Submitted by Gunter Jentzsch
I send you today the account from Scott Leavitt. He wrote this text in a letter to his friend Fank B. Linderman, who published it in his book "Pretty Shield- Medicine Woman of the Crows". It was not said, which kind the medicine bundle was. I think it was a war bundle, because Plenty Coups was in his early years a great warrior. The lock of hair belonged probably to chief Long
Hair, who live in the first half of 19th century. The Crow know a story of Long Hair, in which he short before his dead allowed the other chiefs to cut locks from his hair and use it to long life, health and prosperity of their families.
There is a connection between Chief Long Hair ´s dead and the Heart Mountain, Wyoming, but thats another story.
„… On the 22nd of September, 1930, Major General Hugh L. Scott and myself were guests of Plenty Coups at his home near Pryor. We had taken part the day before in the dedication of marker at the old fort near Hardin and had been informed then that Plenty Coups desired us to come to his home.
As you know, the old chief has an upper chamber in his home in which he keeps the things sacred to himself, such as his medicine bundle. He received us there. There were two Crow women, a blind Indian, and Max Big Man, a Crow, besides General Scott and myself who witnessed an took part in the ceremony of purification performed by Plenty Coups before the opening of the medicine bundle ant the unwrapping of the lock of hair.
The Old chief uttered a ceremonial prayer, washed his hands in the smoke of pine needles and rubbed them with beaver musk. With the smoke he also purified his breast and arms. The beaver musk was passed around the circle for use on all of our hands before we were privileged to touch the lock of hair. Finally Plenty Coups unrolled the bundle and removed the wrappings from the lock of hair. It was rolled in an open circle, wrapped in many colours of cloth and finally with buckskin, all of which he very reverently removed and then began to unwind the lock of hair. As the hair was unrolled it was passed from hand to hand around the circle until its entire length was displayed, and Max Big Man measured it with his hands, placing one after the other. The lock of hair measured seventy-six hands and the width of one
of Big Man´s fingers. This would prove it to be over twenty-five feet long. There was no evidence of any joining together of various locks. The reverence with which it was handled and regarded by Plenty Coups, whose deep sincerity is so well known to yourself, was further and conclusive proof to me that the lock is genuine. I have never felt more greatly honoured than when Plenty Coups told us through Max Big Man that General Scott and myself were the first White men ever to be shown and allowed to touch this lock of hair. I regret a little delay in making final reply, entirely due to my desire to check up on my memory as to the exact length of the lock of hair. ( Copyright: gunter jentzsch 2007. Thanks Gunter
Editors note: this is from the Wyoming Heritage Project for Schools, like many stories they may vary from what actually happened!)
The Legend of Chief Longhair:
The story begins in the 1780s with an orphaned boy and a kidnapped little girl who returned to her Crow people. The young girl grew up and waited for a suitor. She rejected many young warriors. She finally accepted the orphaned boy when he paraded his horse through camp. The boy, known as Scraggly hair, stopped at the young girl's tent. She accepted him and agreed to marry him even though he was ugly and had ugly hair. The chief of the tribe told the girl to fix up the boy.
The girl made a concoction of bear grease and berries. She smeared it on his head. She let it set on his head four days. At the end of four days, the boy's hair had grown. The girl repeated the bear grease and berry shampoo four more times. His hair grew very long, and he married the girl. Later on he earned the name Longhair.
The young man left for a vision quest at the Medicine Wheel. He was adopted by the little people who were considered angels to the Crow Indians. He received sacred power and returned to the tribe to tell his wife about his vision. Longhair fought in a terrible war and performed several war deeds: touching an enemy, taking a good horse, hand-to-hand combat, and taking a weapon from an enemy.
Longhair told his wife he had done these deeds. His hair grew 20 feet long! Late in his life, Longhair became known as the Chief of all Chiefs. Chief Longhair carried his long hair in a bag on his back. He unraveled his hair and let members of his tribe cut off a little piece to put in their medicine bundle. The hair was considered strong medicine and sacred.
Chief Longhair said that he would die when Heart Mountain fell. When the side of the mountain slid away, Chief Longhair died, but his power is still remembered. His profile can still be seen on the horizon of Heart Mountain.
Chief Longhair's profile shows along the horizon. To the right his forehead goes up to his nose and down again to make his chin. The trees make his flowing long hair.
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Medicine Men stories:
Billings Gazette,4/18/88
Reprinted for Internet with the permission of Roger Clawson, author,
and the Billings Gazette, Jerry O'Brien, Thanks.
Young Tom Yellowtail watched paralyzed with awe, as the Shoshone medicineman called on the power of the little people to heal his sister.The 10 year old Crow couldn't know that a century later he would become the great healer's protégé and successor.
Today at 85 his fame as a healer and spiritual leader has spread to a half-dozen countrieson two continents.
Some white men knew him as a son of Yellowtail, a great Crow wrestler,husband of Suzie Yellowtail, the first American nurse, brother of RobertYellowtail, Crow political leader, still alive at 100.
But among the Crow, for 25 years, he was known as sun dance chief and medicine man. his home in Wyola, a reservation hamlet on the Little Bighorn River,he recalled his life'squest."In the old days, many young men went into the mountains to fast and seek visions,"
he said, "I sought my medicine instead in the sun dance."
