The Indians of Canada : their manners and customs

Front matter

by

Dr. Peter Charlebois

American IndianSo

Preface

in the lodges, the wonderful mythology and traditions, and the peculiar customs which are essentially their own, reveal to ns a civilization that is fascinating, and yet hut little understood. As I sat in the wigwams and lodges of the Indians listening to their strange stories, I thought I could not do better than record them for the benefit of the young ; and as tales of adventure among cowboys in the Far West were recited as we were camped upon the prairie, they were preserved for the good of young and old. Herein are written stories of missionary heroism, episodes of every-day life in the camps of the red men, records of life among the cowboys, and facts and fancies of the Bedouins of the Western Continent. May the readers of these pages have their ideas changed as mine have been, by coming into closer contact with our dusky brethren, through their languages, literature, native religion, folk-lore, and later Christian life.

JOHN McLEAN.

Loudon,

February , 1892.

Chapter I. Page

Indian Customs: — Potlaches — Indian Names — Indian Women — Indian Telegraphy — Indian Burial Customs — Superstitions of the Blackfeet — Indian Marriage Customs— The Bed Orator — War Customs — The Peace- Pipe — Scalps and Scalping — Prisoners in the Camp —

Indian Charms — Camp Socials 13-75

Chapter II

Camp and Wigwams : — The White Savages — The Minnesota Massacre — Indian Paintings — Picture- W riting — Medicine-Men— The Home of the Red Men — Native Religions— An Indian Camp — Footprints of the Red Man — Asokinuki — Indians and Buffalo — Indian Oratory — Primitive People — Native Americans — The Blood Indians 77-135

CHAPTER III. Indian Heroes : — Tecumseh — Glikkikan — Red Jacket— The

Swarthy Hero — Button Chief — Captain Joseph Brant. . 137-163

Chapter IV

Indian Traditions: — Legends of the Red Men — Kutoyis— - Traditions of the White Man’s Superiority — Myth of the Pacific and Legend of Qu’Appelle — The White Stone Canoe — Indian Traditions — Legends of the Hydalis and Ottawas 165-1S7

X

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V. page

The Land of the Red Men: — The Canadian Wonderland- Landmarks — Western Americanisms — The Iron Stone — The Chinook Winds — Frontier Religion — The Old- Timer 189-215

CHAPTER X. Do Indian Missions Pay : — The Church and the Indians

The Red Aliens — Success of Indian Missions — The Cross in the Camp — The Lord’s Prayer in the Cree Syllabic Characters.... 327*351

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

American Indians

PAGE

. . Frontispiece

Indian Woman and Child

An Indian Grave

An Arctic Funeral

Indians Drying Meat

Indian Chief

An Indian Village

.. 116

An Eskimo Village

Captain Joseph Brant

. . 154

Indian Warriors

Shooting the Rapids

Crossing the Rockies

Hunting in the West

. . 200

A Red River Cart

, . 208

A Pawnee Chief

, . 216

Indian Woman Carrying Wood

Making a Portage

. . 234

An Eskimo Traveller

. . 246

Camping Out

An Indian Boy

. . 266

Indians Fishing through the Ice

An Indian Missionary

Indian Brush Lodges

. . 326

OF CANADA.

Chapter I. Indian Customs

POTLACHES.

N Indian accepts and gives freely, he remembers a kindness and never forgets an injury. There has never existed a more hospitable race of people, when they had anything to grant, to the wayfarer on his journey. They gave without stint, and did not expect any thanks for extending their hospitality and friendship. When they received gifts from friends, they thanked them not for this display of friendship and love, and when they bestowed help on others, they waited not for any token of gratitude.

THE INDIANS.

