Some Indian Ways

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XVI. Some Indian Ways

Teepees

(From Ladies' Home Journal, September, 1902)

MANY famous campers have said that the Indian teepee is the best known movable home. It is roomy, self-ventilating, cannot blow down, and is the only tent that admits of a fire inside.

Then why is it not everywhere used? Because of the difficulty of the poles. If on the prairie, you must carry your poles. If in the woods, you must cut them at each camp.

General Sibley, the famous Indian fighter, invented a teepee with a single pole, and this is still used by our army. But it will not do for us. Its one pole is made in part of iron, and is very cumbersome as well as costly.

In the “Buffalo days” the teepee was made of buffalo skin; now it is made of some sort of canvas or cotton, but it is decorated much in the old style.

I tried to get an extra fine one made by the Indians, especially as a model for our boys, but I found this no easy matter. I could not go among the red folk and order it as in a department store.

At length I solved the difficulty by buying one ready made, from Thunder Bull, a chief of the Cheyennes.

It appears at the left end of the row of teepees heading this chapter.Some Indian Ways 445 This is a 20-footer and is large enough for 10 boys to live in. A large one is easier to keep clear of smoke, but most boys will prefer a smaller one, as it is much handier, cheaper, and easier to make. I shall therefore give the working plan of a lo-foot teepee of the simplest form — the raw material of which can be bought new for about $5- It requires 22 square yards of 6- or 8-ounce duck, heavy unbleached muslin, or Canton flannel (the wider the better, as that saves labor in making up), which costs about $4;

feet of yV-inch clothesline, 25 cents; string for sewing 

rope ends, etc., 5 cents. Of course, one can often pick up second-hand materials that are quite good and cost next to nothing. An old wagon cover, or two or three old sheets, will make the tee- pee, and even if they are patched it is all right; the Indian teepees are often mended where bullets and arrows have gone through them. Scraps of rope, if not rotted, will work in well enough. Suppose you have new material to deal with. Get it machine run together 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. Lay this down perfectly flat (Cut I). On a peg or nail at A in the middle of the long side put a lo-foot cord loosely, and then with a burnt stick in a loop at the other end draw the half -circle BCD. Now mark out the two little tri- angles at A. A E is 6 inches, A F and E F each one foot; the other triangle, A R G, is the same size. Cut the canvas along these dotted lines. From the scraps left over cut two pieces for smoke-flaps, as shown. On the long corner of each (H in No. i, I in No. 2) a small three-cornered piece should be sewed, to make a pocket for the end of the pole. Now sew the smoke-flaps to the cover so that M L of No. I is neatly fitted to P E, and N O of No. 2 to Q D. Two inches from the edge B P make a double row of holes;446 The Book of Woodcraft each hole is i| inches from its mate, and each pair is 5 inches from the next pair, except at the 2-foot space marked "door," where no holes are needed. ^ E A Q _n rrrTTr " Door I t t ; » t I Door p H ..... c /5moKe-^ap.2 ca.le5ixree.t ^ Pattern of 10-Foot Teepee. Cut I The Complete Teepee Cover — Unornamented. A — Frame for Door. £ — Door Completed. Cut II The holes on the other side, Q D, must exactly fit on these. At A fasten very strongly a 4-foot rope by the middle.Some Indian Ways

