1871-’72.—No. I. The-Flame’s second son killed by Rees.

1872-’73.—No. I. Sans-Arc-John killed by Rees.

1873-’74.—No. I. Brulés kill a number of Pawnees.

Cloud-Shield says they killed many Pawnees on the Republican River.

1874-’75.—No. I. A Dakota kills one Ree.

1875-’76.—No. I. Council at Spotted Tail Agency.

1876-’77.—No. I. Horses taken by United States Government.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “General-Mackenzie-took-the-Red-Cloud-Indians’-horses-away-from-them winter.”

In the account of Lone-Dog’s chart, published in 1877, as above mentioned, the present writer, on the subject of the recorder’s selection of events, remarked as follows:

“The year 1876 has furnished good store of events for his choice, and it will be interesting to learn whether he has selected as the distinguishing event the victory over Custer, or, as of still greater interest, the general seizure of ponies, whereat the tribes, imitating Rachel, weep and will not be comforted, because they are not.”

It now appears that two of the counts have selected the event of the seizure of the ponies, and none of them yet seen make any allusion to the defeat of Custer.

After examination of the three charts it will be conceded that, as above stated, the design is not narrative, the noting of events being subordinated to the marking of the years by them, and the pictographic serial arrangements of sometimes trivial, though generally notorious, incidents, being with special adaptation for use as a calendar. That in a few instances small personal events, such as the birth or death of the recorder or members of his family, are set forth, may be regarded as in the line of interpolations in or unauthorized additions to the charts. If they had exhibited a complete national or tribal history for the years embraced in them, their discovery would have been, in some respects, more valuable, but they are the more interesting to ethnologists because they show an attempt, before unsuspected among the tribes of American Indians, to form a system of chronology.

THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.

While the present paper was in preparation, a valuable and elaborate communication was received from Dr. William H. Corbusier, assistant surgeon, United State Army, styled by him the Dakota Winter Counts, which title was adopted for the whole subject-matter, including the charts with their interpretations which had before been known to the present writer, and those from Dr. Corbusier, which furnish a different system, are distinguished by his name. It is necessary to explain that all references in the text to colors, other than black, must be understood as applicable to the originals. Other colors could not be reproduced in the plates without an expense disproportionate to the importance of the colors for significance and comprehension.

A more important explanation is due on account of the necessity to omit from Dr. Corbusier’s contribution the figures of Battiste Good’s count and their interpretation. This count is in some respects the most important of all those yet made known. As set down by Battiste Good, it begins in a peculiar cyclic computation with the year A. D. 900, and in thirteen figures includes the time to A.D. 1700, all these figures being connected with legends and myths, some of which indicate European influence. From 1700-’01 to 1879-’80 a separate character for each year is given, with its interpretation, in a manner generally similar to those in the other charts. Unfortunately all of these figures are colored, either in whole or in large part, five colors being used besides black, and the drawing is so rude that without the colors it is in many cases unintelligible. The presentation at this time of so large a number of colored figures—in all one hundred and ninety-three—in addition to the other illustrations of the present paper, involved too great expense. It is hoped that this count can be so far revised, with the elimination of unessential coloration and with more precision in the outlines, as to allow of its publication. Several of its characters, with references also to its interpretation when compared with that of other counts, are given in various parts of the present paper. Where it was important to specify their coloration the heraldic scheme has been used.

The pages immediately following contain the contribution of Dr. Corbusier, diminished by the extraction of the parts comprising Battiste Good’s count. Its necessary omission, as above explained, is much regretted, not only on account of its intrinsic value, but because without it the work of Dr. Corbusier does not appear to all the advantage merited by his zeal and industry.