We are thus apt to speak of them as lacking in appreciation of what has been received, but though prizing the gifts, they bestow freely, and thus an equality is made. This seems strange to the members of civilized races, who are very profuse in giving thanks for favors, but with the Indian it is “ give and take.” In some Indian languages there is not a single expression for “ I am grateful to you,” but they will say, “You have a good heart.” For all favors received, they expect to give as much in return. When this principle is applied to them in their relation to the white people, they accept without thanks and do not expect to pay again, as they think that the white people have received in land more than they can ever repay in gifts to their red brethren. Hence it savors of ingratitude to us, who do not expect anything in return, to see them accept benefits without a word of thanks. Among the Indians of the Pacific Coast, there exists a festival known as “ Potlach.” It is a Chinook word meaning “ to give,” from the fact that the chief object is to make a distribution of gifts to friends. A chief desiring honor, or an Indian wishing to obtain a good name for himself, will call the people of his own and other tribes to enjoy the abundant provision made for them. Many of the adult members of the tribes will spend years of hard toil, live in poverty, denying themselves the necessaries of life, that they may be able to save a sum sufficient to hold a Potlach.

At these festivals a single Indian has been known to distribute, in money and various kinds of articles, to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars. At the

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

beginning of the Potlach, the names of the persons to receive the gifts are called aloud, and they come forward in a very indifferent manner to receive a blanket or a gun, but when nearing the end of the distribution there is a general scramble for the property to be given away.

The Canadian Government has very wisely prohibited these festivals, as they are the cause of retarding the progress of the Indians. The industrious and thrifty alone can hold them, because of their wealth ; and the evil becomes a serious one, when such persons will labor for years that they may be honored with a Potlach. The same thing, in principle at least, is practised among other tribes. I have gone through the Blood Indian camps and listened to their chief, or a person wishing to be held in high esteem among his fellows, calling upon the male members of the lodges to come to his lodge to enjoy his hospitality and spend the evening with him. In some half-breed settlements, the aristocratic members will save their funds that they may purchase the good things of life, and enjoy a season of feasting, lasting several days. The Potlach is sometimes given by a few persons in combination, who will invite the members of other tribes to assemble and share in the distribution to the number of several thousand persons. Fortune or fame is not confined to the ambitious pale-face, and the desire for honor and a place among the illustrious ones of the camps dwells in the hearts of the red man.

THE INDIANS.

WAMPUM.

Readers of Longfellow’s “ Hiawatha” will find many striking references to wampum, as when Hiawatha went forth from his lodge

“Dressed in deerskin shirt and leggings,

Richly wrought with quills and wampum,”

and old Nokomis spake unto him about

4 4 The great Pearl Feather,

Megissogween, the magician,

Manito of wealth and wampum,”

who was

44 Clad from head to foot in wampum,”

which protected him when he fought with Hiawatha, so that he would have proved to be invulnerable had not Hiawatha struck him upon the head with a stone as he stooped to the ground, and thus slew him. At Hiawatha’s wedding with Minnehaha, the guests came clad in

“Robes of fur and belts of wampum.”

Oweenee, the youngest daughter of a hunter of the North-land, rejected all the

44 Handsome men with belts of wampum,”

and chose the

44 Son of the evening star, Osseo ! ”

Chibiabos sang of the maiden’s love for an Algon-k-in who had given her

44 As a pledge, the snow-white wampum,”

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

and the ghosts pleaded with Hiawatha not to lay

“ Such weight of furs and wampum ” \

upon those he buried.

Wampum was made in early times of wood and shells, of various colors, but similar in size. The white wampum was wrought from the great concho into the form of a bead, and the purple from the inside of the mussel shell. It is thought, by some writers, to have belonged solely to the Indian tribes, but it has been found in mounds, thus proving its use among the mound builders.

It was used as a kind of currency among the tribes, as an ornament of dress, a means of sending communications, a token of friendship or precursor of danger, a record of historical events, and a pledge at the making of treaties. The shells being made into the form of beads were perforated, strung on leather thongs, and used as wampum strings, or woven into belts of various sizes and designs. The peace belt given to individuals, and tribes, as a token of friendship, was made of white shells, and the war belts were woven with those of a dark color. When a war belt was sent to a tribe and accepted, it denoted that common, cause in war was to be made by both. A curious custom prevailed among some tribes, of adoption by force. When a family had lost a son or daughter, the parents hired a captain with a black wampum belt to secure a substitute. Taking his band with him, he went out, as if going to war, and took a prisoner, who, if he were a white man, had his head shaved and painted. Who-

THE INDIANS.

ever he might be, the belt was hung about his neck, and he was brought to the family, who received him with much affection.

