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About forty years ago, Ahak-tah, "The Male Elk,"
was taken sick with a sore throat. It was in the
winter too, and sickness and cold together are
hard to bear. Want was an evil from which they
were suffering; though the Dahcotahs were not so
poor then as they are now. They had not given so
much of their lands to the white people; and
they depended more upon their own exertions for
support than they do at present. The
medicine men did all they could to cure Ahaktah;
they tried to charm away the animal that had
entered into his body; they used the sacred
rattle. But Ahaktah's throat got worse; he died,
and while his wives and children wept for him,
he had started on his long journey to the land
of spirits.
He was wrapped in scarlet cloth, and
laid upon a scaffold. His wives sat weeping in
their teepee, when a cry from their young
children drew their attention to the door. There
stood he for whom they mourned. The dead man
again took his place among those who sat beside
the household fire. Tears of grief were shed no
more food was given to Ahaktah, and when he was
refreshed he thus addressed his wondering
family:
"While you were weeping for me, my
spirit was on its way to the great city where
our fathers, who have taught us all the wonders
of our sacred medicine, of Haokah the giant, and
of the Thunder bird, are now living. Twice has
the sun ceased to shine since I left you, and in
that short time I have seen many strange things.
First, I passed through a beautiful country; the
forest-trees were larger than any you have ever
seen. Birds of all colors filled them, and their
music was as loud as when our medicine men play
for us to celebrate the scalp dance. The broad
river was full of fish, and the loon screamed as
she swam across the lakes. I had no difficulty
in finding my way, for there was a road through
this country. It seemed as if there must have
been many travelers there, though I saw no one.
"This great road was made by the spirits
of those who were killed in battle. No warrior,
however brave he may have been, has ever
assisted in making this road, except those who
sang their death songs under the tomahawk of
their enemies. Neither did any woman ever
assist. She is not considered worthy to touch
the war implements of a Dahcotah warrior, and
she was not permitted to do anything towards
completing the path in which the braves of the
Dahcotahs would walk, when they joined their
forefathers in the land of spirits.
"As I pursued my journey, I saw near the
banks of the river a teepee; I entered it, and
saw paint and all that a warrior needed to dress
himself in order to be fit to enter the city of
spirits. I sat down and plaited my hair, I put
vermilion on my cheeks, and arranged the
war-eagle feathers in my head. Here, I said to
myself, did my father rest when he was on the
same journey. I was tired, but I could not wait
I longed to see my friends who had traveled this
path before me I longed to tell them that the
Dahcotahs were true to the customs of their
forefathers I longed to tell them that we had
drunk deep of the blood of the Chippeways, that
we had eaten the hearts of our enemies, that we
had torn their infants from their mothers'
breasts, and dashed them to the earth.
"I continued my journey, looking eagerly
around me to see some one, but all was desolate;
and beautiful as everything was, I would have
been glad to have seen the face of a friend.
"It was evening when a large city burst
upon my sight. The houses were built regularly
on the shores of the river. As far as I could
see, the homes of the spirits of my forefathers
were in view.
"But still I saw no one. I descended the
hill towards the river, which I must cross to
reach the city of spirits. I saw no canoe, but I
feared nothing, I was so near my journey's end.
The river was wide and deep, and the waves were
swiftly following one another, when I plunged
among them; soon I reached the opposite shore,
and as I again stood on the land, I heard some
one cry, 'Here he comes! here he comes!' I
approached the nearest house and entered;
everything looked awful and mysterious.
"In the corner of the room sat a figure
whom I recognized. It was my mother's brother,
Flying Wind, the medicine man. I remembered him,
for it was he who taught me to use my bow and
arrow.
"In a bark dish, in the corner of the
room, was some wild rice. I was very hungry, for
I had not eaten since I left the earth. I asked
my uncle for some rice to eat, but he did not
give it to me. Had I eaten of the food for
spirits, I never should have returned to earth.
"At last my uncle spoke to me. `My
nephew,' said he, 'why are you traveling without
a bow and arrow? how can you provide yourself
with food when you have no means of killing
game? When my home was on the Mississippi, the
warriors of the Dahcotahs were never without
their bows and arrows either to secure their
food or to strike to the hearts of their
enemies.'
"I then remembered that I had been
traveling without my bow and arrows. `But
where,' said I to my uncle, `where are the
spirits of my forefathers? where is my brother
who fell under the tomahawk of his enemy? where
is my sister who threw herself into the power of
Unktahe, rather than to live and see her rival
the wife of the Sun? where are the spirits of
the Dahcotah braves whose deeds are still told
from father to son among us?'
"'The Dahcotah braves are still watching
for their enemies the hunters are bringing in
the deer and the buffalo our women are planting
corn and tanning deer-skin. But you will not now
see them; your step is firm and your eye is
bright; you must return to earth, and when your
limbs are feeble, when your eye is dim, then
will you return and find your home in the city
of spirits.'
"So saying, he arose and gave me a bow
and arrow. I took it, and while trying it I left
the house; but how I do not know.
"The next thing that I remember was
being seated on the top of the cliffs of Eagle's
Nest, below Lake Pepin. I heard a sound, and
soon distinguished my mother's voice; she was
weeping. I knew that she was bending over my
body. I could see her as she cut off her hair,
and I felt sad when I heard her cry, 'My son! my
son!' Then I recollect being on the top of the
half-side mountain on Lake Pepin. Afterwards I
was on the mountain near Red Wing's village, and
again I stood on a rock, on a point of land near
where the waters of the Mississippi and St.
Peter's meet, on the 'Maiden's Jumping Rock;'14
here I recovered my right mind."
The daughter of Ahaktah says that her
father retained the "wahkun" bow and arrow that
was given him by his uncle, and that he was
always successful in hunting or in war; that he
enjoyed fine health, and lived to be a very old
man; and she is living now to tell the story.
14: Near Fort Snelling is a
high rock called the Maiden's Jumping Rock;
where formerly the Dahcotah girls used to jump
for amusement, a distance of many feet from the
top to the ground. |
