The visit was one of good luck, the Indians say,
for there was excellent hunting that season.
The Dahcotahs believe firmly the story of Iron Members. He was one of
their wisest men. He was a great warrior and knew how to kill his
enemies. White Dog says that at night, when they were on a war party,
Iron Members would extinguish all the fires of the Dahcotahs, and then
direct his men where to find the Chippeways. He would take a spoonful of
sugar, and the same quantity of whiskey, and make an offering to the
spirits of their enemies; he would sing to them, and charm them so that
they would come up so close to him that he would knock them on the head
with his rattle, and kill them. These spirits approach in the form of a
bear. After this is done, they soon find their enemies and conquer them.
The Dahcotahs think their medicine possesses supernatural powers; they
burn incense,--leaves of the white cedar tree,--in order to destroy the
supernatural powers of a person who dislikes them. They consider the
burning of incense a preventive of evil, and believe it wards off danger
from lightning.
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