436 PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
Rey. J. Owen Dorsey ()) explains the devices on the shield of a 
Teton Dakota: 
* * * The three pipes ou the shield, in a colored sketch prepared by Bushotter, 
denote that on so many expeditions he carried a war pipe. The red stripes declare 
how many of the enemy -were wounded by him, and the human heads show the 
number of foes that he killed. The half moon means that he shouted at his 
foes on a certain night. Once he threw aside his arms and engaged in a hand-to- 
hand struggle with a foe; this is shown by the human hand. The horse tracks indi- 
eate that he ran off withso many horses. If his name was Black Hawk, for instance, 
a black hawk was painted in the middle of his shield. 
Irving (a), in Astoria, says of the Arikara: 
He who has killed an enemy in his own land is entitled to drag at his heels a fox 
skin attached to each moccasin; and he who has slain a grizzly bear wears a neck- 
lace of his claws, the most glorious trophy that a hunter can exhibit. 
Prince Maximilian, of Wied (¢), thus reports on the designations of 
the Mandans connected with the present topic: 
The Mandans wear the large horned feather cap; this is a cap consisting of strips 
of white ermine with pieces of red cloth hanging down behind as far as the calves of 
the legs, to which is attached an upright row of black and white eagle feathers, 
beginning at the head and reaching to the whole length. Only distinguished war- 
riors who have performed many exploits may wear this headdress. 
If the Mandans give away one or more of these headdresses, which they estimate 
very highly, they are immediately considered men of great importance. *~ = ~ * 
On their buffalo robes they often represent this feather cap under the image of a 
sun. Very celebrated and eminent warriors, when most highly decorated, wear in 
their hair various pieces of wood as signals of their wounds and heroic deeds. ‘Thus 
Mato-Topé had fastened transversely in his hair a wooden knife painted red and 
about the length of a hand, because he had killed a Cheyenne chief with his knife; 
then six wooden sticks, painted red, blue, and yellow, with a brass nail at one end, 
indicating so many musket wounds which he had received. For an arrow wound 
he fastened in his hair the wing feather of a wild turkey; at the back of his head 
he wore a large bunch of owl's feathers, dyed yellow, with red tips, as the badge of the 
Meniss-Ochata (the dog band). The half of his face was painted red and the other 
yellow; his body was painted reddish-brown, with narrow stripes, which were pro- 
duced by taking off the color with the tip of the finger wetted. On his arms, from 
the shoulder downwards, he had seventeen yellow stripes, which indicated his war- 
like deeds, and on his breast the figure of a hand, of a yellow color, as a sign that 
he had captured some prisoners. 
* A Mandan may have performed many exploits and yet not be allowed to 
wear tufts of hair on his clothes, unless he carries a wmedicine pipe and has been the 
leader of a war party. When a young man who has never performed an exploit is 
the first to kill an enemy on a warlike expedition he paints a spiral line round his 
arm, of whatever color he pleases, and he may then wear a whole wolf's tail at the 
ankle or heel of one foot. If he has first killed and touched the enemy he paints « 
line running obliquely round the arm and another crossing it in the opposite direc- 
tion, with three transverse stripes. On killing the second enemy he paints his left 
leg (that is, the leggin) a reddish-brown. If he kills the second enemy before 
another is killed by his comrades he may wear two entire wolves’ tails at his heels. 
On his third exploit he paints two longitudinal stripes on his arms and three trans- 
verse stripes. This is the exploit that is esteemed the highest; after the third 
exploit no more marks are made. If he killsan enemy after others of the party have 
done the same he may wear on his heel one wolf's tail, the tip of which is cut oft. 
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