(Based on accounts from the Strange Owl family, Lame Deer Indian Reservation, Montana, 1967, recorded by Richard Erdoes.)
In a time shrouded in the mists of antiquity, before the intricate tapestry of societal norms and legal structures was woven, the people existed in a state of primal innocence, yet vulnerable ignorance. They lacked the guiding principles that fostered harmonious coexistence and struggled for survival. The very concept of appropriate conduct remained elusive, leading to actions born not of malice, but of a profound lack of understanding of how to navigate the complexities of life. This era, preceding the advent of laws and ethical codes, was a time of raw existence, where the path to a fulfilling life remained uncharted. This is the story of The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine.
Amidst this societal landscape, there emerged a man distinguished by an innate moral compass, a natural sense of right and wrong. He and his wife were exemplary figures, embodying diligence, integrity, and a strong work ethic. Their commitment to virtuous living set them apart, earning them the respect and admiration of their community. They possessed the rare ability to experience shame, a powerful emotion that served as a constant deterrent, preventing them from straying onto the path of wrongdoing. They were a beacon of hope in a society grappling with its own moral development, a testament to the potential for goodness within humanity.
Their union was blessed with a single daughter, a young woman of exceptional beauty and unassuming grace. She had reached the age where thoughts of marriage and family began to occupy her mind. As she drifted to sleep one night, a man’s voice echoed in her dreams, speaking directly to her heart. "You are handsome and strong, modest and young. Therefore Sweet Root will visit you."
Initially, she dismissed the nocturnal pronouncements as mere figments of her imagination, the random wanderings of a sleeping mind. The following day, she cheerfully immersed herself in her daily chores, putting the dream out of her mind. However, the voice returned the subsequent night, its message even more enigmatic. "Sweet Root is coming – woman’s medicine which makes a mother’s milk flow. Sweet Root is coming as a man comes courting."
Upon awakening, the girl pondered the meaning of these cryptic words, attempting to decipher their hidden significance. Ultimately, she shrugged off the mystery, concluding that dreams were beyond human control, and the notion of a visit from a medicinal root defied all logic. Yet, the seeds of curiosity and anticipation had been sown in her subconscious.
On the third night, the dream returned with increased vividness. This time, a tangible figure seemed to materialize beside the buffalo robe upon which she slept. The figure spoke directly to her, its voice resonating with authority. "Sweet Root is coming; he is very near. Soon he will be with you."
The fourth night brought a repetition of the same voice and the same ethereal figure. The recurring nature of the dream, combined with its increasingly realistic quality, deeply disturbed the young woman. The following morning, she confided in her mother, sharing the unsettling experiences of her nightly visions. "There must be something in it," she insisted. "It’s so real, and the voice is so much like a man’s voice."
Her mother, pragmatic and grounded in the tangible world, dismissed her daughter’s concerns. "No, it’s just a dream," she reassured her. "It doesn’t mean anything." Despite her mother’s attempt to allay her fears, the girl couldn’t shake the feeling that something significant was about to occur.
From that moment onward, the girl experienced a profound inner transformation. An undeniable change was stirring within her, a subtle yet persistent growth that defied explanation. After several months, her condition became undeniable: she was pregnant. She confided in her parents, assuring them that she had never been intimate with a man. They believed her, trusting in her inherent goodness and integrity. However, she knew that others in the village would likely be less understanding, and she sought to conceal her pregnancy from public view.
As the pangs of childbirth began, she ventured far out onto the open prairie, away from the prying eyes of her village. There, she constructed a makeshift shelter from brush, a secluded sanctuary where she could face the impending ordeal in solitude. With unwavering resolve, she single-handedly navigated the challenges of childbirth, bringing a baby boy into the world. After drying the infant and swaddling him in soft moss, she made the agonizing decision to leave him in the brush shelter. In her village, a child born out of wedlock would face a life of scorn and hardship. Praying that someone would discover him and provide him with a better life, she returned home to her parents, her heart heavy with sorrow.
Coincidentally, an elderly woman was foraging on the prairie, searching for wild turnips to supplement her meager diet. As she dug in the earth with an animal’s shoulder blade, she heard the faint sound of a baby crying. Following the sound, she discovered the brush shelter and, to her immense joy, found the abandoned infant. Having never experienced the joys of motherhood, she was overjoyed at the prospect of raising the child. All around the brush shelter grew the sweet root, a plant known to stimulate a mother’s milk flow. Inspired by this auspicious sign, she named the boy Sweet Medicine. She took him home to her humble tipi, offering him nothing but her unwavering love and devotion. This is just the start of the story of The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine.
The young mother living in the tipi next to the old woman was nursing a small child of her own. She selflessly agreed to nurse Sweet Medicine as well, ensuring that he received the nourishment he needed. Sweet Medicine grew at an extraordinary rate, both physically and mentally, surpassing the development of other children. He was weaned in a remarkably short time. By the age of ten, he possessed the wisdom of an adult and hunting skills far beyond his years. However, due to his lack of family connections and his residence in a dilapidated tipi on the outskirts of the camp, Sweet Medicine’s exceptional abilities went largely unnoticed.
