Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition

Appendix 9

appendix 9 Comparison of the Transcript and Draft of “Origin of the Peace Pipe” During the Black Elk interviews, as John Neihardt has described in the preface to the 1961 edition, “a faithful record of the narrative and conversations” was kept by his daughter Enid, a skilled stenographer, and a transcript of her notes lay before him when he wrote Black Elk Speaks. To illustrate concretely how Neihardt interpreted the spirit of Black Elk’s narrative, this appendix presents the transcript of Black Elk’s oral account of the origin of the peace pipe for comparison with the corresponding passages in Neihardt’s handwritten draft. (For comparison with the printed version, see page 2, line 23, through page 4, line 4.) A comparison of the transcript and the draft reveals that Neihardt suppressed unnecessary details, altered awkward expressions, and introduced a tone of reverence and solemnity, transmuting the oral narrative into literature. For the general reader the omitted details clutter up the story, making it harder to follow; but for anthropologists, folklorists, and students of religion some of these details are significant. For example, from the beginning of the story the woman is seen to be carrying something, and when she arrives at the camp she first places this bundle down facing east. A dozen or so of these specific details which do not appear in the story can be found in the transcript. The Transcript origination of peace pipe The Indians were in camp and they had a meeting to send scouts out to kill buffalo. The scouts were on top of a hill and as they looked to north in the distance something was appearing. They were going on, but they wanted to find out what it was and they kept looking and finally it came closer; then they found out it was a woman. Then one of the men said: “That is a woman coming.” One of them had bad thoughts of her and one them said: “This is a sacred woman, throw all bad thots aside.” She came up the hill where they were. She was very beautiful, her long hair hanging down and she had on a beautiful buckskin coat. She put down what she was carrying and covered it up with sage. She knew what they had in their minds. She said: “Probably you do not know me, but if you it to 10 and 11. Samples from Neihardt’s handwritten draft. Courtesy Western Historical Manuscript Collection–Columbia, John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) Papers, ca. 1858–1974. 294 Appendix 9 do as you think, come.” So the one said to other, “That is what I told you, but you wouldn’t listen to me.” So one of the men went and just as he faced her, there was a cloud that came and covered them. The beautiful woman walked out of the cloud and stood there. Then the cloud blew off and the man was nothing but a skeleton with worms eating on it. That is what happened to him for being bad. She turned to the other one and said, “You shall go home and tell thy nation that I am coming. Therefore in the center of thy nation they shall build a big teepee and there I will come.” So this man left at once and he was very scared, for his friend was a skeleton. He told the tribe what had happened and they all got excited and right away they prepared a place for her to come. They built a teepee right in the center and she was now in it. She put what she was carrying facing the East. All the people gathered right there. She sang a song as she entered the teepee: “With visible breath I am walking. A voice I am sending as I walk. In a sacred manner I am walking. With visible tracks I am walking. In a sacred manner I am walking.” Then she presented the pipe to the chief. It was an ordinary pipe but there was a calf carved in one side and there were twelve eagle feathers tied on with a grass that never breaks. She said: “Behold this, for you shall multiply with this and a good nation thou shalt be. You shall get nothing but good from this pipe, so I want it to be in the hands of a good man and...