Section 6

The office of chief (The-One-Who-Owns-the-Camp) was entirely dependant upon a vision. Acting according to instructions received in his dreams and visions he guided the people to places where there always was an abundance of meat and game and plenty of feed for the horses and where the camp was safe from the assault of
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WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 35
enemy war parties. To such chiefs was entrusted the absolute authority over the camp and in their power rested the true government. Their orders were law in camp, as the pipe-holder's were law on the warpath, and had to be explicitly obeyed. Those who disobeyed these orders were severely punished. Because the welfare of the whole camp was of so much greater importance than the welfare of a single war party, these chiefs were recognized as ranking higher than were the pipe-holders.
When a large camp was about to move, the chiefs present met and discussed the various dreams they had received. One of them might state that in one of his dreams he had been shown a certain camping place, but that elements in his dream had appeared which made him doubt whether a move in that direction was ad- visable. The other chiefs then in turn related their dreams and finally, after much discussion, a certain location was decided upon. No pipe-holders were present at these conferences. In case the chiefs could not agree upon one place, each announced the location to which he intended to move. The camp divided into several parties and each chief selected his own camp leader and camp police, and moved in whatever direction he decided upon, followed by those who had particular faith in that chief.
It was necessary for the would-be chief to relate his dreams or visions by which he claimed this privilege, and this was done with much ceremony in the assembly of all chiefs and pipe-holders. If this assembly decided that his dream was powerful enough to warrant the coveted position, the aspirant was placed on trial. The whole camp was placed under his sole command, all other chiefs regardless of their standing taking orders from him. Camp was moved to different locations. Usually four moves were made in this period of trial. If the would-be chief was successful in bring- ing plenty of meat for the people and feed for the horses, and if no misfortunes were encountered nor the camp attacked and defeated by enemies, and if those war parties returning during this period were successful ones, the aspirant was acclaimed a chief and per- mitted to take part in the councils. The camp then resumed its regular custom of living under the direction, not of one chief alone, but of the council of chiefs.
Such chiefs could never be deposed. However, if a camp under the direction of a certain chief met with many reverses the people gradually lost faith in his ability as a leader, his following grew fewer and fewer. Finally that chief abdicated voluntarily.
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White-on-the-Side-of-His-Head was a famous Crow camp chief in the i86o's. Although he was a most successful leader, he carried no martial honors. He always prayed for his people and made many ceremonial sweat-baths. He was known as a man especially favored with dreams and visions. Of the chiefs of this type only one survives among the Crows today (1927). He is Plenty Coups, and he is also a pipe-holder.
An ambitious warrior with many coups to his name, but who never had been so fortunate as to obtain a vision in which the office of pipe-holder was given to him, might approach a famous pipe-holder to seek the transfer of his medicine. The first time he took presents to the pipe-holder, mostly in the form of meat. He repeated his gifts on four different occasions. Then the aspirant openly revealed to the pipe-holder the reason for his favors and asked him for the transfer of his medicine. The transfer was op- tional with the pipe-holder. If he consented and ceremonially transferred his power to the aspirant, the latter became recognized as a pipe-holder. The successful leadership of subsequent war parties reflected credit upon the one from whom he had received his medicine. If the pipe-holder refused the aspirant, the latter might at a later date obtain a vision which would entitle him to the status of pipe-holder. The acquisition of additional coups would raise his status as a warrior, but they alone would not entitle him to the position he coveted.
The pipe-holder was entitled to wear leggings fringed with scalplocks, horsehair or weasel strips. He was also entitled to wear the war shirt. But unless he had counted the required coups, he could not wear both shirt and fringed leggings at the same time. Bear Rectum, a famous Crow pipe-holder of the period of the i86o's, led many successful war parties, but had no coups to his name. He directed his men but never went into battle himself. This appears further to substantiate the contention that the office of pipe-holder, like that of chief, was more dependent upon dreams and visions than upon the acquisition of martial honors.
There are still living among the Crows (1927) about twelve men who have been pipe-holders and who are commonly called chiefs. They are Plenty Coups ; Cuts-the-Bear and Bell Rock, in the Pryor District ; Bull-Don't-Fall-Down and Cross Ways (also called John Wallace), in the Blacklodge District; Cold Wind, in the Big Horn District ; Iron Forks, at Reno ; Hillside and Two Whistles, at Lodge Grass; and Shows-His-Coups and Whinnies (also called Neighing
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 37
Horse), at Wyola. Bell Rock in his younger days was a famous pipe-holder. He had more coups to his name than did Plenty Coups. Yet Bell Rock never acquired the rank of camp chief.
