Newspaper Page Text
UPERNATURAL ORIGIN 3 D D By MARTHA K. PLAS8MANN HILE civilized man is not in different to his food, he does not knowingly worship it, al though in the case of an epicure, it amounts to nearly the same thing— food is his idol. But primitive man has always regarded as sacred any thing upon which bis life depended. Food Is a necessity, and the two main sources of food supply for the Indians were buffalo and corn. With the hunter tribes, the buffalo took precedence; while the agricultural tribes held corn in greater esteem. The planting of corn and its har vesting was not to be undertaken without the observance of certain ceremonies other than merely con sidering whether the moon was favor able. Stories of the supernatural origin of corn, and the relationship between it and the Indians were W Scattered Com, Daughter of tho Last Maudan Com Driest. current. These are valuable chief ly as they manifest the workings of the primitive mind. Tho reverence felt for corn by the Indians was revealed in their treat ment of it, and in their songs. The Mandans never left any grains scat tered about, and no metal knives were used to cut the stalks, metal being related to Thunder, which was a war or destructive power. The caches in which it was stored, were first purified and blessed; purifica tion being accomplished by the smoke of sweet grass. Of the songs in praise of corn, one attributed to tho Omahas, is worthy of quotation, It being poetry of the Whitman school: "The maize being one of the great est means to give us life, in honor of it we sing. We sing even of the Bright White LIGHT! SUNBURST Kerosene Is wa ter-white, produces a bright white light, is clean burning and wicks have to be trimmed about half as much as with ordinary kerosene. DEALERS! We are In posi tion to quote you on gasoline (straight-run, made by Pow erized non-acid process) and kerosene, for Immediate ship ment. Wire or write us for quotations. SUNBURST Refining Co. Qreat Falla Montana OUT OF GAST? STAY HOME TONIGHT WITH YOUR RADIOLA AND GET PLENTY OF GOOD ENTERTAINMENT taJt Complete with Tubes, Speaker and all batteries and External Loop SUPERHETERODYNE RADIOLA SUPERHETERODYNE No Antenna $ 292 ;» Needed To Montana Electric Company, 60 East Broadway, Butte Mont. I am interested In Radio and would like to have you send your free Radio Booklet. Name ____________________________________________ _ jo Address _ My Radio Dealer U growth of its roots, of Its clinging to the earth, of Its shooting forth from the ground, of its springing from joint to joint, of itc sending forth the ear, of its putting cover on it* head, of Its ornamenting its head with a feather, of Its Invitation to men to come and feel it, to open and see its fruit, of its invitation to man to taste of the fruit." Another song of twenty-six stan-1 zas, likewise pictures the growth of the grain. Its harvesting and cook ing. It begins with its germination, as follows; "O hasten! Behold, With four roots I stand. Behold me! Then seven leaves are enumerated, and after these, seven joints. Then each stanza shows a further stage of ad vancement, concluding with the words, "I stand." "With clothing .. . With light, glossy hair... With yellow hair . . . With dark hair . . . With light, glossy tassel. . . With pale tassel .. . With yellow tassel . . . With fruit possessed I stand." The hearer is at length exhorted to "Pluck me . .. Roast me . . and last of all: "O hasten? Rip from its cob My fruit as I stand. And eat me." An invitation not to be overlooked, but readily ac cepted, then, as now. Of the origin of corn, the Pawnees bad this tradition. The Creator was known as Ttrawa; his wife being Atlra, which interpreted means "Comes-from-Corn." Tirawa set the Evening Star—Bright Star—in the west, to be the mother of all things. The Great Star—the Morning Star— was placed in the east, and is to be a warrior. In Bright Star's garden everything on earth is created, ani mals, birds, etc., and even sunshine. The tour servants of Bright Star who take these to tho earth are, Wind, Cloud, Lightning and Thunder. From the marriage of Morning and Even ing Star a girl is born in winter. The Sun marries the Moon and their son is born in summer. This girl and boy are sent to the earth and marry. Other human beings are created by the stars, and dispatched to earth to keep tho first couple company. Each couple Is given by the star that cre ated them a sacred bundle which con tains an ear of sacred corn. One ver sion of this tradition said that the people who lived In the southwest had white sacred corn, those in the northwest yellow, those in the north