Pathfinding on Plain and Prairie: Stirring Scenes of Life in the Canadian North-westMcDougall, John
History
Pathfinding on Plain and Prairie: Stirring Scenes of Life in the Canadian North-west
McDougall, John
Frontier and pioneer life -- Northwest, Canadian; McDougall, John, 1842-1917; Northwest, Canadian -- Description and travel
One day I was invited to a "wolf feast." Being a learner I went, and
was both shocked and amused at what I saw. About two dozen sat
around in the large buffalo lodge, and before each one a big wooden
dish of thick soup was placed. This soup was made by boiling slices
of fat buffalo meat and wild lily roots together. Neither
Maskepetoon nor myself took part. When each guest was served an old
medicine-man began to chant in an unknown tongue, accompanying
himself by swinging his rattles. By and by all who were to partake
joined in the song of blessing. This over, each one drew his big
bowl to him and at a signal put both hands into the hot soup, and
feeling all through it for chunks of meat, pulled these to pieces and
then began to cram the contents of the dish down his throat. While
doing this, each one made a noise like the growling of a wolf. And
now the race was fast and furious as to who should soonest swallow
all that was given to him. The growling and snarling and gulping was
terrible, and I was glad when it was over and one and another turned
his wooden dish over. I had seen a wolf feast, but, as I told my
friend the old Chief, I did not wish to see another. It was almost
as nauseating as a drunken carousal amongst the cultured white men in
the east! I noticed that it was only a certain class of these pagan
men who thus brutalized themselves--that even in those early days the
larger percentage of the Indians held aloof from such beastly orgies.
Muddy Bull, mine host, laughed when I told him what I had seen, and
said that only a few of his people ever thus disgraced themselves.
While the camp was all excitement in preparation for the annual
festival, word was brought in that the buffalo had gone into the
north between us and the Mission. This made it possible for war
parties to go north also; and from what I heard in camp I began to be
anxious about our folk at home. Finally I conferred with Maskepetoon
and he said that it might be better for me to go in to the Mission.
So I left the oxen and carts with Muddy Bull, held an evening service
with our people, and then as darkness was coming on one night Paul
and I left the large camp and took our course northward.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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