In those days there was a Piegan chief named Owl Bear. He was a great chief,
very brave and generous. One night he had a dream: he saw many dead bodies of
the enemy lying about, scalped, and he knew that he must go to war.
So he called out for a feast, and after the people had
eaten, he said: "I had a strong dream last night. I went to war against the
Snakes, and killed many of their warriors. So the signs are good, and I feel
that I must go. Let us have a big party now, and I will be the leader. We will
start to-morrow night."
Then he told two old men to go out in the camp and shout
the news, so that all might know. A big party was made up. Two hundred men, they
say, went with this chief to war. The first night they traveled only a little
way, for they were not used to walking, and soon got tired. In the morning the
chief got up early and went and made a sacrifice, and when he came back to the
others, some said, "Come now, tell us your dream of this night."
"I dreamed good," said Owl Bear. "I had a
good dream. We will have good luck." But many others said they had bad
dreams. They saw blood running from their bodies. Night came, and the party
started on, traveling south, and keeping near the foot-hills; and when daylight
came, they stopped in thick pine woods and built war lodges. They put up poles
as for a lodge, and covered them very thick with pine boughs, so they could
build fires and cook, and no one would see the light and smoke; and they all ate
some of the food they carried, and then went to sleep.
Again the chief had a good dream, but the others all had
bad dreams, and some talked about turning back; but Owl Bear laughed at them,
and when night came, all started on. So they traveled for some nights, and all
kept dreaming bad except the chief. He always had good dreams. One day after a
sleep, a person again asked Owl Bear if he dreamed good.
"Yes," he replied. "I have again dreamed
of good luck." "We still dream bad," the person said, "and
now some of us are going to turn back. We will go no further, for bad luck is
surely ahead."
"Go back! go back!" said Owl Bear. "I
think you are cowards; I want no cowards with me." They did not speak
again. Many of them turned around, and started north, toward home. Two more
days' travel. Owl Bear and his warriors went on, and then another party turned
back, for they still had bad dreams.
All the men now left with him were his relations. All
the others had turned back.
They traveled on, and traveled on, always having bad
dreams, until they came close to the Elk River.1
Then the oldest relation said, "Come, my chief, let
us all turn back. We still have bad dreams. We cannot have good luck."
"No," replied Owl Bear, "I will not turn
back." Then they were going to seize him and tie his hands, for they had
talked of this before. They thought to tie him and make him go back with them.
Then the chief got very angry. He put an arrow on his bow, and said: "Do
not touch me. You are my relations; but if any of you try to tie me, I will kill
you.
Now I am ashamed. My relations are cowards and will turn
back. I have told you I have always dreamed good, and that we would have good
luck. Now I don't care; I am covered with shame. I am going now to the Snake
camp and will give them my body. I am ashamed. Go! go! and when you get home put
on women's dresses. You are no longer men." They said no more. They turned
back homeward, and the chief was all alone. His heart was very sad as he
traveled on, and he was much ashamed, for his relations had left him.
Night was coming on. The sun had set and rain was
beginning to fall. Owl Bear looked around for some place where he could sleep
dry. Close by he saw a hole in the rocks. He got down on his hands and knees and
crept in. Here it was very dark. He could see nothing, so he crept very slowly,
feeling as he went. All at once his hand touched something strange. He felt of
it. It was a person's foot, and there was a moccasin on it. He stopped, and sat
still. Then he felt a little further. Yes, it was a person's leg. He could feel
the cowskin legging. Now he did not know what to do. He thought perhaps it was a
dead person; and again, he thought it might be one of his relations, who had
become ashamed and turned back after him.
Pretty soon he put his hand on the leg again and felt
along up. He touched the person's belly. It was warm. He felt of the breast, and
could feel it rise and fall as the breath came and went; and the heart was
beating fast. Still the person did not move. Maybe he was afraid. Perhaps he
thought that was a ghost feeling of him.
Owl Bear now knew this person was not dead. He thought
he would try if he could learn who the man was, for he was not afraid. His heart
was sad. His people and his relations had left him, and he had made up his mind
to give his body to the Snakes. So he began and felt all over the man,--of his
face, hair, robe, leggings, belt, weapons; and by and by he stopped feeling of
him. He could not tell whether it was one of his people or not.
Pretty soon the strange person sat up and felt all over
Owl Bear; and when he had finished, he took the Piegan's hand and opened it and
held it up, waving it from side to side, saying by signs, "Who are
you?"
Owl Bear put his closed hand against the person's cheek
and rubbed it; he said in signs, "Piegan!" and then he asked the
person who he was. A finger was placed against his breast and moved across it
zigzag. It was the sign for "Snake."
