Arapaho

“ They are commonly known as northern Arapaho, to distinguish them from the other large division living now in Oklahoma. The Kiowa distinguished them as Tägyä′ko, “sagebrush people,” a translation of their proper name, Baachinĕna. Although not the largest division, the Baachinĕna claim to be the “mother people” of the Arapaho, and have in their keeping the grand medicine of the tribe, the sĕicha or sacred pipe. ”

“ Ärä′păho—the popular name for the Arapaho tribe. The derivation is uncertain, but it may be, as Dunbar suggests, from the Pawnee verb tirapihu or larapihu, “he buys or trades,” in allusion to the Arapaho having formerly been the trading medium between the Pawnee, Osage, and others in the north, and 1014the Kiowa, Comanche, and others to the southwest (Grinnell) . It is worthy of note that old frontiersmen pronounce the name Aräpihu. It is not the name by which they are called by the Cheyenne, Sioux, Shoshoni, Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Caddo, or Wichita. ”

“ Or might it be that tribe of still darker, deadlier fame—the hostile Arapaho? If they be Arapahoes, we need look for no mercy.
I sweep the glass over them, seeking for signs by which I may identify our enemy. I perceive one that is significant. The leggings of the chiefs and principal warriors are fringed with scalps; their shields are encircled by similar ornaments. Most of these appendages are of dark hue—the locks long and black. But not all are of this kind or colour. One shield is conspicuously different from the rest. A red-hand is painted upon its black disc. ”

“ Among the northern Arapaho, on the occasion of every grand gathering, the sacred pipe occupied a special large tipi in the center of the circle, and the taking down of this tipi by the medicine keeper was the signal to the rest of the camp to prepare to move. On the occasion of a visit of several hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho to the Kiowa and Comanche at Anadarko, in the summer of 1892, each of the visiting tribes camped in a separate circle adjacent to the other. The opening of the circle, like the door of each tipi, always faces the east. ”

“ The word may mean “red willow (i. e., kinikinik) men,” or “blood-pudding men,” the latter etymology being derived from bä, blood, and chĭni′niki, to put liquid into a bladder.
Bääku′ni—“Red Feather,” the Arapaho name of Paul Boynton, a Carlisle student, and formerly interpreter at Cheyenne and Arapaho agency.
Baa′-ni′bina—“thunder-berries,” from băa′, thunder, and ni′bin, berry; a wild fruit, perhaps the black haw. See Arapaho song 51.
Bääthi′na—cedar tree. See Arapaho song 31.
Bad Pipes—one of the three bands of the northern Arapaho. Their present chief is Sharp Nose. ”

“ They have a military organization similar to that existing among the Arapaho and other prairie tribes, as described under number 43 of the Arapaho songs. Above all the tribes of the plains they are distinguished for their desperate courage and pride of bearing, and are preeminently warriors among people whose trade is war. They are strongly conservative and have steadily resisted every advance of civilization, here again differing from the Arapaho, who have always shown a disposition to meet the white man half-way. ”

“ These were formerly a distinct tribe and at war with the other Arapaho. They are represented as having been a very foolish people in the old times, and many absurd stories are told of them, in agreement with the general Indian practice of belittling conquered or subordinate tribes. They have been incorporated with the northern Arapaho for at least a hundred and fifty years, according to the statements of the oldest men of that band. Their dialect is said to have differed very considerably from the other Arapaho dialects. ”

“ It was a joyful procession that left the Arapaho village to visit the old medicine-man. It was a twelvemonth since he had shown his face to the tribe, and their anxiety to see him was most intense. The mysterious and the supernatural profoundly affect the nature of the savage, as well as of the civilized man. The Arapahoes, convinced that their prophet possessed supernatural powers of a high order, were sure that he had come laden with news from the spirit-land, all of which they were eager to hear and prepared implicitly to believe.
Dove-eye, accompanied by Black Horse, led the procession. ”