Through the influence of Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, and his colleagues, the Delawares, during one summer, three times rejected the war belt. When messages were sent, if they portended danger, black belts were sent, but if they betokened peace, they were white. Sir William Johnson, during the troublous times in Pennsylvania in 1768, sent runners out with peace belts, and kept the tribes from going to war. Belts were given as a pledge at treaties, some of which were received by Sir William Johnson. They were of several rows, black on the sides, and white in the middle.

Wampum strings, known as mourning wampum, were given to the friends of deceased persons as remembrances. The Indians who had been Christianized through the labors of the Moravian missionaries, prepared belts of a peculiar kind. The Christian Delawares sent belts to the Wyandots as an acknowledgment of lands ceded to them. These were half a fathom long, had no devices, except through the middle, and a white cross at one end. They denoted their national equality with the Delawares, and their religious distinction from them.

Wampum strings were given as pay to the performers at the Indian feasts. Among the Iroquois, wampum strings were employed for narrating historical records. They served as guides to each topic or subject of address. There was a keeper of these

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

strings, who thus became the keeper of the Iroquois archives.

When Peter Jones had his audience with the Queen, he presented a petition and some wampum from the Ojibways of Canada. In speaking of Her Majesty in his journal, he records : “ I then proceeded to give her the meaning of the wampum, and told her that the white wampum signified the loyal and good feeling which prevails amongst the Indians toward Her Majesty and her government ; but that the black wampum was designed to tell Her Majesty that their hearts were troubled on account of their having no title-deeds to their lands ; and that they had sent their petition and wampum that Her Majesty might be pleased to take out all the black wampum, so that the string might be all white.”

Several belts have become notable, because of the perons and facts connected with them. When Count Zinzendorf was in America, he met a delegation of Iroquois Sachems, who gave him a fathom of wampum, consisting of one hundred and eighty- six pieces, which was taken to England, brought back to America by Bishop Spangenburg, and used oftentimes by the Moravian missionaries in their negotiations with the Iroquois.

After the treaty of Pittsburg between Congress and the Delawares, including some Senecas and Shawanese, a deputation of Americans went into the Indian country, bearing to the tribes the “ Congress Belt,” six feet long, and more than half a foot wide. Then there is the Penn treaty belt, supposed to have been given

THE INDIANS.

by the Leni-Lenape Sachems in 1682, at Shackamaxon. It is composed of eighteen strings of wampum, has in the centre white wampum, and the device of an Indian grasping in friendship the hand of a white man. The various designs have their own meaning known to the Indians, and interpreted by the wampum keepers of the tribes.

INDIAN NAMES.

It seems strange to a pale-face that when an Indian is asked his name, generally he will appeal to his Indian friend to answer for him. The reason for this lies either in shame or modesty, as the names given them relate to honor or dishonor. Some Indians have two or three names. Among some tribes the name of a deceased person is never mentioned.

The names of children are sometimes given by the mother, and at other times by other persons, from some strange circumstance that has happened in connection with the child, or from some peculiar characteristic. Some are very pretty and others detestable. A Dakota mother allowed her babe to lie with its head outside the tent when the rain was pouring down. She thought it was dead, but another woman saw that the rain had revived it, and the child was called “Rain in the Face.” Indian names of persons sound strangely to civilized ears, as Eagle, Black Hawk, White Calf, Morning Star, Red Crow, Seeing Afar Off, Bull’s Head, Old Sun, Three Suns, and White Antelope. Generally these names are changed at manhood for others more appropriate, rad serve to remind the owner and his

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

friends of some deeds of honor or shameful actions. Tall Man, Old Woman, Beggar and Thief, are names oftentimes given to men. Who does not remember the beautiful Winona and Minne-ha-ha — laughing water— immortalized by Longfellow in his poem upon Hiawatha.

Some of the names given to places in the Indian languages are very significant. Many, however, have lost their beauty in being translated. High River does not sound so well as Spitsi (pronounced Spitze). Montana is preferable to its Indian name of which it is a translation of Tayabeshockup, meaning the “ country of the mountains.” A better name has been found for the capital of the North-West than its former Indian one, “ the Creek where the Bones Lie.” Belly River received its name from the fact that the Gros Ventres at one time lived there, and Bow River from the wood found on its banks suitable for making bows.

