Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi Part 17

They consist of a great number of clay huts, round at the top, with a square entrance in front, and the whole surrounded with a fence of stakes, which were much decayed, and in many places thrown down. It was not quite a year since these villages had been wholly abandoned, because their inhabitants, who were extremely hostile to the Whites, killed so many Americans, that they themselves foresaw that they would be severely chastised by the United States, and therefore preferred to emigrate. To this cause was added, a dry, unproductive season, when the crops entirely failed; as well as the absence of the herds of buffaloes, which hastened their removal.... The princ.i.p.al chief of the Arikkaras, when they retired from the Missouri, was called Starapat (the little hawk, with b.l.o.o.d.y claws)." (Maximilian, (1), pp. 166-167.) The Arikara at this time appear to have left the banks of the Missouri and removed to the vicinity of the p.a.w.nee.

Fort Clark, on the upper Missouri, at the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa, was erected by the American Fur Company during the year 1829.

In 1837 the Mandans suffered from the dreaded smallpox, losing more than 90 per cent of their number, and the few who survived abandoned their large village below Fort Clark and settled a short distance above. And, so wrote Hayden in 1855, "About the time that the Mandans left the lower village, the Arikaras came and took possession, the former readily consenting to this arrangement, because it placed a large body of strangers between them and the Dakotas, with whom, in their now feeble state, they were unable to contend." (Hayden, (1), p. 434.)

A brief description of the Arikara village as it appeared early in June, 1850, is to be found in Culbertson's journal. On the 12th of that month the steamboat, ascending the Missouri, reached Fort Clark, "a small fort, about one hundred feet in length on each side." Just above the fort was the village of the Arikara. "The village is composed of two hundred lodges, as near as I could learn from the interpreter, and is built upon the top of a bluff bank rising about seventy-five feet perpendicular from the water. The huts are placed very irregularly, sometimes with very narrow, and sometimes with quite broad s.p.a.ces between them. A number of platforms of poles, as high as the lodges themselves, are interspersed among them for the convenience of drying meat and dressing robes. I noticed a number of squaws busily employed in dressing robes." (Culbertson, (1), p. 117.) The typical earth lodge is described, one similar to those mentioned on other pages of this sketch, but his account of the interior of a habitation is most interesting. He, with others, stopped at a large lodge, when, so he wrote: "We were conducted to the place of honor, opposite to and facing the door. To our right, along the wall, were arranged several bedsteads, rudely made, while to the left, a part was cut off by a couple of poles, for the accommodation of the horses; the chickens had a coop in one corner, but roam at large on most occasions, and the centre is used for a fireplace.

The lodge was clean, airy, light and comfortable, and there was plenty of room for more than those, who I suppose, inhabit it. Behind us were hung bows with spears on the ends, and two rude instruments of music, made of a number of pumpkins.... Near the fireplace a small wooden mortar was sunk in the ground, for pounding corn. The large and high room appeared rather scarce of furniture." Many burials were encountered when pa.s.sing between the village and Fort Clark, and there "were little patches of corn and pumpkins, generally enclosed by a slight bush fence," these probably being the gardens belonging to the people of the near-by town. The mortar, "sunk in the ground," as mentioned by Culbertson, was evidently similar to the example shown in plate 52, _b_, a form which was indicated by Bodmer in his sketch of the interior of a Mandan lodge, plate 40.

It will be recalled that the village mentioned in the preceding notes was the home of the Mandan during the memorable winter of 1804-05, when the expedition of Lewis and Clark encamped a few miles below, and there the Mandan continued to dwell until after the epidemic of 1837.

In later years the three tribes, Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan, were closely a.s.sociated, living in the vicinity of Fort Berthold, on the left bank of the Missouri and about 60 miles above Fort Clark, the Arikara having arrived at Fort Berthold, during the month of August, 1862.

Evidently their ways of life and customs were quite similar, and Matthews, in his work on the Hidatsa in particular, but in which he treats of the three tribes in general, said: "For cleaning the village-grounds, they had rakes made of a few osiers tied together, the ends curved and spreading. Their most important agricultural implement was the hoe. Before they obtained iron utensils of the white traders, their only hoes were made of the shoulder-blades of elk or buffalo, attached to wooden handles of suitable length ... as late as 1867, I saw a great number in use at Fort Berthold, and purchased two or three, one of which was sent to Was.h.i.+ngton, and, I presume, is now on exhibition in the museum of the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution." (Matthews, (1), p. 19.) Several rakes of this description are in the collection of the National Museum, Was.h.i.+ngton. One, bearing the legend "Arickaree," which was obtained at Fort Berthold, is shown in plate 54, _a_ (U.S.N.M. 6353). It measures 4 feet 10 inches in length and is formed of six pieces bound together. It is also of great interest to know that the hoe which was sent by Dr. Matthews to the museum is perfectly preserved. It is here reproduced in plate 54, _b_ (U.S.N.M. 6326). Written on it is this legend: "Ree Indians. Ft Berthold Dacotah Ter. Drs Gray and Matthews."

