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Show 292 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF sustaining another siege fron1 the Black Feet. Mter our departure, the whole villag~ followed ~o purchase their spring supply of necessanes at t~e fort.. They brought an immense stock of peltry, ~Ith whiCh they purchased every thing that th~y stood In need of. . About a week after our arnval, the other Crow village, under Long Hair, encamped witho.ut the fort, all of them deep in mourning. The same Ill luck had attended them in their excursions as we had suffered, and eighty warriors had fallen wi~hout one ?learn .of success. I availed myself of this opportunity to Impress upon the minds of Long Hair and his followers that the cause of their misfortune was owing to the conduct of the Crows toward Fitzpatrick and his party, which representation they all firmly believed. When the two villages had finished their trading, we all moved back to the Big I-Iorn, where we constructed a new medicine lodge for the medicine men, prophets, and dreamers to prophesy and hold their deliberations in. These lodges are erected every yearthe first moon in May; the whole tribe is assembled at the festiv1tl, and the ceremonies are continued for seven days. Before the poles are raised, the medicine men select from the assembled multitude a warrior whom they deem qualified to assume the functions of a medicine chief. The man they select is compelled to serve; no excuse that he can frame is accepted as valid. l-Ie is then taken to a lodge-pole and lashed to one end; an eagle's wing is placed in each hand, and , a whistle (similar to a boatswain's) placed between his lips. Thus equipped, he is hoisted a distance of forty feet, until the pole assumes its perpendicularity and is adjusted in its proper place. Raising the first pole is analogous to laying the first stone. The first one JAMES P. BECKWOURTH. 293 being hoisted, abundance of others are :raised into their places, until the whole space is inclosed. They are then covered with green buffalo ~ides, descending to within six feet of the ground, the inclosure being left open at the top. About one hundred and twenty hides are generally required for the purpose, and a space is thus obtained capable of holding from seven to eight hundred persons. I was the subject selected on this occasion; and when I was raised upon the pole in the manner I have just described, the officials declared that I was raised solely by the elevating power of my wings, whence they inferred that my medicine was very powerful. When the lodge is completed, the medicine men and other functionaries assemble the most distinguished braves within the building for a rehearsal of their achieven1ents and an enumeration of their coos. Each brave then gives an account of his exploits thus: "I killed one or more Cheyennes (as the case may be) on such a day, in such a place, and took such and such spoils. You know it, Crows." The medicine chief then exhibits his marks, pronounces the warrior's statement correct, and confirms it by his record. This ratification each warrior passes through, and there is seldom any discrepancy between hi& statement and the record. Sham battles are then fought in illustration of the manner in which the different trophies were acquired, the rehearsal reminding the civilized spectator of a theatrical representation, only that in this case the performance is more in earnest. This examination gone through with, the lodge is then prepared for the medicine men, prophets, and dreamers to go through the ceremony of initiating a virtuous woman. The members of the conclave en- |