"Hai yah!" thought Owl Bear, "a Snake, my
enemy." For a long time he sat still, thinking. By and by he drew his knife
from his belt and placed it in the Snake's hand, and signed, "Kill
me!" He waited. He thought soon his heart would be cut. He wanted to die.
Why live? His people had left him.
Then the Snake took Owl Bear's hand and put a knife in
it and motioned that Owl Bear should cut his heart, but the Piegan would not do
it. He lay down, and the Snake lay down beside him. Maybe they slept. Likely
not.
So the night went and morning came. It was light, and
they crawled out of the cave, and talked a long time together by signs. Owl Bear
told the Snake where he had come from, how his party had dreamed bad and left
him, and that he was going alone to give his body to the Snakes.
Then the Snake said: "I was going to war, too. I
was going against the Piegans. Now I am done. Are you a chief?"
"I am the head chief," replied Owl Bear.
"I lead. All the others follow."
"I am the same as you," said the Snake.
"I am the chief. I like you. You are brave. You gave me your knife to kill
you with. How is your heart? Shall the Snakes and the Piegans make peace?"
"Your words are good," replied Owl Bear.
"I am glad."
"How many nights will it take you to go home and
come back here with your people?" asked the Snake.
Owl Bear thought and counted. "In twenty-five
nights," he replied, "the Piegans will camp down by that creek."
"My trail," said the Snake, "goes across
the mountains. I will try to be here in twenty-five nights, but I will camp with
my people just behind that first mountain. When you get here with the Piegans,
come with one of your wives and stay all night with me. In the morning the
Snakes will move and put up their lodges beside the Piegans."
"As you say," replied the chief, "so it
shall be done." Then they built a fire and cooked some meat and ate
together.
"I am ashamed to go home," said Owl Bear.
"I have taken no horses, no scalps. Let me cut off your side locks?"
"Take them," said the Snake.
Owl Bear cut off the chiefs braids close to his head,
and then the Snake cut off the Piegan's braids. Then they exchanged clothes and
weapons and started out, the Piegan north, the Snake south.
"Owl Bear has come! Owl Bear has come!" the
people were shouting.
The warriors rushed to his lodge. _Whish_! how quickly
it was filled! Hundreds stood outside, waiting to hear the news.
For a long time the chief did not speak. He was still
angry with his people. An old man was talking, telling the news of the camp. Owl
Bear did not look at him. He ate some food and rested. Many were in the lodge
who had started to war with him. They were now ashamed. They did not speak,
either, but kept looking at the fire. After a long time the chief said: "I
travelled on alone. I met a Snake. I took his scalp and clothes, and his
weapons. See, here is his scalp!" And he held up the two braids of hair.
No one spoke, but the chief saw them nudge each other
and smile a little; and soon they went out and said to one another: "What a
lie! That is not an enemy's scalp; there is no flesh on it He has robbed some
dead person."
Some one told the chief what they said, but he only
laughed and replied:
"I do not care. They were too much afraid even to
go on and rob a dead person. They should wear women's dresses."
Near sunset, Owl Bear called for a horse, and rode all
through camp so every one could hear, shouting out: "Listen! listen!
To-morrow we move camp. We travel south. The Piegans and Snakes are going to
make peace. If any one refuses to go, I will kill him. All must go."
Then an old medicine man came up to him and said: "Kyi,
Owl Bear! listen to me. Why talk like this? You know we are not afraid of the
Snakes. Have we not fought them and driven them out of this country? Do you
think we are afraid to go and meet them? No. We will go and make peace with them
as you say, and if they want to fight, we will fight. Now you are angry with
those who started to war with you. Don't be angry. Dreams belong to the Sun. He
gave them to us, so that we can see ahead and know what will happen. The Piegans
are not cowards. Their dreams told them to turn back. So do not be angry with
them any more."
"There is truth in what you say, old man,"
replied Owl Bear; "I will take your words."
In those days the Piegans were a great tribe. When they
travelled, if you were with the head ones, you could not see the last ones, they
were so far back. They had more horses than they could count, so they used fresh
horses every day and travelled very fast. On the twenty-fourth day they reached
the place where Owl Bear had told the Snake they would camp, and put up their
lodges along the creek. Soon some young men came in, and said they had seen some
fresh horse trails up toward the mountain.
"It must be the Snakes," said the chief;
"they have already arrived, although there is yet one night." So he
called one of his wives, and getting on their horses they set out to find the
Snake camp. They took the trail up over the mountain, and soon came in sight of
the lodges. It was a big camp. Every open place in the valley was covered with
lodges, and the hills were dotted with horses; for the Snakes had a great many
more horses than the Piegans.