The length of the scapula, that of a buffalo, is about 14 inches. Both handle and blade are worn smooth from use. The specimen is one of much importance.

It will be recalled that Bradbury in 1811 referred to the "medicine lodge," then standing in the center of the large Arikara village.

Matthews, more than 60 years later, mentioned a similar structure then standing at the village near Fort Berthold, and said concerning it: "The medicine-lodge of the Arickarees is larger than that of the Mandans, and is used for a greater variety of ceremonies. Some of these performances, consisting of ingenious tricks of jugglery and dances, representative of various hunts, we might be inclined to call theatrical rather than religious. Probably these Indians consider them both wors.h.i.+pful and entertaining. It is often hard to tell how much of a religious ceremony is intended to propitiate the unknown powers, and how much to please the spectators." (Matthews, (1), p. 10.)

From the various quotations given on the preceding pages it is possible to form a good idea of the appearance of an ancient Arikara village. A large number of earth-covered lodges, of varying sizes, were placed without order but rather close together, often with a "medicine lodge"

in the center of the group. All were surrounded by a palisade, often reared in connection with a ditch and embankment. The village at Fort Berthold was thus protected until the winter of 1865, at which time the stockade was cut down and used as fuel, and it was never replaced.

As late as 1872 there were 43 earth-covered lodges standing at the Arikara village near Fort Berthold, together with 28 log cabins.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 54

[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Rake marked "Arickaree." Collected at Fort Berthold.

Length 4 feet 10 inches. (U.S.N.M. 6353)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Agricultural implement formed of a scapula of a buffalo attached to a wooden handle. Marked "Ree Indians. Ft. Berthold, Dacotah Ter. Drs. Gray and Matthews." Length of scapula about 14 inches.

(U.S.N.M. 6326)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _c._ Parfleche box. "Crows, Montana Ter. J. I. Allen."

Length 28 inches, width 13-1/2 inches. (U.S.N.M. 130574)]

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 55

[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Gra.s.s-covered structures near Anadarko]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Gra.s.s-covered lodge, about 1880

WICHITA HABITATIONS]

In addition to the earth-covered lodges found in the permanent villages, they had skin tents which were occupied when away from their towns on war or hunting expeditions. Like the great majority of the native tribes, the Arikara would move about during certain seasons of the year.

Hayden, writing about the year 1855, referred to this custom: "At the commencement of the winter the Arikaras leave their village in quest of buffalo, which seldom approach near enough to be killed in the vicinity of their cabins. They then encamp in skin tents, in various directions from the Missouri or along its banks, wherever the buffalo may chance to range. They pa.s.s the winter in hunting, and return to their permanent village early in the spring, bringing with them their skins in an unprepared state, with a great supply of meat." (Hayden, (1), p. 354.) Such were the hunting parties often met by the traders and explorers, as that mentioned by Sergeant Ga.s.s on October 15, 1804. That they were skilled agriculturists is attested by a note referring to the time they were still living in the old Mandan village below Fort Clark, October 11, 1853. In the journal of a party at that time descending the Missouri from Fort Benton to St. Louis appears this entry:

"Arrived at Fort Clark, or Aricaree's village. It is situated on the top of a very high bluff on the bank of the river.... The Rees are not friendly to the whites, and are kept from open hostilities only by fear.

They are a large tribe, and on the fertile meadows they occupy, raise a great amount of corn and pumpkins, which they exchange with the Crows and Dacotahs for dried buffalo meat and robes. They exported five thousand bushels of excellent corn this year...." (Saxton, (1), p. 265.) And it must be remembered that the princ.i.p.al implement was the primitive hoe, formed of a scapula of a buffalo attached to a wooden handle.

WICHITA.

Like the other members of this linguistic family, whose villages have already been described, the Wichita had two forms of dwellings, which they occupied under different conditions. One served as the structure in their permanent villages, the other being of a more temporary nature.

But, instead of the earth-covered lodges used farther north, their fixed villages were composed of groups of high circular structures, entirely thatched from bottom to top. Their movable camps, when away from home on war or hunting expeditions, consisted of the skin-covered tents of the plains.

The peculiar thatched structures were first seen and described by Europeans in the year 1541, when Coronado crossed the vast rolling prairies and reached the Quivira (the Wichita) about the northeastern part of the present State of Kansas. Here extensive village sites, with innumerable traces of occupancy, undoubtedly indicate the positions of the ancient settlements.