The Dakotas reckon time by winters, and apply names to them instead of numbering them from an era. Each name refers to some notable occurrence of the winter or year to which it belongs, and has been agreed upon in council on the expiration of the winter. Separate bands have often fixed upon different events, and it thus happens that the names are not uniform throughout the nation. Ideographic records of these occurrences have been kept in several bands for many years, and they constitute the Dakota Winter-Counts (waníyetu wówapi) or Counts Back (hékta yawapi). They are used in computing time, and to aid the memory in recalling the names and events of the different years, their places in the count, and their order of succession. The enumeration of the winters is begun at the one last recorded and carried backward. Notches on sticks, war-shirts, pipes, arrows, and other devices also serve a mnemonic purpose. The Counts were formerly executed in colors on the hides of animals, but the present recorders make use of paper, books, pens, pencils, and paints obtained from the whites. The alignment of the ideographs depends to some extent upon the material on which they are depicted. On robes it is spiral from right to left and from the center outward, each year being added to the coil as the snail adds to its whorl. The spiral line, frequently seen in etchings on rocks, has been explained to me as indicating a snail shell. On paper they are sometimes carried from right to left, sometimes from left to right, and again the two methods are combined as in Battiste Good’s winter-count, which begins at the back of the book and is carried forward, i. e., from right to left, but in which the alignment on each page is from left to right. The direction from right to left is that followed in many of their ceremonies, as when tobacco is smoked as incense to the sun and the pipe is passed around, and when the devotees in the dance to the sun enter and leave the consecrated lodge in which they fulfill their vows.

Among the Oglálas and the Brulés there are at least five of these counts kept by as many different men, each man seeming to be the recorder for his branch of the tribe. I obtained copies of three of them in 1879 and 1880, while stationed at Camp Sheridan, Nebraska, near the Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota. One winter count was made for me by Battiste Good, a Brulé Dakota, at the Rosebud Agency, Dakota, being a copy of the one of which he is the recorder. He explained the meaning of the pictographs to the Rev. William J. Cleveland, of the Rosebud Agency, to whom I am indebted for rendering his explanations into English. Several Indians and half-breeds had informed me that his count formerly embraced about the same number of years as the other two, but that Battiste Good gathered the names of many years from the old people and placed them in chronological order as far back as he was able to learn them.

Another winter count is a copy of the one in the possession of American-Horse, an Oglála Dakota, at the Pine Ridge Agency, who asserts that his grandfather began it, and that it is the production of his grandfather, his father, and himself. I received the explanations from American-Horse through an interpreter.

A third winter count is a copy of one kept by Cloud-Shield. He is also an Oglála Dakota at the Pine Ridge Agency, but of a different band from American-Horse. I also received his explanations through an interpreter. The last two counts embrace nearly the same number of years. I have added the dates to both of them, beginning at the last year, the date of which was known, and carrying them back. Two dates belong to each figure, as a Dakota year covers a portion of two of our calendar years.

I have seen copies of a fourth winter count which is kept by White-Cow-Killer at the Pine Ridge Agency. I did not obtain a copy of it, but learned most of the names given to the winters.

On comparing the winter counts, it is found that they often correspond, but more frequently differ. In a few instances the differences are in the succession of the events, but in most instances they are due to an omission or to the selection of another event. When a year has the same name in all of them, the bands were probably encamped together or else the event fixed upon was of general interest; and, when the name is different, the bands were scattered or nothing of general interest occurred. Differences in the succession may be due to the loss of a record and the depiction of another from memory, or to errors in copying an old one.

The explanations of the counts are far from complete, as the recorders who furnished them could in many instances recall nothing except the name of the year, and in others were loth to speak of the events or else their explanations were vague and unsatisfactory, and, again, the interpreters were sometimes at fault. Many of the recent events are fresh in the memory of the people, as the warriors who strive to make their exploits a part of the tribal traditions proclaim them on all occasions of ceremony—count their coups, as it is called. Declarations of this kind partake of the nature of affirmations made in the presence of God. War-shirts on which scores of the enemies killed are kept, and which are carefully transmitted from one generation to another, help to refresh their memories in regard to some of the events. By testing many Indians I learned that but few could interpret the significance of the figures; some of them could point out the year of their birth and that of some members of their families; others could not do so, or pretended that they could not, but named the year and asked me to point it out and tell their age.

In the following explanation of the winter counts, [figured on Plates XXXIV-LI,] No. I refers to that of American-Horse and No. II to that of Cloud-Shield.

