Gros Ventre Stories, continued.
Curley Head's Narrative
Curley Heads narrative was written in 1937 by Richard Pohrt, my father, when he was living at Hays, Montana, on the Fort Belknap Reservation.
In 1974 Pohrt spoke them onto tape, paying extremely careful attention to the breath pausing. Each grouping in the following account is a breath unit – the narrative is “scored” for oral reading.
My father and I have worked with a constant sense of the limitations imposed by the printed page in the process of “translation” from the oral tradition. It is our hope that the reader will sense some of the energy present at the original place and time telling.
The narrative is excerpted from Warrior’s Tale, Medicine Dreams, a forthcoming book from Bear Claw Press (Ann Arbor).
Curley Head: REMINISCENCES OF MY YOUTH
My father’s name was Bull Lodge and my mother was Tail Feather Woman. I was born near Bear Paw Butte, which is south of the town of Box Elder. There were five children in our family I had two brothers and two sisters. I was married ten times to Mink, Counts Coup, Iron Woman. I do not remember the names of the others.
When I was a boy my best friend was Eagle Child who lived with his grandmother. I often spent nights with him in his grandmother’s tent and sometimes he would stay with me. Eagles Child’s grandmother used a paunch to carry water from the river and she would hang it from a lodge pole above her bed so that dogs would not bite holes in it. Once we found a picket pin. We shavened it and while the old lady was sleeping we punched a hole in the paunch. The water squirted out and she got all wet. We ran away so that she would not know who did it.
One time an old lady was walking through the brush near the edge of the camp. She was blind and having a hard time finding her way. Eagle Child said, “Let’s scare her!” We sneaked up to her and Eagle Child took hold of her wrist. She stopped. She was frightened. Then we each grabbed one of her breasts and tried to make them stand out like those of a young woman. But she was too old so we let her go and ran away.
Eagle Child came for me one time and said he had some plans. When he told me I did not want to go because I was afraid we would be found out. An old man who was a holy man had punished his son and Eagle Child wanted to do something to him in return. So we took some long pieces of sage and braided them together in a long loop with human dung inside. That night when the old man was asleep we crept into his lodge and placed the sage necklace around his neck. While he moved about in his sleep the dung oozed out all over him. He woke up and was very angry. Next morning my father called me and pointing to a group of boys on a side hill said, “You should show those boys good boys how to make sage necklaces for old men.” I talked very hard to get out of that because I knew that old man had many medicines and was very important.
One time during g a drizzling rain Eagle Child and I were walking about the camp. We came to a lodge where some old women lived. A mare and her colt were standing in front of the lodge. We raised the lodge door and pushed the colt inside. Then we ran away and circled back to see what happened. When we got back to the lodge we saw some people there and asked what the trouble was. They said the mare had pushed her colt into the lodge. That it became frightened and tore things up inside kicking things over and stepping on everyone. We thought that was a good joke and we laughed.
My uncle Chief Old Man gave me my first bow and arrows and showed me how to use them. He said that if I learned to use them well I would be a good and successful hunter. When I was about fourteen years old I killed my first buffalo north of the place where Malta now is near the Canadian line on the west side of White Man River. We were a large village with many good hunters and we had a good hunt and got much meat. It was the custom to lead our good buffalo hunting horses to the scene of the hunt and to lead them back after the hunt. From that camp we moved to the Big Muddy River near Fort Peck. Next day the crier rode through the camp announcing that there were many buffalo in the area and conditions were right for another hunt. I went with Deer my grandfather who showed me the quickest and easiest way to butcher. I also killed one buffalo on that hunt.
WAR EXPLOITS
I went on my first war trip with eleven Piegans. We went against the Sioux. A large party of Sioux at Owl Head Butte attacked us. We all ran into a washout and entrenched ourselves. Each of us had much ammunition and kept the Sioux away until sundown. Then I did not do much fighting and got away in the darkness. It took me two nights to get to our camp at Yellow Clay Butte. My feet were sore. The eleven Piegans were all killed. Only I escaped. My medicine was strong. That is why I got away.
I went with a party of Ha’a’ninin to visit the Crows who were camped on the Big Horn River. While we were there some Piegans stole many of our horses and also some that belong to the Crows. We decided to chase them and recapture our horses but we failed to catch them. Then we thought the best way was to let them return to their own camp and then go in and steal our horses back. We went to Heart Butte and waited scouting from that place and watching the movement of the Piegans. One morning we decided that when night came we would raid the Piegan horse herds. About noon a man and his wife came to the butte with a travois for wood. Some of our party wanted to kill them but our leader would not allow it. He felt that to recapture our horses was more important. I made the last scout with a friend and we found where the best horses were. When we got back to our friends we directed them to another part of the camp. That night we went for the horses. My friend and I went together and when we got there I had first choice. I caught a good Iron Gray that had antelope horns tied around its’ neck. My friend also captured a good horse. Then we put our bridles on them mounted and rounded up a number of horses and drove them out of then camp area. We soon met our friends and started for home. We crossed the Missouri River near the mouth of the Bear River, (Marias River), and Knee River and returned home safely with many more horses than we had lost.
