45. 



The final event before the departure of the war party from the 

 village was the dog feast. The head alone was eaten and only the 

 men who were going with the expedition partook of it. Participation 

 in this feast was considered equivalent to a pledge that the warriors 

 were prepared to meet the full fortune of war, whether death or 

 worse, at the hands of the enemy. 



