S74 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Nov. 14, 1903. 
The Lodges of the Blackfeet. 
Man seems to be the only animal that is subject to the 
decrees of fashion. His clothing, his food, his furniture, 
and his dwelling change in appearance — if not from year 
to year, at least from decade to decade, or from century 
to century. Nor is this — as at first might be thought — 
a niere refinement of civilization. It is not only the 
fashionable man or woman, dwelling in cities, anxious to 
be up with the times and sensitive to criticism by fellow 
beings, that changes; primitive man also, though his 
fashions change more slowly, nevertheless alters the way 
in which he wears his hair, the appearance of his clothing, 
the shelters which protect him from the weather. 
Among primitive man in America a form of dwelling 
long used is swiftly passing out of existence. The Indian 
lodge or teepee — the highest development of tent known 
to our aborigines — is disappearing, and for a very good 
reason. The lodge cannot be set up without a consider- 
able number of lodge poles, and in these days lodge poles 
are hard to get. The lodge of ancient times, made from 
buffalo skins, and when the people were free to travel 
where they pleased over the prairie, was most useful, but 
now the buffalo skin is no longer to be had, canvas can 
only be bought for money, and in place of using the great 
aniount of canvas needed for a lodge and sixteen or 
eighteen poles, the Indian is coming to live in a wall tent, 
which takes less canvas and far less weight of wood. 
Even among the least advanced tribes, therefore, the 
lodge is disappearing, and the wall tent is taking its place. 
The old time skin lodges of the various prairie tribes 
have often been described, but the detail of the manufac- 
ture and much of the meaning of their ornamentation has 
never been printed, so far as I know. With the purpose 
of setting down .some of these matters not generally 
known. T some time ago contributed to the American 
Anthropologist an article on the lodges of the Blackfect. 
It is to the courtesy of Mr. F. W. Hodge, the Editor of 
that Journal, that I owe the permission to print here the 
same matter with some additions and with the illustra- 
tions used in the Anthropologist. 
The old-time lodges of the Blackfeet were made always 
of an even number of skins — eight, twelve, fourteen, six- 
teen, twenty, and sometimes even thirtj', thirty-two, thirty- 
four, or thirty-eight skins. The very large lodges were 
unusual. They commonly contained two or more fires, 
as described in my "Blackfoot Lodge Tales" (p. 187 j. 
Such a- lodge was a load too heavy for one horse to 
carry; it was therefore in two pieces, pinned in the front 
in the usual way by skewers running from the top of the 
door up to the smoke-hole, and, in later times, buttoned 
up the back with the old Hudson Bay brass buttons. 
Probably at an earlier date the lodge was pinned together 
at the back as at the front. 
Lodges were made in the spring or early summer, and 
for this purpose the hides of the buffalo cow only were 
used. A lodge in constant use did not commonly last 
more than a year. Holes were worn in it in packing: 
an ill-trimmed lodge-pole might wear other holes. The 
frequent wetting and drying of the sinew caused the 
seams to open, and while the woman rcsewed them and 
put patches over each hole that appeared in the covering, 
it was likeb^, when the heavy spring rains came on, to 
leak badly and so to be uncomfortable. When this point 
was reached, the woman began to think of making a new 
lodge, and notified her husband that skins were required 
for a new lodge-covering. 
From the hides brought in by her husband, the woman 
carefully selected and laid aside those best adapted for 
a lodge-covering, and tanned them with special reference 
to the use to which they were to be put. She took pains 
also to save all the best sinews from the backs of the 
buffalo, taking off the straps in ribbons as long as pos- 
sible — sometimes three or four feet in length. 
When she had tanned the required number of skins, 
collected all the sinews needed, and prepared the neces- 
sary awls, the woman talked over the matter with her 
husband, and, having shown him that all was ready for 
the making of the lodge, he advised her to proceed. 
Meantime it was generally known through the camp that 
such and such a woman was preparing to make a new 
lodge. She now prepared a considerable supply of food, 
chief am.ong which were kettles of boiled sarvis berries, 
and requested some old man to invite certain women to 
eat with her. The invitation was conveyed to the women 
early in the morning, and they were expected to come at 
once. 
