Aug. 25, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



83 



never seen his stopping place. Yet I know one smarter 

 than I. Go ask the bear. He may tell you. ' 



Another clay, and again he traveled on. Here he found 

 a few berries 'to eat, and there a root which he dug up, 

 for his sack of food was light and he was very careful of 

 it. At night he stopped near the home of a bear 

 " Where," asked the bear, " is your home? Why travel 

 alone, my brother?" 



" Now help, now pitv me, tnv elder brother ! said the 

 young man, " becatise of her words* I seek the Above 

 Person. I go to ask for her." 



"I know not his stopping place," said the bear. "I 

 have traveled by many rivers, and I know the mountains; 

 vet I have never seen his lodge. There is one beyond, 

 that striped-face (the badger), who is wise. Go then and 

 ask him." 



Then cpiicklv went the young man to the badgers 

 home. He was in his hole. Stooping over, the young 

 man shouted, "Oh, cunning Striped-face J Oh, much- 

 knowing animal! I would speak with you." _ 



"What do you want?" said the badger, poking Ins head 

 out, 



"That bear," said the young man, "told me to ask you. 

 I seek that Above Person's home to ask him for her. 

 bhe is his own, and therefore must I find his stopping 

 place." 



"Ah!" said the badger, "I know not where he lives. 

 Over there in the timber is a wolverine's home. Go ask 

 him. He is of much knowledge." 



Then went he to the woods and looked all around for 

 the wolverine, but he could not find him, and being tired 

 he sat down under some bushes to rest. ' l Hi-yu! Wfa/W 

 he cried. "Wolverine, take pity on me. Gone my food. 

 Worn out my moccasins. Now surely T must die." 



"What wants my brother?" he heard, and looking 

 around he saw the animal sitting close beside him. 



"She whom I would marry," replied the young man, 

 "belongs to that Above Person, and by her words I am 

 looking for his stopping place, because I must ask him for 

 her." 



"Ah," said the wolverine, "I know where he lives, yet 

 now 'tis night. Wait then till morning, and I will show 

 you the trail to the water's edge. On the other side of it 

 he lives." 



True his words. The trail led to the water's edge, but 

 there — he looked and his heart almost stopped. Great 

 was that water. The other side could not be seen, nor 

 was there any end. In despair he laid down on the shore. 

 His food was gone and he was weak from much travel. 

 "Here," he thought, "must I die. No onemaycross such 

 far water, and too weak am I to return to the people. Yes, 

 now in nst I surely go to that shadow land." 



Not so. There were his helpers. Two swans came 

 swimming by. "What," they said, "does our brother 

 here? Far frbni his people's ground, why here alone?" 



"I am here," he told them, "to die. Far away in the 

 Blackfoot land is a beautiful girl, and I would many 

 her. But she is not her own. She belongs to that Above 

 Person. Many days have I traveled, but I have not 

 found the place. And now my food is gone. Far away 

 the land of my people, my body is weary, I cannot re- 

 turn to them. Here, then, must I die; soon will my 

 shadow depart for the Sandhills." 



"Not so! Not so!" cried the swans. "Across this water 

 is the home of that Above Person. Climb, then, upon 

 our backs and we will take you there." 



As if he had just set out on his travel, as he had eaten 

 plenty, did his strength, return and his heart was light. 

 Quick rose he from the ground, and wading out reclined 

 upon their backs. Deep and black that mighty water, 

 and very wide. Strange people lived within its depths, 

 and other mighty animals who often seize a person. Yet 

 safe they carried him and took him to the other side. 

 Ah! there it was, a big new lodge and painted on it the 

 deeds of war and unknown animals. Yet now he dared 

 not enter. What would they say? Great might be their 

 anger. And full of fear and shame he crawled along 

 and hid where tall green rushes grew upon the shore. 

 There, as he lay, came Morning Star and found him. 

 "Why hidden here?" he asked. "Where is your home? 

 Why wandering far?" 



'•The Blackfoot land," he said, "is where I lived. Far 

 have I come to see the Sun, yet now I see his lodge, I 

 sliame to enter." 



"Fear not," said Morning Star, "he is my father. Come 

 now with nie, my mother sits within and she will give 

 you food." 



Then entered he with Morning Star and sat beside the 

 doorway. 



"Who," said the Moon.f "is this person?" 



"He is a Blackfoot," replied her son, "and has traveled 

 far to see my father." 



Then the Moon gave him some food, and after he had 

 eaten much he slept. When he awoke it was night and 

 the Sun had already entered. "My son," he said, "has 

 told me that you have come to see me and I am glad. Far 

 is the Blackfoot land, tired your body, now. Stay with 

 us then a while and eat and rest and sleep." 



