“The Dog-Man (Dog Soldier) Society was organized after the organization
of the other societies, by a young man without influence,
but who was chosen by the great Prophet. One morning the young man
went through the entire camp and to the center of the camp circle,
announcing that he was about to form a society. No one was anxious
to join him, so he was alone all that day. The other medicine-men had
had no difficulty in establishing their societies, but this young man,
when his turn came to organize, was ridiculed, for he was not
a medicine-man, and had no influence to induce others to follow his
leadership. At evening he was sad, and he sat in the midst of the whole
camp. He prayed to the Great Prophet and the Great Medicine Man
to assist him. At sunset he began to sing a sacred song.
While he sang the people noticed that now and then the large
and small dogs throughout the camp whined and howled
and were restless. The people in their lodges fell asleep.
The man sang from sunset to midnight; then he began to wail.
The people were all sleeping in their lodges and did not hear him.
Again he sang; then he walked out to the opening of the camp-circle,
singing as he went. At the opening of the camp-circle he ceased singing
and went out. All the dogs of the whole camp followed him, both male
and female, some carrying in their mouths their puppies.
Four times he sang before he reached his destination at daybreak.
As the sun rose he and all the dogs arrived at a river bottom which was
partly timbered and level.
The man sat down by a tree that leaned toward the north.
Immediately the dogs ran from him and arranged themselves
in the form of a semi-circle about him, like the shape of the camp-circle
they had left; then they lay down to rest; as the dogs lay down,
by some mysterious power, there sprang up over the man in the center
of the circle a lodge. The lodge included the leaning tree by which
the man sat; there were three other saplings, trimmed at the base
with the boughs left at the top. The lodge was formed of the skins
of the buffalo. As soon as the lodge appeared, all the dogs rushed
towards it. As they entered the lodge they turned into human beings,
dressed like members of the Dog-Men Society. The Dog Men began
to sing, and the man listened very attentively and learned several songs
from them, their ceremony, and their dancing forms.
The camp circle and the center lodge had the appearance of a real camp
circle for three long days. The Dog Men blessed the man and promised
that he should be successful in all of his undertakings and that his people,
his society, and his band would become the greatest of all if he
carried out their instructions.” Later, the Cheyenne discovered the camp.
But “as they came into view of the wonderful camp the Dog lodge
instantly disappeared and the Dog-Men were transformed into dogs.
The medicine-men and warriors were by this time very sorry that they
had refused to join this man’s society—and the next day,
according to instructions of the Great Prophet,
he again asked the warriors to join his society,
and many hundreds of men joined it. He directed the society to imitate
the Dog Man in dress, and to sing the way the Dog-Men sang.
This is why the other warrior societies call the warriors of this society
'Dog-Men Warriors’.” So much for the fabulous origin of the organization.
George A.Dorsey
(The Cheyenne Ceremonial Organization, 1905)
