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09 - The All Comrades Societies: The Bull Society · Blackfeet Native American Stories

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  Speaker 1: Chapter nine of Blackfeet Indian Stories. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Blackfeet
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  Speaker 1: Indian Stories by George B. Grinnell, Chapter nine. The All
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  Speaker 1: Comrades Societies in the Blackfeet tribe was an association known
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  Speaker 1: as the All Comrades. This was made up of a
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  Speaker 1: dozen secret societies, graded according to age, the members of
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  Speaker 1: the younger societies passing after a few years into the
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  Speaker 1: older ones. This association was in part benevolent and helpful,
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  Speaker 1: and in part to encourage bravery and war, but its
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  Speaker 1: main purpose was to see that the orders of the
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  Speaker 1: chiefs were carried out and to punish offenses against the
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  Speaker 1: tribe at large. There are stories which explain how these
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  Speaker 1: societies came to be instituted, and this one tells how
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  Speaker 1: the society of Bulls began, the Bulls Society. It was
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  Speaker 1: long long ago, very far back that this happened. In
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  Speaker 1: those days, the people used to kill the buffalo by
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  Speaker 1: driving them over a steep place near the river, down
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  Speaker 1: which they fell into a great pen built at the
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  Speaker 1: foot of the cliff, where the buffalo that had not
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  Speaker 1: been killed by the fall were shot with arrows by
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  Speaker 1: the men. Then the people went into the pen and
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  Speaker 1: skinned the buffalo and cut them up, and carried the
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  Speaker 1: meat away to their camp. This pen they called piskun.
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  Speaker 1: In those days, the people had built a great piskun
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  Speaker 1: with high, strong walls. No buffalo could jump over it.
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  Speaker 1: Not even if a great crowd of them ran against it,
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  Speaker 1: could they push it down. The young men kept going out,
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  Speaker 1: as they always did, to try to bring the buffalo
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  Speaker 1: to the edge of the cliff, But somehow they would
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  Speaker 1: not jump over into the piskun. When they had come
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  Speaker 1: almost to the edge, they would turn off to one
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  Speaker 1: side or the other and run down the sloping hills
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  Speaker 1: and away over the prairie. So the people could get
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  Speaker 1: no food, and they began to be hungry and at
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  Speaker 1: last to starve. Early one a young woman, the daughter
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  Speaker 1: of a brave man, was going from her lodge down
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  Speaker 1: to the stream to get water. And as she went
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  Speaker 1: along she saw a herd of buffalo feeding on the
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  Speaker 1: prairie close to the edge of the cliff above the
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  Speaker 1: great piscan. Oh. She called out, if you will only
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  Speaker 1: jump off into the piscan, I will marry one of you.
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  Speaker 1: She did not mean this, but said it just in fun.
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  Speaker 1: And as soon as she had said it, she wondered
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  Speaker 1: greatly when she saw the buffalo come jumping over the edge,
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  Speaker 1: falling down the cliff. A moment later, a big bull
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  Speaker 1: jumped high over the wall of the piscin and came
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  Speaker 1: toward her. And now truly she was frightened. Come, he said,
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  Speaker 1: taking hold of her arm. No, no, she answered, trying
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  Speaker 1: to pull herself away. But you said, if the buffalo
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  Speaker 1: would only jump over, you would marry one of them. Look,
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  Speaker 1: the piskuan is full. She did not answer, and without
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  Speaker 1: saying anything more, he led her up over the bluff
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  Speaker 1: and out on the prairie. After the people had finished
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  Speaker 1: killing the buffalo and cutting up the meat, they missed
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  Speaker 1: this young woman. No one knew where she had gone,
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  Speaker 1: and her relations were frightened and very sad because they
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  Speaker 1: could not find her. So her father took his bow
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  Speaker 1: and quiver and put them on his back, and said,
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  Speaker 1: I will go and find her. And he climbed the
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  Speaker 1: bluff and set out over the prairie. He traveled some distance,
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  Speaker 1: but saw nothing of his daughter. The sun was hot,
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  Speaker 1: and at length he came to a buffalo wallow in
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  Speaker 1: which some water was standing, and drank and sat down
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  Speaker 1: to rest. A little way off on the prairie, he
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  Speaker 1: saw herd of buffalo. As the man sat there by
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  Speaker 1: the wallow, trying to think what he might do to
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  Speaker 1: find his daughter, a magpie came up and alighted on
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  Speaker 1: the ground near him. The man spoke to it, saying, mommy,
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  Speaker 1: at see kimmy magpie, you are a beautiful bird. Help me,
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  Speaker 1: for I am very unhappy. As you travel about over
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  Speaker 1: the prairie. Look everywhere, and if you see my daughter,
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  Speaker 1: say to her, your father is waiting by the wallow.
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  Speaker 1: Soon the magpie flew away, and as he passed near
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  Speaker 1: the herd of buffalo, he saw the young woman there,
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  Speaker 1: and alighting on the ground near her, he began to
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  Speaker 1: pick at things, turning his head this way and that,
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  Speaker 1: and seeming to look for food. When he was close
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  Speaker 1: to the girl, he said to her, your father is
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  Speaker 1: waiting by the wallow. Sh sh replied the girl in
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  Speaker 1: a whisper, looking about her very much frightened for her
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  Speaker 1: bull husband was sleeping close by. Do not speak so loud,
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  Speaker 1: go back and tell him to wait. Your daughter is
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  Speaker 1: over there with the buffalo, she says, Wait, said the magpie.
