Sacajawea

by Anna Lee Waldo

1. On November 3, 1823, Duke Paul Wilhelm of Württemberg and Jean Baptiste Charbonneau traveled by boat from St. Louis downriver. They reached New Orleans on December 19. There they booked passage with Captain Packard, who worked for Vincente Nolte and Company, on the brig, Smyrna. The Smyrna was loaded on Sunday, December 21, but drifted around on the Mississippi River until the wind was favorable and it could sail. On January 10 the people on the brig sighted Cuba and by the last of that month the outside temperature was measured at fourteen degrees below zero off the banks of Newfoundland. The Smyrna sailed into Havre de Grace on February 14,1824. For the next six years Jean Baptiste was with Duke Paul, who lived in the Württemberg castle about thirty miles from Stuttgart. Together they traveled through France, England, Germany, and North Africa. In 1829 they returned to America. Wilhelm, trans, by Bek, pp. 459–62; and Butscher, pp. 181–92.

  CHAPTER 44 Jerk Meat

  1. The grooves may have been made to permit the blood to escape and weaken the victim. The grooves symbolized lightning, which was believed would make the arrows fatal. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 102–3, also state that it seems possible the grooves were made to prevent the arrow shaft from warping. The arrow feathers were of owl, buzzard, or wild turkey, because these feathers were not ruined by blood as were hawk or eagle feathers. Wing feathers were split at the stems, dipped in glue or blood and bound in the grooves on either sideof the shaft with sinew and blood, then sun dried. A notch was made for the arrowhead to be fastened in the same way. The Shoshoni and their relatives placed the blade of the hunting arrow in the same plane with the notch for the string, so that it would be more likely to pass between the ribs of the animal, which are up and down. From The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel. Copyright 1952 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

  2. Comanches also think of themselves as The People, as do the Shoshonis and most other western plains tribes. In the Ute language the word Comanche means, “Anyone who wants to fight me all the time.” Wallace and Hoebel, p. 4.

  3. Wallace and Hoebel write that the language and culture of the Comanches point to a Shoshonean origin. When the first recorded studies were made by whites, the Comanches were so similar to the Shoshonis that it was impossible to distinguish between the two groups. Crow tradition says they were once in the Snake River region. Omaha tradition says the Comanches were on the Middle Loup River until the start of the nineteenth century. According to Comanche tradition they came from the Shoshonis in the Rocky Mountain country. Today it is not known why the Comanches and Shoshonis separated. There are several legendary accounts, which include disputes over distribution of bear meat, hard feelings over an accidental death of a chief’s son, a split caused by the aggressive northern tribes equipped with guns, or the desire for more horses from the southwest. Probably a combination of all these factors contributed to the split of the two groups. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 8–11.

  4. Sacajawea was usually called Wadzewipe, meaning Lost Woman, while she was among the Comanches, according to Clark and Edmonds, p. 117, and Grace Raymond Hebard, Sacajawea, A Guide and Interpreter of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Glendale, CA: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1957, p. 265. Penat meant honey in Comanche.

  5. There were many Comanche tribes. The largest was the Penataka, or Honey Eaters. There were Nokoni, Wandering People; Tanima, Liver Eaters; Yamparika,

  Yap Eaters; Kutsueka, Buffalo Eaters; Tenawa, Down Stream People; Parkeenaum, Water People; and a dozen other tribes. Sacajawea went to the Quohada, Antelope People. Personal letter to A.W.L. from H. D. Corwin, March 7, 1967.

  Logic tells us that if Sacajawea were to leave the area around St. Louis, she would follow a more northerly route, following the Missouri River, a trail she already knew, to the Mandan villages, where she had friends. Or she would continue along the Missouri River route until she located her own people, the Shoshonis. However, the legends of her leaving St. Louis always take her into the southwest and to the Comanche country, an area that was totally new to her.