1775-’76.—No. I. Standing-Bull, the great-grandfather of the present Standing-Bull, discovered the Black Hills. He carried home with him a pine tree of a species he had never seen before. (In this count the Dakotas are usually distinguished by the braided scalp-lock and the feather they wear at the crown of the head, or by the manner in which they brush back and tie the hair. It will be noticed that the profile of most of the faces is given, whereas Battiste Good gives the full face. The Dakotas have of late years claimed the Black Hills, probably by right of discovery in 1775-’76; but the Crows were the former possessors.)

This is also the first winter of White-Cow-Killer’s count and is called “Two-warriors-killed winter.”

1776-’77.—No. I. Many of their horses were killed by some of their own people, who were jealous because they were fatter than their own.

1777-’78.—No. I. It was an intensely cold winter, and the Man-who-has-no-skin-on-his-penis froze to death. The sign for snow or winter, i. e., a cloud with snow falling from it, is above his head. A haka-stick, which, in playing that game, they cast after a ring, is represented in front of him.

Battiste Good’s record is that a Dakota named Skinned-Penis was killed in a fight with the Pawnees, and his companions left his body where they supposed it would not be found, but the Pawnees found it, and as it was frozen stiff, they dragged it into their camp and played haka with it.

No. II. A war party brought in the lone pine tree from the enemy’s country. They met no enemies while out. This event is also the first in No. I, in which it marks the winter of 1775-’76.

1778-’79.—No. I. The Ponkas came and attacked a village, notwithstanding peace had just been made with them. The people repulsed and followed them, killing sixty. Some elk-hair and a feather represent Ponka. Horse tracks are used for horses. Attack is indicated by signs which were said to represent bullet marks, and which convey the idea that the bullet struck. The sign seems to be derived from the gesture-sign for “it struck.”

No. II. Many of their horses were killed, but by whom is not known. The same event is recorded in No. I, 1776-’77.

1779-’80.—No. I. Long-Pine was killed in a fight with the Crows. The absence of his scalp denotes that he was killed by an enemy. The wound was made with the bow and arrow.

No. II. Skinned-his-penis was used in the ring-and-pole game.

1780-’81.—No. I. Many died of small-pox.

No. II. “The policeman” was killed by the enemy.

1781-’82—No. I. Many died of small-pox.

No. II. Many people died of small-pox. They all record two successive winters of small-pox, but No. I makes the first year of the epidemic one year later than that of Battiste Good, and No. II makes it two years later.

1782-’83.—No. I. A Dakota named Stabber froze to death. The sign for winter is the same as before.

No. II. Many people died of small-pox again.

1783-’84—No. I. The Mandans and Rees made a charge on a Dakota village. The Dakotas drove them back, killed twenty five of them, and captured a boy. An eagle’s tail, which is worn on the head, stands for Mandan and Ree.

No. II. The-Stabber froze to death. The man’s name is suggested by the spear in the body over his head, which is connected with his mouth by a line.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Big-fire winter,” possibly because big fires were required to keep them warm.

1784-’85.—No. I. A young man who was afflicted with the small-pox, and was in his tipi, off by himself, sang his death-song and shot himself. Suicide is more common among Indians than is generally suspected, and even boys sometimes take their own lives. A Dakota boy at one of the agencies shot himself rather than face his companions after his mother had whipped him, and a Pai-Ute boy at Camp McDermit, Nevada, tried to poison himself with the wild parsnip because he was not well and strong like the other boys. The Pai-Utes usually eat the wild parsnip when bent on suicide.

No. II. An Omaha woman who was living with the Oglálas attempted to run away from them, and they killed her. A war between the two tribes was the result.

1785-’86.—No. I. Bear’s-Ears, a Brulé, was killed in an Oglála village by the Crows.

No. II. The Oglálas killed three lodges of Omahas.

1786-’87.—No. I. Broken-Leg-Duck, an Oglála, went to a Crow village to steal horses and was killed. A line connects the name with the mouth.

No. II. Long-Hair was killed. To what tribe he belonged is not known.

