E. INDIAN CHILDREN

Childbirth and child-rearing among the plains Indians, 1819-1820

Edwin James, "Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Performed in the Years 1819, 1820," in Reuben Gold Thwaites, Early Western Travels, XV (Cleveland, 1905), 18-23.

James, a botanist and geologist, accompanied Major Stephen Long on his famous expedition across the plains to the Rockies.

If, on a march, a pregnant woman feels the pains of parturition, she retires to the bushes, throws the burden from her back, and, without any aid, brings her infant into the world. After washing in water, if at hand, or in melted snow, both herself and the infant, she immediately replaces the burden upon her back, weighing, perhaps, between sixty and an hundred pounds, secures her child upon the top of it, protected from the cold by an envelop of bison robe, and then hurries on to overtake her companions.

It is only at the delivery of the first child that any difficulty is ever anticipated; and, on this occasion, as there are no professed midwives, the young wife calls in some friendly matron to assist in case of need. The aid which these temporary midwives afford, seems to be limited to the practice of tying a belt firmly about the waist of the patient, and shaking her, generally in a vertical direction, with considerable violence. In order to facilitate the birth, a vegetable decoction is sometimes administered; and the rattle of the rattle-snake is also given with, it is said, considerable effect. The singular appendages of this animal are bruised by pounding, or comminuted by friction between the hands, mixed with warm water; and about the quantity of two segments constitutes a dose.

The art of turning does not appear to be known, neither is blood-letting practiced in their obstetrics. We heard of no case of retention of the placenta after parturition, nor of the affection of longing, or of nausea of the stomach during pregnancy.

On the delivery of her first child, the young mother, who appears to be but little enfeebled by the process, arises almost immediately, and attends to the ordinary housework; but she does not, in general, undergo any laborious occupation, such as cutting and carrying wood, until the lapse of two or three days. The second child is brought forth without difficulty, and the parent, after bathing, ties it to a board, after their usual manner, then proceeds with her daily work, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.

Mammary abscess is very rare; a squaw of the Sioux nation died with this complaint.

Sterility, although it does occur, is not frequent, and seems to be mostly attributable to the husband, as is evinced by subsequent marriages of the squaws.

The usual number of children may be stated at from four to six in a family, but in some families are ten or twelve. Of these the mother has often two at the breast simultaneously, of which one may be three years of age. At this age, however, and sometimes rather earlier, the in child is weaned by the aid of ridicule, in which the parents are assisted by visitors.

The catalogue of the diseases, of both children and adults, probably bears a similar proportion to that of the white people, and is far less extensive and appalling. The summer complaint, so destructive to children in our region, appears to be uncommon with the Omawhaw infants; but, during their first year, they suffer more from constipation of the bowels than from any other complaint, but which is occasionally remedied by passing a small piece of soap (which is obtained from the traders,) cut into the proper shape, into the rectum.

Dentition seems to be productive of no great distress; the gums are never cut, but the teeth are permitted to force their way through. The shedding of the teeth is also accomplished without much difficulty; the milk-teeth, being forced out by the permanent ones, either fall from the mouth, or are gently extracted by the fingers of the parent.

Monstrous births sometimes occur, though rarely; and it is not known that infants are ever destroyed by their parents in consequence of deformity, unless the degree of malformation is excessive. The Indians mention two monsters which were born in their village; one of these they represent as resembling a white bear, and the other a cray-fish; they were both destroyed. The husband of the squaw, who gave birth to the former, said that she must have had connection with a white bear; but she asserted that the production of the monster was occasioned by a fright, which she received at seeing her husband suddenly, whilst he was personating that animal both in dress and gesture.

The magi affect to converse with the foetus in utero, when the mother perceives it to be uneasy; they also sometimes venture to predict its sex.

Abortion is effected, agreeably to the assertions of the squaws, by blows with the clenched hand, applied upon the abdomen, or by repeated and violent pressure upon that part, or by rolling on the stump of a tree, or other hard body. The pregnant squaw is induced thus to procure abortion, in consequence of the jealousy of her husband, or in order to conceal her illicit amours, to which all the married squaws, with but few exceptions, are addicted.

The infant, when recently born, is of a reddish-brown colour; but in a short time it becomes whitish, though never so pure a white as that of the children of white people. The change to the national complexion is then gradual, and independent of exposure; inasmuch as those parts of their bodies, which are perpetually concealed from the light, change simultaneously with the face.

The abdomen of the children protrudes very considerably; and the sole article of dress, which the younger boys wear during the warm season, is a small belt of cloth around the middle of the abdomen, leaving every other part of the body perfectly naked. In wintry weather they have the addition of leggings, mockasins, and a small robe.