The young man stopped there a long time and he and 

 Morning Star were great friends. Often the young man 

 would say, "I must go back." but Morning Star would 

 say, "No. When my father speaks you may go. Do not 

 ask Mm or he will be angry. Wait for him to say." 



One night the Sun said, "Now, young man, tell me, 

 why came you here?" 



Then said the young man, "Of our people is a beautiful 

 girl and all the rich and brave ones asked for her, but she 

 looked not at them. I am very poor, but I asked her to 

 be my wife and she was glad. But then she said, 'I am 

 not my own; to that Above Person do I belong. Go then 

 and ask him for me.' Far have I traveled and long has 

 been the trail. To you have I come to ask for her." 



"True your words," said the Sun, "1 have watched the 

 days and I know it is so; and now I give her to you. I 

 am the only chief. Everything is mine. I made the 

 earth, the mountains, prairies, rivers, woods, people and 

 animals. All these I made. I can never die. True, the 

 winter makes me old and weak, but every sum m er I grow 

 young again." 



Then further said the Sun, "What one of all animals 

 is smartest? The raven is, for he always finds food, he is 

 the smartest. He is never hungry. Of all animals which 



*A Blackfoot seldom mentions a person by name, and will talk 

 for hours about what this or that one said, and one must ask 

 ipointedly to find out who he is talking about. 



*The sun and moon are supposed to be; man and.wif e and the 

 Ttnornins star their son. 



is most Nat-o-ye?* The buffalo is. Of all animals I like 

 him best. He is for the people. He is your food and 

 vour shelter. What part of his body is 'medicine?' The 

 tongue is. That is mine. What else that grows on 

 bushes is modicine? Berries, Those are also mine." 

 Then further said the Sun, "You shall build me a sweat 

 house, and you shall build me a great lodge. Those who 

 are pure shall build it for me, and I will give them great 

 age. Come now with me and see the world." Then the 

 Sun took the young man to the edge and they looked 

 down and saw it; round it is, and flat, and all around the 

 edge the jumping off place Tor the walls straight down]. 

 "Thus," said the Sun, "shall you build my lodge, round, 

 with walls. And the sweat house shall be like the sky 

 above the world [•?'. c, a hemisphere]. You shall make it 

 of an hundred sticks, and one-half shall be black, and 

 one-half red." 



Further said the Sun, "Which is most knowledge? 

 the heart or brain? The brain is; the heart often 

 lies, but the brain, never. She who makes the vow shall 

 be pure, and of godd sense; the young men shall get the 

 tongues, three hundred, and she who builds the lodge 

 shall have to help her. other women who are pure, and 

 they shall cut and dry the tongues. For the people, for 

 their long life and food shall these be built. For I shall 

 like the tongues and the berries and other presents they 

 may give. But if one of lying heart, if one impure shall 

 build the lodge, then will I be angry, and the people shall 

 perish. And others shall make the' vow, and if they give 

 me of their body [meaning finger joints, bits of flesh, etc.] 

 they shall survive, and reach great age. In war, the 

 arrows shall pass them by, and sickness shall not destroy 

 them. Here now, two raven tail feathers, they shall be 

 the sign for her that I give her to you, and the husband 

 of her who makes the lodge shall wear them on his head." 



Then the Sun gave him beautiful war dresses, a shield, 

 bow, quiver and arrows, and said: "Now you may de- 

 part, not by the long and weary trail you came, but by 

 my trail. There the wolf road [the milky way], follow it, 

 and you will reach the ground." And the young man 

 departed. 



Hot the day, all the lodge skins were raised, and in the 

 shade of them the people sat. Very hot the day. Now 

 there was one, a chief, who had many friends, and all 

 day long they came and feasted with him. Out on a 

 butte, beyond the camp, a person sat; early in the morn' 

 ing this chief saw him sitting there, close wrapped in his 

 robe. And his friends came and went; the sun rose, and 

 reached the middle and passed on down; and still the 

 person sat there moving not. Now was evening come, 

 and said the chief , "Why sits that person there? All day 

 he has not moved. Great has been the heat, yet he has 

 not drank. Now go and see, and if he be a stranger bid 

 him come and eat with friends." Then went some of the 

 young men to him and said, "Why sit there in the heat 

 all day, oh stranger ? There the' shade of lodges, cool 

 water, and food in plenty. Come now with us." 



Then rose the person and threw off his robe and followed 

 them, and great was their surprise. Beautiful his dress. 

 Of strange make his shield and bow. But they knew his 

 face and they ran ahead and shouted, "Here now is that 

 poor young man returned, poor no longer, for he wears 

 rich clothes and his shield and bow are of strange make." 

