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THE
BUFFALO ROCK |
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Blackfoot Lodge Tales, by George Bird Grinnell, [1892] |
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A small
stone, which is usually a fossil shell of some kind, is known by the
Blackfeet as I-nisī-Kim, the buffalo stone. This object is strong
medicine, and, as indicated in some of these stories, gives its
possessor great power with buffalo. The stone is found on the prairie,
and the person who succeeds in obtaining one is regarded as very
fortunate. Sometimes a man, who is riding along on the prairie, will
hear a peculiar faint chirp, such as a little bird might utter. The
sound, he knows, is made by a buffalo rock. |
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He stops
and searches on the ground for the rock, and if he cannot find it, marks
the place and very likely returns next day, either alone or with others
from the camp, to look for it again. If it is found, there is great
rejoicing. How the first buffalo rock was obtained, and its power made
known, is told in the following story. |
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Long ago,
in the winter time, the buffalo suddenly disappeared. The snow was so
deep that the people could not move in search of them, for in those days
they had no horses. So the hunters killed deer, elk, and other small
game along the river bottoms, and when these were all killed off or
driven away, the people began to starve. |
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One day,
a young married man killed a jack-rabbit. He was so hungry that he ran
home as fast as he could, and told one of his wives to hurry and get
some water to cook it. While the young woman was going along the path to
the river, she heard a beautiful song. It sounded close by, but she
looked all around and could see no one. |
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The song
seemed to come from a cotton-wood tree near the path. Looking closely at
this tree she saw a queer rock jammed in a fork, where the tree was
split, and with it a few hairs from a buffalo, which had rubbed there.
The woman was frightened and dared not pass the tree. Pretty soon the
singing stopped, and the I-nisī-Kim [buffalo rock] spoke to the woman
and said: "Take me to your lodge, and when it is dark, call in the
people and teach them the song you have just heard. Pray, too, that you
may not starve, and that the buffalo may come back. Do this, and when
day comes, your hearts will be glad." |
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The woman
went on and got some water, and when she came back, took the rock and
gave it to her husband, telling him about the song and what the rock had
said. As soon as it was dark, the man called the chiefs and old men to
his lodge, and his wife taught them this song. They prayed, too, as the
rock had said should be done. Before long, they heard a noise far off.
It was the tramp of a great herd of buffalo coming. Then they knew that
the rock was very powerful, and, ever since that, the people have taken
care of it and prayed to it. |
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(Courtesy
Tiger Lilli Sakima) |
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