1787-’88.—No. I. They went out in search of the Crows in order to avenge the death of Broken-Leg-Duck. They did not find any Crows, but, chancing on a Mandan village, captured it and killed all the people in it.

No. II. A year of famine. They lived on roots, which are represented in front of the tipi.

1788-’89.—No. I. Last-Badger, an Oglála, was killed by the Rees.

No. II. The winter was so cold that many crows froze to death.

White-Cow-Killer calls 1787-’88 “Many-black-crows-died winter.”

1789-’90.—No. I. The cold was so intense that crows froze in the air and dropped dead near the lodges.

No. II. White-Goose was killed in an attack made by some enemies.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Goose-Feather-killed winter.”

1790-’91.—No. I. They could not hunt on account of the deep snow, and were compelled to subsist on anything they could get, as herbs (pézi) and roots.

No. II. Picket-Pin went against the Cheyennes. A picket-pin is represented in front of him and is connected with his mouth by the usual line. The black band across his face denotes that he was brave and had killed enemies. The cross is the symbol for Cheyenne. The mark used for Cheyenne stands for the scars on their arms, or stripes on their sleeves, which also gave rise to the gesture sign for this tribe, given in Sign Language among the North American Indians, etc., First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 465, viz.: Draw the extended right index, or the inner edge of the open right hand, several times across the base of the extended left index or across the left forearm at different heights.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “All-the-Indians-see-the-flag winter.”

1791-’92.—No. I. Glue, an Oglála, froze to death on his way to a Brulé village. A glue-stick is represented back of his head. Glue, made from the hoofs of buffalo, is used to fasten arrow-heads on, and is carried about on sticks.

No. II. The Dakotas and Omahas made peace.

1792-’93.—No. I. Many women died in child-birth.

No. II. The Dakotas camped on the Missouri River near the Gros Ventres and fought with them a long time. The Dakota tipi and the Gros Ventre lodge are shown in the figure.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Rees-house-winter.”

1793-’94.—No. I. A Ponka who was captured when a boy by the Oglálas was killed while outside the village by a war party of Ponkas.

No. II. Bear’s-Ears was killed in a fight with the Rees.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-Face-killed winter.”

1794-’95.—No. I. The-Good-White-Man came with two other white men. He promised that if they would let him and his companions go undisturbed he would return and bring with him weapons with which they could kill game with but little labor. They gave them buffalo robes and dogs to pack them on and sent the party off. The sign for white man is a hat, either by itself or on a head, and the gesture-sign indicates one who wears a hat. Draw the open right hand horizontally from left to right across the forehead a little above the eyebrows, the back of the hand to be upward and the fingers pointing toward the left, or draw the index across the forehead in the same manner.

No. II. Bad-Face, a Dakota, was shot in the face.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Long-Hair-killed winter.”

1795-’96.—No. I. The-Man-Who-Owns-the-Flute was killed by the Cheyennes. His flute is represented in front of him with sounds coming from it. A bullet mark is on his neck.

No. II. The Dakotas camped near the Rees and fought with them.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Water-Stomach-killed winter.”

1796-’97.—No. I. They killed the long-haired man in a fight with the Cheyennes while on an expedition to avenge the death of The-Man-Who-Owns-the-Flute, who was killed by the Cheyennes the year before.

No. II. Badger, a Dakota, was killed by enemies, as shown by the absence of his scalp.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “War-Bonnet-killed winter.”

1797-’98.—No. I. Little-Beaver and three other white men came to trade, having been sent by the Good-White-Man. Their goods were loaded on three sleds, each drawn by six dogs.

No. II. The-Wise-Man was killed by enemies.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Caught-the-medicine-god-woman winter.”

1798-’99.—No. I. Owns-the-Pole, the leader of an Oglála war party, brought home many Cheyenne scalps. The cross stands for Cheyenne.

No. II. Many women died in child-birth.

White-Cow-Killer says, “Many-squaws-died winter.”

1799-1800.—No. I. The-Good-White-Man returned and gave guns to the Dakotas. The circle of marks represents the people sitting around him, the flint-lock musket the guns.