“ In the 28th Number, a vocabulary of the Ahnenin language is shown to be the same as that of the Fall-Indians of Umfreville. In Gallatin this Ahnenin vocabulary is quoted as Arapaho, or Atsina. Now it is specially stated that these Arapaho or [Pg 315] Atsina Indians are those who are also (though inconveniently or erroneously) called the Gros Ventres, the Big Bellies and the Minitares of the Prairie—all names for the Indians about the Falls of the Saskachewan, and consequently of Indians far north. ”

“ A plateau before the cliff commands a view of broken hills and ravines, becoming less rugged as they descend and finally melting into the wide expanse of prairie that stretches endlessly toward the east.
Among these hills and ravines a fearful scene is being acted. A party of Arapaho Indians have been surprised by a band of Crows, who have attacked them with such vigor that they are flying in all directions, pursued by their bloodthirsty and vindictive adversaries. The air resounds with shouts and yells, with screams and shrieks ”

“ While appearing to have all his attention concentrated upon the speakers, he carefully kept one eye upon Black Horse and his tomahawk.
“What you ask is entirely out of the question,” said Colonel Wilder, in reply to the last demand of the Arapaho chief. “If you have no better terms to offer, you may go, and take your warriors with you.”
“The Arapahoes come as they please, and go as they please. They have not learned to obey the commands of the white men.” ”

“ The Indians who had been seen from the camp were Arapahoes, in pursuit of Dove-eye and the companions of her flight. Their chief was well enough acquainted with the reputation of both Old Blaze and Silverspur to know that they would not easily be caught, and he had determined to take enough men to follow them, if necessary, into the heart of the Crow [81] nation. The pursuers, therefore, were a war-party, numbering nearly two hundred of the best braves of the Arapahoes, a truly formidable array to the Crows and their white friends, if their intentions should prove to be hostile. ”

“ The men who had gone in pursuit of Silverspur’s pursuers brought in three scalps, and declared that the runners were Arapahoes. Bad Eye, the chief of the Crows, said that they might expect an attack, as the Arapahoes were probably awaiting an opportunity to pounce upon his people, toward whom they had lately manifested the most inveterate hostility. ”

“ He never rides in a wagon with it. Since the tribe is permanently divided under the modern reservation system, individuals or small parties of the southern Arapaho frequently make the long journey by railroad and stage to the reservation in Wyoming in order to see and pray over the sĕicha, as it is impossible, on account of the ceremonial regulations, for the keeper to bring it down to them in the south. ”

“ This song referring to the whites was composed by Nawat or Left Hand, chief of the southern Arapaho, and can hardly be considered dangerous or treasonable in character. According to his statement, in962 his trance vision of the other world the father showed him extensive orchards, telling him that in the beginning all these things had been given to the whites, but that hereafter they would be given to his children, the Indians. Nia′tha, plural Nia′thuă, the Arapaho name for the whites, signifies literally, expert, skillful, or wise. ”

“ This is another song about the whites, who are spoken of as “yellow hides” or “white skins.” The proper Arapaho name for a white man is Nia′tha, “skillful.” A great many names are applied to the whites by the different Indian tribes. By the Comanche, Shoshoni, and Paiute they are called Tai′vo, “easterners;” by the Hopi, of the same stock as the three tribes mentioned, they are known as Paha′na, “eastern water people;” by the Kiowa they are called Be′dălpago, “hairy mouths,” or Ta‛ka′-i, “standing ears.” It is very doubtful if the “pale face” of romance ever existed in the Indian mind. ”

“ The dark line of Arapaho warriors stopped ere they had got within reach of our two friends, for scarcely had their own war-cry pealed from their own lips, when there arose another yell that seemed to issue from the earth, the sky and [70] the air, so loud and fierce that the earth seemed to tremble beneath them.
Mahaska had been true to his word, and, with his warriors, had come to the rescue; and, after all, the Arapahoes were the surprised party, and like sheep they scattered and fled in every direction. Half of their number, however, fell under the blows of the Sioux.
Tumult and Town. ”

