Gros Ventre Stories continued...
NAMING THE SNAKE INDIANS
The Shoshone or Soosoonis
By Preston Bell
As told by The Boy
This episode took place soon after the Gros Ventre got their first horses and some time after they got their first gun.
The Boy told this story to Preston Bell, Tom Main, and several others in his log cabin at Hays Montana in the winter 1945. He made signs as he was talking and used facial expressions.
A group of young men lead by Dirty Eyed Bird went out hunting. They were gone for three weeks. As they rode over a ridge they came upon a camp of strange Indians. The Gros Ventre tried to make signs they were on a peaceful mission. The strange Indians were all for settling the issue by battle.
The Gros Ventre retreated to a nearby small butte. The strange Indians attacked. They were stopped by the Gros Ventre who rolled large rocks down the hill. They attacked two times but were stopped each time by the Gros Ventre. The Gros Ventres were on the butte for about one week. After the third day they started to eat their rawhide reins and ropes, there was no escape.
One night after about the sixth or seventh day they heard the strange Indians powwowing all night. As the sun came up the next morning the Gros Ventres could see that their camp had doubled in size. Soon after they could see by the commotion in camp that a great attack was imminent.
With this group of Gros Ventre was a man who was carrying a rifle. He had not shot it yet. The leader of the group told the young man to load that thing and shoot it. “Today is our last day. We will have to fight hard”.
The young man proceeded to load the big mouth; The Boy made expressions on his face and indicted that he was putting in a double charge. After the ball was sent home and secure he laid the gun aside and waited for the strange Indians who by this time were halfway up the butte.
In the lead was a very young boy slightly a head of his father who was the chief of the entire tribe. All the Gros Ventres held their fire of arrows, lances and rocks. Up the butte came hundreds of them when the two leaders were about twenty feet away, he pulled the trigger. Since the big mouth had a double load of powder, there was a red streak from the mouth of the gun to the young man in the front. He wilted along with his father a few feet behind him. The ball had entered the young mans chest and came out and entered his fathers chest.
Following this was an extremely load report from the rifle that the women and children in camp also heard this loud noise.
It was the first time the Shoshone had ever heard or saw a rifle. The shot had killed the biggest chief of the Shoshone and his only son.
They said that enemies had the power to make thunder and lighting to kill people. A full retreat began then; the Shoshone warriors retrieved their slain chief and son and retreated down the hill. In a few minutes the lodges were down and loaded and the Shoshone began a headlong flight in a southwest direction. The Gros Ventre on the butte watched the enemy retreat to the south.
After they were sure that the enemy would not return they came down from the butte, hoping to find food in the Shoshone camp after their hasty retreat.
Most everywhere they hunted in the camp they found snake skins stuffed with buffalo hair. There was at least one stuffed snake where each camp was. The young Gros Ventre came home and told the chief what happened. The young man with the gun was promptly named, The Snake Killer. This tribe was also known named Snake Indians. It was many years after this when contact was made again followed by a battle. The Snake Indians never did return to this country again. After this time they were always referred to as the Snake Indians.
Re: “SOOSOONI” means TALL GRASS in the Shoshone language.
Stories are courtesy of Morris "Davy" Belgard, Hays, Montana
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