Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 311 



pulled the sticks out and pressed down the swellings, putting white clay on the 

 cuts to heal them and to keep the swellings down. 



That night Good Bear left the lodge and went north about 3 miles onto the 

 hills out of sight of the village to cry. He was in great pain and very tired. In 

 his dream he was walking south on a beautiful flat when something very bright 

 and shiny came down from the sky. He thought it would surely hit him but it 

 missed him, coming down just in front of him. A cross was on this bright object. 

 When he saw all this he thought that it was an instruction for him to give the 

 NaxpikE. He thought that the hoop was the sun or the moon when it was full 

 and that the cross represented the laces on the hoop. 



He awoke, thought of his dream, and again went to sleep. Again he was walking 

 along on a large flat; he saw two bulls belonging to White men and stopped to look 

 at them. There was a voice and then a man dressed in fine clothing and a white 

 collar drove up in a light wagon. The man saw him admiring the two bulls and 

 inquired if he liked them. Since he thought the bulls were pretty, the White 

 man told him he could have them. Then Good Bear awoke, returned to the 

 ceremonial grounds for a short time, and went to his lodge to eat. 



That night he again had a vision that he was traveling south on the prairie 

 until he came to some White men's houses. There was one long house with a 

 fence in front of it and many boxes of goods piled near it. He awoke and 

 wondered what it all meant, the White man, the cattle, the White man's long 

 house, the goods, and the shiny thing that came down from the sky. He talked 

 to his mother's brother. Poor Wolf, about it and inquired what it all meant. 



Poor Wolf studied a long time and at last he said, "I think the gods above 

 want you to take your father's bundle; that shining object that came down from 

 above was the Sun. I think the gods want you to give the NaxpikE." 



Then the two went to Good Bear's own father and told him of the dream. 

 No Milk said, "In the evening, before dark, cry from the top of an earth lodge 

 so all can hear, 'Next year when the leaves are full grown I will build a house 

 for you; I will hunt up all the bedding you will want; I want to get good luck for 

 my people, make all of us free of diseases, and bring happiness to all of us.' 

 When you have made the pledge all the people will hear you. It will take a year 

 before you can give the ceremony. In the meanwhile you must get all the goods 

 that you can, buffalo robes, blankets, and calicoes. You will need 50 robes so 

 you will have to go out often looking for buffaloes to get the hides. It will be 

 hard to give the ceremony but the gods above will repay you well for your 

 trouble." 



Ordinarily, one was about 30 years old before giving the ceremony 

 since one must have demonstrated responsibility before undertaking 

 so important a step. Dreams were carefully screened and the qualifi- 

 cations of eligible candidates were carefully examined. Permission 

 was given by an older and eminent member of the father's clan — 

 not necessarily one's own father, who was frequently dead — who 

 would have lost status had he sanctioned making the vow by one 

 whom he knew to be cowardly either in battle or in the protection of 

 the village. 



One should have already demonstrated by previous participation 

 in fasting and personal torture that he was able to endm'e the priva- 

 tions of 4 days of fasting. He must also be sufficiently intelligent to 

 be able to follow instructions in minute detail. Since the wife assisted 



