Bowers] HID ATS A SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 245 



to the village-^" One day a Crow Indian visiting at the village wanted Bobtail 

 Bull as his father and he went west to the Crow to adopt his "son." While they 

 were there, the "son" asked Bobtail Bull to go with him on the warpath and to 

 carry the medicine pipe. They went west as far as the Rocky Mountains and had 

 a good time, for there were many buffaloes farther west. Bobtail Bull and his "son" 

 were the leaders, for he was training his "son" to be a great war leader. One day 

 the scouts came back howling and Bobtail Bull put the robe out for them to jump 

 over. The scouts reported three enemies at a distance shooting buffaloes. 



Everyone painted up and took out his medicines to wear during the battle. 

 Because Bobtail Bull carried the pipe, the three enemies were killed. When they 

 returned to the Crow camp, they painted their faces black and rode in between 

 the lodges firing off their guns and making a great noise. The Crows honored 

 Bobtail Bull shouting, "What he said is true; his arrows are holy; his gods, the 

 swallow and the hawk ^J have supernatural powers," 



Then the people gave him horses and many other valuable things. When 

 he returned to Fishhook with the scalps and the fine things, the people saw 

 them and knew that what he said was true. He gave the goods and horses to his 

 brothers and sisters and they helped him put up feasts for the old men. Poor 

 Wolf and Crows Paunch did not say much, but Bobtail Bull knew they were 

 jealous because he was coming along so fast. 



Bobtail Bull and Crow-Flies-High were younger than the other chiefs but 

 they had done more in battle than Crows Paunch and Poor Wolf who then selected 

 four assistants (village protectors) and left Bobtail Bull and Crow-Flies-High out 

 because they were younger. 



One day Bobtail Bull and Crow-Flies-High came back from hunting to learn 

 that their friends did not approve of the way Government rations were being 

 distributed. Crow-Flies-High was angry and mounted his pink horse. He 

 rode through the village with a war bonnet on his head following the interpreter 

 wherever he went, telling him that the old chiefs were selfish, that the people 

 needed new chiefs who would look out for them. The young men whose old 

 people had been accused of selfishness were angry and threatened to kill Crow- 

 FUes-High if he did not stop, for quarrels would bring bad luck to the village. 



It was at this time that my father. Bobtail Bull, was sent for by his friends 

 and the pipe belonging to the Earthnaming bundle was lit. Then Bobtail Bull 

 took the pipe to Crow-Flies-High and told him to go back to his lodge. Crow- 

 Flies-High was very angry at first and threatened to kill the first person who 

 attempted to interfere with his division of the 50 cattle the Government was 

 furnishing for rations. He was telling the interpreter how selfish the chiefs 

 were and that he was going to see that the people got a fair division when Bobtail 

 Bull put the pipe before him. Because Bobtail Bull was his "friend" and they 

 worked together, he lit the pipe and announced that he was leaving. That 

 night the people met in two different earth lodges. Those who followed Bobtail 

 Bull met in his lodge and Guts, my grandfather, was there, for he was an older 

 man and could talk better for the Earthnaming bundle. Most of the people 

 in that lodge were those who had formerly lived at Hidatsa village on the Knife 

 but there were a few others from the other villages because they too were not 

 satisfied with the chiefs. The others met at Poor Wolf's lodge. Most of those 

 were from Awaxawi and Awatixa and from the Mandan villages. 



Even the Black Mouths split up according to the way their relatives went. 

 During the night the two groups discussed their grievances separately while some 



30 See the "Earthnaming Ceremony," pp. 433-438. 



«> See the myths of Woman Above (pp. 323-333) and Earthnaming sacred rites (pp. 433-438). 

 710-195—64 17 