Fasten the end of a lo-foot cord to J and another to K; hem a rope all along in the bottom, BCD. Cut 12 pieces of rope each about 15 inches long, fasten one firmly to the canvas at B, another at the point D, and the rest at regular distances to the hem rope along the edge between, for peg loops. The teepee cover is now made. For the door (some never use one) take a limber sapling f inch thick and 5^ feet long, also one 22 inches long. Bend the long one into a horseshoe and fasten the short one across the ends (A in Cut II). On this stretch canvas, leaving a flap at the top in the middle of which two small holes are made (B, Cut II), so as to hang the door on a lacing-pin. Nine of these lacing-pins are needed. They are of smooth, round, straight, hard wood, a foot long and J inch thick. Their way of skewering the two edges to- gether is seen in the Omaha teepee at the end of the Hne below. STORM CAP OR BULL-BOAT During long continued or heavy rains, a good deal of water may come in the smoke vent or drip down the poles. To prevent this the Missouri Indians would use a circular bull-boat of rawhide on a frame of willows as a storm cap. For a twelve-foot teepee the storm cap should be about four feet across and eighteen inches deep, made of448 The Book of Woodcraft canvas with a hem edge in which is a limber rod to keep it in cir- cular shape. It is usu- ally put on with a loose teepee pole, and sits on top of the poles as shown, held down if need be by cords to its edge. The poles should be short and even for this. PUTTING UP THE TEEPEE Twelve poles also are needed. They should be as straight and smooth as possible; crooked, rough poles are signs of a bad housekeeper — a squaw is known by her teepee poles. They should be 13 or 14 feet long and about i inch thick at the top. Two are for the smoke-vent; they may be more slender than the others. Last of all, make a dozen stout short pegs about 15 inches long and about i^ inches thick. Now all the necessary parts of the teepee are made. This is how the Indian tent is put up : Tie three* poles to- gether at a point about i foot higher than the canvas, spread them out in a tripod the right distance apart; then lay the other poles (except three including the two slender ones) in the angles, their lower ends forming a small circle. Bind them all with a rope, letting its end hang down inside for an anchor. Now fasten the two ropes at A Cut I to the stout pole left over at a point 10 feet up. Raise this into its place, and the teepee cover with it, opposite where the door is to be. Carry the two wings of the tent around till they overlap and fasten together with the lacing-pins. Put the end of a •Some use four and find it stronger.Some Indian Ways +9 vent-pole in each of the vent flap pockets, outside of the teepee. Peg down the edges of the canvas at each loop. Stretch the cover by spreading the poles. Hang the door on a convenient lacing-pin. Drive a stout stake inside the teepee, tie the anchor rope to this and the teepee is ready /^T ^€t vt> lrl>ocL '!' Sit ut>UTlK /"'<, by l^^Kroi>^ )n^ -fi*/ ti«»W^ TXM^ ItjJt^inA , for weather. In the centre dig a hole i8 inches wide and 6 inches deep for the fire. The fire is the great advantage of the teepee, experience will show how to manage the smoke. Keep the smoke- vent swung down wind, or at least quarter- ing down. Sometimes you must leave the door a450 The Book of Woodcraft little open or raise the bottom of the teepee cover a little on the windward side. If this makes too much draught on your back, stretch a piece of canvas between two Decorations of a Teepee and Two Examples of Doon. or three of the poles inside the teepee, in front of the opening made and reaching to the ground. The draught will go up behind this.Some Indian Ways

By these tricks you can make the vent draw the smoke. But after all the main thing is to use only the best and driest of wood. This makes a clear fire. There will always be more or less smoke 7 or 8 feet up, but it worries no one there and keeps the mosquitoes away. RED — All parts marked so: UUiUlii-^ Smoke-flaps and all tops of teepees, stem of pipe, lower half<ircle under pipe, middle part of bowl, wound on side of Elk, blood falling and on trail; Horse, middle Buffalo, two inner bars of pathway upback; also short, dark, cross-bars, spot on middle of two door-hangers, and fringe of totem at top of pathway, and two black lines on doorway. YELLOW — All parts marked so: ' r "•':■::■ i TTnner half-circle under pipe stem, upper half of each feather on pipe; horseman with bridle, saddle and one hmdfoot of Horse; the largest Buffalo, the outside upright of the pathway; the ground colors of the totem; the spotted cross-bars of pathway; the four patches next the ground, the two patches over door, and the rings of door-hanger. „___ GREEN — All parts marked so. R^^>^ Bowl of pipe, spot over it; feather tips of same; Elk, first Buffalo, middle line on each side pathway, and around teepee top; two dashed cross-bars on totem and dashed cross-bars on pathway; bar on which Horse walks; lower edge and line of spots on upper part of door. HAIRY-WOLF S TEEPEF Marked with a peace pipe in Cut p. 444 is Hairy- Wolf 's teepee. I came across this on the Upper Missouri in 1897.452 The Book of Woodcraft It was the most brilliant affair I ever saw on the Plains, for on the bright red ground of the canvas were his totems and medicine, in yellow, blue, green, and black. The day I sketched it, a company of United States soldiers under Chipewyan teepees with separate smoke fl^p orders had forcibly taken away his two children "tc scnil them to school, according to law"; so Hairy -Wolf was gcla^- off at once, without pitching his tent. His Httle daughter, "The Fawn," looked at me with fear, thinking I w^:. coming to drag her off to school. I coaxed her, th:n g .^Some Indian Ways