No. II. A woman who had been given to a white man by the Dakotas was killed because she ran away from him. [See No. I, 1804-’05.]

White-Cow-Killer says, “The-Good-White-Man-came winter.”

1800-’01.—No. I. Nine white men came to trade with them. The covered head with short hair stands for a white man and also intimates that the eight dots over it are for white men. According to this count the first whites came in 1794-’95.

No. II. The Good-White-Man came. He was the first white man to trade and live with the Dakotas.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Don’t-Eat-Heart-makes-a-god-house winter.”

1801-’02.—No. I. The Oglálas, Brulés, Minneconjous, Sans Arcs, and Cheyennes united in an expedition against the Crows. They surprised and captured a village of thirty lodges, killed all the men, and took the women and children prisoners. The three tipis stand for thirty; the red spots are for blood.

No. II. A trader brought them their first guns.

White-Cow-Killer says, “All-sick-winter.”

1802-’03.—No. I. The Ponkas attacked two lodges of Oglálas, killed some of the people, and made the rest prisoners. The Oglálas went to the Ponka village a short time afterward and took their people from the Ponkas. In the figure an Oglála has a prisoner by the arm leading him away. The arrow indicates that they were ready to fight.

No. II. The Omahas made an assault on a Dakota village. Arrows and bullets are flying back and forth.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Brought-in-horse-shoes winter.”

1803-’04—No. I. They made peace with the Gros Ventres.

No. II. Little-Beaver, a white trader, came.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-of-woolly-horses winter.”

1804-’05.—No. I. An Indian woman who had been unfaithful to a white man to whom she was married was killed by an Indian named Ponka. The symbol for Ponka indicates the name.

No. II. The Omahas came and made peace to get their people, whom the Dakotas held as prisoners.

1805-’06.—No. I. The Dakotas had a council with the whites on the Missouri River, below the Cheyenne Agency, near the mouth of Bad Creek (the Lewis and Clarke Expedition?). They had many flags, which the Good-White-Man gave them with their guns, and they erected them on poles to show their friendly feelings. The curved line is to represent the council lodge, which they made by opening several tipis and uniting them at their sides to form a semicircle. The marks are for the people. American-Horse’s father was born this year.

No. II. Nine white men came to trade. The three covered heads represent the white men.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Eight-Dakotas-killed winter.”

1806-’07.—No. I. Black-Rock, a Dakota, was killed by the Crows. A rock is represented above his head. He was killed with a bow and arrow and was scalped.

No. II. The Dakotas killed an Omaha in the night.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-while-hunting-eagles winter.”

1807-’08.—No. I. Broken-Leg was killed by the Pawnees. His leg had been broken by a bullet in a previous fight with the Pawnees.

No. II. Many people camped together and had many flags flying.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Red-shirt-killed Winter.”

1808-’09.—No. I. Little-Beaver’s trading house was burned down.

No. II. A Brulé was found dead under a tree which had fallen on him.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Blue-Blanket’s-father-dead winter.”

1809-’10.—No. I. Black-Rock was killed by the Crows. His brother, whose name he had taken, was killed by the Crows three years before.

No. II. Little-Beaver’s house was burned.

White-Cow-Killer says, “Little-Beaver’s (the white man) house-burned-down winter.”

1810-’11.—No. I. Red-Shirt, a Dakota, was killed by the Crows while looking for his ponies near Old Woman’s Fork.

No. II. They brought in a fine horse with feathers tied to his tail.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Came-with-medicine-on-horse’s-tail winter.”

1811-’12.—No. I. They caught many wild horses south of the Platte River.

No. II. They had very little buffalo meat, as the empty drying pole indicates, but plenty of ducks in the fall.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Catching-wild-horses winter.”

1812-’13.—No. I. Big-Waist’s father killed.

No. II. Big-Owl killed.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Big-Belly’s-father-killed winter.”

1813-’14.—No. I. Many had the whooping-cough. The cough is represented by the lines issuing from the man’s mouth.