  6. No tepee stood straight, but tilted slightly backward into the prevailing winds. Most tepees faced east as winds come from the west or southwest. The smoke hole, above the entrance near the top, was made by folding back two ends of skins and attaching these flaps, which were really pockets, like pointed ears, to outside poles. The “ears” could be adjusted by moving the outside poles so that the hole was closed, open, or something in between. This opening controlled the amount of wind that was allowed to enter, and helped create a draft to carry off smoke.

  In warm weather the covering could be rolled several inches off the ground to provide more ventilation. In cold weather the cover could be drawn tightly to the ground. To maintain a continual draft to carry away smoke, an inner lining, or doubling, of buffalo hide was secured to the poles inside to a height of about six feet above the ground. The lining was tucked under the edge of beds and leather boxes stored about the inner edge of the tepee. Without the lining, wind could blow in from the bottom or rain water could run down poles to drip over everything inside. With this lining, any air that got in under the outer cover was sent upward and never felt by the people inside the tepee. Rain that got in through the smoke hole ran down the poles between the outer cover and lining into a narrow trench at the base of the tepee and was drained away, leaving the floor dry. This air space between the two skins gave good insulation and kept the tepee warm or cool, depending on the weather outside. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 86–91. For excellent material on the making of lodges see Reginald and Gladys Laubin, The Indian Tipi, Its History, Construction, and Use. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957.

  7. The Comanches did not spank their children, but taught by object lessons. They knew that parental control caused resentment and so, like most Native Americans, when discipline was needed they called on a close relative, such as an aunt or uncle, grandmother or grandfather. From Indians of the Plains, by Robert H. Lowie, p. 83. Natural History Press. Copyright 1954 by the American Museum of Natural History.

  8. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 68, say that the medicine hunt was not used often, but the Comanches were positive that the magic charms worked. Maybe the circle of shouting, rushing hunters who crowded and tired the animals made it work.

  9. The most courageous thing a man could do was to count coup on a live enemy. Coup was striking the enemy at close range rather than shooting him from a distance. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 246.

  10. To avoid the risk of incest, brothers and sisters were kept apart as much as possible. Custom demanded that a male who was touched or even approached by his sexually developed sister should kill the girl. Otherwise, there were few sex taboos among the Comanche. Nonincestuous exploration and experimentation were not frowned upon, and sex was not considered a moral issue. Older, unmarried girls often initiated younger boys in sex games. There was little rape within bands. Husbands permitted unmarried brothers to use their women in expectation of later reciprocity. This practice tended to make close family groups. T. R. Fehrenbach, Commanches: The Destruction of a People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979, pp. 41–2.

  CHAPTER 45 Comanche Marriage

  1. According to Wallace and Hoebel, p. 48, Comanche rescues were most often made by two men working together. “Rushing neck by neck on either side of the prostrate person, both riders stooped at the same instant and swung the body in front of one of the riders.”

  This trick was practiced day after day on all kinds of ground until the men and ponies did it perfectly. From The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel. Copyright 1952 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

  2. A Comanche medicine man watched for flocks of small birds rhythmically swooping down and up, because they followed herds of buffalo to eat the insects off their infested hides. These swooping birds told him buffalo were close by.

  3. The Mandan women and some of the Plains tribes women did all the work of skinning and butchering as soon as their men shot the buffa
lo. However, Comanche men did their own skinning and the first phase of butchering. The slicing, fileting, stripping for drying, and hide curing were left for the women. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 58–61.

  4. A Comanche butchering or feast would sicken the sensibilities of most civilized men, but because they ate and used most of the animal, they got the nutrients needed to survive. If they had eaten only lean meat, they would have sickened and died. However, hunger and constant exposure did take terrible tolls, as many Comanches and other early Native Americans died from pneumonia and suffered from rheumatism and intestinal disorders. T. R. Fehrenbach, Comanches: The Destruction of a People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979, pp. 35–6.

  5. The pipes were straight tubes from the shank bone of a deer or antelope, cut off at either end, the marrow pushed out, and the mouth end smoothed. The pipe was wrapped with the ligament from the back of a buffalo bull’s neck to reinforce the bone and make the pipe last long. The straight pipes were easy to carry, so were taken on raids and hunting expeditions. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 98.

