_coup_, he wears the feather hanging downward. When he is wounded, but
makes no count, he trims his feather, and in that case it need not be
an eagle feather. All other feathers are merely ornaments. When a
warrior wears a feather with a round mark, it means that he slew his
enemy. When the mark is cut into the feather and painted red, it means
that he took the scalp.

"A brave who has been successful in ten battles is entitled to a
war-bonnet; and if he is a recognized leader, he is permitted to wear
one with long, trailing plumes. Also those who have counted many
_coups_ may tip the ends of the feathers with bits of white or colored
down. Sometimes the eagle feather is tipped with a strip of weasel
skin; that means the wearer had the honor of killing, scalping and
counting the first _coup_ upon the enemy all at the same time.

"This feather you have found was worn by a Cree--it is indiscriminately
painted. All other feathers worn by the common Indians mean nothing,"
he added.

"Tell me, uncle, whether it would be proper for me to wear any feathers
at all if I have never gone upon the war-path."

"You could wear any other kind of feathers, but not an eagle's,"
replied my uncle, "although sometimes one is worn on great occasions by
the child of a noted man, to indicate the father's dignity and
position."

The fire had gone down somewhat, so I pushed the embers together and
wrapped my robe more closely about me. Now and then the ice on the lake
would burst with a loud report like thunder. Uncheedah was busy
re-stringing one of uncle's old snow-shoes. There were two different
kinds that he wore; one with a straight toe and long; the other shorter
and with an upturned toe. She had one of the shoes fastened toe down,
between sticks driven into the ground, while she put in some new
strings and tightened the others. Aunt Four Stars was beading a new
pair of moccasins.

Wabeda, the dog, the companion of my boyhood days, was in trouble
because he insisted upon bringing his extra bone into the teepee, while
Uncheedah was determined that he should not. I sympathized with him,
because I saw the matter as he did. If he should bury it in the snow
outside, I knew Shunktokecha (the coyote) would surely steal it. I knew
just how anxious Wabeda was about his bone. It was a fat bone--I mean a
bone of a fat deer; and all Indians know how much better they are than
the other kind.

Wabeda always hated to see a good thing go to wa