Part 33 (1/2)

Forty yards and first shot. Well, that's what the Injuns would call a '_grand coup_,' and Caleb's face wore the same pleasant look as when he made the fire with rubbing-sticks.

”What's a _grand coup?_” asked Little Beaver.

”Oh, I suppose it's a big deed. The Injuns call a great feat a '_coup_,' an' an extra big one a '_grand coup_.' Sounds like French, an' maybe 'tis, but the Injuns says it. They had a regular way of counting their _coup_, and for each they had the right to an Eagle feather in their bonnet, with a red tuft of hair on the end for the extra good ones. At least, they used to. I reckon now they're forgetting it all, and any buck Injun wears just any feather he can steal and stick in his head.”

”What do you think of our head-dresses?” Yan ventured.

'Hm! You ain't never seen a real one or you wouldn't go at them that way at all. First place, the feathers should all be white with black tips, an' fastened not solid like that, but loose on a cap of soft leather. Each feather, you see, has a leather loop lashed on the quill end for a lace to run through and hold it to the cap, an' then a string running through the middle of each feather to hold it--just so.

Then there are ways of marking each feather to show how it was got.

I mind once I was out on a war party with a lot of Santees--that's a brand of Sioux--an' we done a lot o' sneaking an' stealing an' scalped some of the enemy. Then we set out for home, and when we was still about thirty miles away we sent on an Injun telegram of good luck. The leader of our crowd set fire to the gra.s.s after he had sent two men half a mile away on each side to do the same thing, an' up went three big smokes. There is always some one watching round an Injun village, an' you bet when they seen them three smokes they knowed that we wuz a-coming back with scalps.

”The hull Council come out to meet us, but not too reckless, coz this might have been the trick of enemies to surprise them.

”Well, when we got there, maybe there wasn't a racket. You see, we didn't lose a man, and we brung in a hundred horses and seven scalps.

Our leader never said a word to the crowd, but went right up to the Council teepee. He walked in--we followed. There was the Head Chief an' all the Council settin' smoking. Our leader give the '_How_, an' then we all '_Howed_.' Then we sat an' smoked, an' the Chief called on our leader for an account of the little trip. He stood up an' made a speech.

”'Great Chief and Council of my Tribe,' says he. 'After we left the village and the men had purified themselves, we travelled seven days and came to the Little Muddy River. There we found the track of a travelling band of Arapaho. In two days we found their camp, but they were too strong for us, so we hid till night; then I went alone into their camp and found that some of them were going off on a hunt next day. As I left I met a lone warrior coming in. I killed him with my knife. For that I claim a _coup_; and I scalped him--for that I claim another _coup_; an' before I killed him I slapped his face with my hand--for this I claim a _grand coup_; and I brought his horse away with me--for that I claim another _coup_. Is it not so,' sez he, turning to us, and we all yelled '_How! How! How!_'

For this fellow, 'Whooping Crane,' was awful good stuff. Then the Council agreed that he should wear three Eagle feathers, the first for killing and scalping the enemy in his own camp--that was a _grand coup_, and the feather had a tuft of red hair on it an' a red spot on the web. The next feather was for slapping the feller's face first, which, of course, made it more risky. This Eagle feather had a red tuft on top an' a red hand on the web; the one for stealing the horse had a horseshoe, but no tuft, coz it wasn't counted A1.

”Then the other Injuns made their claims, an' we all got some kind of honours. I mind one feller was allowed to drag a Fox tail at each heel when he danced, an' another had ten horseshoe marks on an Eagle feather for stealing ten horses, an' I tell you them Injuns were prouder of them feathers than a general would be of his medals.”

[Ill.u.s.tration: The War Bonnet (See description below)]

THE INDIAN WAR BONNET--HOW TO MAKE IT

1. The plain white Goose or Turkey feather.

2. The same, with tip dyed black or painted with indelible ink.

3. The same, showing ruff of white down lashed on with wax end.

4. The same, showing leather loop lashed on for the holding lace.

5. The same, viewed edge on.

6. The same, with a red flannel cover sewn and lashed on the quill. This is a '_coup_ feather.'

7. The same, with a tuft of red horsehair lashed on the top to mark a '_grand coup_' and (_a_) a thread through the middle of the rib to hold feather in proper place. This feather is marked with the symbol of a _grand coup_ in target shooting.

This symbol may be drawn on an oval piece of paper gummed on the top of the feather.

8. The tip of a feather showing how the red horsehair tuft is lashed on with fine waxed thread.

9. The groundwork of the war bonnet made of any soft leather, (_a_) a broad band to go round the head, laced at the joint or seam behind; (_b_) a broad tail behind as long as needed to hold all the wearer's feathers; (_c_) two leather thongs or straps over the top; (_d_) leather string to tie under the chin; (_e_) the b.u.t.tons, conchas or side ornaments of sh.e.l.ls, silver, horn or wooden discs, even small mirrors and circles of beadwork were used, and sometimes the conchas were left out altogether; they may have the owner's totem on them, usually a bunch of ermine tails hung from each side of the bonnet just below the concha. A bunch of horsehair will answer as well; (_hh_) the holes in the leather for holding the lace of the feather; 24 feathers are needed for the full bonnet, without the tail, so they are put less than an inch apart; (_iii_) the lacing holes on the tail: this is as long as the wearer's feathers call for; some never have any tail.

10. Side view of the leather framework, showing a pattern sometimes used to decorate the front.

11, 12 and 13. Beadwork designs for front band of bonnet; all have white grounds. No. 11 (Arapaho) has green band at top and bottom with red zigzag. No. 12 (Ogallala) has blue band at top and bottom, red triangles; the concha is blue with three white bars and is cut off from the band by a red bar. No. 13 (Sioux) has narrow band above and broad band below blue, the triangle red, and the two little stars blue with yellow centre.