The female children are furnished with a short piece of cloth, in imitation of a petticoat, but destitute of a seam, belted round the loins, and depending as low as the knees. Their hair, when dressed, is parted longitudinally on the top of the head, and collected on each side behind the ear, into a vertical cylindric form, of the length of five or six inches, decorated with silver and brass rings and ribands; the line of separation of the hair is coloured with vermilion.

This disposition of the hair into two rolls is generally observed in the girls, and is often continued one or two years after their residence with a husband.

The girl is kept in a state of considerable subjection; she habitually conforms to all the commands of the mother, and is obliged to assist her in her ordinary occupations; if she is refractory, she receives a blow upon the head or back from the hand of the mother, but hardly ever from the father. At the age of four or five years, she is taught the use of the hoppas, and is gradually familiarised to carry burdens. They are trained up to industry, and are taught to cut wood, to cultivate maize, to perform the scalp dance, and are early informed of the sexual relations of men and women, and warned against the arts which will be aimed at the subjugation of their virtue.

The experienced parent, however, in addition to these salutary counsels, keeps a vigilant eye to the deportment of her unmarried daughter, and so sedulously guards her steps, that the arts of seduction, notwithstanding the free use of the licentiousness of language, appear to be more rarely triumphant over the Omawhaw maid, than over the civilized fair.

Hence a prostitute, who has never been married, is of exceedingly rare occurrence. Yet, notwithstanding the vigilance of the parent, the daughter sometimes elopes with a favoured lover, but not until she has ascertained that his intentions are perfectly honourable.

The girl displays the most affectionate regard for her parents, and grand parents.

Whilst the deportment of the sister is thus trenched and guarded, the brother roams at large, almost uncontrolled. Should his conduct be at any time flagrantly outrageous, he will, perhaps, in the anger of his parents, receive a harsh reproof; but an ill-judged affection soon prompts them to assuage his grief, and dry his tears, by presents and soothing expressions. At a very early age he is furnished with a bow and arrows, with the use of which he delights to employ himself, that he may be qualified for a hunter and warrior.

From the age of about five years to that of ten or twelve, custom obliges the boy to ascend to a hill-top, or other elevated position, fasting, that he may cry aloud to the Wahconda. At the proper season, his mother reminds him that "the ice is breaking up in the river, the ducks and geese are migrating, and it is time for you to prepare to go in clay." He then rubs his person over with a whitish clay, and is sent off to the hill-top at sunrise, previously instructed by his mother what to say, and how to demean himself in the presence of the Master of life. From this elevation he cries out to the great Wahconda, humming a melancholy tune, and calling on him to have pity on him, and make him a great hunter, horse-stealer, and warrior. This is repeated once or twice a week, during the months of March and April.

It is only when his pride is concerned, that the boy is obedient to the injunctions of his parents; on other occasions he disregards them, or replies only with ridicule. A boy in anger discharged an arrow at his mother, which penetrated her thigh; when, instead of chastising him for the act, she applauded his spirit, declaring him to be a gallant fellow, the early promise of a great warrior. But though he does not scruple thus to insult his parents, he would unhesitatingly revenge an indignity offered them by another.

He soon becomes ambitious of martial distinction, in consequence of frequently hearing the old warriors narrate their feats of arms, and eagerly anticipates the age which will justify his enrolling himself in the ranks of a war-party.

At the age of twelve or thirteen, having received every instruction respecting their mode of warfare, his wishes are gratified, and he is accepted as a volunteer in the path of honour.

The reminiscences of Poor Wolf, chief of the Gros Ventre, ca. 1825

Poor Wolf, "Autobiography," Collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, I (1906), 439-441.

Poor Wolf dictated his memoirs in 1906 when he was eighty-six years old.

I was born on the Knife river in the middle of the three Gros-ventre villages near the mouth of that stream . . .

When I was a child of five winters, perhaps only four, I prayed to the spirits of animals, to the stars, the sun and the moon. My words were not many, but I prayed. I was afraid of the enemy in the dark. My father had heard of the white man's God through a trader but nothing clearly. We sometimes prayed to the white man's God who made us and could make us grow.

We had female divinities above, and we prayed to the four winds, and to the earth that makes the corn grow. There are many songs concerning these things, some of the songs speak of the different colored flowers. These things were taught for a great price, by the priests of the tribe.

When I was about five winters old a white chief visited our village on the Knife river. He said that the Gros Ventres should obey the Great Father, and consider their hunting grounds as extending from Devil's lake to the Yellowstone river. I remember saying to my father: Will I be a white man now? And my father said, Yes. That was 77 years ago, and I have been a friend to the whites ever since.

