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July 8
Washun
This is our Week 2 (July 8-14) “dispatch” from an infamous 1874 expedition to find gold in Paha Sapa that took place exactly one hundred and fifty years ago. We mine the rich archive of documentary records that it produced to ask what it reveals about the region's Native inhabitants. To follow along online, click here.
On the July 11, 1874, the Black Hills expedition, guided by Goose, a Lakotan scout who we introduced in our previous column, reached a sacred cave. Before departing Fort Abraham Lincoln, Goose had told of “a great hole in the ground where the white man has never been,” which was so big that no one could find its end. He also said the cave contained “curious pictures and singular characters which he was sure the Indians had not made. Perhaps the Great Spirit had made them.”
When they arrived at the cave, Goose led a group of soldiers to its entrance. Once inside, expedition members found many petroglyphs, mostly depicting animals. The New York World described “engravings” of “animals and birds—horses, dogs, bears, deer, elk, and (probably) the eagle.” In addition, the St. Paul Press reported depictions of beavers, antelope, buffalo, and humans. They also found many items on the floor of the cave, such as rings, arrows, knives and scrapers, which Bloody Knife, an Arikarian scout whose father was Hunkpapian, interpreted as “offerings to the Great Spirit.”
Expedition sources record several Lakotan names for the cave. Private Ewert called it “The Place Where the Cow Killed the Man,” after a story about a buffalo hunt in which “a young brave ran a cow and two calves to the foot of the cliff in which the cave was located; then finding herself hemmed in she made a sudden turn on the young Indian and 'ere he could turn his pony to one side, the cow had gored both him and the horse and tore both into shreds.”
Other accounts disagree. The New York World, for example, calls it “The Place Where the Man was Killed by the Bull.” Elsewhere, the same newspaper also refers to “the sacred Washsum or spirit cave of the Sioux.” Similarly, the Chicago Inter-Ocean wrote that “Indians” called it “Wassum,” “their word for a hole in the ground.”
The Lakotan name for this place, as well as the description of petroglyphs featuring a variety of different animals, calls to mind a narrative of how people first emerged on this world at Washun Niya, another cave which is in the southeastern part of Paha Sapa.
Long ago, when the spirits and the Pte people lived in the underworld, there arose a dispute that resulted in three Pteans and seven spirits being banished to the upperworld. Anunk Ite and Iktomi were two of the banished, and eventually they conspired to trick more of the Pteans to leave their homes and live in the upperworld. Their intermediary was a wolf that enticed seven families to undertake the journey. The wolf guided them through the complex system of convoluted passageways for an entire day and when they emerged through Washun Niya into this world into was nighttime. Following Iktomi's devious scheme, the wolf disappeared into the darkness, leaving the the seven Ptean families lost, thirsty and hungry. Iktomi appeared and laughed at them. Anunk Ite tried to greet them, but her ugly face caused them to flee. Finally, an old man and old woman arrived and gave them food and water, then led them to the region of the pines. There the old couple taught them how to hunt game and care for meat and skins, and how to make clothing and tipis. Their children are the Lakotans.
Many generations later, a man named Taopi Gli was lured into Washun Niya by a bewitching woman who lived in the earth and whose people were the keepers and breeders of all game animals. As a result, Taopi Gli acquired prestige and power, but he could never return to the upperworld. Nevertheless, their marriage deepened the relationship between Lakotans and game animals. Washun Niya, the connection between the earth and its upperworld and underworld, is now known as Wind Cave.
The cave that the expedition visited in 1874 was named Ludlow's Cave (after their topographical engineer), and is about five miles west of Ludlow, South Dakota. But we plan to continue using its original name, Washun.