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Show MALLBBY. J DAKOTA WINTER COUNTS, 1870- 1877. 127 No. III. A Crow war party of 30 were surprised and surrounded in the Black Hills by the Dakotas and killed. Fourteen of the Dakotas were killed in the engagement. 1871-' 72.- No. I. The- Flame's second son killed by Bees. 1872-' 73.- No. I. Sans- Arc- John killed by Bees. 1873-' 74.- No. I. Brutes kill a number of Pawnees. Cloud- Shield says they killed many Pawnees on the Eepublican Biver. 1874-' 75.- No. I. A Dakota kills one Bee. 1875-' 7G.- No. I. Council at Spotted Tail Agency. 1876- 77.- No. L Horses taken by United States Government. White Cow- Killer calls it " General- Mackenzie- took- the- Bed- Cloud-lndians'- 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 Bachel, 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 biith 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 thein, 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 chrouology. THE C0BBU8IEB 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. Corbttsier, which furnish a different |
