FOREWORD 
A phase of Indian life hitherto untouched by the present writer 
is shown in this work. The Mandan and Hidatsa lived in houses 
which were grouped in permanent villages, their environment differ- 
ing essentially from that of the Chippewa and Sioux in their camps 
or the Ute in the fastnesses of the mountains. The music of the 
latter tribes has been analyzed in previous works,! and a comparative 
statement of results is presented in this volume. 
The songs of the Mandan and Hidatsa were recorded on the Fort 
Berthold Reservation in North Dakota during the summers of 1912 
and 1915, an additional trip being made in 1918 to complete the 
material. This research was suggested by Dr. O. J. Libby, secre- 
tary of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and the 
first season’s work was under the auspices of that society. The 
subsequent work was under the auspices of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology. 
The writer desires to acknowledge the valued assistance of her 
two principal interpreters, Mr. James Holding Eagle, a member of 
the Mandan tribe, who interpreted and translated that language, 
and Mr. Fred Huber, who interpreted and translated the Hidatsa. 
Mr. Holding Eagle was born in 1884, received his early education 
at the Fort Berthold Mission of the Congregational Church, and 
graduated from the Santee Normal Training School at Santee, Nebr. 
He is now engaged in missionary work among his people on the Fort 
Berthold Reservation. Mr. Huber went to Fort Berthold as a 
musician with the United States Army, and for more than 30 years 
spent the majority of his time among the Hidatsa. He died before 
the completion of the present work. 
Grateful acknowledgment is made of the assistance rendered by 
officials of the North Dakota Historical Society, also of the courtesy 
extended by Dr. C. L. Hall, who for more than 40 years has been 
a missionary of the Congregational Church on the reservation. 
The writer desires also to express her appreciation of the assistance 
cordially given by members of the staff of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology and the United States National Museum in their re- 
spective fields of research. 
Frances DensmorEL 
1 Chippewa Music, Bull. 45 ; Chippewa Music II, Bull. 53; Teton Sioux Music, Buil. 61; 
and Northern Ute Music, Bull. 75, Bur. Amer. Ethn. 
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