Indian Boyhood | Page 8

remembrance, my uncle used often to bring home a deer on his shoulder. The distance was sometimes con- siderable; yet he did not consider it any sort of a feat.
The usual custom with us was to eat only two meals a day and these were served at each end of the day. This rule was not invariable, how- ever, for if there should be any callers, it was Indian etiquette to offer either tobacco or food, or both. The rule of two meals a day was more closely observed by the men--especially the younger men--than by the women and children. This was when the Indians recognized that a true manhood, one of physical activity and endurance, depends upon dieting and regular exercise. No such system is practised by the reservation Indians of to-day.
III: My Indian Grandmother
AS a motherless child, I always re- garded my good grandmother as the wisest of guides and the best of protectors. It was not long before I began to realize her su- periority to most of her contempo- raries. This idea was not gained entirely from my own observation, but also from a knowledge of the high regard in which she was held by other wo- men. Aside from her native talent and ingenuity, she was endowed with a truly wonderful memory. No other midwife in her day and tribe could com- pete with her in skill and judgment. Her obser- vations in practice were all preserved in her mind for reference, as systematically as if they had been written upon the pages of a note-book.
I distinctly recall one occasion when she took me with her into the woods in search of certain medicinal roots.
"Why do you not use all kinds of roots for medicines?" said I.
"Because," she replied, in her quick, charac- teristic manner, the Great Mystery does not will us to find things too easily. In that case every- body would be a medicine-giver, and Ohiyesa must learn that there are many secrets which the Great Mystery will disclose only to the most worthy. Only those who seek him fasting and in solitude will receive his signs."
With this and many similar explanations she wrought in my soul wonderful and lively concep- tions of the "Great Mystery" and of the effects of prayer and solitude. I continued my childish questioning.
"But why did you not dig those plants that we saw in the woods, of the same kind that you are digging now?"
"For the same reason that we do not like the berries we find in the shadow of deep woods as well as the ones which grow in sunny places. The latter have more sweetness and flavor. Those herbs which have medicinal virtues should be sought in a place that is neither too wet nor too dry, and where they have a generous amount of sunshine to maintain their vigor.
"Some day Ohiyesa will be old enough to know the secrets of medicine; then I will tell him all. But if you should grow up to be a bad man, I must withhold these treasures from you and give them to your brother, for a medicine man must be a good and wise man. I hope Ohiyesa will be a great medicine man when he grows up. To be a great warrior is a noble ambition; but to be a mighty medicine man is a nobler!"
She said these things so thoughtfully and im- pressively that I cannot but feel and remember them even to this day.
Our native women gathered all the wild rice, roots, berries and fruits which formed an impor- tant part of our food. This was distinctively a woman's work. Uncheedah (grandmother) under- stood these matters perfectly, and it became a kind of instinct with her to know just where to look for each edible variety and at what season of the year. This sort of labor gave the Indian women every opportunity to observe and study Nature after their fashion; and in this Uncheedah was more acute than most of the men. The abilities of her boys were not all inherited from their father; indeed, the stronger family traits came obviously from her. She was a leader among the native women, and they came to her, not only for medical aid, but for advice in all their affairs.
In bravery she equaled any of the men. This trait, together with her ingenuity and alertness of mind, more than once saved her and her people from destruction. Once, when we were roaming over a region occupied by other tribes, and on a day when most of the men were out upon the hunt, a party of hostile Indians suddenly ap- peared. Although there were a few men left at home, they were taken by surprise at first and scarcely knew what to do, when