Once we were camped with the Crows. There were some Piegans there visiting too. Some people noticed signs that there were enemies about so the Crows sent Long Hair and I to scout. We went on our horses. We rode out to where the enemy were last seen and separated. Long Hair scouted the hills while I went along the creek bottom. Long Hair came to ridges then I heard a shot I looked up to where he was and then heard two more shots and saw his horse go down. Then I heard more shots and saw Long Hair fall. He sat up but they killed him. I raced back to camp and told the people what happened. At first they would not believe me but soon they did and they all began to get ready to fight. The Crows sent two men to tell some soldiers who were camped nearby. There were George Hill and Little Turtle both Ha’a’ninin. Then all of us Crows, Ha’a’ninin, and Piegans rode out to attack the enemy who were Sioux. When we got there they were celebrating with Long Hair’s scalp and they signed for us to come and fight them. They did not know about the soldiers. We fired our guns at them. Soon the soldiers arrived. They dismounted and picketed their horses. Then they surrounded the Sioux and advanced toward them in groups. One Ha’a’ninin was wounded. It was Tallest Iron Man so I went to see him. His little toe on one foot was shot off. I told him he was not seriously injured but he said it was a bad wound since that was his only weak spot. I left him and went back to the fight and saw 1someone returning from the Sioux entrenches dragging a gun in each hand. It was Strikes-the-Water a Ha’a’ninin and at first he was mistaken for a Sioux and almost shot. He offered me a gun. It was Long Hair’s so I took the other one
He gave Long Hair’s gun to Black Wolf. When it was noon and all the Sioux were dead we charged. I outran all but one Piegan who got most of the honors. There were ten Sioux killed in this fight. Two escaped by creeping to where the horses were picketed and taking one soldier horse and one Ha’a’ninin horse. We wanted to scalp the dead Sioux but the soldier chief would not allow it. He made some marks in a little book. Then the soldiers turned the dead Sioux over on their faces and we left. Those soldiers were from Fort Ginnis.
After this fight we returned north and camped for a while near a white man who had many sheep. There Tallest Iron Man died. Then we crossed the Missouri River and camped at the mouth of a creek, which empties into the river. Here the Little People had made paintings on the cliffs and in the caves nearby. I decided to sleep near on of these cliffs to see if I could obtain some power. I prayed and cried until I fell asleep. I had a dream that the Little People were coming for me with a big kettle of boiling water and each one was picking a part of my body that he wanted to eat. I woke up and left that place right away. People always have bad dreams when they sleep near painted cliffs. While we were at this camp the Sioux attacked us and Sun Woman was killed and George Hill was wounded in the arm and Little Turtle was also hit but not bad. After this happened Little Turtle and I left for the main camp, which was at Eagle Nest Butte at the west end of the Bear Paw Mountains. When we return to the main camp we learned that the Sioux were causing much trouble and everyone was on the watch. I had a good horse and as the Sioux were though to be close by I decided to sit up all night and hold the rope, which was tied to my horse. I did not want to lose it. I sat in my lodge but I became very tired and so I went and asked Rides Alone to help while I rested. He agreed and came to help me. I told him to pull on the rope once in awhile to be sure that my horse was still there. Then I went to sleep. When I woke up Rides Alone was asleep. I grabbed the rope but my horse was gone I rushed out of my lodge then I heard a shot in another part of the camp. The same Sioux who stole my horse was killed. It happened like this: Bear Shirt awoke and went to look at his horses. The Sioux drove him back into the camp. They were many and all over. The gunfire woke up the whole camp. Everyone grabbed their weapons and went to fight. Many were on foot. I saw a man on a horse and I fired at him. I killed his horse and he ran to the top of a hill.
Fork, Bear Shirt and Strikes-Good were with me. The Sioux stopped near the brow of the hill and were hard to see but we were good targets. Strikes-Good had on a light shirt and was shot and later died. When Strikes-Good was hit I ran to him and helped him. Then I went after the Sioux who were retreating. Some Assiniboines were camped with us helped in the fight. My brother Otter Robe was encouraging the people during the fighting. There was one Nez Perce with the Sioux. His name was Black Hair. He was later a leader with Chief Joseph in the fighting with the soldiers. He said to the Sioux “I hear my friend Otter Robe. He is a very brave fighter so we had better leave this place.” When it was over the Assiniboine who had recaptured my horse returned it to me. We killed some of the Sioux one right in the camp but most of them got away due to the rough country.
Account taken at Hays, Montana, July 9th 1937 in the presents of The Boy, Tall Iron Man, & Thick (Thick Fat). Interpreted by Thomas Main
Stories are courtesy of Davy Belgard, Hays, Montana
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