After the guests had come to the lodge and had eaten, 
the w^oman spoke to them, saying: "Friends, I am going 
to make a lodge. My skins and sinews and awls are 
ready, and now I wish for help to make the lodge." 
When they accepted the invitation, the women understood 
what it meant, and by accepting it they agreed to assist 
the lodge-maker. No direct reply to her speech, there- 
fore, was needed or expected. After she had told them 
her wishes, she opened her bundles of sinews and dis- 
tributed them among the women, each of whom carried a 
package away with her. It was the business of each to 
split the sinews she had taken to make thread for sewing 
the lodge-skins. The thread was made by splitting the 
sinew with the fingernail, wetting half the length of the 
strand in the mouth, twisting the end with the fingers so 
as to point it, and then, holding that end in the mouth, 
i-olling the wet sinew between the palms of the hands 
for about half the length of the strand — sometimes two 
feet. The untwisted part was merely knotted at the end. 
The next morning another group of women were in- 
vited to eat, as before. These were the sewers, and with 
them was called one known to be a good fashioner of 
lodges, who should be the cutter and designer. She car- 
ried the pattern of the lodge in her mind, and was guided 
only by her judgment. Like the thread-makers, these 
women came to the lodge in the early morning. After 
they had eaten, and the hostess had told them what she 
wished, the women began to rise and to leave the lodge. 
All around the border of the lodge, close up against the 
hning (and so immediately behind the people, who were 
sitting on the beds), were bundles of tanned skins— two 
three tied up in a roll together. As the women went 
out, one by one, each picked tip one of these bundles and 
carried it out with her. At a short distance from the 
lodge they stopped, untied their rolls of skins and spread 
them on the ground together, edge to edge, so as to cover 
an irregular square, and then sat down about them in a 
circle. Then the oM crier called out for the thread- 
makers to bring the thread, and soon the women to whom 
the sinews had been given were seen coming, each bring- 
ing her bundle of thread which she placed on the hide.=i 
just within the circle of the women, so that a bundle lay 
before each one. 
Now, the old Avoman to whom the designing was en- 
trttsted arranged the skins on the ground to the best ad- 
vantage, cut off a piece here, another there, indicated 
where a gap should be filled up by a patch, and then ?et 
lhe sewers to work. Each had been provided with her 
awl and thread, and they worked fast. The designer 
superintended the making, seeing that the half-circle was 
true and of the right length, that the various tapers were 
properly drawn and were the same on each side, and tha! 
the ears and the front-pieces were properly put on. All 
the other women sewed under her direction, and obeyed 
whatever orders she gave. From time to time food wa.-? 
carried out to the sewers, who stopped to eat as they felt 
inclined. The sewing was usually finished in a day. 
The string or strap at the top and back of the lodge, 
by which the lodge-covering was tied to the back pole, 
required special treatment. It is by means of this back 
pole that the covering is raised so as to go about the 
framework. It was important that this piece of leather 
I. — THUNDER-BIRD LODGE. 
should be sewed to the lodge-covering by a woman par- 
ticularly chosen, for, if it were sewed by a woman of 
jealous or quarrelsome dispositiop, the lodge would 
always be smoky, whether or not there was wind. So a 
good-natured w'oman, one of cheerful disposition, was 
always chosen for the task of sewing on this piece. 
When the women had finished sewing the lodge, thej' 
at once set it up and pinned down the sides close to the 
ground, put on a door, and closed the smoke-hole as 
nearly as possible. A fire was then started in it, and 
sagebrush thrown on the fire to make a thick smoke. This 
was done in order that the lodge-skins might be thor- 
oughly smoked, so that they would never get hard when 
wet. 
