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Blackfoot - How the Blackfoot Obtained the Spotted Horses
Two young men, who hadn't earned their place in council, needed to do something daring to gain this distinction by proving themselves. They left the camp early in the Spring, going South and not returning until just before the Sun Dance. They arrived at Two Medicine Lake, riding on two pinto horses, a stallion and a mare, both having wooden saddles with big horns and a lot of silver on them. The bridles, as well as the boys, had big hats (sombreros) with silver and other decorations of ribbons, never seen before by any of the Blackfoot.
Their story, as related to me from Grandma via her mother: They left the camp and followed the mountains (Rocky Mountains) until they started seeing these people with big hats working in fields and others herding cattle and horses. They planned to steal some horses and try to get back home with them as soon as possible as they were two full moons from home. Their opportunity finally came after watching for five Suns, that only two men were herding the horses: one on a fine spotted Stallion. Both had fancy saddles. The boys dispatched the two guards and took their clothes and started driving the horse herd North, over the trail they had come down on. It proved to be too hard to drive horses in the mountains, so they went out on the plains.
Ultimately they had to flee from other hunting parties and lost most of the horses. Deciding to keep the spotted stallion and spotted mare with the saddles and two other mares to lead, they went back to the mountain trail they had come down on. Riding by night and hiding by day they made it to the Yellowstone where they met a Crow raiding party. They had to flee for their lives abandoning the two other mares to slow up the raiding party so they could get away. One boy was wounded and the stallion also had a slight bullet wound. The boys offered their big hats to the Sun at the Sun Dance for their good luck and were considered Braves by the council.
http://www.indigenouspeople.net/grandma.htm
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