Other editions of book The Old North trail;: Or, Life, legends and religion of the Blackfeet Indians,

“A valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.” — Journal of the WestWhen Walter McClintock first became acquainted with the Blackfeet Native Americans in the late nineteenth century he realised that their way of life was under threat.The young were disinterested in preserving the old ways of life and he realised that without a written language of their own, the culture, religion and folk-lore of the Blackfeet would soon fall into oblivion.“When I discovered that I could obtain the unbosoming of their secrets and that the door was open to me for study and investigation, I resolved that I would do my best to preserve all the knowledge available.” The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians is the fruit of that study and investigation.McClintock was able to gain unprecedented access to Blackfoot culture due to the fact that he became adopted by Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance, and spent four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation.“An intriguing . . . mixture of stories, legends, and descriptions of religious rituals, all woven into [McClintock’s] own personal account of his life with the Blackfeet. He tells of being inducted into the tribe, participating in family ceremonies, and living with his adoptive family. . . . Other times McClintock takes a serious anthropological approach as he describes the social customs of the tribe, including many of their songs, and catalogs the names, uses, and preparations of various herbs and medicinal plants. [The Old North Trail] has much more personal detail about Blackfoot daily life than can be found in any other sources from that period.” — Natural HistoryWalter McClintock was born in Pittsburgh in 1879. He spent much of his life studying the Blackfeet Native Americans and wrote a number of anthropological books on his time with them as he grew to learn about their religion and culture. The Old North Trail is perhaps his most famous work, it was first published in 1910. McClintock eventually passed away in 1949.

"McClintock...recorded the death throes of the buffalo culture." -The Sun Came Down (2005)"McClintock's memorable book 'The Old North Trail' was the result of stories told him by Mad Wolf and others." (2014)"McClintock traveled the Old North Trail...from near Helena, Montana up into Canada at Calgary, Alberta." -Encyclopedia of Native American Music (2013)"McClintock...went west to Montana...stayed to spend several years living with the Blackfeet, writing about their culture." -Going-to-the-Sun Road (2013)"His relationships with individual Indians allowed him to observe and record facets of Blackfeet life." -Reimagining Indians (2002)Walter McClintock, of Pittsburgh, traveled west in 1896 as a federal government photographer investigating national forest lands. Blackfoot Indian scout, William Jackson or Siksikakoan became his friend. After completing his federal work, Jackson introduced McClintock to Montana's Blackfoot community. For the next 20 years, McClintock made several thousand photographs of the Blackfoot, with the permission of Blackfoot elder Mad Wolf. He photographed their homelands, their material culture, and their ceremonies.Much like the photographer Edward Curtis, McClintock believed that Indian tribes were undergoing fast, dramatic changes which could destroy their traditional culture. Thus, he sought to create a record of a way of life that might disappear from history. As part of his efforts he wrote books, mounted photographic exhibitions, and delivered many public lectures about the Blackfoot Indians.The Old North Trail, worn many generations ago by the tread of numberless Indian feet, follows the Rocky Mountains from north to south, its upper extremity emerging from the barren lands of the Dominion, and its lower reaching into Mexico. It is now overgrown in some parts, and in others obliterated by white settlements. As the most aggressive of the plains tribes, with a brilliant record for prowess in war and the chase, the Blackfeet are more notably associated with the trail than any other Indians, and their present dwelling-places, on both sides of the Canada line, lie near it. This, doubtless, is Mr. McClintock's reason for making the trail furnish a title for his book, to which, though strictly only a narrative of personal experience, he has aimed to give the flavor of authority. Repeated visits through a period of fourteen years, originally as a member of a Government expedition, and later as an adopted son of the Blackfeet, have afforded him exceptional advantages for the accumulation of data concerning them—which he here uses modestly and with generally good effect; and the total result is a picture of Indian life and thought which is sufliciently broad to give a novice in the study of our aboriginal race a satisfactory point of departure. He was fortunate in knowing them before the practical extinction of wild game in the mountains and on the great plains of the Northwest had forever stifled the independence which from time immemorial had been their crowning glory and the foundation on which was erected their entire structure of tribal life and custom. Most happy, too, was he in the strange impulse, not, however, without precedent, which prompted Mad Wolf, a prominent and influential warrior and orator of the powerful Blackfeet tribe, to adopt him as a son. Such adoptions were usually the act of a father to whom sons have been denied, and on the new member of the family is lavished the wealth of pride, affection and confidence due to him who should inherit the place of his father in the councils of the tribe. Mad Wolf was a broad-minded, generous-hearted, far-seeing man, whose later years were filled with concern and anxiety for the future of his people.