east black, and those in the south east red. The Pawnees feared Tir awa, but loved the Evening Star, which was symbolized by Mother Corn—the sacred white corn. Another version of this story, states that the son of the first couple sent to earth is led by the meadow lark, the messenger of the four ser vants of Bright Star, to an earth lodge, where foe finds the four, namely W'ind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning, These teach him how to live. They gave him a buffalo to kill and a sacred bundle containing seed; they taught him how to make hoes from tim shoulder blade of a buffalo, snd the corn ceremones. The boy carried the seed to the people. The Ankaras had still another version of the gift of corn to human ity. They said the gods made people, some giants and some little people. Tho giants becoming wicked, a flood was sent to destroy them. The little people, however, being good, were saved by animals who took them un der the ground. After the flood sub sided, the animals, or Mother Corn, led the little people out of the ground and into the Missouri valley. It Is Interesting to note that the sacred ear of corn, belonging to the Cheyennes, was lost wfoen Colonel McKenzie captured Dull Knife's vil lage on the Tongue river. The Omahas believed the buffalo was found first, and then corn. A man roaming about found some blue, red and white kernels. Thinking them valuable,, he hid them in the ground and mounded earth over them. He went to get them later, and was surprised to find some stalks bearing kernels like those he found. He took tho ears and gave them to the people. On eating it they pronounced it good, and ever since that time have planted It, always in mounds, like that where the kernels were first hidden. These cited, are but a few of the many stories of the origin of corn, this fact in Itself, proving how great a role It enacted in the life of the ag ricultural Indian tribes. The corn ceremonies were as num r ! ; j i ; ' | N HIS "Builders of .he Nation." George Bird (Irin n el I moot ably describes the Western Indian in the following wonts: "Like the wild blr (land the beast, like the cloud and the forest tree, the primitive savage is a part of nature.. He is In It and o( it. He Studies It all through Ills life. He can read Its language. It j s (he one tiling that he knows. He is an observer. Nothing escapes tils eye. The signs of the clouds, the blowing of the winds, the move ments of the birds and animals—all tell him some story. Ii is by the observance of these signs, rending them and ar<iug on them tliai he procures Ids food, tiiat he saves himself from :»!» enemies. that he finds his life." And, thus. And, thus it Is found that the old legends of the red man are baslely founded on the movements and changes of those things which for ma part of nature's wonderful being. In the accompanying sketch, the author following up the recent story of Corn aipong the Indians, gives us some Idea of the great signifieunoe of this their native grain, to them, to their very being. It Is through the proper consideration of these legends and customs that we are brought to a hotter comprehension of the character of the Indian—a broader view and a wider sympathy, which helps us to appreciate that these primitive people, too. were human like our selves, with kindred emotions, lacking only the dlreeiion and regu lations of tile smoothly flowing channels of civilised life. I erous as were the traditions. Arikaras sometimes throw Into the Missouri river Mother Corn, repre sented by an ear of corn tied in a bundle together with the discarded moccasins of children, with the idea The ;.i •v * t ■ Sp|ö| I UpHf ■ t ' ? TU c ■ v f Above: A Rawhide Bowl and Stone Mortar Used by the Indians In Grinding their Corn for Food. Below: A Bone Hoe Made from the Shoulder Blade of a Buffalo; Used by the Indian Women for Culti vation Purposes. that she would carry the prayers of the people for a good harvest to the home of the gods. One ceremony was connected with the sacred corn, of which most of the Upper Missouri tribes had one more varieties. The Corn Priest gave a few kernels of this to the women, to be mixed with their seed corn, in order to Insure a good crop. or Montana Man Is Collecting Indian Relics and Compiling Data on Early Customs of Northwestern Tribes By KLVA WINEMAN OLLECTINO Indian relics for the Museum of the American In dian, Heyn Foundation, New York, is the work of W. Wlldschut, ol Montana, who each summer covers thousands of miles of territory in c £'■>4 ■■ « B!» ri SET ■ IW. Wlldschut, Collector of Indian Curios and Relics for s New York Museum, Here