her a quarter. She smiled, because she knew it would buy sweetmeats. Then I said : Little Fawn, run and tell your father that I am his friend, and I want to see his great red teepee. " No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. a No. 8. Various tepees (smoke poles left out). "The Fawn" came back and said, "My father hates you." " Tell your mother that I will pay if she will put up the teepee."454 The Book of Woodcraft "The Fawn" went to her mother, and improving my offer, told her that that white man will give much money to see the red teepee up." The squaw looked out. I held up a dollar and got only a sour look, but another squaw appeared. After some haggling they agreed to put up the teepee for $3. The poles were already standing. They unrolled the great cloth and deftly put it up in less than 20 minutes, but did not try to put down the anchor rope, as the ground was too hard to drive a stake into. My sketch was half finished when the elder woman called the younger and pointed westward. They chattered together a moment and then proceeded to take down the teepee. I objected. They pointed angrily toward the west and went on. I protested that I had paid for the right to make the sketch; but in spite of me the younger squaw scrambled like a nionkey up the front pole, drew the lacing-pins, and the teepee was down and rolled up in ten minutes. I could not understand the pointing to the west, but five minutes after the teepee was down a dark spot appeared; this became a cloud and in a short time we were in the midst of a wind-storm that threw down all teepees that were without the anchor rope, and certainly the red teepee would have been one of those to suffer but for the sight and fore- sight of the old Indian woman. ART All students of the Indian art are satisfied that in this we find the beginnings of something that may develop into a great and original school of decoration. Not having learned their traditions, conventions, and inner impulse, we believe that at present we shall do best by preserv-Some Indian Ways 455 ing and closely copying the best of the truly native pro- ductions. Therefore, in decorating teepees, etc., we use only Kteral copies of the good Indian work. INDIAN SEATS Most boys are glad to learn of something they can make to sell for money. So I shall give you some designs for household furniture that every scout can make — they are not mission, but quite as serviceable and much more of a novelty : I mean real Indian furniture. It is very safe to say that everything you need in camp, from hair-combs to beds, blankets, and signboards, was made by the Indian in a more original way than any of us can expect to reach with- out help. Very few of the Plains Indians made furniture, as we understand it, but those on the West Coast did. We may follow many of their designs exactly. One of the simplest and most useful things is the lev/ stool. Many of these are shown in Cuts I and II. These designs are closely copied after West Coast Indian work, though originally used to decorate boxes. A chief's chair (e, f, g, h) is a fine thing to make for a Lodge-room or for sale, but in camp we seldom see any- thing so elaborate. Indeed, few fellows feel like doing cabinet work when out under the trees. They are not there for that purpose. In several cases we have made a fine throne for the chief out of rough, field stone; i in456 The Book of Woodcraft T .. . . ■ 1. 1 . t. .- ■ ■ .., .. ,. •■ ...I ^. ■ . . I ■ - ' . , ! ■ i •• — ■• ■ • '- -■' '-.^ ■■•• cC JJT < iMl(iuf(iii(ml 'iiiti li/i/ii!,.'u/(iiif; <(ii| Cut ISome Indian Ways

Cut n458 The Book of Woodcraft Cut II is an example of this. The seat should be not more than two feet from the ground, and even at that height should have a footstool. The stool J is of white man's construction, but Indian decoration, in red, black and white. The log seat, or Council seat, K, is a useful thing that each Band should make in the Council ring. It is simply a log flattened on top, on the front side. It has a board back, supported on two or three stakes, as shown in L. This is designed for the "Otters." HEAD-BAND Each brave needs a head-band. This holds his feathers as they are won and his scalp if he wears one is fastened to it behind. It consists of a strip of soft leather, long enough to go around the head and overlap by two inches; it is fastened at the rear, with a lace through the four holes, like the lace of machine belting. A bead pattern ornaments the front and it may be finished at each side in some broader design. It is the foundation for the warbonnet and has places for twenty-four feathers (two eagle tails). See Warbonnet later.Some Indian Ways 459 The feathers are made of white quill feathers, the tip dyed dark brown or black; a leather loop is lashed to the quill end of each to fasten it on to the head-band. Each feather stands for an exploit and is awarded by the Council. An oval of paper is glued on near the high end. This bears a symbol of the feat it commemorates. If it was Grand Coup or High Honor, the feather has a tuft of red horsehair lashed on the top. WARBONNET OR HEADDRESS ITS MEANING The typical Indian is always shown with a warbonnet, or warcap, of eagle feathers. Every one is familiar with the look of this headdress, but I find that few know its mean- ing or why the Indian glories in it so. In the days when the Redman was unchanged by white men's ways, every feather in the brave's headdress was awarded to him by the Grand Council for some great deed, usually in warfare. Hence the expression, "a feather in his cap." These deeds are now called coups (pro- nounced coo), and when of exceptional valor they were grand coups, and the eagle's feather had a tuft of horse- hair, or down, fastened on its top. Not only was each feather bestowed for some exploit, but there were also ways of marking the feathers so as to show the kind of deed. Old plainsmen give an exciting picture in Indian Hfe after the return of a successful war party. All assemble in the Grand Council lodge of the village. First the leader of the party stands up, holding in his hands or having near him the scalps or other trophies he has taken, and says in a loud voice : " Great Chief and Council of my Nation, I claim a grand coup, because I went alone into the enemy's camp and460 The Book of Woodcraft learned about their plans, and when I came away I met one of them and killed him within his own camp. " Then if all the witnesses grunt and say: Hul" or "How! Howl " ("So — it is so ") the Council awards the warrior an eagle feather with a red tuft and a large red spot on the web, which tell why it was given. The warrior goes on: "I claim grand coup because I slapped the enemy's face with my hand (thereby warning him and increasing the risk) before I killed him with my knife." A loud chorus of "How! How! How!" from the others sustains him, and he is awarded another grand coup.

