Section 13

Mrs. The Trail told another account of the recovery of lost property through the medium of this skull medicine which oc- curred as recently as 19 19.
"Smart Enemy lost some of his best horses. For many days he vainly looked for them. In despair he even visited some spiritu- alists in Billings and Sheridan, but even these could not help him to find his horses. Finally he went to Strikes-the-Hat, gave her some presents, and asked her to consult her skull medicine in an endeavor to locate his horses. Strikes-the-Hat told Smart Enemy to return the next day. That evening the old woman prepared a smudge and, with the usual ceremony, consulted the skull bundle.
"When Smart Enemy called the next morning, Strikes-the- Hat told him that she had had a vision in which she saw his horses at a certain place in the Big Horn Valley. Smart Enemy immed- iately rode to the locality indicated by the old woman and there found his horses quietly grazing, just as she had seen them in her vision."
86 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
THE ROTTEN BELLY JAW MEDICINE FIGURES 37, 38, 39
[An unusual medicine in the collections of this museum is the jaw medicine bundle reputed to contain the jaw of the great Crow chief, Rotten Belly, (cat. no. 12/731). Wildschut did not describe this specimen in his manuscript, probably because he was unable to obtain detailed information on its use from Indian informants. But in his field correspondence under the date of July 7, 1923, at which time he forwarded this bundle to the museum, Wildschut wrote: "Jaw medicine obtained from Bull Tong. The jaw contained in this bundle is said to have belonged to Arapoosh (Rotten Belly), the same person who was the first owner of the shield forwarded March 22nd last. This medicine is said to have had the same power as a skull medicine."
Whether or not this is actually the jaw of the famous chief of the Mountain Crows, who was killed in a battle with the Blackfoot in 1834, ni3-y be questionable in view of Dr. T. Dale Stewart's feport on the estimated age of the owner of this jaw at death. Yet Rotten Belly's age at death is not precisely known. We do know that he was a prominent chief in his tribe at the time of the first Crow Treaty with the United States at the Mandan villages in the year 1825. Maximilian met Rotten Belly in June 1833 ^^id described him as "a fine tall man, with a pleasing countenance" who "had much influence over his people". (Maximilian, 1843. p. 174). News of Rotten Belly's death in battle was recorded in the Fort Pierre Journal of Chardon on August 8, 1834. (Chardon, 1932. p. 253). It seems improbable that Rotten BeUy was less than 40 years of age at the time of his death. He may have been older.
Nevertheless, it is significant that Indians of later generations believed this to be the jaw of Rotten Belly, and regarded it as an especially potent medicine. We know that the memory of this great chief was dear to the Crows long after his death. Writing twenty years later, Edwin T. Denig, stated: "The loss of Rotten Belly was deeply felt and regretted by the Crows, perhaps more than that of, any other man before or since his time." In the middle 1850's the Crows continued to refer to Rotten Belly as "the Chief", or as "the Great Chief." (Denig. 1953. p. 56).
This medicine is preserved in a small boat-shaped rawhide case 12" wide and 8 J" high at the ends, painted in red, dark blue and green geometric designs. (Fig. 38). The inner wrapping is a
SKULL MEDICINE BUNDLES 87
whole, small fawn skin (hair side out). It contains, in addition to the jaw, a quantity of buffalo hair, braids of sweetgrass, and some tobacco.
The surface of the jaw (actually only a portion of the left side of the mandible) is rubbed with red paint. It is almost entirely covered with a wrapping of buffalo hide (hair side out) which is fitted carefully to the jaw and sewn in place. From this wrapping are pendant skin thongs on which are strung a wide variety of trade beads of different sizes and colors, mixed with small drilled stones, sections of abalone shell and two dentalia. (Fig. 37).
Dr. T. Dale Stewart's report on his physical examination of this jaw follows — JCE] :
"I have had David B. Scott of the National Institute of Dental Research, an authority on the identification of teeth, look at the x-ray of this specimen. He agreed with my opinion, based on the gross specimen, that it would be surprising if this individual had been over 30 years of age at the time of death. There are not the age changes visible in the gross specimen or in the x-ray which one would expect to find at an older age. However, this is simply our impression and is not supported by specific research on this type of ageing.
I feel on more certain ground in the determination of sex, al- though here too there is not much to go on. Our collection of Plains Indian jaws includes a number of males with the same kind of chin conformation."
TOOTH AND HAIR MEDICINES NONE ILLUSTRATED
Tooth medicines may be divided into two classes from the viewpoint of their origin. First there were those obtained from a skull medicine bundle. They were frequently taken on the war- path in the beUef that thereby a spiritual connection was es- tablished between the skull and the tooth carrier. In such cases, it was the Indian's belief that the power of the skull medicine was fully transferred to him for the time being through the tooth which he carried with him on the warpath. 2*
3^ Lowie did not describe Crow skull medicine bundles, yet he men- tioned a tooth from the skull of "White-cub, the greatest of Crow shamans," which Gray Bull carried as a war medicine on four expeditions. (Lowie. 1922. p. 420). If Lowie's "White-cub" and Wildschut's "White Child" were the same, the former, therefore, referred indirectly to the skull me- dicine bundle the latter has here described. See p. 79.