That year, a severe drought gripped the land, causing widespread famine and hardship. Game animals became scarce, and hunger plagued the village. Sweet Medicine approached his grandmother with a request. "Grandmother," he said, "find me an old buffalo hide – any dried-out, chewed-up scrap with holes in it will do."
The old woman diligently searched through the refuse piles, eventually discovering a wrinkled, brittle piece of hide that starving dogs had been gnawing on. She presented it to Sweet Medicine, who instructed her to take it to the stream outside the camp. "Wash it in the flowing water," he directed, "make it pliable, scrape it clean." After she had completed these tasks, Sweet Medicine took a willow wand and bent it into a hoop, which he then colored with sacred red earth paint. He cut the buffalo hide into a long, continuous string and wove it back and forth over the hoop, creating a net-like structure with an opening in the center. He then fashioned four wild cherry sticks, sharpening them to a point and hardening them in the hearth fire.
The following morning, he announced, "Grandmother, come with me. We’re going to play the hoop-and-stick game." He gathered the hoop and the cherry-wood sticks and walked into the center of the camp circle. "Grandmother, roll this hoop for me," he instructed. She rolled the hoop along the ground, and Sweet Medicine hurled his pointed sticks through the center of it, hitting the target with unerring accuracy every time. Soon, a crowd of people, men and women, boys and girls, gathered to witness the strange new game.
Then, Sweet Medicine cried out, "Grandmother, let me hit it once more and make the hoop turn into a fat buffalo calf!"
Again, he threw his stick with the precision of a dart. The stick pierced the center of the hoop, and as it did so, the hoop miraculously transformed into a plump, yellow buffalo calf. The stick had pierced its heart, and the calf collapsed to the ground, lifeless. "Now you people will have plenty to eat," Sweet Medicine declared. "Come and butcher this calf."
The people eagerly gathered around, roasting chunks of tender calf meat over their fires. Miraculously, no matter how much meat they carved from the calf’s body, it remained inexhaustible. They ate their fill, and the famine came to an end. This event marked the origin of the hoop-and-stick game among the Cheyenne. This sacred game is imbued with great power and is still practiced today.
The first kill of a buffalo by a boy is a significant milestone in his life, an event he will forever cherish. Upon successfully completing his first hunt, a boy is traditionally honored by his father, who may host a feast in his honor and bestow upon him a man’s name. Although Sweet Medicine had no father to celebrate his achievement, he was filled with joy after killing the fat, yellow calf. As he was skinning and butchering the animal, he was approached by an elderly man, a chief too old to actively participate in hunts but still possessing a commanding presence. "This is just the kind of hide I have been looking for," the chief declared. "I will take it."
"You can’t have a boy’s first hide," Sweet Medicine countered. "Surely you must know this. But you are welcome to half of the meat because I honor old age."
The chief accepted the meat but also seized the hide, attempting to walk away with it. Sweet Medicine grasped one end, initiating a tug-of-war. The chief struck Sweet Medicine with his riding whip, shouting, "How dare a poor nothing boy defy a chief?" As he repeatedly lashed Sweet Medicine across the face, the boy’s fighting spirit ignited. He grabbed a large buffalo leg bone and struck the old man over the head.
Accounts vary regarding the outcome of the altercation. Some claim that Sweet Medicine killed the chief, while others maintain that the old man merely fell unconscious. Regardless, the people of the village were outraged that a mere boy had dared to challenge a respected chief. Some advocated for whipping him, while others demanded his death.
Having returned to the old woman’s lodge, Sweet Medicine sensed the impending danger. "Grandmother," he warned, "some young men from the warrior societies will come here to kill me for defending myself." He expressed his gratitude for her kindness and then fled the village. When the young warriors arrived, they were infuriated to find the boy gone. In their rage, they tore down the lodge and set it ablaze. The The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine was just beginning.
The following morning, a villager spotted Sweet Medicine, dressed as a Fox warrior, standing atop a hill overlooking the village. His enemies pursued him, but he remained just beyond their reach, eventually causing them to abandon the chase in exhaustion. The next morning, he reappeared as an Elk warrior, carrying a crooked coupstick wrapped in otter skin. Again, they attempted to capture and kill him, but he eluded them once more. They resumed their futile pursuit on the third morning, when he wore the red face paint and feathers of a Red Shield warrior, and on the fourth, when he dressed as a Dog soldier, shaking a small red rattle tied with buffalo hair at his pursuers. On the fifth day, he appeared in the full regalia of a Cheyenne chief. This display further enraged the village warriors, but they were still unable to apprehend him. After that, he vanished from sight.
Wandering alone across the prairie, the boy heard a voice calling to him, guiding him toward a beautiful, dark-forested land of rolling hills. Standing apart from the other peaks was a solitary mountain shaped like a colossal tipi: the sacred mountain known as Bear Butte.