• 'I claim grand coup because I captured his horse while

two of his friends were watching." Here, perhaps, there are murmurs of dissent from the witnesses; another man claims that he also had a hand in it. There is a dispute and maybe both are awarded a coup, but neither gets grand coup. The feathers are marked with a horseshoe, but without a red tuft. The killing of one enemy might (according to Mallery 4 Ann. Eth. p. 184) confer feathers on four different men — the first, second, and third to strike him, and the one who took his scalp. After the chief each of the warriors comes forward in turn and claims, and is awarded, his due honors to be worn ever afterward on state occasions. All awards are made and all disputes settled by the Council, and no man would dream of being so foolish as to wear an honor that had not been conferred by them, or in any way to dispute their ruling. In the light of this we see new interest attach to the head- dress of some famous warrior of the West when he is shown with a circle of tufted feathers around his head, and then added to that a tail of one hundred or more reaching to the ground or trailing behind him. We know that, like theSome Indian Ways

rows of medals on an old soldier's breast, they are the record of wonderful past achievements, that every one of them was won perhaps at the risk of his life. What wonder is it that travelers on the plains to-day tell us that the Indian values his headdress above all things else. He would usually pre- fer to part with his ponies and his teepee before he will give up that array of eagle plumes, the only tangible record that he has of whatever was heroic in his past. PLENTY-COUPS I remember vividly a scene I once witnessed years ago in the West when my attention was strongly directed to the significance of the warbonnet. I was living among a cer- tain tribe of Indians and one day they were subjected to a petty indignity by a well-meaning, ill-advised missionary. Two regiments of United States Cavalry were camped near, and so, being within the letter of the law, he also had power to enforce it. But this occurrence was the last of a long series of foolish small attacks on their harmless customs, and it roused the Indians, es- pecially the younger ones, to the point of rebelhon. A Grand Council was called. A warrior got up and made a strong, logical appeal to their manhood — a tremendously stir- ring speech. He worked them all up and they were ready to ^ go on the warpath, with him to lead them. I felt that my scalp was in serious danger, for an outburst seemed at hand.462 The Book of Woodcraft But now there arose a big, square-jawed man, who had smoked in silence. He made a very short speech. It was full of plain, good sense. He told them what he knew about the United States Army — how superior it was to all the Indian tribes put together, how hopeless it was to fight it — • and urged them to give up the foolish notion of the war- path. His speech would not compare with that of the other. He had neither the fire nor the words — he had not even the popular sympathy, and yet he quelled the dis- turbance in his few sentences, and as I looked there dawned on me the reason for his power. While the gifted orator of the big words had in his hair a single untuf ted eagle feather, the other, the man with the square jaw, had eagle feathers all around his head and trailing down his back and two feet DETAILS OF THE WARBOXNET The plain white Goose or Turkey feather. The same, with tip dyed black. The same, showing ruff of white down lashed on with wa.x end. The same, showing leather loop lashed on for the holding lace. The same, viewed edge on. ... 1 The same, with a red flannel cover sewn and lashed on the quill. This is a "coup feather.' The same, with a tuft of red horsehair lashed on the top to mark a "grand coup" and (a) a thread through the middle of the rib to hold the feather in proper place. This feather is marked with the symbol of a grand coup in target shof.ting.Some Indian Ways