  6. The metal arrowheads became important as trade items for the Plains Indians beginning about 1820. The eastern traders made the points and put them in packages of a dozen. The cost to the trader was about six cents a package and he traded the package for one buffalo robe. One kind of metal arrowhead had no barb and was easily extracted from game. The war pointshad one barb. When it was shot into a body and the shaft pulled, it caught and the point turned crosswise so that it was impossible to pull out without tearing or cutting. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 104.

  7. Herrmann believes, pp. 179–80, that most all Native Americans were familiar with the wheel. They used wheels on their children’s toys. Before the time of Columbus they did not use the wheel because they did not have large domesticated animals suitable for pulling heavy loads, and the terrain was rocky and uneven in many places. After the arrival of horses, it was the lack of knowledge in road construction that kept the people from using carts on wheels. Paul Herrmann, Conquest by Man, transl. by Michael Bullock, N.Y., Harper and Bros., 1954. Copyright Hoffman und Campe Verlag, c/o Curtis Brown, Ltd.

  8. The Comanches venerated the rare, pure white horse. They also liked and bred spotted ponies. Most of their stallions were gelded, a trick they learned from the Spanish. Fehrenbach, p. 98.

  9. Bride gifts were never delivered directly, for that was considered bad manners. They were just left. Sometimes a relative of the suitor was used as a mediator, to take horses or goods to the lodge of the girl’s parents and talk politely with them. If the gift was refused, it was left untouched and nothing was said. But if the family took the gifts the meaning was clear that the family approved of the match and the prospective bride was willing to live with the suitor. Fehrenbach, p. 100; also Wallace and Hoebel, p. 135.

  10. Later when the Comanches had guns, they captured mustangs even more easily with the trick called “creasing.” Creasing took excellent marksmanship. The horse was shot through the muscular part of the neck, above the backbone. The trick was to not fracture the spine, so that the horse dropped paralyzed for two or three minutes. Then the man had time to rope and tie the horse before it knew what had happened. The horse recovered and when the crease healed it never seemed to bother the horse. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 41–2.

  11. Sometimes after the gift of horses had been delivered and accepted, the bridegroom killed one of the least valuable, removed the heart, and hung it at thedoor of his betrothed. The bride roasted it, divided it in half, and the couple ate it. Fehrenbach, p. 136.

  CHAPTER 46 Joy and Sorrow

  1. Many of the Plains tribes had a Foolish Society. The men sometimes acted like clowns or did deeds generally thought foolish by most people. These men believed they obeyed instructions given them by some spirit person. From Indians of the Plains, by Robert H. Lowie, p. 188. Natural History Press. Copyright 1954 by the American Museum of Natural History.

  2. If the umbilical cord was undisturbed before it rotted, it was believed that the child would have a long, fortunate life. A woman assisting with the birth threw the afterbirth in a creek or running stream because moving water was a purifier and wiped out any evil. If running water was not available, the afterbirth was buried in the ground. From The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel, p. 144. Copyright 1952 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

  3. If the band was moving, the unfit baby was left behind, near the location of the last camp. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 120.

  4. Another type of cradleboard was the buckskin sheath, laced in the front and fastened to a back board. Undoing the cradleboard and unwrapping the baby each time it was soiled would have been a bother. The baby boy’s penis was placed in a small hole in the lacings, and for the baby girl a leather drain tube was placed between the legs and fitted to a hole in the lacings. Dry moss or cattail down was used to catch the soiled excretion. Wallace and Hoebel, p. 120.

  5. The space was usually packed with feathers or hair and in some cases paper to stop the force of arrows or bullets or blows from spear points. The Comanches’ interest in books was usually for the purpose of using the paper to pack their shields. Wallace and Hoebel, pp. 106–7.

  CHAPTER 47 Gray Bone

  1. This living bark turns white when exposed to sunlight. The bark of the year before does not grow anymore and thus it does not expand enough to fit around the growing trunk, and so it is forced off in patches. The sycamore is one of the earth’s first hardwood trees, and has survived millions of years. Piatt, pp. 44—5.

