Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National ParkSchultz, James Willard
History
Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park
Schultz, James Willard
Glacier National Park (Mont.); Indians of North America -- Folklore; Siksika Indians -- Folklore
On our way down the lake we passed the beautiful Sun Camp and the
chalets of the Great Northern, perched upon the very spot where
Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and I killed many a bighorn and
goat in times gone by. It was a favorite wintering place of the
animals, for the winds kept the steep mountain slope practically bare
from snow. And passing the mouth of the creek just above the camp, I
remembered that I had named it after Thomas, and Colonel Robert, and
the Honorable Cecil Baring, of London, with whom I often hunted back
in the eighties. In those days there were many bighorn and goats, and
not a few grizzlies back in the basin at the head of the creek. And
what amusing and sometimes exciting adventures we had with them! One
morning we espied a big "billy" goat on a ledge, and just as we saw
him he moved to the back side of it and lay down, showing only an inch
or two of the top of his back.
"Who will go up and rout him out, so that I can get a shot?" asked
Colonel Baring, and Jack Bean, of Yellowstone fame, volunteered.
It was to be a steep, almost straight-up climb, so Jack laid down his
rifle and started without encumbrance of any kind. At last he reached
the shelf and stood up on it, and that "billy" came for him, head
down! And Jack! Never have I seen a man come down a dangerous cliff so
fast as he did! And he kept coming, falling, sliding, rolling, and
then Colonel Baring fired and dropped the goat, and man and animal
came the rest of the way to the foot of the place together! We had
been too much concerned for the safety of our friend to laugh, but
when he at last stood up and faced us, bloody, half-naked, but not
seriously hurt, we roared. But Jack never even smiled: "Who would have
thought that a blankety-blank goat would go for a fellow!" he
exclaimed; and he went to the creek to repair the damages to his
person.
On this day, halting here and there along the lake, we took some views
of the scenery and of our people, and at sunset were back in our
lodges. For some of us it is a last trip over the old, familiar
ground. My two old friends, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and
Yellow Wolf, must soon go on to their Shadow Land!
* * * * *
We were not too tired to-night for story-telling, so, after the
children had been put to bed and all was quiet, Takes-Gun-Ahead gave
us the following, the story of tobacco, which is called
NA-WAK´-O-SIS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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