M. R. BARRINGTON — SACRBD BUNDLES OP THE SAC AND POX INDIANS. 157

mation we have regarding their use will be taken up later undo* the head of “Ceremonies.” A general account of the use of the war bundles, however, will not be out of place here.
The Expedition was very fortunate in obtaining war bundles, which, although held in great esteem by the Indians, are now, since war has become a thing of the past, of little use to them; on the contrary, merely a source of trouble and expense, for every bundle must have its feast and rites at stated times every year, the neglect of which is believed to cause some misfortune to the person responsible, the person who by inheritance or gift, happens to be its keeper.
Nevertheless it was very difficult to persuade the owners to give them up at first, but once they were satisfied that the bundles would not be ill treated, the task became a little easier.
The large number was due to two principal causes: the large number existing in the tribe, and the fact that the people had just arrived at that stage of civilization when they would dispose of them. In old times every warrior of any prominence had a bundle; thus it happened that with the thinning out of the tribe many families came to acquire several by inheritance. In such cases it was much easier to buy bundles that were super- fluous than it would have been to obtain the only one in the possession of a family.
The typical method of using the war bundle may be set forth in brief as follows: When the war leader, after appropriate songs and ceremonies set forth with his followers, he bore upon his back the war bundle upon whose powers the success of the raid was supposed to depend. Every precaution was taken to care for the bundle, and every night it was hung on a tree or a lance thrust into the ground so that it might not touch the earth. But it was never opened until the enemy were actually sighted — but once they came in view, even if very close, the warriors, singing the song proper to the occa- sion, opened the bundle, stripped themselves and put on the "medicine” head bands, plumes, arm bands and other pro-
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tective amulets it contained, painted themselves with its magic paint, and chewed and rubbed upon their bodies the herbs that would make them impervious to arrows or difficult to hit; then while the remains of the bundle were being wrapped up, and amid the shrilling of the war whistles and the sound of the rattles from the bundle, joined in a short dance. Then they were ready for the foe, who might have been firing on them in the mean time. After the encounter the amulets were returned to the bundle. If anyone had been wounded his injuries were treated with the herbs it contained.
Medicine or charm bundles are used in nearly as many ways as there are individual bundles, for which reason it will be better to leave the discussion of their use until the speci- mens themselves are described.
It was easier to obtain these minor bundles, except those connected with witchcraft or similar practices, where con- siderable difficulty was encountered. This was because few Indians wished to publicly admit that they had ever owned or used such things.
Storage.
In times of peace both war and naming bundles were kept hanging from the roof-poles of the lodge, and at stated times were taken down, opened and honored with feast and dance.
Many of them are kept to-day in special bark houses maintained by the men who act as priests, the important bundles of the dan being kept together in this way. These houses might really be called the ceremonial houses of the dans, for in them the dan feasts and dances take place (PI. XXI, XXIV). Among the more primitive people, as at Tama, Iowa, the dan house is also the residence of the priest and his family; but among the more advanced, as in Oklahoma, the bark house stands beside the more comfortable frame dwelling of the priest. This is shown in PI. XXIII, B. Some at least of the war bundles, and all of the minor varieties, are kept by their owners in their own homes, and not in the clan repository.
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11. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OP THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 159
In these private homes, while the war bundles are of course hung up the medicine bundles are packed away in rawhide trunks, baskets and bags, along with other purely personal effects. The use of a clan repository is mentioned under the heading “Sauk” in the Handbook of American Indians . 1
Rules.
There are certain rules connected with the handling of bundles, especially the war bundles, which must be obeyed. They must always be treated with respect, and never opened except for good cause, nor must they ever be allowed to touch the ground. One of the strictest rules provided that no woman! should ever touch them or any part of them, or approach them when open; and no woman in her periodic condition approach them even when closed. Should this be allowed, it was believed that not only would the powers of the bundle be spoiled, but the woman would be likely to bleed to death. There are exceptions to this rule, however, certain bundles to which the taboo did not apply.
1 Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 30, Part 2, p. 478.
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CEREMONIES.
Among these Indians the belief is prevalent that a child cannot receive a real and valid name except through the ceremonies connected with the naming bundle, usually that of its father’s clan. To what extremes this idea may be carried out is seen in the case of a closely related tribe, the Kickapoo, whose children, bom in Oklahoma, are frequently taken to Mexico to be named, for many if not all of the clan naming bundles are held by the bands of the tribe who have emigrated to Mexico in search of more primitive conditions, under which it is possible to continue their ancient manner of living.
Our only account of the Sac naming bundles, as recorded by Mr. Skye, is presented herewith:
“Now there are a number of clans in the Sac tribe: the Fish clans, Thunder clan, Fox, Bear, Wolf, Beaver, Eagle, Swan, Turkey, Turtle, Elk, Deer, Buffalo, Bear-potato, Sun or Daylight, Buzzard and Goose or Duck clans . 1 There are, however, only twelve namesake bundles, all taken from the first five.
“Children usually belong to the clan of the father, and so belong to a bundle of that clan, but sometimes, especially if children are sickly, they may be changed to or adopted by the clan of the mother, or possibly some other clan (with a
1 Morgan’s list (Ancient Society, p. 170) of the Sac and Fox clans is: Wolf, Bear, Deer, Elk, Hawk, Eagle, Fish, Buffalo, Thunder, Bone, Fox, Sea, Sturgeon, Big Tree; while the Handbook of American Indians gives for the Sauk division: the Trout, Bass, Sturgeon, Great Lynx or Fire Dragon, Sea, Fox, Wolf, Bear, Bear-potato, Elk, Swan, Grouse, Eagle and Thunder; and for the Fox: Bear, Fox, Wolf, Big Lynx, Elk, Buffalo, Swan, Pheasant, Eagle, Sea, Sturgeon, Bass, Thunder and Bear-potato. The only clans occurring on all four lists are: Fish clans (several kinds), Thunder, Fox, Wolf, Bear, Elk, Eagle; of these we may be reasonably sure for both the Sauk and the Fox; while the Bear-potato, Buffalo, Swan and Sea occurring on three lists, are probably correct. As for the rest a critical investigation is needed.
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