It was during these sun dances that Yellowtail came to know the ShoshoneJohn Trejillo. Lightning shattered the air and friends fled when Trejilloreceived his power from Seven Arrows, king of the little people. The story of Trejillo passing this power to Yellowtail
 is almost as dramatic.Yellowtail tells it:
"John had gone with two friends to fast in a cave in Wyoming. They had just settled in when lightning struck and thunder filled the cave. John'sfriends ran, but John hunched down and said, "I'll take whatever is comingto me."It was then that Seven Arrows appeared, Yellowtail said. No more than two feet tall, with white hair hanging to
 the ground and a bear claw necklace about his neck, he was king of the supernatural little people everywhere.
Seven Arrows led Trejillo into the heart of the mountain past crowds of gamblers betting on horse races, arrow throwing contests and hand games."These are not good" the little king said. At last they came to a lodge where a man lay on the ground and another worked to heal him.
"This was the power Seven Arrows was to give John Trejillo," Yellowtail said.Trejillo increased his power and his fame leading sun dances for the Crow,The Shonshone, Utes and others for more than 50 years.
Many young men begged to be his successor, to be given his medicine objects and taught his ways, "But his medicine fathers (Sever Arrows and other supernatural helpers) told him none were worthy," Yellowtail said.
Then, one day in July while Yellowtail danced in the sun lodge withTrejillo and many Trejillo heard a whisper, "That young man is theone. He's the one to give your medicine things to.""Tom" said Trejillo, "When you go home, these little feathers (an eagle fan)
will go with you."the small fan used in healing ceremonies was the first of the Trejillo's gifts.
More were to follow.
One night in Yellowtails's house, as Trejillo passed on the right to run sun dances to his
student, John ordered the lights dimmed while he three songs, "Then he put his fist on
 my back and blew through it,"Yellowtail recalled. "The bugle of a bull elk rang in the
 room clear as could be, startling my grandchildren who were watching this,"
Trejillo put the spirit of the spike bull elk in Yellowtail's body and told him "He will be one of your medicine fathers, " Trejillo said Yellowtail could also call on the power of the eagle, buffalo, otter and white goose from the North.
The power come through these helpers, but the ultimate source is Acdadadea,Creator and Maker of All Things, Yellowtail said.
Yellowtail would use that power again and again.A Winebago Indian boy on crutches who said gangrene would soon force doctors to amputate his foot came to the Crow healer.
Yellowtail applied prayer and ointment. Doctors called the boy's healing a miracle, he said. A woman who niece was dying of kidney failure came to Yellowtail for help.
"With incense and smoke and prayer, I called on my medicine fathers andsent them to California with a wave of my eagle feathers. I was certain thegirl would recover.The next day the girl's cousin told me her kidney had begun to work."
Such stories must be coaxed from Yellowtail. :"There are many stories of healings,but they are not important," he said.
Trejillo was past 100 when he turned over his medicine to Yellowtail. The old Shoshone lived to 113 before he died on a cold January day "when the snow was deep".
Seven Arrows used to come through concrete walls to visit Treijillo.Yellowtail was told he might hear from the little king but said, "that has not yet occurred."
Still, he is confident that Seven Arrows is his helper. "The results of my healing prove it,"yellowtail said. Seven Arrows rides the lightning and takes Yellowtail's power to those who need it, thought they may call from half way around the world, the Crow medicine man said.
Yellowtail ran sun dances for more than 20 years until one day he was a victim of his own mortality. A heart attack during a healing ceremony prompted him to look for a successor. He found that successor in John Pretty On Top. "Something very valuable would be lost to my people if I died without passing on my things", he said.
This summer, Yellowtail and Pretty On Top will carry the power handed down from to Europe. Later Yellowtail may accept an invitation to go..
Prophecies common to several Plains Indian tribes say the world will end when too many people fail to follow the way to their Maker."Imagine that if everyone in the world joined in prayer and followed a religion, then the world would come close to the Creator again" he said.
Yellowtail does not prescribe his religion for all. It is simply his waynd the way of Indian people who walked this continent for thousands ofyears. It is important, he said, for each person to seek his Creator in hisown way, but following their separate ways, all people trod the same path."Each person should know that his prayers help, not only himself,but all creation." he said.
(webmaster’s note) Tom Yellowtail was a next door neighbor, in ranching terms about 1/2 mile away, in the Little Horn Valley. I can still hear those drum beats,wonderful sounds, growing up.
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MEDICINE WHEEL,
July 11, 1916
Sheridan Post
Page 1, Column 6
Sheridan, Wyoming
BOOST PARK IN BIG HORNS
The party was also successful in finding a new medicine wheel, it being in all respects
 like the one on Medicine mountain, so well known to many people and evidently by
the an antiquity and used by the same Indians for the same purposes.
 Many of the relics found about the wheel are of the same nature as thos found at the better known wheel. The two are separated by 60-70 miles of mountainous country.
A unique experience was afforded the party at the medicine wheel,
 they went through all the ancient rites and ceremonies o f the Indians
 prescribe for such places. In that they were directed by Cut Ear. The ceremonies were inconceivably weird and mystical and furnished thrills which endured for days afterwards. Following the ceremonies, the party slept on
the wheel as was the custom of the Indian visitors many years gone by.
CLICK HERE to read more about the Medicine Wheel.
MORE TO COME...
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