Some of the Snakes saw the Piegans coming, and they ran
to the chief, saying: "Two strangers are in sight, coming this way. What
shall be done?"
"Do not harm them," replied the chief.
"They are friends of mine. I have been expecting them." Then the
Snakes wondered, for the chief had told them nothing about his war trip.
Now when Owl Bear had come to the camp, he asked in
signs for the chiefs lodge, and they pointed him to one in the middle. It was
small and old. The Piegan got off his horse, and the Snake chief came out and
hugged him and kissed him, and said: "I am glad you have come to-day to my
lodge. So are my people. You are tired. Enter my lodge and we will eat." So
they went inside and many of the Snakes came in, and they had a great feast.
Then the Snake chief told his people how he had met the
Piegan, and how brave he was, and that now they were going to make a great
peace; and he sent some men to tell the people, so that they would be ready to
move camp in the morning. Evening came. Everywhere people were shouting out for
feasts, and the chief took Owl Bear to them. It was very late when they
returned. Then the Snake had one of his wives make a bed at the back of the
lodge; and when it was ready he said: "Now, my friend, there is your bed.
This is now your lodge; also the woman who made the bed, she is now your wife;
also everything in this lodge is yours. The parfleches, saddles, food, robes,
bowls, everything is yours. I give them to you because you are my friend and a
brave man."
"You give me too much," replied Owl Bear.
"I am ashamed, but I take your words. I have nothing with me but one wife.
She is yours."
Next morning camp was broken early. The horses were
driven in, and the Snake chief gave Owl Bear his whole band,--two hundred head,
all large, powerful horses.
All were now ready, and the chiefs started ahead. Close
behind them were all the warriors, hundreds and hundreds, and last came the
women and children, and the young men driving the loose horses. As they came in
sight of the Piegan camp, all the warriors started out to meet them, dressed in
their war costumes and singing the great war song. There was no wind, and the
sound came across the valley and up the hill like the noise of thunder. Then the
Snakes began to sing, and thus the two parties advanced. At last they met. The
Piegans turned and rode beside them, and so they came to the camp. Then they got
off their horses and kissed each other. Every Piegan asked a Snake into his
lodge to eat and rest, and the Snake women put up their lodges beside the Piegan
lodges. So the great peace was made.
In Owl Bear's lodge there was a great feast, and when
they had finished he said to his people: "Here is the man whose scalp I
took. Did I say I killed him? No. I gave him my knife and told him to kill me.
He would not do it; and he gave me his knife, but I would not kill him. So we
talked together what we should do, and now we have made peace. And now (turning
to the Snake) this is your lodge, also all the things in it. My horses, too, I
give you. All are yours."
So it was. The Piegan took the Snake's wife, lodge, and
horses, and the Snake took the Piegan's, and they camped side by side. All the
people camped together, and feasted each other and made presents. So the peace
was made.
For many days they camped side by side. The young men
kept hunting, and the women were always busy drying meat and tanning robes and
cowskins. Buffalo were always close, and after a while the people had all the
meat and robes they could carry. Then, one day, the Snake chief said to Owl
Bear: "Now, my friend, we have camped a long time together, and I am glad
we have made peace. We have dug a hole in the ground, and in it we have put our
anger and covered it up, so there is no more war between us. And now I think it
time to go. To-morrow morning the Snakes break camp and go back south."
"Your words are good," replied Owl Bear.
"I too am glad we have made this peace. You say you must go south, and I
feel lonesome. I would like you to go with us so we could camp together a long
time, but as you say, so it shall be done. To-morrow you will start south. I too
shall break camp, for I would be lonesome here without you; and the Piegans will
start in the home direction."
The lodges were being taken down and packed. The men sat
about the fireplaces, taking a last smoke together.
They were now great friends. Many Snakes had married
Piegan women, and many Piegans had married Snake women. At last all was ready.
The great chiefs mounted their horses and started out, and soon both parties
were strung out on the trail.
Some young men, however, stayed behind to gamble a
while. It was yet early in the morning, and by riding fast it would not take
them long to catch up with their camps. All day they kept playing; and sometimes
the Piegans would win, and sometimes the Snakes.
It was now almost sunset. "Let us have one horse
race," they said, "and we will stop." Each side had a good horse,
and they ran their best; but they came in so close together it could not be told
who won. The Snakes claimed that their horse won, and the Piegans would not
allow it. So they got angry and began to quarrel, and pretty soon they began to
fight and to shoot at each other, and some were killed.
Since that time the Snakes and Piegans have never been
at peace.
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