. The tip of a feather showing fiow the red horsehair tuft is lashed on with fine waxed thread. . The groundwork of the warbonnet made of any soft leather, (a) a broad band, to go round the head laced at the joint or seam behind; (i) a broad tail behind as long as needed to hold all the wearer's feathers; (< ) two leather thongs or straps over the top; (</) leather string to tie under the chin; (<■) the buttons, conchas or side ornaments of shells, silver, horn, or wooden disks, even small mirrors and circles of beadwork were used, and some- times the conchas were left out altogether; they may have the owner's totem on them, usually a bunch of ermine tails hung from each side of the bonnet just below the concha. A bunch of horsehair will answer as well; (hh) the holes in the leather for holding the lace of the feather; 24 feathers are needed for the full bonnet, without the tail, so they are put less than an inch apart; (Hi) the lacing holes on the tail; this is as long as the wearer's feathers call for; some never have any tail. . Side view of the leather framework, showing a pattern sometimes used to decorate the front. , 12 and 13. Beadwork designs for front band of bonnet; all have white grounds. No. n (Arapaho) has green band at top and bottom with red zigzag. No. 12 (Ogallala) has blue band at top and bottom, red triangle; the concha is blue with three white bars and is cut off from the band by a red bar. No. 13 (Sioux) has narrow band above and broad band below blue, the triangle red, and the two little stars blue with yel- low centre. . The bases of three feathers, showing how the lace comes out of the cap leather, through the eye or loop on the bottom of the quill and in again. . The completed bonnet, showing how the feathers of the crown should spread out, also showing the thread that passes through the middle of each feather on inner side to hold it in place; another thread passes from the point where the two straps (c in g) join then down through each feather in the tail.464 The Book of Woodcraft on the ground behind him, and every one of them with a bright red tuft of horsehair at its top, and I knew then that I was listening to the voice of Plenty-Coups, the most famous chief on the Upper Missouri, and I realized how a few words from the man of deeds will go further than all the stirring speeches of one who has no record of prowess to back up his threats and fiery denunciations. MAKING THE WARBONNET Most modern warbonnets take the crown of a felt hat as a basis, but the ancient way was to use a broad buckskin band, as shown in the illustration. Tail feathers of the war eagle were considered essential at one time, but many others are now used. I should be sorry to increase a demand which would stimulate pursuit of a noble bird already threatened with extinction. Most of the big feather dealers have what are known as "white quills." These are wing feathers of swans and areSome Indian Ways 465 sold at about 25 cents a dozen. These, when the tips are dyed brown, make a good substitute for eagle feathers. They are still more like if a little down from a white hen be lashed on. The process of lashing a leather loop on the quill with a waxed thread, and of fastening a red tuft of horsehair on the top for the grand coup are sufficiently shown in the above illustration. INDIAN COSTUME War shirt. Next to the Indian warbonnet, the war shirt or coat is the most effective part of the costume. This may be made out of leather, khaki, woolen stuff, or even muslin. The finest ones used to be made of tanned deer skin, but those are very expensive. Buff-tanned calf or sheep skins, such as may be got at any leather shop, are quite as good for our purpose. It takes two or even three skins to make a war shirt. Sheep costs about 60 or 70 cents a skin, and calf at least double or even three times that, so that a good strong khaki at one third the price of sheep is likely to be more popular. The pattern for making the war shirt is much like that of a common cotton shirt, except that it has no tucks. It fits a little more closely to the body while the sleeves are loose and without wristbands. In sewing it is usual to put into each sleeve at the back of the arm a long piece of leather three or four inches wide, and this is cut into fringe after- ward. The bottom of the coat also is decorated with fringe. The oldest style of war shirt was closed at the throat with tie strings, but some of the Indians used buttons after they saw how convenient they were. The decorations are the most Indian part of it. Two kinds are in good usage: one, embroidery of quills or beads;466 The Book of Woodcraft the other, painted figures. Fine effects can be secured in either way. The first illustration shows a war shirt of the beaded style. These strips of beadwork are prepared on one of the beadlooms and sewn on afterward. The second is a quill- work device. This is, of course, a mere suggestion. One may vary it in any way, though it will be found best always to use but Beaded war shirt, etc. few colors in the beads. In unskilled hands a bead pattern of two colors is better than one of four colors. Bands of beadwork may be added on the outside of each arm in front of the fringes, as well as around the outer half of each cuff at the bottom, or they may be omitted alto- gether and the decorations done with paint. The Indians used native paints and dyes ground up in a mixture of rosinSome Indian Ways

and grease. Black was made of soot taken from the bottom of a pot. Red, yellow, and white were made of clay Quill worked war shirt roasted and powdered. But common painters' oil colors will do very well if thinned out with turpentine. Cotton costumes are used very often on the stage in Indian scenes; and when the ghost dance was danced in468 The Book of Woodcraft Mocassin, Tn&cLt of 3i.rvbbir-soLtcL shoe. Qr^7>fi,^. Cmbroici<iry of siLK , r^U.whiU, blot W yeUovi/ OJ,t,wj. '^•"^'"'.^.i front, Making a MoccasinSome Indian Ways 469 Dakota by the Sioux, under Sitting Bull and Short Bull, nearly every one of the dancers appeared in a war shirt of painted cotton, made in some cases of old cotton flour sack. Magnificent examples of war shirts are now to be seen in most museums. Many also are pictured in the Reports of the Bureau of Ethnology at Washington. Leggings. The leggings are best made as ordinary trousers, embelHshed with fringe and beadwork on the sides. Moccasins are a staple article of trade; but I have found nothing better or more serviceable than a pair of ordinary rubber-soled sneaks, decorated with a few beads or a fringe. War Clubs. The only use we have for these is in the dancing or the ceremonies. They are most easily made of wood, and should be about twenty inches long. Painted with ordinary oil colors and embellished with tufts of horsehair or feathers, they are very picturesque as well as easily made. Paddles. The best designs I ever saw for painting pad- dles are those of the West Coast Indians. These are shown in three colors, black, white, and red — the red being the portions cross-lined. Drum. While an ordinary bought ^^ , ^. drum does very well for dancing, some y^^^^T^^^Z^v tribes make their own, using a section of ^^^^^^^^^1^ a hollow tree (or in some cases a small ^^MEjIij^yiZMm barrel) covered with untanned calf skin. H^P^/^^ It is soaked till soft, scraped clear of f^m^Xf^-WM^ hair, and tightly stretched over each end |^^fe/ Iffll of the hollow log. As it dries, it shrinks ^^^^^^iMm and becomes very tense, giving a good ^^^^^^^^^ drum sound. Usually it is tuned up by th, in4,*n d.-t^^ - warming at the fire before use. Peace Pipe. The favorite peace pipe was of the red pipe stone, but I have seen many made of wood. The two shown are in my own collection.470 The Book of Woodcraft lTicli^nTacic((c5 in i)UcK,whaeHree^

