Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 225 



Hidatsa offensive warfare was normally highly ritualistic in char- 

 acter, particularly as practiced by those who held rights in the estab- 

 lished ceremonies. For that reason, the older people endeavored to 

 keep their sons associated with these recognized leaders rather than 

 with young aspiring men whose sole claim to distinction was based 

 on personal vision experiences not immediately associated with the 

 long-established bundle rites. Personal vision experiences were con- 

 sidered adequate for membership and participation in military adven- 

 tures under a highly successful leader whose authority stemmed from 

 wide participation in the tribal rites. To be successful as a war 

 leader, however, it was believed that, in addition to property rights 

 in well-established sacred bundles, one should fast to the limits of 

 one's endurance, give freely to other recognized holy men, and assist 

 a great deal in the performance of village rites, particularly those 

 concerned with buffalo calling. 



If we are to believe native traditions, there was a greater tendency 

 among the population of Hidatsa village to organize war expeditions 

 on the basis of supernatural experiences outside of the formalized 

 village ceremonialism — ^and with public approval — than there was 

 among the Awatixa and Awaxawi who conformed more closely to the 

 Mandan pattern that war leadership should be restricted to those who 

 had pledged or had performed public ceremonies. From our knowl- 

 edge of the history of the Hidatsa in relation to their neighbors, this 

 would suggest that they more closely conformed to the Crow pattern 

 than to that of the more sedentary Awatixa, Awaxawi, and Mandan. 

 With the union of the Hidatsa village units, this tendency of certain 

 groups to initiate military expeditions on the basis of a personal 

 vision, although approved by a portion of the population, was a source 

 of friction with the more conservative Awatixa and Awaxawi. After 

 1860, Crow-Flies-High more or less represented the progressive element, 

 and his unusual military successes outside of the formal pattern of 

 the Awatixa and Awaxawi eventually lead to internal friction which 

 was not reconciled until the progressive group broke away under his 

 and Bobtail Bull's leadership. 



Although the rituals performed whUe on the military expeditions 

 vary slightly according to the rules belonging to the bundles and 

 bundle lines, the general organization and practices were essentially 

 the same. The following narrative by Wolf Chief indicates many of 

 the basic features of the Hidatsa warfare pattern: 



Kidney gave the Wolf Ceremony in May to buy his father's Wolf bundle. He 

 had a dream just after giving the ceremony so he decided to go out to war to try 

 out the powers of his new bundle. I went along with him from Fishhook Village. 

 There were nearly 40 men and large boys selected by Kidney. 



He selected a place to stop near the present town of Stanton where he said he 

 would try that night to find out what was going to happen. In the morning he 



