as
having occurred in her father's time. The camp, on foot of course, was
crossing a strip of open prairie lying between two pieces of timber, when a
herd of buffalo, stampeding, rushed through the marching column. The
loaded dogs rushed after the buffalo, dragging the travois after them and
scattering their loads over the prairie. Among the lost chattels were two
babies, dropped off somewhere in the long grass, which were never found.

There were certain special customs and beliefs which were a part of the
every-day life of the people.

In passing the pipe when smoking, it goes from the host, who takes the
first smoke, to the left, passing from hand to hand to the door. It may not
be passed across the door to the man on the other side, but must come
back,--no one smoking,--pass the host, and go round to the man across the
door from the last smoker. This man smokes and passes it to the one on his
left, and so it goes on until it reaches the host again. A person entering
a lodge where people are smoking must not pass in front of them, that is,
between the smokers and the fire.

A solemn form of affirmation, the equivalent of the civilized oath, is
connected with smoking, which, as is well known, is with many tribes of
Indians a sacred ceremony. If a man sitting in a lodge tells his companions
some very improbable story, something that they find it very hard to
believe, and they want to test him, to see if he is really telling the
truth, the pipe is given to a medicine man, who paints the stem red and
prays over it, asking that if the man's story is true he may have long
life, but if it is false his life may end in a short time. The pipe is then
filled and lighted, and passed to the man, who has seen and overheard what
has been done and said. The medicine man says to him: "Accept this pipe,
but remember that, if you smoke, your story must be as sure as that there
is a hole through this pipe, and as straight as the hole through this
stem. So your life shall be long and you shall survive, but if you have
spoken falsely your days are counted." The man may refuse the pipe, saying,
"I have told you the truth; it is useless to smoke this pipe." If he
declines to smoke, no one believes what he has said; he is looked upon as
having lied. If, however, he takes the pipe and smokes, every one believes
him. It is the most solemn form of oath. The Blackfoot pipes are usually
made of black or green slate or sandstone.

The Blackfeet