Pictographs of the North American Indians. A preliminary paper: Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-83, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 3-256Mallery, Garrick
History
Pictographs of the North American Indians. A preliminary paper: Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-83, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 3-256
Mallery, Garrick
Haida Indians; Picture-writing, Indian; Tattooing
Another winter count is a copy of the one in the possession of
American-Horse, an Oglála Dakota, at the Pine Ridge Agency, who asserts
that his grandfather began it, and that it is the production of his
grandfather, his father, and himself. I received the explanations from
American-Horse through an interpreter.
A third winter count is a copy of one kept by Cloud-Shield. He is
also an Oglála Dakota at the Pine Ridge Agency, but of a different
band from American-Horse. I also received his explanations through an
interpreter. The last two counts embrace nearly the same number of
years. I have added the dates to both of them, beginning at the last
year, the date of which was known, and carrying them back. Two dates
belong to each figure, as a Dakota year covers a portion of two of our
calendar years.
I have seen copies of a fourth winter count which is kept by
White-Cow-Killer at the Pine Ridge Agency. I did not obtain a copy of
it, but learned most of the names given to the winters.
On comparing the winter counts, it is found that they often correspond,
but more frequently differ. In a few instances the differences are in
the succession of the events, but in most instances they are due to
an omission or to the selection of another event. When a year has the
same name in all of them, the bands were probably encamped together or
else the event fixed upon was of general interest; and, when the name
is different, the bands were scattered or nothing of general interest
occurred. Differences in the succession may be due to the loss of
a record and the depiction of another from memory, or to errors in
copying an old one.
The explanations of the counts are far from complete, as the recorders
who furnished them could in many instances recall nothing except the
name of the year, and in others were loth to speak of the events or
else their explanations were vague and unsatisfactory, and, again,
the interpreters were sometimes at fault. Many of the recent events
are fresh in the memory of the people, as the warriors who strive to
make their exploits a part of the tribal traditions proclaim them
on all occasions of ceremony--count their _coups_, as it is called.
Declarations of this kind partake of the nature of affirmations made in
the presence of God. War-shirts on which scores of the enemies killed
are kept, and which are carefully transmitted from one generation
to another, help to refresh their memories in regard to some of the
events. By testing many Indians I learned that but few could interpret
the significance of the figures; some of them could point out the year
of their birth and that of some members of their families; others could
not do so, or pretended that they could not, but named the year and
asked me to point it out and tell their age.
In the following explanation of the winter counts, [figured on Plates
XXXIV-LI,] No. I refers to that of American-Horse and No. II to that of
Cloud-Shield.
[Illustration:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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