 Then came all people to see him, and they said, "Where 

 have you been so long ? Where found you all these rich 

 things?" but he answered them not. There in the crowd 

 stood that young woman; and taking two raven feathers 

 from his hair he gave them to her and said: "Far has 

 been the trail and I nearly died. Yet by those Helpers I 

 found his lodge. There the truth, the sign, he sends 

 those feathers to you." 



Great her gladness then. And they were married, and 

 made the sweat house and the great lodge as the Sun had 

 said. And the Sun was good; he gave them great age, 

 and they sickened not. But when they were very old, 

 one morning said their children, "Arise and eat." They did 

 not move. In the night in sleep, without pain, their 

 shadows had departed for the Sandhills. 



The ceremony of the Medicine Lodge always takes 

 place in July, about the time berries are ripe. ' During 

 the preceding year a woman (often several of them) had 

 vowed to build this lodge, in return for which she prayed 

 for the recovery of some relation from a dangerous sick- 

 ness, or for their success in battle. None but a virtuous 

 woman might make this offering. It sometimes happened 

 that the person died or was killed in battle. Then the 

 relations of the woman all mourned; and ever afterward 

 she was the butt of ridicule and the contempt of the 

 whole camp. But there were always enough of those 

 who made this vow to insure the building of a lodge 

 each year. 



First, three hundred buffalo tongues were procured, 

 which, with prayers and songs to the sun, were cut and 

 dried by those who made the vow and by others who 

 were selected on account of their virtue. Great heaps of 

 berries were also gathered by these women. Sufficient 

 poles were then cut and piled up in the center of the 

 village. With much ceremony, prayers and songs the 

 walls were then made by sticking posts upright in the 

 ground round a tree, leaving a space about 4ft. wide for 

 a doorway. The diameter of this inclosure was about 

 40ft. Then a warrior renowned for bravery and success 

 was chosen to cut a hide into strips, and while doing so 

 he was obliged to rehearse his brave deeds. Long poles 

 were then laid from the top of this wall to the tree, mak- 

 ing a roof, which was securely fastened by the strips of 

 hide. The walls and roof were then covered with brush, 

 gathered by the women. In carrying this brush to the 

 lodge they were obliged to stop at intervals and make a 

 prayer to the sun, and on placing it on the lodge they 

 also made a short prayer. 



The lodge being built, a large sweat house was made 

 of one hundred willows, and painted one side red the 

 other black, and the whole covered with cow skins. The 

 O-Mh, or woman, who made the vow then built a firo 

 and heated the rocks, and her husband, calling together 

 the principal men of the tribe, always including a Bear- 

 man, entered the sweat house with them. The rocks, 

 now red hot, were placed in a hole dug in the center of 

 the house. A pipe was then filled and lighted by the 

 Bear-man, who addressed a long prayer to the sun, in- 

 forming him that a lodge had been built for him, and the 

 proper food secured, and asking in return long life and 



The word means "of the snn" and is generally translated as 

 "medicine," not physical but spiritual. 



prosperity for the people. That evening tho woman who 

 made the vow and her husband took possession of the 

 lodge, and remained in. it during the ceremonies, which 

 lasted four days and nights. During this time they were 

 not allowed to eat or drink, and only at night could they 

 go outside. The next morning after the sweat house tho 

 "medicine food" was divided among the people. Many 

 offerings to the sun were then made, wearing apparel, 

 weapons, fine robes, ornaments and finger joints and bits 

 of flesh. All these were tied in bags and hung near the 

 roof on the center pole or tree. The next day was devoted 

 to "making warriors." Slits were cut in the breast or 

 back of these aspirants, rawhide ropes fastened into them, 

 and suspended to the center pole, the men danced and 

 jerked about until the ropes pulled out. A man was not 

 called a "warrior" until he had gone through this cere- 

 mony four successive seasons. The remaining two days 

 were devoted to the "counting of coups" and dancing by 

 the warriors, and the E-kun-uh'-kah-tse. During all the 

 four days prayers were constantly offered by the Bear- 

 men for the health and prosperity of the people. 



J. W. Schultz. 



A TRIP TO MT. MITCHELL. 



ASHEVILLE, N. C, July.— The conversation turned 

 upon the wonderful scenery and delightful atmos- 

 phere of this region. One and another mountain trip 

 were suggested as being delightful and worthy of attempt 

 when the proper time should arrive. While so engaged, 

 Prof. E. Waller, of New York city, joined us. During 

 the year of his sojourn-here he had never made a moun- 

 tain trip outside of the immediate vicinity of Asheville. 

 The professor is charming company, and returns to bis 

 duties in the School of Mines, Columbia College, very 

 soon. Different points within reasonable distance were 

 freely discussed. 