Shown In the Bad Lands of Central Montana, plorlng Possible Location of An In (Inin Burial. Ex the northwestern states In search of Interesting relics of historical Indian Importance. Mr. Wildschut's work includes the search for Indian relics, burials, plc tographs, etc., but he is chiefly con cerned at present with Indian burials and more particularly the tree burial, These specimens are very difficult There were several societies among t^e women of the agricultural tribes, of which Goose Women was the high est. This society was composed of the older women, whoso distinctive badge was a atrip4>( goose skin worn at the head. It generally had two girl members, these wearing duck skin heed bands, with the head il tachod. This society had a spring dance at the arrival of the first geese, to secure an abundant yield of corn, and another in Hie fall to bring suc cess in buffalo hunting. The Corn Priest was a venerated tribal official, whose duties were ar to procure, the Indians being loathe to part wtih them. The only one on exhibition anywhere in the United States is at the museum in New York City and Mr. Wlldschut was instru mental in securing !t for that Insti tution after many weeks of work. Tho burial is that of a child and pos session of it was secured only after pursuading the relatives how much better and finer it would be to have the body cared for and preserved in a beautiful building rather than al lowing it to crumble away and be lost In .the elements. After changing their minds many times during the process of argument they finally agreed and with their assistance the large branch on which the body was fastened was sawed off from the tree, and it is now in the museum of the American Indian at New York. Some tribes made their burials on tho tops of very high hills where they covered the bodies which had been wrapped In buffalo robes, with mounds of rock. Others deposited them in cracks or crevices of the rlm rock In the foothills, covering the bodies first with sticks and then with irocks. Still others wrapped them carefully with all their belongings in robes and blankets and laid them on the very tops of almost inaccessible Get the habit buy the bestl SCO LLY'S •It CANE AND SYR U P Costs no more than the ordinary kind ;duous at times, especially at the cere : mony of cleansing of the corn. On , that occasion he wore winter attire, and was unable to discard it until the ripening of an ear of corn released (him from his obligations. He was i confined to his lodge except on the ; stated occasions when he visited the 'corn field. No matter how hot the weather, he would not bathe, and he was not permitted to eat berries or any fresh food. His failure to com ply with these rules would cause an early frost to ruin the crop. Four times he visited tho fields, beginning with the appearance of the first corn silk, and so insures the corn against drouth, hail, wind, grasshoppers, and oilier enemies. If a woman feared her crop would be small, she brought a robo to the priest who traced oil it a corn stalk, Us five roots, Its leaves, blossoms and ear, or ears. This drawing the wo man outlined in clay. The priest, taking the robe Into the sacred lodge, wrapped It around a polo at the height he judged tc be right. It was then carried to tho field and planted there. About its base the corn was heaped with tho expectation that it would reach the robe. The priest re ceived as pay for his services, a pre sent for each root, loaf, etc., outlined on the robe. With this end in view, doubtless they were drawn with a free hand. At the summer solstice, the Paw nees, until well in the nineteenth century sacrificed a young girl cap tive, in honor of the Morning Star. An early writer witnessed this cere mony, and has described It omitting no horrible detail. This account has a marked resemblance (o our lynch ing bees, although the hymns sung by the Indians were in praise of Morning Star, and not the Prince of Peace. Tho victim of this ceremony was a Sioux girl, who had been treated with such kindness by her capto-i that she never suspected her fate, until she was In tho presence of the instru ments of torture. On learning of her death her tribe vowed lo be avenged for every bone in her body, as (he Pawnees discovered later to their cost. While not of a ceremonial nature, the subject of corn should not be dismissed before mention is made of the field songs of tho women. As told in a former article, tho young girls took their porcupine quill em broidery with them to the corn field, and there seated on elevated plat forms, frightened away the birds, and the small boys who were seeking