Many of the Indian names of places have been retained, but these have oftentimes been sadly changed by persons entirely ignorant of Indian language as almost to lose their meaning. The first name that comes up is Canada, said to be from the Iroquois language, meaning a village of tents or huts ; some think it comes from the Cree word Kanatan, which signifies something neat and clean. There is, however, another explanation that I have not yet seen proposed by any writer upon the subject, and which I think is worthy of consideration. The mountain gorges were called, by the emigrants to California in the famous ’49,

Canadas, the Canada or gorge being often spoken of, especially by the Mexicans who went to San Francisco at that time. Many places have been named after Indian tribes and bands, as Lakes Erie and Huron, the former after the Indians also known as the Chat or Cat tribe. Then we have Ottawa, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Kansas and Utah.

There are names made from Indian words relating to some characteristic of the places to which they are attached. The following will explain themselves : Miramichi, the Happy Retreat ; Couchiching, the Lake of Many Winds ; Muskoka, from Musquotah, the Red Ground; Maganetawan, the Smooth Flowing Water; Manitoulin, from Manito, the Ojibwa for a god, and L’ile, the French for island, hence the Island of the Spirit; Manitowaning, waning, signifying a cavern, thus it becomes the Cavern of the Spirit ; and Manitoba from Manito, spirit, and waba, a strait, the Strait of the Spirit, so called from the many mysterious things seen and heard in the strait of Lake Manitoba by the Indians ; Saskatchewan received its name from the Cree Kisiskatjiwan, the Swift Flowing River ; Keewatin, the North Wind ; and Assiniboine is an Ojibwa word meaning the Sioux of the Stones, from Assin a stone, and bwan, an Indian, hence we have the Stone or Stoney Indians, a tribe of the great Sioux or Dakota confederacy. These people used heated stones for cooking their food, and thus received their name, from which we have the district Assiniboia. Quebec is called by the Indians of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Kepec, which means, being shut, from the fact that in

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

looking up the river at some distance it appears as if it were closed ; and Winnipeg is the term used by the Indians for Lake and the Sea, although it is properly unclean water. In Alberta we have Okotoks from the Blackfoot Oqkotokists, stones or rocks.

In the United States the Indian has left an indelible mark in the names given to places in his language. When Henry Hudson discovered the river which bears his name his men made the red men drunk, and this circumstance has been preserved in Manhattan, the place where they got drunk. Then we have Wilmette, from Ouilmette ; Winnetka, the Dakota for Beautiful Land ; Pewankeeweening, the Lake of Shells ; Owatonna, from Ouitunya, Straight River, and Waseca, the Dakota for the Land of Plenty. From the Cree language there are such names as Michigan, from Mishigamaw, the big lake ; and Chicago, from Chicag, a skunk. From the Ojibwa there are Milwaukee, from milo or mino, good, and akki, earth, the good land ; Mississippi, from Mishisipi, the big river, and Nipissing, meaning in the leaves. There are many names even in our own North-West from different Indian languages, and these become transformed by the influence of the white man. As an illustration of this we have Minnedosa, from the Dakota word Minikaduza, which is sometimes contracted to Miniduza. From the language of the Indians we can learn much of their history, and many facts relating to their religious, social and political life are brought to view. In the desire for euphonious names for the new towns and villages that are certain in the near future to

THE INDIANS.

spring into existence, it would be well for those interested to obtain the exact pronunciation and accurate meaning of these, from Indian scholars well qualified to give such, and not to inflict upon the coming generations the hideous terms supposed to represent the languages of the red men. The native races may become extinct, but they will live again in our history, and the nomenclature of our country will reveal the trails of the red men.

INDIAN WOMEN.

Woman's position among the Indians is one that is supposed to be very degraded in all the tribes, and yet some of the native confederacies have given to her a position of equality, while she has become sole arbiter in those things belonging to her own sex and family.