No. II. Food was very scarce and they had to live on acorns. The tree is intended for an oak and the marks beneath it for acorns.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Six-Rees-killed winter.”

1814-’15.—No. I. The Dakotas went to a Kaiowa village, about 6 miles from Scott’s Bluff, and near the mouth of Horse Creek, to treat for peace; but their intentions were frustrated by one of their number, who drove his hatchet into a Kaiowa’s head.

No. II. They made peace with the Pawnees. The man with the blue forehead is a Pawnee, the other is a Dakota, whose body is smeared with clay. The four arrows show that they had been at war, and the clasped hands denote peace.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Kaiowa-hit-on-head-with-axe winter.”

Young-Man’s-Horses-Afraid, i. e., whose horses are afraid, was born this year. He is now called “Old-Man-afraid-of-his-Horses” by the whites, and his son, the present chief of the Oglálas, is known as “Young-Man-afraid-of-his-Horses.” [The present writer has heard another interpretation about “afraid-of-his-horses,” i. e., that the man valued his horses so much that he was afraid of losing them. The present representative of the name, however, stated to the writer that the true meaning was “The-young-man-whose-horses-they-fear.”]

1815-’16.—No. I. The figure is intended to represent a white man’s house.

No. II. Some of the Dakotas built a large house and lived in it during the winter.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house winter.”

1816-’17.—No. I. They made peace with the Crows at Pine Bluff. The arrow shows they had been at war.

No. II. They lived in the same house that they did last winter.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house winter.”

1817-’18.—No. I. The Oglálas had an abundance of buffalo meat and shared it with the Brulés, who were short of food. The buffalo hide hung on the drying pole, with the buffalo head above it, indicates an abundance of meat.

No. II. The-Brave-Man was killed in a great fight. The fight is shown by the arrows flying to and from him. Having been killed by an enemy, he is scalped.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-of-meat winter.”

1818-’19.—No. I. A large house was built.

No. II. Many died of the small-pox.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-small-pox winter.”

1819-’20.—No. I. Another house was built. The Dakotas made medicine in it.

No. II. In an engagement with the Crows, both sides expended all of their arrows, and then threw dirt at each other. A Crow is represented on the right, and is distinguished by the manner in which the hair is worn.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house-of-old-wood winter.”

1820-’21.—No. I. The Dakotas assaulted and took a Crow village of a hundred lodges. They killed many and took many prisoners.

No. II. A Dakota, named Glue, froze to death.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Two-arrows-made-a-war-bonnet winter.”

1821-’22.—No. I. They had all the mini wakan (spirit water or whisky) they could drink. They never had any before. A barrel with a waved or spiral line running from it represents the whisky, the waved line signifying spirit.

No. II. A large roaring star fell. It came from the east, and shot out sparks of fire along its course. Its track and the sparks are shown in the figure. See also page 111.

White-Cow-Killer says, “One-star-made-a-great-noise winter.”

Battiste Good, alias Wa-po-ctan-qi (Brown-Hat), historian and chief, designated this year as that of his birth. Omaha bullets were whizzing through the village and striking and piercing his mother’s lodge as she brought him forth. Red-Cloud also was born.

1822-’23.—No. I. Dog, an Oglála, stole seventy horses from the Crows. Each of the seven tracks stands for ten horses. A lariat, which serves the purpose of a long whip, and is usually allowed to trail on the ground, is shown in the man’s hand.

No. II. A Brulé, who had left the village the night before, was found dead in the morning outside the village, and the dogs were eating his body. The black spot on the upper part of the thigh shows he was a Brulé.

White-Cow-Killer says, “White-man-peels-the-stick-in-his-hand-broke-his-leg winter.”

1823-’24.—No. I. They had an abundance of corn, which they got at the Ree villages.

No. II. They joined the whites in an expedition up the Missouri River against the Rees.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Old-corn-plenty winter.” For further explanation of the record of this year, see page 111.