roasting ears. While working, they sang; und one designed for the ears of any young man of the Dog Soci ety, who might stray that way, has been recorded, and shows that like "Tho Colonel's Lady and Judy O'Ora dy." under the skin, without regard to color, g slirraeigrsl cmfwyp nifwyp to color, girls are girls tho world over. It is this; "Young man of the Dog Society, you said to me, 'When I go cast on a war party, you will hear news of me, how brave I am!' I have heard nows of you! When the fight was on you ran and hid; And still you think you are a bravo young man! Behold you have joined tho Dog Society; But I call you Just plain dog!" cliffs verging on deep canyons, where the ashes might be distributed to tho four winds. Mr. Wlldschut ,1s here shown ex ploring an old Indian burial. Noth ing remains now, however, to show that this spot was ever used for such purpose even though the discovery is one of recent years. Relic hunters have flocked here in large numbers and simply combed the rocks for elk teeth, beads and whatever else they might find, carefully removing every truce of burial and leaving only thoir initials plenteousiy carved all over the rocks. It Is for thla reason that tho mu seums aro exercising so much effort and spending a great deal of money to save these relics of a race that is fast forsaking its native customs, be fore they are forever lost. There are many beautifully paint ed and carved rock walls and caves In the west. These paintings, or pic togr&phs as they are called, are, In most Instances, very crude and to date very little progress has been made In classifying and deciphering them. Mr. Wlldschut's work this year In cluded visits to the Bannocks In Ida ho, the Shoshones of Wyoming, and RADIOS and RADIO PARTS Batterie« und Tobe« H#|Hklrl«lff and Hprvirinr THE ELECTRIC ft RADIO SHOP 4tS Control Ave., Great Failli, Mont. FINDS CONDITIONS IN STATE WELL ON WAY TO RECOVERY REPRESENTATIVE OF FIRM IN TWIN CITIES FINDS BASIS FOR REPORTED IMPROVEMENT J. L. O'Donnell States MU Tour of Inspection Increases HU Faith In Stability of Business in the North western Slates. Trade conditions In Montana and throughout the northwest are rap idly rising to prosperous heights and the adverse publicity which full'd the eastern press about Mon tana a few months ago will sim mer down to a "boost rather than a knock," J. 1,. O'Donnell of Min neapolis, a member of the firm of Wyman & Partridge, declared on a recent business vUU to (he state's cities, Mr. O'Donnell states that ho made a trip to tho state at this time to learn the actual business conditions on which to build the company's trade and declares himself "elated" and pleased with what he has found. "For several months we have known that Montana is coming hack at a rapid pace, due to the Immense amount of business that wo are do ing with Montana merchants, and It was because we wished to learn the foundation of It all that we came hero," Mr. O'Donnell said. "During my stay 1 have made a thorough an alysis of trade conditions and find every reason to believe that our busi ness is on a substantial basis, "Montuna lias had temporarily what might he called a 'bad name' In the east und Inasmuch as wo must extend credit It was only natural that wo should lie interested in any reports coming from the state, Tho result of this visit is Hint I am con vinced that conditions aro much bet ter than 1 had expected, even after wo know that tho state was harvest ing a big crop. "Until recently Montana mer chants, in common with those in all northwestern slates, wore buying "from hand to mouth," This condi tion is gradually changing, and our Minneapolis house la flooded with or ders and forced lo work night and day to fill them." with tho Bloods of Canada. During tho course of his work, he has secured data for several books upon which he 1» now nt work, and which will go to tho publishers nt an early date. To Have a Clear Sweet Skin. Touch pimples, redness, rougîmes» or itching, If any, with Cutleoru Oint ment, then bathe with Cutlcura Soap and hot water. Rinse, dry gently and dust on n little Cutlcura Talcum to leave ft fascinating fragrance on skin Everywhere 26c each.