“My son, I give you my ‘everyday’ pipe—the one I have smoked for many years. Keep it as a remembrance of your Indian father. My heart feels heavy because you are going; and I shall be lonely every time I see your deserted camp-ground. Never have I gone into another camp to talk day after day as I have with you.” Then he shook hands; and, as I turned to go, the old chief gazed towards the rising sun and prayed: “Father, the Sun! May he go safely while traveling afar! May we live long and continue to be friends! May we both meet and be happy again!” As we left the valley for the open plains, I turned in the saddle for a last look, and saw Brings-Down-the-Sun with bowed head, going along the trail to his lodge, leading his horse and followed by his old dog, Kops-ksisse. CHAPTER XXXIV BEGINNING OF THE SUN DANCE The Blackfoot Indians did not have a personal God. They looked to the Sun as the source of all power, believing he was everywhere—in the mountains, lakes and rivers, birds and wild animals. They believed that Sun Power could be transferred to man. Any one might be the favored person; an individual was powerless to gain it, but he could put himself in the way of receiving the gift. If an Indian wanted a religious experience, or to gain supernatural power, he went alone to a remote place to fast and pray, sometimes for many days. The gift came generally through the medium of some wild animal, bird, or supernatural being, whose compassion was aroused by his fasting and by his exhausted condition; often through one of the more powerful animals—the buffalo, grizzly bear, beaver, wolf, eagle, Thunder, or the Maker of Storms and Blizzards. If the grizzly bear bestowed his power, the man who received it was believed to attain the great strength and vitality of the bear. The tribe had many sacred bundles containing supernatural power; all had songs for their rituals, and all the songs were different. The medicine men who led the ceremonies had to know the songs of the different bundles. This required many years of patient study and was an important part in the preparation of a medicine man. In the ceremonies of these bundles, the objects they contained were of minor importance; the songs were the means of contact with religious power. Some of the ceremonies were believed to have power to heal the sick, others to promote the welfare of the people, or to bring success in war. But each bundle was owned by an individual who, in turn, could transfer it to another. The Sun Dance was the only ceremony in which all the people participated. It was a great tribal festival held every year at midsummer when the grass was long and food plentiful. It always had its origin in a woman’s vow to the Sun generally in behalf of a relative who was dying. Some attended to fast and pray, others to fulfill vows; but most of the people came for social enjoyment, and to see the ceremonies and social dances.