In putting up the lodge, the Blackfeet tie four poles to- 
gether, and the remaining poles rest on the crotches of 
these four. The butts of the four tied poles are not set 
on the ground in a square with equal sides, but in a 
rectangule whose sides are longer than the front and 
back. The front of this rectangle faces east, while the 
back is to the west and the tw^o long sides are on the 
north and the south. The remaining poles lean against 
the crotches of these four in a rough circle, much smaller 
than the circumference of the lodge is finally to be, and 
the lodge-covering is tied to the back pole, which is the 
last one put up. When the lodge-covering is put on, it is 
drawn about the frame until the borders meet in front of 
the lodge, and then a woman, mounting on a travois as a 
ladder, pins these borders together, using from fifteen 
to twenty-five slender skewers about the size and shape 
of the wooden skewers used by butchers. Other women 
now go inside and move the butts of the poles outward, 
so that the lodge shall be properly stretched. But the 
lodge may have to be used for some little time before it 
is thoroughly stretched and so tight that there is no 
danger of its leaking anywhere. 
Often a new lodge-covering is put over poles that have 
been in use for years, but if new poles are to be made, 
these are chopped by the man and his wife on the edge of 
the mountains and brought into camp. A good-sized 
lodge requires twenty poles; a very large one, thirty. 
Obviousl)', the greater the number of the poles, the better 
a well-made lodge will be stretched, the tighter it will 
be, and the longer it will last. Some tribes use a greater 
number of poles than others, and those who use the most, 
commonly have the best lodges. When the new pole, 
have been brought to camp, rough and with the bark and 
the stubs of the branches still on them, women are in- 
vited to eat stewed berries, and, after they have eaten, the 
hostess asks her guests to help her peel and trim the 
poles, and this work is commonly finished in one day. 
If, for any reason, a lodge is persistently smoky, the 
Fiegans are likely to shoot a blunt-headed arrow up into 
the smoke-hole trying to hit the poles where they come 
together. This is supposed to remedy the trouble. 
In old times the Piegans, when camp was made, used 
often to spread a buffalo-robe over the diverging lodge- 
poles above the smoke-hole; it was tied to one, two, or 
three of the poles. This brought them good luck, so that 
if enemies attacked the camp nobody would be hurt. It 
also made them light and active in their bodies, able to 
get about quickly, and to escape danger. It was an old 
custom, for which no reason can now be given. 
The Piegans know the lodges of the Crows at a dis- 
tance, because of the shortness of the lodge-poles. This 
.gives the lodge a "cut-off" appearance, quite different 
from the lodges of the Blackfeet, of which the poles ex- 
tend from four to six feet above the top of the lodge. 
Besides this, the wings of the Crow lodges have pockets 
into which the poles fit, whereas the Blacldeet wings have 
eyelets in the tips through which the poles pass, and 
often, if the poles which support the wings are slender, 
little twigs are lashed across them near the ends to pre- 
vent them from passing too far through the eyelet. 
No lodge— at least no properly made lodge — is actually 
conical in shape. All are more nearly vertical at the 
back than at the front The backs of the lodges of many 
mountain tribes seem very straight — almost at right 
angles to the ground— while the slope at the front is long 
and gentle. The diflference has relation to the stability 
ox the lodge. The lodge is always pitched back to wind- 
\vard, and the inclined poles in front resist the force of 
the \\iiid, So that the lodge cannot be blown over. 
At the last_ Medicine lodge of the Piegan Blackfeet, I 
learned the history of a few of the painted lodges. It is 
to be understood that the painting on each lodge is the 
special property of the lodge owner, and can be used only 
by him unless he sells his right to it to another individual, 
in which case the buyer has the sole right to the design 
and to any "medicine" or mysterious power which may 
accompany it. In a majority of cases the designs or 
the medicine which belongs to them, or both, haA'^e come 
to the original, painter of the lodge through a dream, and 
where this is the case, it is commonly indicated by the 
butterfly (a^pun-ni) cross at the back of the lodge, im- 
mediately below the smoke-ho!e. I have already called ai- 
teiition to this sign and to its meaning. 