The pipe-holders form a society of which Plenty Coups is at the present time (1927) the leader. Within this society are certain divisions. Cold Wind stated that Plenty Coups, Hillside, Wolf Bear, Flathead Woman and himself formed one of these divisions. The writer has long known that a certain initiation rite accompanied entrance into this society. However, this rite was secret and the living pipe-holders with whom I have talked have always evaded making direct answers to my queries about it. The fragmentary information received indicates that it was a lengthy ceremony accompanied by various acts of self-sacrifice and torture.
Cold Wind stated that he became a pipe-holder through the transfer of this power from his brother, who had previously at- tained that office. Later he fasted and saw the vision which had originated in his brother's bundle. He refused either to show or to sell his pipe-holder's bundle. He said, however, that his bundle contained a green plume, a symbol of the antlers of a moose while still in velvet. At the lower end of this plume are fastened two outstretched bird wings on each of which is painted a single red horse-track. Short strips of weasel-skin and beads are wrapped around the lower edge of the plume and suspended from it are several differently colored horse tails.
WAR HONORS AND INSIGNIA
The striking of different coups entitled Crow warriors to wear certain insignia. A knotted and cut rope tied to a horse's neck signified that its owner had cut loose a picketed horse from in front of an enemy's tipi. The number of horses captured was represented by stripes of white clay under the horse's eyes, or on its flanks. A hand painted in white clay on a horse showed that the rider had knocked down, while mounted on his own horse, an enemy either on foot or on horseback. A scalp tied to a horse's bridle was an insigne only allowed to a pipe-holder.
The taking of a scalp was indicated by tying it to the end of a coup stick. Eagle feathers were attached to the coup stick if the owner, on several occasions, had struck an enemy first or had killed a number of enemies. Eagle feathers tied to a gun indicated the number of enemies killed.
^8 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
A warrior who struck an enemy first was entitled to a coyote tail at the heel of one of his moccasins. He could fasten a coyote tail to both moccasins if he had performed this deed twice. A war- rior who recovered from a battle wound painted the place where the wound was received with a black circle and red stripes radiat- ing from it before he went on parade.
A warrior who took a gun from the enemy or who struck an enemy first was entitled to wear a war shirt, but not a pair of fringed leggings. Striking an enemy, the most important of the four major coups, entitled the shirt-wearer to attach to it the four decorated strips which were quilled in the early days and later were beaded, and which were sewn across the shoulders and to the sleeves. It was a great distinction among the Crows to be able to wear a war shirt. Even today (1927) no Crow will publicly wear a war shirt unless he is entitled to it. There is no hereditary right to the wearing of such a garment.
Since the end of the intertribal wars a new way has been found to give the ambitious youth the right to wear these shirts. A number of young Crows, led by an older man, offer a visiting Indian of a different tribe many presents to induce him to act as an enemy. This "enemy" is given a good horse and starts out from camp in the evening. Next morning before dawn the Crows start out on the trail of this "enemy". The Crow who manages to overtake him and strike the first coup is entitled to wear the honors formerly earned by this act in actual combat. Four times, and on different occasions, this young man must strike the first coup, which is usually done by hitting the "enemy" lightly with a stick or with the hand, before he is entitled to wear the decorated war shirt. This is one reason why they are valued very highly by the Crows and are scarcer among them than among other Plains Indians.
All these different insignia were highly coveted by the true warrior, and the esteem he enjoyed in the tribe was greater ac- cording to the kind and number of deeds performed. However, these honors were purely material ones and the greatest honors came to those whose dreams and visions never failed. On the warpath they belonged to him who led his party safely and re- turned with the spoils but without the loss of a man, even if he himself had not participated in the performance of brave deeds on the expedition.^*
1* Although Wildschut and Lowie agree in the definition of the four major coups recognized by the Crows, Lowie does not make a clear distinc-
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 39
ACQUISITION OF WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES
In many cases a young man was allowed to join a party going out for the purpose of capturing horses or raiding enemy camps without his having become the possessor of a medicine. However, he was considered only as a helper. He did servant duty, cut wood and carried extra supplies. He was not permitted to join in any battle and, when close to the enemy, he was told to retreat to a safe distance and there await the outcome of the fight. If a raid was undertaken to steal horses, the members of the party left their horses in care of one or more of these younger men, while the older members went forward to raid the corrals or camp of the enemy.
