MooNF.v] PAWNEE, DAKOTA, AND CHEYENNE MOONS 371 



tiou, and this tendency soon enveloped the most important events with 

 a semi-traditional glamour. When time was compnted by years, it was 

 done by winters. The year eomiuised alternately twelve and thirteen 

 moons or months. . . . The intercalary month, usarer'ulm, was usually 

 inserted at the close of the summer month«. The regular months were 

 grouped as with us by tlirees, the first three constituting winter 

 (pi'ciMt), the second three spring (ora'rfl-aru), the next three summer 

 (li'iit), the last three autumn {IftsJyuM). The year was also divided into 

 two seasons {JctifUiaru), a warm and a cold. As may be readily antici- 

 pated, there was much confusion in their system of reckoning by 

 moons. They sometimes became inextricably involved and were obliged 

 to have recourse to objects about them to rectify their computations. 

 Councils have been known to be disturbed, or even broken up, in conse- 

 quence of irreconcilable differences of opinion as to the con-ectness of 

 their calculations." 



"As an aid to the memory, they frequently made use of notches cut 

 in a stick or some similar device for the computation of nigiits (for days 

 were counted by nights) or even of months and years. Pictographically 

 a day or daytime was represented by a six or eight pointed star, thus, 

 *, as a symbol of the sun. A simple cross, thus x (a star), was a 

 symbol of a night; and a crescent, thusc, represented a moon or lunar 

 month" {Dunbar, 1). 



Dalxota and Cheyenne. — "The Dakota count their years bj' winters 

 (which is quite natural, as that season in their high levels and latitudes 

 practically lasts more than six mouths), and say a man is so many 

 snows old, or that so many snow seasons have passed since an occur- 

 rence. They have no division of time into weeks, and their months are 

 absolutely lunar, only twelve, however, being designated, which receive 

 their names upon the recurrence of some prominent physical phenome- 

 non. For example, the period partly embraced by February is called 

 the 'raccoon moon'; March, 'the sore eye moon;' and April, that in 

 which the geese lay eggs. As the appearance of raccoons after hiber- 

 nation, the causes inducing inflamed eyes, and ovipositiou by geese 

 vary with the meteorological character of each year, and as the twelve 

 lunations reckoned do not bring them back to the point in the season 

 where counting commenced, there is often dispute in the Dakota tipis 

 toward the end of winter as to the correct current date" {^[aIh'rl/,J). 



" Some tribes have twelve named moons in the year, but many tribes 

 have not more than six; and different bands of the same tribe, if occu- 

 pying widely separated sections of the country, will have diffei-ent 

 names for the same moon. Knowing well the habits of animals, and 

 having roamed over vast areas, they readily recognize any special moon 

 that may be mentioned, even though their name for it may be different. 

 One of the nomenclatures used by the Teton-Sioux and Cheyenne 

 beginning with the moon just before winter is as follows: 



1. The moon the leaves fall off. 



2. The moon the buffalo cow's fietus is getting large. 