Notably among the native races, in their treatment of women, is that of the Huron-Iroquois. There existed among the Indians a natural division of labor, different from that of the white races, owing to the fact that the red men were in general a hunting and stock-raising people, while the white people were devoted to agriculture. The men of the camps erected their houses, built their canoes and procured the food for the family, while the women attended to their domestic duties, performed the light farm work that was done, hauled the wood and brought in the water. The civilizing influences of the Gospel have wrought a change among some tribes, so that some now occupy an exalted position and enjoy the fruits of peace. Some, however, have not thus been favored. Although

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

their lords and masters no longer pursue the labors of the chase, and dwell at ease in their changed mode of life, the women labor on in their former routine duties, which become degraded by comparison. Such is woman’s position to-day among the Crees, Blackfeet,

Indian Woman and Child.

Sarcees, Sioux, and all other tribes who have not accepted the civilization resulting from the gospel of the Nazarene. Among these tribes are to be found maidens with comely appearance, neat in their dress and active in all their movements. Having crossed the threshold of womanhood, the maidens hand

THE INDIANS.

is eagerly sought by means of courtship on the part of the young men, or by a speedy marriage, without her consent, to some old man, and she is taken to share his lodge with several other wives.

Amongst the Blackfeet, marriage is simply a bargain between the suitor and the young woman’s father, for a certain number of horses. If she is fair and beautiful, a greater number of horses must be paid for the intended bride. From two to twenty horses have been paid for a wife by young men. In the good old days when the buffalo were abundant, the more wives a man possessed, the richer he became, as the greater number of robes dressed by them soon proved. When the husband became angry with his wife, he beat her with impunity ; when he wished her no longer, he sold her, and when she was found guilty of adultery, her nose was cut off. A life of suffering is that experienced by women who dwell among the tribes degraded by the civilization of the pale-face. It is sad to be compelled to say that the settlement of the country in the vicinity of Indian Reserves by white men is injurious physically, mentally and spiritually to the members of the red race.

The happy, active life of Indian women, when game was abundant, has given place to one of idleness, filth and pain. The joyous hours are now filled with sorrow, as they see their homes becoming desolate by the ravages of disease. The primitive virtue of Indian womanhood has been destroyed, and immorality prevails amongst young and old. The respect and gallantry manifested by some tribes for the female sex has

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

long since departed from the Indians of the plains, if, indeed, these ever existed. Life on a Reserve is very much different from the nomadic habits of former years. There is a change in all the domestic work. The house, the food, the methods of cooking, the arrangements of the home, and the new customs have all been influenced by the civilization of the white man, and what has first been learned has been of the very lowest type. The stealing of women by the male members of the camps constitutes one of the chief causes of excitement and trouble. A young man will elope with the young wife of an aged Indian, and then there is either pursuit and capture, or reparation demanded by the injured party. When death enters the family it is the women who suffer most. They are the chief mourners, as may be seen by the mutilated limbs, short hair and bloody hands. The aged medicine women are feared by the people, because of the power supposed to be possessed by them. The hard lot of the Indian mothers soon brings on premature old age, and the ruddy glow that lights up the countenance of the young wife or maiden is soon replaced by the saddened look and disproportioned form. The songs of the maidens are the benisons of God, that dwell among the lodges, cheering the sick and lonely in their hours of pain and grief.

INDIAN TELEGRAPHY.

It is a matter of surprise to those who know little or nothing of the war customs of the Indians, that despite the intelligence and activity of the white men,

THE INDIANS.

the native tribes are kept well informed of all those hostile to their interests. During the troubles in Colorado, between the American soldiers and the Indians, they were thoroughly conversant with the plans of the military, and wherever danger presented itself they were able to keep several miles in advance of their foes. Such apparent activity and keen sightedness was due to the telegraphic communication kept up between the tribes. The small looking-glass invariably carried by the Indian in his native state, is held toward the sun, and the reflection of the suns rays is directed toward the persons intended to receive the communication. By this means a message can be sent from bluff to bluff, and the sentinels placed there can converse with each other. I have been aroused from my writing desk by the flash from a looking-glass carried by an Indian two miles distant. One day in camp, an Indian’s presence was desired, but he was fully two miles away, riding on his horse. A man standing near, took out his glass and with a single movement of his hand the rider suddenly turned on his horse and after a moment’s thought rode toward us. By means of fires lighted in prominent places, the light and also the smoke were used as means of signals which could be seen at long distances. Lighted arrows were projected into the air for the purpose of imparting information. When the red men came in contact with the white traders, they obtained from them telescopes and field-glasses of various kinds, which became very serviceable to them in hunting for lost horses, and discovering the near