88 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
A tooth from a skull medicine also was used for an entirely different purpose. When an Indian continually lost property and had persistent bad luck, the other members of the tribe began to gossip. If this bad luck continued, the Indians said that such an individual "had been touched by mouth". The Indian then tried to obtain the tooth from a skull medicine, believing that thereby he would be able to ward off the evil gossip.
The second kind of tooth medicine is taken from the mouth of an old man or woman. Such an aged person, feeling about to die, will extract one of his or her teeth and give it to a near rela- tive. It is hoped that the new owner then will enjoy the same long and healthy life as was given to the original possessor of the tooth. The new owner will pray to the tooth, invoking the spirit of the deceased, asking it to intercede with the "Great Above Person", so that his or her wishes may be realized. Such a tooth is usually v^Tapped in a buckskin cover, sewn tightly around the tooth, beaded and fringed. In appearance these medicines re- semble small rock medicines.
Hair was often given to members of younger generations by older people much as were teeth, and for the same purpose. Frequently a lock of hair was taken from a dead person who had lived to very great age, plaited in hoop form, rolled in buckskin, and then beaded. Thus it became an amulet, worn around the neck, and like the tooth medicine, it was hoped that it would insure for the wearer the same long life and health as was pos- sessed by the original owner. From time to time such an amulet was seen in a dream, and with it the spirit of the dead. When such a vision was obtained the amulet became a medicine in the true form. 3^
3^ One of the most famous Crow medicines was the hair of Long Hair, head chief of the Mountain Crows and first signer of the first Crow Treaty with the United Stated on August 4, 1825. His hair was his medicine. It was variously estimated by different writers at from 9' 11'' to 36' long. (Catlin, 1841. Vol. i. pp. 49-50; Maximilian, 1843. p. 175; Leonard, 1959. p. 140-141; Denig, 1953. P- 63).
Denig, who probably knew Long Hair before the latter's death in about the year 1850, wrote of him: "Encouraged by a dream, when a young man, that he would become great in proportion to the growth of his hair, he tied weights to it, which aided its growth, and every few months separated the locks into small parcels which were stuck together with the gum of the pine tree. In this way none of his hair could be lost. If any fell out the gum prevented it from dropping. At the age of 50 his hair was the length men- tioned [36 feet] 'tho no single stalk was longer than usual among females of
SKULL MEDICINE BUNDLES 89
our own color. This cumbersome bunch of hair he rolled up into two large balls and carried them in front of his saddle while riding. When on foot, the rolls were attached to his girdle. On great festivals he mounted on horseback, unrolled his hair, and rode slowly round the camp with his scalplocks trailing some distance behind him on the ground." (Denig. 1953.
p. 63).
The hair of Long Hair was preserved as a Crow medicine bundle after his death. In 1930 it was owned by Chief Plenty Coups who showed it to General Hugh L. Scott and Congressman Scott Leavitt. The latter reported that it was "76 hands i finger in length" (about 25' 5"), and he believed that it was "all one strand."
Dr. Edward F. Corson, M. D., who reviewed the evidence available on Long Hair's tresses prior to the publication of Denig's statement quoted above, concluded: "Even the shortest length estimated constitutes a re- cord in growth [of human hair] as far as I have been able to discover." (Corson, 1947. PP- 443-447)-"
ROCK MEDICINE BUNDLES
I\robably no other type of bundle is more widely distributed ^ among the Crows than is the rock medicine. The importance of rock medicines varied according to the success they brought to their owners. Consequently some of them attained sacredness and importance almost equalling those of sun dance bundles.
The Crow name for rock medicine is bacontse. The same name is applied to all peculiarly shaped rocks, and particularly to all fossils found on the surface of the earth. All rocks to which this term applies are sacred, but they are not all considered medicine. This distinction is important, because all "rocks" that are considered medicine were obtained in dreams and visions.
A Crow will pray to a peculiarly shaped rock or fossil which he finds in his path, asking for good luck, health and happiness, and then pass on, leaving the rock where he found it. Sometimes such a rock is picked up and carried home by the finder in the hope that it will appear to him in a dream or vision. But if no vision comes this rock has no special value. It is not used as a medicine or made into a bundle. However, if the finder has a dream in which the rock he found appears to him, he immediately recognizes it as a rock medicine. Nevertheless, he would apply the name bacontse to both rocks.