Among the lodges seen that summer was one known a-; 
the Thunder-bird lodge, in the erection of which a special 
Cfcremony_ must be observed. The reason for setting it 
up on this occasion was that a certain young man be- 
lieved that he detected in the sky the signs of a storm, 
and, filling the pipe, took it to Iron Pipe, the owner of the 
Thunder-bird lodge. The young man told Iron Pipe that 
he wished to have fine Aveather during the Medicine lodge- 
and oft'ered him the pipe. Iron Pipe accepted it, smoked, 
and began to pray. The putting up of the Thunder-bir.l 
lodge, and the ceremonies which attend it, always cause 
a storm to cease if one has begun, and insure fair weather. 
Before it is put up a sweat-house must be built — the 
lodge-covering of the Thunder-bird lodge being used to 
cover the sweat-house — into which the lodge-owner goes, 
takes a sweat, and prays. After this he paints his fore- 
head and the backs of his hands yellow, and a small blue 
spot on each temple. His Avomen who erect the lodge con 
do the work only if painted with yellow paint on the 
forehead. 
While the Avomen Avere bringing the lodge-covering from 
the SAveat-house, Avhere it had just been used, Iron Pipe 
himself Avas engaged in painting the back pole bright blue, 
and in tying a bunch of bells on the end of it. The lodge- 
covering doubled once was now placed on the ground just 
behind where the lodge was to stand; a lodge-pole was 
laid on it, and the distance measured from the base of the 
lodge-covering to the top of the smoke-hole. Another 
pole was measured along the other border of the lodge. 
After it had received its painting, the blue-painted back 
pole was not placed on the ground, but Avas rested on a 
tripod, the butt pointing tOAvard the south and the raised 
point toward the north. The four poles, tied together 
at the points measured on two of them were set up as 
already described. But in this case, the tying not being 
altogether satisfactory', one of the younger Avomen pro- 
posed that they should be taken down and a guy-rope 
attached to them. 
"No," said another older Avoman, "noAv it is up, it can- 
not come down." 
When the lodge had been erected, it Avas seen that it 
Avas blue in color — it being of canvas— darkest above and 
pale near the ground. It Avas supposed to have been all 
one shade of blue, Avhich represents the sk}^ At the back 
cf the lodge, low down tOAvard the ground, was painted 
a yellow disk nearly two feet in diameter. The northern 
half of this disk was dotted Avith small blue spots Avhich 
represent hail ; the southern side Avas plain yellow, mean- 
ing rain. The idea is, that before the rain reaches the 
ground it has turned — on the northern half of the circle — 
into hail. Above the middle of the yellow disk was the 
Thunder-bird sketched in blue, with outspread wings 
and with a zigzag line — a lightning flash — running Up- 
A^ard from its head (Fig. i). A drum painted in a sim- 
ilar manner Avent Avith the lodge, and was hung on a tri- 
pod immediately behind it. No man on foot or on horse- 
back, and no Avagon may pass betAveen the back of the 
lodge and the tripod on Avhich the drum hangs. No noise 
must be made near the lodge, and the lodge owner would 
not consent to have his lodge photographed. 
On this occasion, when the lodge had been erected, the 
threatening storm passed aAvay and the Aveather became 
Clear again. George Bird Grinnell. 
[to be continued.] 
Death of Theodofe M. Schlicfc. 
Theodore M. Schlick, Avhose illness has been a matter 
of concern to his many friends for seA^eral months, died 
at his home on Leonard street last Saturday morning at 
ten o'clock, aged 38 years. Theodore Schlick Avas by 
trade a printer, and a most excellent one, too, but by 
nature he Avas a naturalist of the most pronounced type. 
1 he Avoods, the fields, the glens, the streams, were as an 
open book to him, and to stroll forth among them was 
h.is greatest delight. Every bird note was as familiar to 
lum as the A'^oice of a friend, and no little wayside plant 
Avas too humble or obscure for him to name. To ramble 
with him was a revelation; like Thoreau, he knew in- 
stinctively where to look for the hidden in nature, and 
to hear him discuss the beauty of a Avild flower or the 
note of a rare bird was something to remember. There 
are rare trees in this vicinity knoAvn only to him, that he 
visited periodically to note their growth, and hidden dells 
that sheltered rare plants that he would turn to as to old 
friends. The seasons were aU delightful to him. In the 
1 