“ The Big Medicine, he was told, had spoken quite imperfectly the dialect used by the Arapahoes, and the lame excuse which he had given, although it had easily satisfied the credulous Indians, had another effect upon Silas Wormley. Again—why had he directed the Arapahoes to release Old Blaze, about whom he seemed to know so much? What was the hunter doing when he was captured near the village? For what purpose had he come there? The trader knew that white men on the plains, like snakes, are generally found in couples. When one is seen, there is another not far from him. ”

“ The Arapahoes seemed inspired by a desperate resolution to exterminate the band of Crows. They made charge after charge upon the breastwork, with the greatest fury, and on two occasions nearly gained possession of it. The white men persuaded their Indian allies to act altogether upon the defensive, to content themselves with repulsing the attacks of their assailants, and to labor as much as possible to strengthen their position. By this means, they argued, the Arapahoes would tire themselves out, and, when they should become wearied, they might be charged and put to flight. ”

“ The Crows and the Arapahoes have been fighting for a long time, and have made it dangerous for travelers to cross the plains. It is my duty to try to patch up a peace between them. I have brought some of the principal men of the Crows, and we mean to pay a visit to the Arapahoes and have a big talk. You know the effect, in such proceedings, of an officer’s full dress uniform.”
Silverspur and Old Blaze looked at each other. If they could not get away from Colonel Wilder and his party, they must meet the enraged Arapahoes, who, as they could not doubt, were hot on their trail. ”

“ Within the hour the Arapahoes came in sight, approaching the camp. Their numbers and appearance, when they were near enough to be carefully observed, were not calculated to disarm suspicion. The Crows and whites did not number more than seventy-five fighting men; while the Black Horse had brought with him at least a hundred of his best warriors, all completely armed and in fighting trim. They were allowed to enter the camp without question, as preparations had been made to give them a warm reception in case of treachery. ”

“ Although the whites were the common enemy of the Sioux and Arapaho Indians at the time of which I write, a deadly feud existed between the two tribes, growing out of a dispute as to the rightful ownership of a section of territory—abounding with game—since named the Neutral Grounds. The Sioux hunted the Arapaho and the Arapaho hunted the Sioux with the same deadly intent that each hunted the white man. ”

“ The only Arapahoes that by any stretch of the imagination could be said to have been under the protection of the military were the small part of the tribe under the control of Left Hand, a sub-chief; while there is no doubt whatever as to the hostility of the head chief Raven and his followers, who constituted a large majority of the tribe. It is generally conceded that the chief Left Hand and a few of his adherents were peaceably inclined. ”

“ Like the Cheyennes, the Arapahoes have been somewhat tamed of late by the transit of the United States army in 1857.
Among the Prairie Indians, when a war-chief has matured the plans for an expedition, he habits himself in the garb of battle. ”

“ Its area is extensive: it prevails among many of the Prairie tribes, as the Hapsaroke, or Crows, the Dakotah, the Cheyenne, and the Shoshonee; the Pawnees, Yutas, and Shoshoko, or Diggers, being vagrants and outcasts, have lost or never had the habit. Those natives who, like the Arapahoes, possess a very scanty vocabulary, pronounced in a quasi-unintelligible way, can hardly converse with one another in the dark: to make a stranger understand them they must always repair to the camp fire for "powwow." ”

“ When the principal chief of the Arapahoes heard of the fate of Black Bear and his party, he was very angry, and called together three hundred warriors (the tribe only numbering about fifteen hundred souls) , and marched for Atlantic City, as it is called (a small town in the Wind River valley) . ”

“ The Arapaho, who wear their hair long and braided, when in mourning unbraid it and wear it unbound. Sometimes they cut it. They wear old clothing, and do not paint themselves as they are accustomed to do.236.2 Among the Bangala of the Upper Congo men sometimes wear women’s dresses instead of their own, and shave half the hair of the head, or shave it in patches, and they rub clay on their bodies. ”

“ There are points on the mountain range west of this city, where a watchman with sharp eyes and a good glass could command the entire plain for fifty miles north, south, and east of him, and might hence give intelligence of any Arapahoe raid at least a day before a brave entered the mountains; for though it is true that Indians on the warpath travel or ride mainly by night, I find that the Arapahoes do this only after they have entered on what they consider disputed or dangerous ground ”