1824-’25.—No. I. Cloud-Bear, a Dakota, killed a Dakota, who was a long distance off, by throwing a bullet from his hand and striking him in the heart. The spiral line is again used for wakan. The gesture-sign for wakan (holy, supernatural) is: With its index-finger extended and pointing upward, or all the fingers extended, back of hand outward, move the right hand from just in front of the forehead spirally upward nearly to arm’s length from left to right. [See “Sign Language N. A. Indians,” p. 380, by the present writer, in the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.]

No. II. Cat-Owner was killed with a spider-web thrown at him by a Dakota. The spider-web is shown reaching to his heart from the hand of the man who threw it. The blood issuing from his mouth and nose indicates that he bled to death. It is a common belief among them that certain medicine men possess the power of taking life by shooting needles, straws, spider-webs, bullets, and other objects, however distant the person may be against whom they are directed.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-the-women-picking-cherries winter.”

1825-’26.—No. I. Some of the Dakotas were living on the bottom-lands of the Missouri River, below the Whetstone, when the river, which was filled with broken ice, unexpectedly rose and flooded their village. Many were drowned or else killed by the floating ice. Many of those that escaped climbed on cakes of ice or into trees.

No. II. Many of the Dakotas were drowned in a flood caused by a rise of the Missouri River, in a bend of which they were camped. The curved line is the bend in the river; the waved line is the water, above which the tops of the tipis are shown.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Great-flood-and-many-Indians-drowned winter.” [See page 113.]

1826-’27.—No. I. The brother of the Good-White-Man came.

No. II. Held a commemoration of the dead. The pipe-stem and the skull indicate this.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Long-Whistle-sick winter.”

1827-’28.—No. I. The snow was very deep.

No. II. In a fight with the Mandans, Crier was shot in the head with a gun.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Snow-shoe-making winter.”

1828-’29.—No. I. They provided themselves with a large supply of antelope meat by driving antelope into a corral, in which they were easily killed.

No. II. They drove many antelope into a corral and then killed them.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Many-Rees-killed winter.”

1829-’30.—No. I. Striped-Face stabbed and killed his son-in-law for whipping his wife.

No. II. Spotted-Face stabs his son-in-law for whipping his wife.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Spotted-Face-held-on-long winter.”

1830-’31.—No. I. They saw wagons for the first time. Red-Lake, a white trader, brought his goods in them.

No. II. The Crows were approaching a village at a time when there was a great deal of snow on the ground and intended to surprise it, but some herders discovering them the Dakotas went out, laid in wait for the Crows, surprised them, and killed many. A Crow’s head is represented in the figure.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-many-white-buffalo winter.”

1831-’32.—No. I. Red-Lake’s house, which he had recently built, was destroyed by fire, and he was killed by the accidental explosion of some powder.

No. II. A white man, whom they called Gray-Eyes, shot and killed a man who was working for him.

1832-’33.—No. I. They killed many Gros Ventres in a village which they assaulted.

No. II. All of Standing-Bull’s horses were killed, but by whom is unknown. Hoof-prints, blood-stains, and arrows are shown under the horse.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “One-Horn’s-leg-broken winter.”

1833-’34.—No. I. The stars moved around.

No. II. It rained stars.

White Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-stars winter.”

The records [see page 116] all undoubtedly refer to the magnificent meteoric display of the morning of November 13th, 1833, which was witnessed throughout North America, and which they have correctly assigned to the winter corresponding with that of 1833-’34. All of them represent stars as having four points.

1834-’35.—No. I. They were at war with the Cheyennes. The Cheyenne is the one with the stripes on his arm.

No. II. They fought with the Cheyennes. The stripes on the arm are for Cheyenne as before.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Cheyennes-came-and-one-killed winter.”

1835-’36.—No. I. They killed a very fat buffalo bull.

No. II. They killed a very fat buffalo bull.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Two warriors-killed winter.”

1836-’37.—No. I. The Dakotas and the Pawnees fought on the ice on the North Platte River. The former were on the north side, the right-hand side in the figure, the latter on the south side, the left in the figure. Horsemen and footmen on the right are opposed to footmen on the left. Both sides have guns and bows, as shown by the bullet-marks and the arrows. The red marks are for blood-stains on the ice.