Finally Mt. Mitchell was decided upon. We planned 

 to ride the first day to Big Tom Wilson's, the famous 

 trapper, hunter and guide of the Black Mountains, and 

 there take up our headquarters, the next day to make the 

 ascent of Mt. Mitchell and camp over night, returning 

 the next day to Big Tom's. Dr. Gatchell ha d made the 

 trip a year before, and therefore was competent to guide 

 us safely to Big Tom's house. Four responded to roll call 

 at 6 A. M. Wednesday, viz. : Dr. Gatchell, Prof. Waller, 

 George Lyons and the writer. 



A refreshing shower had fallen the evening previous 

 which had cleansed the air and laid the dust, so oppres- 

 sive for several days, and the day promised to be fine but 

 warm. We rode out the Beaver Dam road about four 

 miles, then turned over Elk Mountain ridge. From here 

 a beautiful view of Asheville, the valley and the distant 

 Mt. Pisgah is obtained. Our next elevation was passing 

 through the gap of Elk Mountain, and again we rested to 

 look back and admire the landscape. When within a 

 mile of "Chamber's" we took the wrong road and had 

 gone two miles before discovering our error. We retraced 

 our steps and were soon on the right track. This mistake 

 cost us nearly two hours of time, so that it was noon 

 when we rode into the yard surrounding Chamber's farm- 

 house. Wandering around in the rugged fastnesses of 

 the craggy mountains whither our false trail was leading 

 us, was not the most pleasing prospect to contemplate, at 

 least others report it anything but satisfactory, except to 

 those who are hunting" bears, and we were willing to 

 accept their testimony without questioning. Many per- 

 sons have lost their way in the cr aggies. Gregg Clui ot- 

 hers,' the genial proprietor of this mountain farm of 400 

 acres, cheerily called out: 'Light, gentlemen, 'light." The 

 settlement about Chambers is called Vanceville and is 

 located in Reeins Valley. 



As we sat watching the dark clouds of a thunder storm 

 roll up the valley we conversed with Hardy Chambers, 

 son of the proprietor, regarding the game to be found in 

 and about the mountains. Speaking of bears, he pointed 

 to a tawny rough-coated dog lying in the shade, and said 

 they had killed twenty -five bears in the last three years 

 with that that dog, assisted by others. The breeding of 

 the dog he said was "part foxhound and part bloodhound." 

 His teeth were certainly formidable, and although he was 

 not a large or heavy animal, I did not doubt his ability to 

 pull a bear. Hardy said there was one remarkable thing 

 about that dog. When he found it was impossible to 

 avoid being hugged by a bear he invariably turned his 

 side instead of his own breast to the beast's breast, and 

 thus saved his spinal column intact. He had been 

 squeezed several times and still seemed as good as ever. 

 Turkeys, wolves, pheasants (ruffed grouse) and quail are 

 abundant. The two former in the mountains and. slopes, 

 and the latter in the neighboring thickets and fields. 

 When pasturing sheep on the mountains, he said, wolves 

 had often jumped in and carried off a mutton before help 

 could be given it, especially at night. 



At 3 P. M. we saddled our horses, and bidding our new 

 friends "so long," turned our faces toward Big Tom Wil- 

 son's, sixteen miles away. Just before reaching Barnards- 

 ville Prof. Waller's mare strained her shoulder on a roll- 

 ing stone, and after walking a mile we perceived she 

 would be unfit for the trip, and he left her with a farmer 

 until his return. His saddle bags and blankets were 

 placed on my horse and the Professor started on foot, 

 dropping into a swinging gait which was very effective 

 and kept him in the lead. About 6 o'clock we came to 

 the foot of Ivy Gap, and being tired of riding, I gave my 

 horse to Geo. Lyons, who had previously vacated his sad- 

 dle in favor of Prof. Waller, and started up the trail. I 

 consider myself a good walker and have tramped many 

 a mile fishing and hunting. We were rather late and 

 pushed ourselves to reach the top and find shelter at Big 

 Tom's, six miles away, before darkness should envelop 

 us. It was warm and that rapid climb was exhausting. 

 When we reached the gate at the summit, men and 

 beasts were blown. 



Here we obtained our first glimpse of Black Mountains. 

 The appropriateness of the name impressed me. En- 

 vironed as we were by high mountains the sun had set 

 for us and although the tip of Mitchell's Peak was tinted 

 with the glory of the lingering rays the remainder was a 

 dark, terrible yet fascinating wall. The feat of climbing 

 to its summit seemed an impossibility when we thought 

 of the fallen trees, rocks, crevices, thickets and almost 

 perpendicular sides of this highest mountain east of the 

 Rockies. The trail down the Elk fork of the Caney River 

 to Big Tom's on Big Caney is rough and requires time, so 

 it was 9 o'clock when we rode up to his gate. To our 

 severe disappointment we learned that Big Tom had that 

 I very morning left with his mules and wagon for Asheville 