—Adv, f, « . • teaspoonful equals 1 or many other hrm&s-Thatswby CALUMET rar would « oukatest BAKING POWDER Goes farther lasts longer •»> It Contain« the ordinary » w MmIV. of muf other braat state 'Æties PNEl MONTA IS FATAL TO TRAIL j BLAZER AM) BUILDER; WAS Sli YEARS OF AGE. A. W. "Ike" Klngsburg ('ami' to State In Mining Days; Settling In Cas | cade County, Itérante One of The I Stale's Leading Stockmen. Death recently claimed one of earliest Great when l w . Kingsbury, (ihn! alls' pioneers at his home in that city. He was perhaps one of the liest known figures In Montana when the stale was in the making, and for nearly half a Century was engaged in slink raising In Choteau and Cas cade counties. Despite his 82 years he was in appearance and action a man of SO, and enjoyed excellent health until taken ill with pneumonia a short time prior to his death. Adkln W, Kingsbury was born on his fathers farm In Howard county. Mo., October 20, 1842. He was the sixth of eight children and during his boyhood days ho attended school In tho winter months and worked in tho summer on the home farm. On May 9, 1864, in company with his brother, Lllburn, ho left home with an ox team, traveling overland lo Omaha whore they joined a west bound overland train consisting of 70 wagons some, of which were bound for Montana, olhors to Idaho, Washington and Oregon. At Fort Laramie their wagon train was detained by tho United Blutes troops that wore (hero stationed, duo to Indian uprisings. After a short wait, and when the war parties had quieted down, they were allowed to proceed, reaching Beaverhead and Jefferson City late In the full of 1864-66, whore they spent tho winter. In tho spring Mr. Kingsbury's brother took up n ranch ut tho fork of the Prickly Pear and Ten Milo creek, and hero they engaged In farming. Expenses wore very high, as can bo judged from the fact that they paid as high as $18 for an ounce of onion seed. This venture did not prove n success, and the brother returned to his homo in Missouri. Mr. Kingsbury left for Helena, where ho opened u livery stable, this proving a more profitable enterprise. He followed Ibis lino of business un ill 1871 When ho engaged In pros pecting and placer mining In Over land gulch for a short time, after which ho entered the sheep growing business. He became associated with Daven port and. Ray, and this firm pur chased a bund of 1,800 sheep which hud been brought to Deer Lodge from Oregon by William Darkness. These wore tho first sheep brought over tho mountains from tho west, and were also the first to bo Intro duced Into this part of tho terri tory. Tho band was placed on tho Boulder river range, and grazed there for three years after which they were (aken to tho ranges of tho then Oho lean county, but now Cascade coun ty. Mr. Kingsbury ami his partners remained In that line of business un til 1872, when they added cattle raising to their business, and in 1882 they organized the Choteau Live stock company, with Mr. Kingsbury us active general manager. This en terprise was successful and many thousand head of cattle and sheep wore handled and marketed. In 1892 the Big Sag Sheep com pany was organized, Mr. Kingsbury being chosen president, and this corporation has done a large busi ness In the handling of sheep and cattle since that time. It has been one of the Important factors In the development of that Industry In the state. Mr. Kingsbury, was at all times keenly Interested In all pro gressive steps toward the develop ment of his comuunlty, and was counted one of the worthy empire builders of the early West. Bitter Root Man Says He Saw 66 Wild Mae ? ï In the Sellway Forest At least one person in western Montana believes Hint ho hue found "he solution to tho report of the "wild man," said to have been seen In the Storm Creek country, W'est of Missoula, and in the East Solway Forest. The word received in Missoula from an old-time Bitter Root resi dent who has made camping trips into the section where the "wild man" is supposed to have been seen. His information is to the effect that ho encountered an elderly man, de mented, well-fed, fully clothed, wan dering In that section. Pictures of the man were obtained. Regarding his encounter, and Its possible connection with the report ed "wild man" the Bitter Root man says: "This man is supposed to be in tho Storm Creek country, which is directly west of the heads of Mill creek (or Kootenai) and Bass creek lake. Now I have made two camp ing trips to Bass and Mill creek lakes and on one of those trips, saw what I supposed to be a crazy man. This man seems to be well fed and very strong—his strength far belying his years. He did not seem to be hungry but was crazy to ob tain firearms. He took my gun and had to be forced to give it up. Dur ing the fray, one of the party got some snapshots. "The headwaters of Mill creek are very wild and are seldom visited by campers and then only on foot, as it is inaccessible to horses. Aftor reading about the wild man, I believe that this may be the man mentioned and that he had strayed over the di vide into Mill creek."