No. II. They fought the Pawnees across the ice on the North Platte. The man on the left is a Pawnee.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Fight-on-ice winter.”

1837-’38.—No. I. Paints-His-Cheeks-Red and his family, who were camping by themselves, were killed by Pawnees.

No. II. Paints-His-Face-Red, a Dakota, was killed in his tipi by the Pawnees.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Five-Fingers-died winter.”

1838-’39.—No. I. Spotted-Horse carried the pipe around and took the war path against the Pawnees, to avenge the death of his uncle, Paints-His-Cheeks-Red.

No. II. Crazy-Dog, a Dakota, carried the pipe around and took the war path. The waved or spiral lines denote crazy.

White-Cow-Killer says, “Paints-his-Chin’s-lodge-all-killed winter.”

When a warrior desires to make up a war party he visits his friends and offers them a filled pipe, as an invitation to follow him, and those who are willing to go accept the invitation by lighting and smoking it. Any man whose courage has been proved may become the leader of a war party. Among the Arapahos the would-be leader does not invite any one to accompany him, but publicly announces his intention of going to war. He fixes the day for his departure and states where he will camp the first night, naming some place not far off. The morning on which he starts, and before leaving the village, he invokes the aid of the sun, his guardian by day, and often, to propitiate him, secretly vows to undergo penance, or offer a sacrifice on his return. He rides off alone, carrying his bare pipe in his hand, with the bowl carefully tied to the stem to prevent it from slipping off. If the bowl should at any time accidentally fall to the ground, he considers it an evil omen, and immediately returns to the village, and nothing could induce him to proceed, as he thinks that only misfortune would attend him if he did. Sometimes he ties eagle or hawk plumes to the stem of his pipe, and, after quitting the village, repairs to the top of some hill and makes an offering of them to the sun, taking them from his pipe and tying them to a pole, which he erects in a pile of stones. (Some of the stone-heaps seen on the hills in the Arapaho country originated in this way, but most of them were made by dreamers, who withdraw from their people to devote themselves in solitude to contemplation, fasting, and prayer, in order to work themselves into a state of rapture, hoping to have visions and receive messages from spirits.) Those who intend to follow him usually join him at the first camp, equipped for the expedition; but often there are some who do not join him until he has gone further on. He eats nothing before leaving the village, nor as long as the sun is up; but breaks his fast at his first camp, after the sun sets. The next morning he begins another fast, to be continued until sunset. He counts his party, saddles his horse, names some place six or seven miles ahead, where he says he will halt for awhile, and again rides off alone with his pipe in his hand. After awhile the party follow him in single file. When they have reached his halting place he tells them to dismount and let their horses graze. They all then seat themselves on the ground on the left of the leader, forming a semicircle, facing the sun. The leader fills his pipe, all bow their heads, and, pointing the stem of the pipe upward, he prays to the sun, asking that they may find an abundance of game, that dead-shots may be made, so that their ammunition will not be wasted, but reserved for their enemies; that they may easily find their enemies and kill them; that they may be preserved from wounds and death. He makes his petition four times, then lights his pipe, and after sending a few whiffs of smoke skyward as incense to the sun, hands the pipe to his neighbor, who smokes and passes it on to the next. It is passed from one to another, toward the left, until all have smoked, the leader refilling it as often as necessary. They then proceed to their next camp, where probably others join them. The same programme is carried out for three or four days before the party is prepared for action.

1839-’40.—No. I. Left-Handed-Big-Nose was killed by the Shoshoni. His left arm is represented extended, and his nose is very conspicuous. American-Horse was born in the spring of 1840.

No. II. They killed a Crow and his squaw, who were found on a trail.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Large-war-party-hungry-eat-Pawnee-horses winter.”

1840-’41.—No. I. Sitting-Bear, American-Horse’s father, and others, stole two hundred horses from the Flat Heads. A trailing lariat is in the man’s hand.

No. II. They stole one hundred (many) horses from the Snakes.

White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-Thunder’s-brothers-killed winter.”