iT>chts landSome Indian Ways 471 

THE INDIAN OR WILLOW BED The only bed I know of which is light, portable, scout- like, made of wildwood stuff that can be got anywhere, and costing nothing but a little labor, is the willow or prairie bed used by all the Plains Indians. This is how it is made: On your first short hike to the country go to some stream bank or swamp, and cut about seventy straight rods of red willow (kinnikinik),gray willow, arrow-wood, or any straight shoots, each about as thick as a pencil, when peeled, except one or two that are larger, up to half an inch thick; and all thirty inches long. Tie them up in a tight bundle with several cords until you get time to work them. Peel them, cut a slight notch in the butt of each rod, three quarters of an inch from the end, and you are ready to make the bed. And here I may say that some fellows, who could not get to the country to cut willow rods, have used the ordinary bamboo fishing-poles. These are sawed up in 30-inch lengths and split to the necessary thinness; the butt end yields four or even five of the splints, the top, but one. This answers well, and three poles furnish material enough for the bed. This is allowable because, though the stuff is not of our own woods, it is American; it grows in the Southern States. One or two fellows in town have made the bed of dowels from a furniture factory. Now get a ball of cord, that will stand a 25-lb. pull, a ball of fine linen thread, and a piece of shoemakers' wax, to complete your materials. If outdoors, you can stretch your cords, between two small trees about seven feet apart, but it is much easier if you make a rough frame of strips or poles seven feet by three inside to work on. Cut four pieces of the cord, each about twenty feet long.472 The Book of Woodcraft Double each and tie a 3 -inch hard loop in the middle. Twist these doubled cords and put them on a frame (Cut No. i), fastened to nails as at A B, the surplus cord wrapped around the frame, and the others as at C D E F G and H. mmimn±rnT-u^r. -H m"h^. l-rlXI I -M -- a I.?, jj- --^^ ^jt(iXtaiirCi£Hniiiji-!:iHJ-'i ^nn--,'i^~r-u- --^o rh< rtooA fritne vsec( in wiiX/Tf tit'i»U. one rorf if in/iUct., CUT NO. I. Take one of the heaviest rods, say a half-inch one, for a starter. With a pointed stick, open the two strands of the twisted cord, and set the rod tight against the knots I J K L. Now set a second rod in place below the first, seeing that two twists of the string are between each road and that the space separating them is one inch. Keep alternating butts and tops. At each point, that is at four places on each rod, make a lashing of waxed thread, holding rod and cords together (No. 2). I have seen beds with only two lashings, that is, one at each end, but four lashings is the sound and safe plan. ':NoX.ThiSi)ltc( {iniik. Aiishoy>UU li^h^d Hkt^iiih, When the rod-work is six feet long, it is time to taper ofif. Put in one big rod for a finish, and tie hard loops in theSome Indian Ways

cords at this point. Then, using shorter rods, make a narrower part about eighteen inches high for a head. Finally, cover this head with a piece of brown khaki or canvas which should be decorated with the band's colors and totem, either painted or done in beadwork, or in colored cottons that are cut out and sewed on (Cuts Nos. 3 and 4). t^O.i. YAriowj hticLf - Canva,J Corerin^ — ^ ^1, HooKf or Wafc/i

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No>. Willow 6*4. . W/Ait :Bti.ck/oLf iottm It is well to add also a wooden hook for one's watch (a and b, Cut No. 3) and a pocket for matches and money, etc., at night. The Indians often elaborated these beds to a great extent when in permanent camps. Each rod was selected, per- fectly straight, thinned at the butt end, to be uniform, and an extra piece added at the bed, head and foot, to curl uj* as end-boards. That at the head was elaborately deco-474 The Book of Woodcraft rated with symbols in beadwork. The illustration (No. 5) shows a beautiful beaded bed-head in my possession; not only the head, but the edges all around, are bound with red flannel. When in use the bed is laid with the ends of the rods Naf The ItlcUoi hea,c(. resting on two 4-inch poles, which are set firmly twenty- six inches apart; and the bed is staked at the corners through the loops to hold it in place (Cut No. 6). Cut No. 7 shows a fine specimen of an Arapaho bed all ready for use. When we can get no poles, we lay down a couple of boards or rods to carry the ends of the bed, and then dig theSome Indian Ways