These men had eight boats. They were drawn by ropes that the men pulled. They were soldiers with stripes on their breasts and arms . . .

When I was 17 year of age I had the small pox. I was left alone in a lodge, helpless, weak, and my eyes nearly closed. A bear came in and walked up to where I was lying. He sat down with his back pressed against me, and began to scratch his breast with his fore paws. By and by he got up and walked out of the lodge. Was I dreaming or had it really happened? While I was thinking it over the bear returned, and while I trembled for fear, went through the same motions again, and then went off, leaving me unharmed. I thought surely the bear has had mercy on me. When my father came again we talked it over and agreed that the bear had pitied me. After that I worshiped the bear, and in the dance I wore anklets of a bear's teeth.

When I was 19 or 20 years of age, I went fasting for 20 days. I would not eat anything nor smoke for four days. On the fifth day I would eat a little, and then fast again. My mother and friends would try to have me give up, but I persisted. I cried during this time, and then, for a year after, though I did not fast I kept on crying. After this I was tattooed on my arms and neck and other places on my body. This was done with great ceremony. Song was used in the performance. They would sing: Let his body be pictured, his face, his spirit also, and O! White Father in heaven, and ye four winds, make him blue. Let him not be bitten by rattle snakes. It was thought that the tattooing would give courage and afford protection; one would not be struck by bullets. One could suck out snake poison without harm. This last I did not like to try, but my father assured me it could be done. The tattooing left me sore, swollen, and itching. After a while I moved about slowly and painfully, and ate a little. I was rubbed with grease and then the sores healed and the blue patterns came out. In tattooing five little sharp instruments were fastened side by side. They were like needles, and pricked painfully into the flesh.

At the Knife river a party of Sioux once attacked us in the winter. The Gros Ventres were running away. I walked right up to the Sioux who were on horseback. They ran. Then two of them came against me on foot. They shot at me, but the bullets struck my beaded shirt and did no harm. I was then 21 years of age.

Indian boys and girls, 1851

Hiram M. Chittenden and Alfred T. Richardson, eds., Life, Letters and Travels of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (New York, 1905), III, 1006-1007.

Father De Smet was a Belgian Jesuit missionary. This account of Plains Indians was included in a letter to his niece.

You expect, no doubt, that I will tell you something about the savages of America. Here is how they stand in regard to education, which I know is a matter that interests you. The only school in which the Indian youth learn to form their head and heart, is the example of their elders. They give them no preceptors. In the family, the father has charge of the boys, the mother of the girls, and the old proverb, "like father like son," applies more strictly among the Indians than anywhere else. In general, great attention is paid to the physical development of the children and they are prepared from their tenderest infancy for the hardest kind of life. As soon as the child is born, in whatever season, regardless of the severest cold or the greatest heat, they at once plunge it several times into water. Then, suitably wrapped up, it is placed and entrusted in the hands of some other nurse than its mother. After the first week the parents take it back, and it is put into the cradle, or berceau—a machine that deserves to be patented, and which the little individual does not leave until he is able to walk. This is the simple construction of it—a small hide-covered board, about a foot longer than its little occupant. The child is placed upon it and tied tightly with bandages, beginning with the legs and covering it to the shoulders; they are made tightest about the loins and the pit of the stomach, in order to force out the chest as much as possible. Neatly arranged in this style, the little party occupies a place in the lodge, out of harm's way. When the weather is fine, he is set in the doorway of the lodge. If the nurse goes away, she hangs the cradle to the branch of a tree, where the baby warms himself tranquilly in the sun, or on hot days is in the shade, and is in no danger from dogs, wolves or snakes, which are often plentiful in the neighborhood. When they travel, the cradle is hung from the saddle-bow, where it is out of the rider's way and offers no danger to the little prisoner.

After he has learned to walk, and up to the time when he can provide for his own subsistence, he remains attached to his parents' lodge, doing no hard work. At about the age of twelve, he begins to take care of his father's band of horses, and to handle the bow or fire-arms in the chase. At sixteen or eighteen he is invested with the honors and responsibilities of the warrior; he shares the labors and takes part in all the amusements of the village elders. The girls enjoy no such liberty as do the boys. They are early made to help their mother in all her labors; they cut and bring in firewood, help prepare the food, which is no small matter among the Indians, who often dine six or eight times a day; mend and make shoes and garments, with a very great number of etceteras, and when a girl is of age, her father sells her for a horse or two and she becomes the slave of a man to whom very likely she may never have spoken.