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

approach of intruders. These were called in to aid in signalling. When scouts were sent out to reconnoitre, their return was eagerly watched for by those in camp. Selecting a ridge from which they could be easily seen by the anxious warriors, they conveyed information by means of their blankets, or their peculiar movements in riding, and these could be understood perfectly, as they were accurately observed through the field-glasses owned by the chiefs and warriors. Due credit must, therefore, be given to the Indians for the intelligence, experience and sagacity displayed in all that belongs peculiarly to their native civilization. Ignorance of native customs and language, inability through lack of training to distinguish between what is exclusively Indian and that which has been introduced into their civilization by contact with talents and learning of a different kind from theirs, and prejudice arising from the fact that we belong to another race and have compelled ourselves to believe that the Indian stands in our way in securing our personal territorial success, are some of the reasons for our not appreciating the native talent shown by the Stoics of the plains. Justice demands an intelligent and impartial study of the Indians and of the Indian question.

INDIAN BURIAL CUSTOMS.

When Attila, the valiant leader of the Huns, suddenly died, his faithful warriors rode around his grave singing a funeral song. They cut off a part of their hair, gashed their faces with wounds, and then slew

THE INDIANS.

the captive who had dug the grave. The spoils taken in battle were thrown into the grave and then the barbarians engaged in excessive mirth. Had the name of a noble Indian chief been written instead of “ Attala,” the above would have been a true representation of burial customs among some Indian tribes. Several modes of burial have been practised by the native tribes. There are several kinds of mounds, descriptive of the customs of the mound builders of prehistoric America. The Tshimpsheans of British Columbia in former years, and the Apaches of to-day, practise cremation. The latter place the body on some sticks of wood, and it is there consumed. Should the person die in a hut, it is consumed with all that it contains. Some of the Alaskan Indians embalmed their dead, as the mummies are still to be found in the mummy caves. Some of the native tribes erect scaffolds or place their deceased relatives in the crotches of trees and on the top of some lofty rock. Sometimes an eminence is selected, and again a secluded spot where a lodge is pitched and the corpse placed within. Graves are also made on the top of the ground and small houses built over them. Bravery in death was one of the characteristics of the German Barbarians, as it is of the American Indians. A life spent in arms and a glorious death in battle were held to be the best preparation for a joyous immortality. Brebceuf, the Jesuit missionary, tells us of the tortures of an Iroquois prisoner. While his enemies feasted, and before he sang his death-song, he said to them, “ My brothers, I am going to die, make

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

merry around me with good heart ; I am a man ; I fear neither death nor your torments/'

Some tribes killed two young men when a chief died, that their spirits might accompany him by the way. Wrapped in his buffalo robe or blanket the warrior is borne to his grave, generally accompanied by very few of his friends. Beside him in the lodge, grave or coffin, are placed the relics of the deceased, pipes, tobacco, and many things of greater or less value are deposited there. Various reasons have been given by students of American antiquities, all of which are of some value and have some truth in them. These things are placed there to avoid disputes among friends, to protect the bereaved from sadness at gazing upon the relics of the departed, and to keep the conscience clear from a charge of stealing from the dead. The best explanation is that found in the native religion of the Indians. They believe that everything in nature is possessed of a spirit, and that the spirits of the articles devoted to the deceased depart with him and are used in the spirit world. Thus when you point to the goods lying at the grave after many days, the natives will tell you that the substance remains, but the spirits live on the spirit of the things. The souls of hatchets and pipes, horses and dogs, go to the “ happy hunting ground" for their master's use. We find this same idea of object souls amongst the Arabs and Gauls. The camel of the Arab was tied near the grave of his master, that he might there perish and follow him to the spirit world. The Gauls oftentimes contracted debts which were made payable in the state of future existence.