ground out in the middle. By means of two tall stakes the head part is held upright. When packed up the bed is rolled. It weighs about five pounds. Of course, you always need as much under you as over you. Couched on such a natural spring mattress as the willow bed you sleep in perfect comfort. Itv fi(zce. No. 7. ARAPAHO BED OF WILLOWS. 14th ANN. Rep. Bur. Am. Ethn. P. 963 For those who wish to complete its sumptuousness a rush or grass mat may be added. (See Camp Loom.) After long use the willows get bent, to prevent this the bed should be turned over every few days. INDIAN PAINTS Paints for the body are mixed with grease or tallow from some animal.476 The Book of Woodcraft Paints for ornamenting robes are mixed with water. (Clark: Sign Language.") Paints for lodges, totem poles, etc., were made durable by slowly melting or mixing into the grease enough rosin to make it sticky. This formed their paint oil. Red. Before they had the white man's vermilion they used a certain stiff yellow clay (brick clay) which, when burnt, turned dull red — i. e., brick color. This they pow- dered and mixed with the grease oil. In some parts of the country there are springs strongly impregnated with iron. A log of wood dug out of this — or failing that an armful of chips long soaked in it — when taken out, dried and burnt yielded ashes of a beautiful rosy color. These worked up into a very pretty red. Yellow. Yellow clay or ochres are common in clay regions and furnish a dull yellow. Clark says that the flower of the prairie, goldenrod, yields a good yellow : also the bright yellow moss one sees on the trunks of pine trees in the Rockies. When dried and powdered this makes a sort of chrome yellow, and is also used as a dye. "The Sioux use bull-berries" for yellow. (Clark.) Blue. They had no good blue. Blue clays come near- est to the color. Sometimes black and white mixed were used. Black. Soot and charcoal, ground into the paint oil, made a good black. White. For white they used white clays, which are com- mon in some regions, or burnt shells, finely powdered. "Generally speaking. Black means joy: White, mourn- ing: Red, beauty: and an excessive use of any of these or other colors, excitement." "When painting for war, they use many stripes and rings of different colors, but on returning only black-colored paint is used *'Some Indian Ways

"After killing an enemy, the lower part of the face might be painted black. " (Clark.) Painting was universal among Indians. They did it to beautify themselves and also to protect the skins from the weather. Though we condemn them for the practice, most of our women and a great many of our men do the same thing for the same reason. ■ Zuni eagles 23 Am. Rep. B. A. E. INDIAN DYES The dyes used to stain porcupine quills, spruce roots, and other strong material, of which they made ornaments and utensils, were very numerous, and some of them very beautiful. Red. Soak the roots in the juice of the Squaw-berry — Blitum or Mis-caw-wa. Many other berries give red or purple. Black. Boil the roots, etc., with the bark, branches, and berries of sumac, or the bark and chips of oak and soft maple, with some iron in the pot. Yellow. A beautiful yellow is made by boiling the inner bark of golden or black oak. Or the root of yellowroot or hydrastis. In the Rocky Mountains the yellow moss off pine trees serves.478 The Book of Woodcraft Orange. By boiling with the inner bark of alder or sassafras. Scarlet. Dye yellow first then dip in red. Most berries and barks yield a dye, and experiments with, them often result in delightful discoveries. NAMING THE CAMP — OR KEEPING THE WINTER-COUNT When the return of the Grass-moon told the Indians that the New Year had come and that the old year had gone, the council debated the question: By what name shall we re- member this last year? All names suggested by events were brought in. Smallpox Year, White-buffalo Year, Many-scalps Year, and so on. When a decision was reached the Keeper of the Winter-count made a pictograph in proper place on the Painted Robe, and so this record was kept. In our tribes we select the name by which each Camp- out is likely to be remembered, and enter that in the Tally Book. Thus we have: Camp-no thing-but-rain, Camp-bully- fun, Camp-robin's-nest-on-the-teepee, etc. ARCHERY The tribe should own a Standard Target — that is, 4 feet across, circular, made of straw, with a thin oilcloth cover, marked with a 9.6 inch centre of gold (called by some of our tribes The Buffalo's Eye"); outside of that a 4.8-inch band of red, next a similar band of blue, next of black, next of white. Sometimes black rings of the right size are made to answer. In scoring, the gold is 9, the red 7, the blue 5, the black 3, the white I. The shortest match range for the target is 40 yards. If it is a 3-foot target the match range is reduced to 30 yards.Some Indian Ways 479 A target can be made of a burlap sack about five feet square. This should be stuffed full of hay or straw, then flattened by a few quilting stitches put right through with a long packing needle. On this the target is painted of exact right size. Each brave should have a bow that pulls from 10 pounds up; about one pound for each year of his age is a safe guide for boys up to sixteen. He should have at least 6 arrows and a quiver. The arrows 25 inches long, with 3 feathers, cone-points of steel or iron; brass points are useless. A guard or bracer for the left wrist is needed, and most boys require a glove to protect the fingers of the right hand. Bows can be bought for $1 to $5 and arrows from 15 cents to $3 each. But it is more creditable if you make them yourself. HOW TO MAKE A BOW Take a straight, sound piece of cedar, bodark, yew, sassafras, mulberry, apple tree, black locust, ironwood, ash, elm, hickory, or hemlock. Cut it so that it is half sap and half heartwood, flat on the sapwood side (or front) and round on the heartwood side (or back). It should be about an inch thick in the middle and tapered off to f inch at each end. Cut two notches and put on a strong linen cord, either a bought bow-string or one made of many twisted linen threads. At one end it is fast to the bow by a timber hitch, at the other by a hard loop. When strung the string should be about 5 inches from the bow. Arrows should be 25 inches long, and f of an inch thick. They are made of pine or ash. The Eastern Indians made them usually of arrow-wood or viburnum shoots. Each should have a conical steel ferrule for head and three feathers to make it fly true. The feathers are lashed on.48o The Book of Woodcraft ARCHERY a. The bow strung, b. The cord fast at the lower end. c. The cord with loop at upper end. d. Feather ready to tie on. e. Feathers lashed on. f. Holding. ^^^^^^m