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  Speaker 1: When he had flown back to the poor father. After
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  Speaker 1: a little time, the bull awoke and said to his wife,
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  Speaker 1: go and bring me some water. Then the woman was glad,
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  Speaker 1: and she took a horn from her husband's head and
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  Speaker 1: went to the wallow for water. Oh why did you come,
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  Speaker 1: she said to her father. They will surely kill you,
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  Speaker 1: I came to take my daughter back to my lodge.
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  Speaker 1: Come let us go, No, said the girl, not now,
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  Speaker 1: they will surely chase us and kill us. Wait until
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  Speaker 1: he sleeps again, and I will try to get away.
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  Speaker 1: Then she filled the horn with water and went back
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  Speaker 1: to the buffalo. Her husband drank a swallow of the water,
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  Speaker 1: and when he took the horn it made a noise. Ah,
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  Speaker 1: he said, as he looked about. A person is somewhere
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  Speaker 1: close by. No one replied the girl, but her heart
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  Speaker 1: stood still. The bull drank again. Then he stood up
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  Speaker 1: on his feet and moaned and grunted. Ma oo boo,
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  Speaker 1: fearful was the sound. Up rose The other bulls raised
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  Speaker 1: their tails in the air, tossed their heads, and bellowed
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  Speaker 1: back to him. Then they pawed the earth, thrust their
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  Speaker 1: horns into it, rushed here and there, and presently, coming
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  Speaker 1: to the wallow, found there the poor man. They rushed
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  Speaker 1: over him, trampling him with their great hooves, thrust their
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  Speaker 1: horns into his body, and tore him to pieces, and
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  Speaker 1: trampled him again. Soon not even a piece of his
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  Speaker 1: body could be seen, only the wet earth, cut up
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  Speaker 1: by their hooves. Then his daughter mourned in sorrow. Oh
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  Speaker 1: ah ni na ah, oh ah ni na ah ah,
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  Speaker 1: my father, my father, ah, said her bull husband. Now
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  Speaker 1: you understand how it is that we feel. You mourn
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  Speaker 1: for your father. But we have seen our fathers, mothers,
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  Speaker 1: and many of our relations fall over the high cliffs,
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  Speaker 1: to be killed for food by your people. But now
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  Speaker 1: I will pity you. I will give you one chance.
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  Speaker 1: If you can bring your father to life, you and
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  Speaker 1: he may go back to your camp. Then said the woman, Ah, magpie,
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  Speaker 1: pity me, help me, for now I need help. Look
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  Speaker 1: in the trampled mud of the wallow, and see if
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  Speaker 1: you can find even a little piece of my father's body,
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  Speaker 1: and bring it to me. Swiftly, the magpie flew to
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  Speaker 1: the wallow, and, alighting there, walked all about looking in
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  Speaker 1: every hole, and even tearing up the mud with his
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  Speaker 1: sharp beak. Presently he uncovered something white, and as he
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  Speaker 1: picked the mud from about it, he saw it was
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  Speaker 1: a bone, and, pulling hard, he dragged it from the mud,
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  Speaker 1: the joint of a man's backbone. Then, gladly he flew
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  Speaker 1: back with it to the woman. The girl put the
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  Speaker 1: bone on the ground and covered it with her robe,
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  Speaker 1: and began to sing. After she had sung, she took
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  Speaker 1: the robe away, and there under it lay her father's body,
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  Speaker 1: as if he had just died. Once again she covered
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  Speaker 1: the body with the robe and sang, And this time
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  Speaker 1: when she took the robe away, the body was breathing.
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  Speaker 1: A third time she covered the body with the robe
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  Speaker 1: and sang, And when she again took away the robe,
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  Speaker 1: the body moved its arms and legs a little. A
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  Speaker 1: fourth time she covered it and sang. And when she
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  Speaker 1: took away the robe, her father stood up. The buffalo
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  Speaker 1: were surprised, and the magpie was glad and flew about,
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  Speaker 1: making a great noise. Now this day we have seen
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  Speaker 1: a strange thing, said her bull husband. The people's medicine
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  Speaker 1: is strong. He whom we trampled to death, whom our
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  Speaker 1: hoofs cut to pieces and mixed all up with the
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  Speaker 1: soil is alive again. Now you shall go to your home,
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  Speaker 1: but before you go, we will teach you our dance
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  Speaker 1: and our song. Do not forget them. The buffalo showed
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  Speaker 1: the man in his daughter their dance and taught them
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  Speaker 1: the songs. And then the bulls said to them, now
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  Speaker 1: you are to go back to your home, but do
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  Speaker 1: not forget what you have seen. Teach the people this
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  Speaker 1: stance in these songs, and while they are dancing it,
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  Speaker 1: let them wear a bull's head in a robe. Those
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  Speaker 1: who are to be the head of the Bull Society
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  Speaker 1: shall wear them. When the poor man returned with his daughter,
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  Speaker 1: all the people were glad. Then after a time he
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  Speaker 1: called the council of the chiefs and told them the
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  Speaker 1: things that had happened. The chiefs chose certain young men
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  Speaker 1: to be bulls, and the man taught them the dance
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  Speaker 1: and the song, and told them everything that they should do.
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  Speaker 1: So began the Bull Society. End of chapter nine