ick as he completed the
narrative of each _coup_, until the sticks were all gone, when he sat down,
and another man stood up to begin his recital. As the boys saw and heard
all this, and saw how respected those men were who had done the most and
bravest things, they said to themselves, "That man was once a boy like us,
and we, if we have strong hearts, may do as much as he has done." So even
the very small boys used often to steal off from the camp, and follow war
parties. Often they went without the knowledge of their parents, and poorly
provided, without food or extra moccasins. They would get to the enemy's
camp, watch the ways of the young men, and so learn about going to war, how
to act when on the war trail so as to be successful. Also they came to know
the country.

The Blackfeet men often went off by themselves to fast and dream for
power. By no means every one did this, and, of those who attempted it, only
a few endured to the end,--that is, fasted the whole four days,--and
obtained the help sought. The attempt was not usually made by young boys
before they had gone on their first war journey. It was often undertaken by
men who were quite mature. Those who underwent this suffering were obliged
to abstain from food or drink for four days and four nights, resting for
two nights on the right side, and for two nights on the left. It was deemed
essential that the place to which a man resorted for this purpose should be
unfrequented, where few or no persons had walked; and it must also be a
place that tried the nerve, where there was some danger. Such situations
were mountain peaks; or narrow ledges on cut cliffs, where a careless
movement might cause a man to fall to his death on the rocks below; or
islands in lakes, which could only be reached by means of a raft, and where
there was danger that a person might be seized and carried off by the
_S[=u]'-y[=e] t[)u]p'-pi_, or Under Water People; or places where the dead
had been buried, and where there was much danger from ghosts. Or a man
might lie in a well-worn buffalo trail, where the animals were frequently
passing, and so he might be trodden on by a travelling band of buffalo; or
he might choose a locality where bears were abundant and dangerous.
Wherever he went, the man built himself a little lodge of brush, moss, and
leaves, to keep off the rain; and, after making his prayers to the sun and
singing his sacred songs, he crept into the hut and began his fast. He wa