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aoQauuu: zsmmss^^ iirLiiM.u.iE3 EE SIX SAMPLE ARROWS, SHOWING DIFFERENT FEATHERS. A is a. far-flying steel-pointed bobtail, very good in wind. B is another very good ar- row, with a horn point. This went even better than A if there were no wind. C is an Omaha war and deer arrow. Both heads and feathers are lashed on with sinew. The long tufts of down left on the feathers are to help in finding it again, as they are snow-white and wave in the breeze. Th; grooves on the shaft are to make the victim bleed more freely and be more easily tracked. D is another Omaha arrow with a peculiar owner's mark of rings carved in the middle. £ is a bone-headed bird shaft made by the Indians of the Mackeii- zie River. F is a war arrow made by Geronimo, the famous Apache chief. Its shaft is three joints of a straight cane. The tip is of hard wood, and on that is a fine quartz point; all being lashed together with sinew.Some Indian Ways 481 HOLDING AND DRAWING It is very important to begin shooting in correct form and never change from that if you wish to become a good shot. Grasp the bow in the left hand. Put the arrow on the string with the right. Hook the first three fingers on the string one above, two below the arrow. The little finger and thumb do nothing, (f in upper cut, p. 480). Stand perfectly upright, left side toward the target, the heels 12 inches apart and in exact line from the target. Hold the bow upright and the arrow against the left side of it, resting on the hand. Draw the cord till the head of the arrow touches the bow and the top of your thumb rests on the corner of your mouth. You must sight along the arrow for direction, but guess for elevation. Hold it one second. Release the arrow by straightening your fingers and at the same time turn your hand back up, but keep the thumb tip at your mouth corner. Do not move the left hand a hair's-breadth till the arrow has struck. Begin practising at very short range and slowly increase up to the standard, forty yards. Unstring the bow when not in use. THE WARBOW OF THE PENOBSCOTS This warbow (Tong-bi) is as shown to me by Big Thun- der, the Penobscot Chief, at Boston Sportsman's Show, December 12, 1900. He was then seventy-seven years of age, perfectly straight, and six feet four inches in height. He said that the bow had been in his tribe for over two hundred years; fifty-five years ago it was put in his charge by his uncle, the late Chief John Nepta. It is made of "hornbeam" in two pieces, loosely joined, with an auxiUary piece in front (AA), to which are attached482 The Book of Woodcraft two long thongs of caribou rawhide. This extra piece is bound to the arms of the main bow by a somewhat loose rawhide wrapping. The string is three strips of rawhide, two of them loosely twisted together, the third tightly wrapped around both. Penobscot warbow. Omaha bow, bowcase and quiver. The bow is 5 feet 6^ inches long, and pulls not more than 25 pounds, perhaps only 20. It seemed to me a very slow bow. Yet the Chief told me it had killed many men and ani- mals. He had recently shot a two-year-old moose with it.Some Indian Ways 483 The moose, he said, always Hes down on a wound to get it next the earth, but thereby drives the arrow home. Caribou rawhide, he claims, gets tighter when wet; and hornbeam practically never decays or loses its power with age. The arrow he showed me was without feathers and had a stone head. The notch was very slight, CSjuj showing that the pinch ^^^ Drawn from life. grip was necessary. It # ^I'^ec'^foo'iiZtln^ was ^2 inches long, but the / This manner he said was " ./ general among his people PenobSCOtS made them up V formerly but of late they , '■ use the new (secondary) style. to 34 and 36 mches, usu- ally with feathers. The grip by which he pulled was the Mongolian, as in the sketch. That, he said, used to be the only one in use among his tribe, but recently they had used the grip known as the Secondary. SCALPS In some tribes each brave wears a long tuft of black horse- hair that answers as his scalp. The skin of this should be about one and a half inches across; it is furnished with a cord loop; the hair is as long as possible. This scalp is presented to the brave on entering the tribe. After he has promised obedience and allegiance and signed the roll the medicine man gives it to him, saying: "This is your scalp. Treasure this as your honor. You may lose it without absolute disgrace, but not without some humiliation." He can lose it only in an important competition, approved by the council, in which he stakes his scalp against that of484 The Book of Woodcraft some other brave. If he loses, he surrenders his tuft to the winner and goes tuf tless — that is, he is dead until the coun- cil thinks proper to revive him by giving him a new scalp But he never gets back the old one, which remains the property of the winner for a teepee or other decoration. A dead brave cannot vote or sit in council or take part in the competitions. INDIAN WORK For all kinds of genuine Indian work, to order if need be, send to Mohank Lodge, Colony, Oklahoma.