  2. When the ruffle or movement of the feathers was constant, as when the shield was shaken, it served to disturb the aim of the enemy. From The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel, p. 107. Copyright 1952 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

  CHAPTER 48 Shooting Stars

  1. Usually no woman gave advice or became proficient in the use of medicinals until she had passed the menopause. The menstruation was believed to cancel all medicine or magic. This curse reinforced the social inferiority of women. If the woman lived long enough the menses disappeared with menopause and she could then make medicine on her own or act in the capacity of a chief. T. R. Fehrenbach, Comanches: The Destruction of a People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979, p. 43. Also from The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains, by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel, p. 166. Copyright 1952 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

  2. The first vision quest was made before the adolescent male had been on the warpath. The vision was usually caused by hallucinations from going without food.

  3. Lavender, pp. 140–4, wrote that on November 12, 1833, the stars seemed to tumble from the skies. The warriors of various Indian tribes who saw this spectacular meteor shower dressed in clothes for battle and put on war paints. This was something they could not fight, but they could die as brave warriors, mounted on their horses, riding single file around their village. The women and children cried and the dogs barked and wolves howled. Next morning everything was normal. From that time on the night the stars fell became a part of legendary history. Many tribes marked future events from “the night the stars fell.” From Bents Fort by David Lavender. Copyright 1954 by Doubleday and Co., Inc.

  CHAPTER 49 The Raid

  1. While the abduction of children angered the Mexicans more than rapes, murders, and robberies, the republic had no money for an intelligent ransom policy. Once adopted, the captive had the rights and recognition of a born Comanche. A child forgot its native language and old associations and strove to be accepted. For example, the girls looked forward to becoming the wife of a great warrior. A captive, adjusted to Comanche life, was almost never able to readjust again to civilization. T. R. Fehrenbach, Comanches: The Destuction of a People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979, pp. 256–57.

  2. In Lawton, Oklahoma, on February 15, 1925, a Comanche woman, sixty-six years old, named Tahcutine, told Dr. Charles Eastman that she was the daughter of Ticannaf
, who was the son of Wadziwipe, the supposed Sacajawea. Tahcutine told about a young Mexican girl her father captured. The Mexican girl’s name was Choway and she lived with Wadziwipe until the woman took her youngest child and left the band. Several other Comanche women who knew the wife of Jerk Meat or the tradition of her disappearance told Dr. Eastman about the young Mexican captive, Choway, who lived with Wadziwipe. Eastman, Report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1925, which includes Eastman’s statements from Lawton and the Comanche Reservation, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

  CHAPTER 50 Bent’s Fort to Lupton’s Fort

  1. To see a glory close up, you must view a cloud of uniform water droplets in such a way that your shadow is projected on that cloud. You will then also see the shadow of your head surrounded by a series of colored haloes. These haloes are caused by the scatter of sunlight by droplets of water of uniform size. Bryant and Jarmie, pp. 60–71.

  2. Owl Woman was the daughter of Gray Thunder. She became William Bent’s woman when he was twenty-eight years old. Bill Bent named their first child Mary. From Bent’s Fort by David Lavender, pp. 174–76. Copyright 1954 by Doubleday and Co., Inc.

  3. Céran St. Vrain helped the Bents build their fort. Its front wall facing east was 137 feet long, 14 feet high and 3 or more feet thick. The northern and southern walls were 178 feet long. Inside were 25 rooms built along the walls, with their doors facing an inner court or placita. The main entrance was a kind of tunnel between the walls of the storerooms. There was a second story with another row of apartments and a watchtower with windows on four sides. On top of the watchtower was a bell that called the men to meals and on top of the belfrey was the flagpole which carried Old Glory. Lavender, pp. 135–40, 385–87.

  CHAPTER 51 St. Vrain’s Fort

  1. Some historians feel this was the site of a second fort built by Jim Bridger. Jackson and Penal, 1970, pp. 468–69.