In the narrative of the expedition led by Coronado, prepared by one of the Spanish officers, Juan Jaramillo, appears an interesting though very brief description of the thatched dwellings of the people of Quivira:

"The houses which these Indians have were of straw, and most of them round, and the straw reached down to the ground like a wall, so that they did not have the symmetry or the style of these here [referring to pueblos]; they have something like a chapel or sentry box outside and around these, with an entry, where the Indians appear seated or reclining." (Wins.h.i.+p, (1), p. 591.) Castaneda, writing of the same villages, said: "The houses are round, without a wall, and they have one story like a loft, under the roof, where they sleep and keep their belongings. The roofs are of straw." (Wins.h.i.+p, (1), pp. 528-529.) This evidently referred to structures similar to that shown on the right of the lodge in plate 55, _a_.

A photograph of a large Wichita dwelling, of the form mentioned, is reproduced in plate 55, _b_. The picture was probably made about the year 1880. The door in front is open, and there appears to be another on the extreme left, which would be 90 from the former; therefore there were evidently four entrances. This is explained in the following account of the construction and arrangement of such a dwelling:

"Its construction was begun by drawing a circle on the ground, and on the outline setting a number of crotched posts, in which beams were laid. Against these, poles were set very closely in a row so as to lean inward; these in turn were laced with willow rods and their tops brought together and securely-fastened so as to form a peak. Over this frame a heavy thatch of gra.s.s was laid and bound down by slender rods, and at each point where the rods joined an ornamental tuft of gra.s.s was tied.

Two poles, laid at right angles, jutting out in four projecting points, were fastened to the apex of the roof, and over the center, where they crossed, rose a spire, 2 ft. high or more, made of bunches of gra.s.s.

Four doors, opening to each point of the compa.s.s, were formerly made, but now, except when the house is to be used for ceremonial purposes, only two are provided, one on the east to serve for the morning, and one on the west to go in and out of when the sun is in that quarter. The fireplace was a circular excavation in the center of the floor, and the smoke found egress through a hole left high up in the roof toward the E.

The four projecting beams at the peak pointed toward and were symbolic of the four points of the compa.s.s, where were the paths down which the powers descended to help man. The spire typified the abode in the zenith of the mysterious permeating force that animates all nature. The fireplace was accounted sacred; it was never treated lightly even in the daily life of the family. The couches of the occupants were placed against the wall. They consisted of a framework on which was fitted a woven covering of reeds. Upon this robes or rush mats were spread. The gra.s.s house is a comely structure. Skill is required to build it, and it has an attractive appearance both within and without." (Fletcher, (1).)

An interesting photograph made some 30 or 40 years ago, near Anadarko, Caddo County, Oklahoma, is reproduced in plate 55, _a_. This shows a gra.s.s lodge of the usual form, and to the right of it appears to be an arbor or shelter, having a thatched roof but open on the sides. This second structure may be of the form which was seen by the Spaniards nearly four centuries ago, a place "where the Indians appear seated or reclining." It undoubtedly served as a gathering place, out of doors, and gave protection from the rays of the sun.

WACO.

On August 23, 1853, the expedition under command of Lieut. A. W. Whipple camped at some point in the southwestern portion of the present McClain County, Oklahoma, and that evening were visited by two Indians, "the one tall and straight, the other ill-looking. Their dress consisted of a blue cotton blanket wrapped around the waist, a head-dress of eagles'

feathers, bra.s.s wire bracelets, and moccasins. The outer cartilages of their ears were cut through in various places, and short sticks inserted in place of rings. They were painted with vermilion, and carried bows of bois d'arc three feet long, and cow-skin quivers filled with arrows. The latter were about twenty-six inches in length, with very sharp steel heads, tastefully and skillfully made. The feathers with which they were tipped, and the sinews which bound them, were prettily tinted with red, blue, and green. The shafts were colored red, and said to be poisoned."

(Whipple, (1), p. 22.) Unable to converse with the two strangers, the interpreter proceeded to interview them by signs. "The graceful motions of the hands seemed to convey ideas faster than words could have done, and with the whole operation we were highly amused and interested. Our visitors now said that they were not Kichais, but Huecos, and that they were upon a hunting expedition." Referring to the same two Indians another member of the expedition wrote:

"The newcomers belonged to the tribe of Wakos, or Waekos, neighbours of the Witchita Indians, who live to the east of the Witchita Mountains, in a village situated on the bank of a small river rising in that direction. They were now on a journey to the Canadian, to meet a barter-trader there, but having heard of our expedition, had turned out of their way to pay us a visit. The Wakos and Witchitas differ only in name, and in some slight varieties of dialect; their villages are built in the same style, and are only about a thousand yards from one another.