Sweet Medicine discovered a secret opening, which has since been concealed (or perhaps remains visible only to him), and entered the mountain. The interior was hollow, resembling a vast tipi, forming a sacred lodge filled with beings who appeared to be ordinary men and women but were, in reality, powerful spirits.
"Grandson, come in, we have been expecting you," the holy people greeted him. As Sweet Medicine took his seat, they began to impart to him the Cheyenne way of life, so that he could return to his people and share this sacred knowledge.
First, the spirits presented him with the sacred four arrows, saying, "This is the great gift we are entrusting to you. With these wondrous arrows, the tribe will flourish. Two arrows are for war, and two are for hunting. But there is much, much more to the four arrows. They possess great powers. They contain the rules by which men ought to live."
The spirit people instructed Sweet Medicine on how to pray to the arrows, how to care for them, and how to renew their power. They taught him the wise laws of the forty-four chiefs. They taught him how to establish rules for the warrior societies. They taught him how women should be honored. They imparted to him the many practical skills and knowledge by which people could live, thrive, and prosper, things that people had not yet learned at that time. Finally, they taught him how to construct a special tipi in which the sacred arrows were to be kept. Sweet Medicine listened attentively and learned diligently. An old spirit man burned incense of sweet grass to purify both Sweet Medicine and the sacred arrow bundle. The Cheyenne boy placed the holy bundle on his back and began the long journey home to his people.
During his absence, a severe famine had struck the land. The buffalo had retreated into hiding, angered by the people’s lack of respect for the natural world and their inappropriate behavior. Upon arriving at the village, Sweet Medicine encountered a group of tired and listless children, their ribs protruding, playing with small buffalo figures they had fashioned from mud. Sweet Medicine immediately transformed the mud figures into large chunks of juicy buffalo meat and fat. "Now there’s enough for you to eat," he told the young ones, "with plenty left over for your parents and grandparents. Take the meat, fat, and tongues into the village, and tell two good young hunters to come out in the morning to meet me."
The children delivered the message, and two young hunters searched everywhere for Sweet Medicine the next day, but all they saw was a large eagle circling overhead. They tried again on the second and third days without success. On the fourth morning, they found Sweet Medicine standing on top of a hill overlooking the village. He instructed them, "I have come bearing a magnificent gift from the Creator, which the spirits within the great medicine mountain have sent to you. Tell the people to erect a large lodge in the center of the camp circle. Cover its floor with sage and purify it with burning sweet grass. Tell everyone to enter the tipi and remain there. No one must see me approaching."
When everything was prepared, Sweet Medicine walked slowly toward the village, calling out four times, "People of the Cheyenne, I am approaching with great power. Be joyful. I am bringing the sacred arrows." He entered the tipi with the sacred arrow bundle and proclaimed, "You have not yet learned the right way to live. That is why the Ones above were angry, and the buffalo went into hiding." The two young hunters kindled a fire, and Sweet Medicine filled a deer-bone pipe with sacred tobacco. Throughout the night, he taught the people what the spirits inside the holy mountain had taught him. These teachings established the way of the Tsistsistas, the true Cheyenne nation. Toward morning, Sweet Medicine sang four sacred songs. After each song, he smoked the pipe, and its holy breath ascended through the smoke hole into the sky, reaching the great mystery.
At daybreak, as the sun rose and the people emerged from the sacred arrow lodge, they found the prairie surrounding them teeming with buffalo. The spirits were no longer angry. The famine was over. The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine has been long remembered by the Cheyenne.
For many nights to come, Sweet Medicine instructed the people in the sacred laws. He lived among the Cheyenne for a long time, transforming them into a proud tribe respected throughout the plains.
The Creator had granted him four lives, but even Sweet Medicine was not immortal. Only the rocks and mountains endure forever. When he grew old and feeble and felt that the end of his appointed time was near, he instructed the people to carry him to a place near the sacred Bear Butte. There, they constructed a small hut for him using cottonwood branches, cedar lodge poles, bark, and leaves. They spread the floor with sage, flat cedar leaves, and fragrant grass. It was a fitting lodge in which to die. As they placed him before it, he addressed the people for the last time:
"I have seen in my mind that sometime after I am dead – and may the time be long – light-skinned, bearded men will arrive with sticks spitting fire. They will conquer the land and drive you before them. They will kill the animals who give you their flesh that you may live, and they will bring strange animals for you to ride and eat. They will introduce war and evil, strange sickness, and death. They will try to make you forget Maheo, the Creator, and the things I have taught you, and will impose their own alien, evil ways. They will take your land little by little, until there is nothing left for you. I do not like to tell you this, but you must know. You must be strong when that bad time comes, you men, and particularly you women, because much depends on you, because you are the perpetuators of life, and if you weaken, the Cheyenne will cease to be. Now I have said all there is to say."
Then, Sweet Medicine entered his hut to die, marking the end of the physical life of The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine.