DENSMoRB | MANDAN AND HIDATSA MUSIC 35 
trend is evident in all the classes of songs, but the plots selected for 
iulustration are those most typical of each class. 
Another form of plotting, which shows all the progressions in the 
melody, is used with Nos. 72 and 92, and is given in connection with 
the analyses of those songs. 
GOOD FUR ROBE* 
Throughout the study of the Mandan and Hidatsa there runs an 
interesting comparison between the beliefs which were held by these 
tribes in the past and those of the present time. An instance of this 
is afforded by the beliefs concerning Good Fur Robe and the story 
with which his name is associated. According to this story (p. 7) 
the Mandans once lived beneath the earth. Good Fur Robe is said to 
have been their chief at that time, and to have established certain 
organizations and customs for the good of the tribe. There may be 
persons on the Fort Berthold Reservation who still believe the story 
of the grapevine, but all the writer’s informants stated that “it is 
said” the tribe came to the earth in this manner, declining to ex- 
press a personal opinion in the matter. However, when asked 
whether they believed that Good Fur Robe was a tradition or a man, 
they replied without hesitation that he was a living chief, like the 
other chiefs, but much wiser than they. It is interesting to note that 
the beneficent character of this traditional chief, or culture hero, has 
made him a living personality in the minds of those who, from con- 
tact with the white man, have lost faith in the old legends. He is 
still to them a human leader, kindly, far-sighted. and wonderful in 
his power. 
Good Fur Robe always strove for the highest good of the people. 
He wanted them to have plenty of corn and vegetables, so he “ puri- 
fied” the seed, making it fruitful; he wanted the children to be 
healthy and the young men to succeed in war, so he organized the 
Goose Women Society, which, in addition to its other functions, had 
power to benefit the people (see pp. 39-47) ; and he wanted the village 
to be secure, so he organized the Black Mouth Society for its defence. 
Associated with Good Fur Robe were two chiefs and their “ sister.” 
The chief next in power was Head Rattle, the third was Rawhide 
Loop, and their sister’s name was Swinging Corn. 
47The Mandan equivalent of this word was given by James Holding Eagle as Mi’hisi, 
meaning ‘“‘robe with heavy, handsome fur on it.” Dr. Gilbert L. Wilson, in personal 
conversation with the writer. stated that the full form of the word is Mi’-he-hi’-si, from 
m’-hé, robe, hi’, fur, and si, good, and that ‘‘ when the syllable hé follows a vowel it is 
often omitted, or nearly so, if pronounced rapidly.”’” The name was given the chief 
because of a particularly fine fur robe which he wore. Dr. Gilbert states that this was 
the hide of a 2-year-old buffalo cow, and that the chief wore it with the hair outside, 