Their wigwams, of which the Witchitas count forty-two, and the Wakos only twenty, look a good deal like hayc.o.c.ks, and are constructed with pliable poles, eighteen or twenty feet long, driven into the ground in a circle of twenty-five feet diameter; the poles are then bent together and fastened to one another at the top, and the s.p.a.ces between filled with plaited willow twigs and turf, a low aperture being left for a door, and one above for a chimney. A place is hollowed out in the centre for a fireplace, and around this, and a little raised, are placed the beds of the inhabitants of the hut; which, when covered with good buffalo skins, make tolerable resting-places. Each of these wigwams is generally occupied by two families; and the Wako tribe is reckoned at about two hundred, that of the Witchitas at not less than eight hundred members. These Indians practise agriculture; and beans, peas, maize, gourds, and melons are seen prospering very well round their villages."

(Mollhausen, (1), I, pp. 115-116.)

CADDO.

The "Caddo proper," or Cenis as they were called by Joutel, early occupied the southwestern part of the present State of Arkansas, the Red River Valley, and adjacent region to the south and west.

La Salle was murdered near the banks of the Trinity, in eastern Texas, March 20, 1687. Joutel and several others of the party pushed on, and nine days later, when traversing the valley of the Red River, arrived at a village of the Cenis. Fortunately a very good account of the people and their homes is preserved in Joutel's narrative, and from it the following quotations are made:

"The _Indian_ that was with us conducted us to their Chief's Cottage.

By the Way, we saw many other Cottages, and the Elders coming to meet us in their Formalities, which consisted in some Goat Skins dress'd and painted of several Colours, which they wore on their Shoulders like Belts, and Plumes of Feathers of several Colours, on their Heads, like Coronets.... All their Faces were daub'd with black or red. There were twelve Elders, who walk'd in the Middle, and the Youth and Warriors in Ranks, on the Sides of those old Men." After remaining a short time with the chief "They led us to a larger Cottage, a Quarter of a League from thence, being the Hut in which they have their public Rejoycings, and the great a.s.semblies. We found it furnish'd with Mats for us to sit on.

The Elders seated themselves round about us, and they brought us to eat, some _Sagamite_, which is their Pottage, little Beans, Bread made of _Indian_ Corn, and another Sort they make with boil'd Flower, and at last they made us smoke."

They proceeded to another village not far away, and, so the narrative continues: "By the Way, we saw several Cottages at certain Distances, stragling up and down, as the Ground happens to be fit for Tillage. The Field lies about the Cottage, and at other Distances there are other large Huts, not inhabited, but only serving for publick a.s.semblies, either upon Occasion of Rejoycing, or to consult about Peace and War.

"The Cottages that are inhabited, are not each of them for a private Family, for in some of them are fifteen or twenty, each of which has its Nook or Corner, Bed and other Utensils to its self: but without any Part.i.tion to separate it from the rest: However, they have Nothing in Common besides the Fire, which is in the Midst of the Hut, and never goes out. It is made of great Trees, the Ends whereof are laid together, so that when once lighted, it lasts a long Time, and the first Comer takes Care to keep it up." Here follows a brief description of the appearance of the structures of the village, the dwellings resembling those later mentioned as being typical of the Wichita. "The Cottages are round at the Top, after the manner of a Bee-Hive, or a Reek of Hay. Some of them are sixty Foot Diameter." There follows a brief account of the method of constructing such a house. "In order to build them, they plant Trees as thick as a Man's thigh, tall and strait, and placing them in a Circle, and joyning the Tops together, from the Dome, or round Top, then they lash and cover them with Weeds. When they remove their Dwellings, they generally burn the Cottages they leave, and build new on the Ground they design to inhabit. Their Moveables are some Bullocks Hides and Goats Skins well cur'd, some Mats close wove, wherewith they adorn their Huts, and some Earthen Vessels, which they are very skilful at making, and wherein they boil their Flesh or Roots, or _Sagamite_, which, as has been said, is their Pottage. They have also some small Baskets made of Canes, serving to put in their Fruit and other Provisions. Their Beds are made of Canes, rais'd two or three Foot above the Ground, handsomely fitted with Mats and Bullocks Hides, or Goats Skins well cur'd, which serve them for Feather Beds, or Quilts and Blankets; and those Beds are parted one from another by Mats hung up." (Joutel, (1), pp. 106-109.)

The preceding is probably the clearest description of the furnis.h.i.+ngs of a native structure standing beyond the Mississippi during the last quarter of the seventeenth century that has been preserved. The large circular structures served as the dwelling place of many individuals.

The beds were placed, so it may be a.s.sumed, in a line around the wall, each separated from its neighbor by a mat. A large fire burned in the center of the s.p.a.ce. In many respects the large dwellings of the Caddo must have closely resembled the great round structures which stood north of St. Augustine, Florida, about the year 1700. (Bushnell, (1), pp.

84-86.)

Brief accounts of the many small tribes living south of the Arkansas River soon after the transfer of Louisiana contain references to the numerous villages, but fail, unfortunately, to describe the structures in detail. (Sibley, (1), pp. 721-725.) The dwellings probably resembled those already mentioned as standing a century and more before.