Several young helpers nearly always accompanied a large war party. It was a form of apprenticeship which most warriors had to serve. During these journeys they were taught the many tricks and stratagems employed by the older members of their tribe. ^^
The ambitious young man would not be content for long to take such a minor part and soon insisted on more activity. He knew, however, that to do this he should have a medicine, no matter how small, and this led to his undertaking of a vision quest. If he was not successful in securing a vision he would offer presents to an older and more experienced warrior who possessed a success- ful bundle, and would ask for the use of a part of his bundle. This might consist merely of a feather taken from that bundle, and a medicine song belonging to it. But to the young man these were considered as' much protection as many a complete bundle would have been.i^
No owner of a famous war bundle would consider transferring part or all of it to a warrior of little or no experience. The risk that such an untried warrior might bring disgrace upon his bundle was too great. In extreme cases, where the young man was unable to obtain a medicine song from a successful warrior, he would deliberately borrow a song he had heard during some ceremony,
tion between pipe-holder and camp chief, nor does he emphasize the import- ance of the war shirt as an insigne of warhke archievement. (Lowie, 1958. pp. 5, 225, 228-229.)
1^ This role of the young apprentice on war expeditions was not peculiar to the Crows. For a similar Blackfoot practice see Ewers (1955b. pp. 190 to 191).
" This also was common Blackfoot practice. (Ewers, 1955b. p. 178).
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and he would sing this before he entered a conflict or an enemy camp to capture horses.
In some cases an older relative possessing a war bundle trans- ferred it to a younger man for his temporary use. Then at some future time the young man again fasted and attempted to obtain a medicine as a direct gift from the "Without Fires."
TYPES OF WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES
Crow war bundles may be divided into three classes :
1. Those medicine bundles of which copies were made and were known by the chief article they contained. These were always the most powerful and successful ones. Best known among them were the hoop medicine and the arrow medicine.
2. The individual war medicine bundles of which no two were alike.
3. Horse-stealing medicines which, as the name implies, were the bundles used mainly for the purpose of capturing the enemies' horses.
Nos. 2 and 3 are often found together in one bundle, the owner using one or the other as the occasion demanded.
There was a twofold reason for making copies of certain powerful and successful bundles. First, the fact that a bundle brought prosperity and good luck to its owner made Indians who were less fortunate desirous of sharing in the owner's success. Second, some visions instructed the dreamer to make a certain number of copies of the bundle to be distributed among deserving members of the tribe. If the first of these bundles proved success- ful, these instructions were carried out.
The transfer of copies or parts of war bundles was more com- mon than was the case with any other class of Crow medicine bundle. This reflects the importance of the war bundles as aids in acquiring wealth and distinction. No other type of medicine bundle could contribute more to the prestige of the Indian. He believed that with the help of his war bundle he could capture horses which brought him wealth, and he could become invulner- able in battle, and successful in striking coups which brought him distinction and might lead eventually to the coveted position of pipe-holder or even of chief.
Only in cases where the dreamer had received specific instruc- tions from his visionary spirit to make one or more duplicates of
WAR MEDICINE BUNDLES 4I
his bundle was the whole of its contents remade. Only parts of other bundles were transferred. Although further transfers of these parts might be made at later times until finally the whole of the bundle was dupUcated.
In transferring a bundle not only Was the power and ritual given, but from then on the "medicine father" gave to his "son" the benefits of his dreams. For example, he might say to his "son":
"My son, in my dream last night I saw two enemies being killed close to a certain butte near the mouth of the Yellowstone. Make preparations to go there and count coup upon these enemies. In my dream I saw that the waters in the rivers were swollen. So leave here in late spring and you will find the two enemies whom you will kill at that place."
Then when the time arrived the medicine "son" would arrange with some pipe-holder to lead a party to the designated place, and there his "father's" dream would be realized. In Crow belief such dreamed expeditions never were known to fail.
The individual war medicine bundles and the horse-stealing bundles are so much aHke that they must be considered together. As a rule the primary object of the war party setting out for enemy country was to obtain horses. Battles sometimes were fought on these expeditions, not because they were sought but because they could not be avoided. It was practical, therefore, to combine horse-steaUng and war power in a single medicine bundle.
Horse-stealing medicines consist most frequently of a peg painted with the sacred red paint, and with one or more horse tracks carved on it in the form of an inverted u design. This indicates the owner's desire to be successful in acquiring some of the enemy's best and fleetest horses which invariably were picketed near their owners' tipis.
A whip, also painted and frequently carved with symbolic horse tracks serves as another horse-stealing medicine. When horses were captured and driven homeward, use of this whip would make it possible for them to outrun any enemy that might follow their trail.