Again, in a dream a visionary person may appear to the Indian and this person may be the personification of a certain rock. Or he may hold in his hands a rock, and show it to the dreamer. The dreamer is then told where to find the rock thus personified or revealed, whether the rock is male or female, its subsequent ritual, the distinctive powers that rock is supposed to possess, and the taboos to be observed by its owner. Each rock medicine has certain taboos which must be respected by its owner.
When a rock is thus shown to a dreamer he will, upon awak- ening, go immediately to the spot where this rock was said to be, which may be miles from his camping place. He will recognize the rock either by its appearance as revealed in his dream or by the odor it is supposed to omit. This odor most frequently appears to
90
ROCK MEDICINE BUNDLES QI
be that of sweetgrass or bear root {esah) . The Indian believes that this odor will be apparent as long as he travels in the right direc- tion and that it will lead him to the rock he is seeking.
Rock medicines are divided into male and female. Upon close examination of a large number of rock medicines it appears that all female rocks are egg-shaped pebbles, gastrolites or fossilized ammonites. The male rocks invariably are fossilized sections of baculites, or rocks in which the Indian imagines he sees a human face, or merely a more or less sharply pointed rock of some kind.
The belief that if these sacred bundles are left to themselves for a certain time they will have offspring is common among aU tribes who possess rock medicines. The Crows, however, make a positive distinction between male and female rocks. And it is their belief that whenever such rocks are properly mated and left undisturbed for at least a year they will invariably bring forth smaller stones. The writer has been shown many examples which the Indians claim substantiate this belief.
The offspring of existing rock medicines are also considered "medicine". Their power depends primarily upon the potency attributed to the parent rocks, and upon the degree of success they bring to their owners. Their value naturally increases if the owner thereafter has successful dreams or visions which he re- cognizes as having been inspired by these rocks. The powers and taboos of the parent rocks are inherited by the offspring, at least until such time as future dreams or visions may change them.
A rock medicine is inherited by the oldest surviving son or daughter of its owner. If no children survive, the bundle is passed to the nearest relative. The transfer of a rock medicine bundle during the life of the owner requires a special ceremony and the exchange of four presents.
If a married woman receives a rock medicine in her dream she gives it to her husband.
POWERS ATTRIBUTED TO ROCK MEDICINES
Nearly all rock medicines are credited with more than one power. Some were even supposed to be able to assist the owner in every imaginable undertaking. A partial list of rock medicine owners and the powers their respective bundles are supposed to possess follows:
92 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
Little Nests' bundle is used for a great variety of purposes, as is a rock medicine owned by Plenty Coups.
Three Wolves owns a rock medicine used exclusively for the increase of his property.
Root's bundle was used for capturing horses and for increasing his own herd.
Gray Bull's bundle was used for capturing horses, and to keep himself and his family in good health. ^^
Medicine Crow's medicine is said to have been remarkably successful in increasing his herd of horses, which now (1927) numbers more than 600. ^"^
Yellow Brow's rock medicine was used exclusively for success in war.
Bear Tail's rock medicine was used chiefly on the warpath and for general success.
Gets-Back-Twice had a rock medicine which was well known because each time he opened it a small rock was found inside, obviously the offspring of the parent one. These little rocks were highly prized for use on the warpath. Sometimes Gets-Back- Twice presented one of them to a person adopted by him in the tobacco dance.
Big-Medicine-Rock owned a rock medicine that was used for caUing buffalo, on the warpath, and to abate storms and bad weather in general.
Spine's rock medicine was also used for calling buffalo and for success in war.
Short had a rock medicine which he used mainly to bring good luck in gambling.
It is interesting to note that those rocks which correspond to the Blackfoot iniskim and to the Arapaho centipid, and which atre sections of a baculite, were also called "buffalo rocks" by the Crows. These rocks were invariably gifted with the power of drawing buffalo. However, as seen in the above list, the Crows also attributed other powers to them. The Crows also had other types of buffalo calling medicine bundles, although they were few in number.^
3« Lowie (1922. pp. 385, 388) learned that Gray Bull owned several rock medicines. He described two of them.
3' Lowie (1922. pp. 389) described Medicine Crow's bundle and related the story of its origin.
^ Described here later.
ROCK MEDICINE BUNDLES 93
Those rocks on which the Crows recognized the face of a human being were principally used for war purposes. Other rocks were supposed to resemble the eagle, and were used on the war- path, usually by the leaders of war parties. To them was ascribed the power to see the location of enemy camps and horses from far off.
To such rocks as those on which the Indians imagined they could see the semblance of horses were assigned the power of capturing enemy horses and of successful breeding of the owners' own herds.
Nevertheless, the writer, who has collected more than loo rock medicines from the Crows, has seen many instances in which powers were attributed to rock medicines which were entirely different from those the appearances of these medicines would suggest. The bundle once owned by Mrs. Big-Medicine-Rock, for example, was supposed to have the power of calling the buffalo. Yet it was not a baculite, but an ammonite.