Walter McClintock went to Montana with a US Forestry Service expedition in 1896. He spent the next four years living on the land with the Blackfeet, one of the most northern of the Great Plains tribes. He was adopted into the tribe by the Chief Mad Dog, and got a chance to learn their traditions firsthand. The book presents Blackfeet folklore and religious traditions in context. The narrative of his gradual adoption into Blackfeet society is a classic Western tale, but it is also a classic of 19th century ethnography. Unfettered by modern anthropological protocols and given total access by his hosts, McClintock produced the primary source on the Blackfeet just after the collapse of their traditional way of life. (Quote from sacred-texts.com)About the AuthorLewis Spence (1874 - 1955)James Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence (November 25, 1874 - March 3, 1955) was a Scottish journalist, folklorist, poet and occult scholar.A prolific writer, Spence has been credited in reviving the study of Scottish folklore. After an early career in Scotland as a journalist, about 1906 he began to take a keen interest folklore and mythology. He wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in The Mysteries of Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques-this claim is being supported by recent DNA studies.He then turned to ancient Mexican and Central American mythology. In 1908, he published The Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche Mayas. This was followed by A Dictionary of Mythology in 1910 and numerous additional volumes.Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together

In 1886 Walter McClintock went to northwestern Montana as a member of a U.S. Forest Service expedition. He spent the next four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation, the adopted son of Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance. The Old North Trail records McClintock's experiences among the Blackfeet. Describing daily life, hunts, and ceremonials, it is enriched by vignettes of warriors and medicine men, legends and mythical stories, reminiscences of the missionary Father De Smet, and valuable information on such subjects as societies, proper names, songs, and beliefs. Since its first publication in 1910 it has remained the source par excellence on these proud people of the northern plains.

Excerpt from The Old North Trail: Or Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfeet IndiansAfter becoming acquainted with the Blackfeet Indians, I realised that there were locked up in the breasts of the old chiefs and medicine men rich treasures of folk-lore, religious beliefs and ceremonials. I saw that the younger generation was indifferent to their tribal customs, traditions and religion. I also observed that they had no written language, and it seemed inevitable that, with the passing of the old chiefs and medicine men, their ancient religion and folk-lore would fall into oblivion. When I discovered that I could obtain the unbosoming of their secrets and that the door was open to me for study and investigation, I resolved that I would do my best to preserve all the knowledge available.Having kept accurate records of my experiences and investigations, I have been encouraged to believe that information has been secured worthy of publication. This book has accordingly been published with the hope that its narrative of experiences among the Blackfeet would interest the general reader, and its records of investigation would be of some value to the science of ethnology. The narrative form has been chosen in the belief that this method would furnish a more faithful portraiture of the environment, family life and personal character of this tribe of Indians, and would enable the reader to form a better conception of their religion.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Lang:- eng, Pages 589. Reprinted in 2016 with the help of original edition published long back[1910]. This book is in black & white, Hardcover, sewing binding for longer life with Matt laminated multi-Colour Dust Cover, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, there may be some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. (Customisation is possible). Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions.Original Title:- The old north trail, or, Life, legends and religion of the Blackfeet Indians 1910 [Hardcover] Author:- Walter McClintock

In 1886 Walter McClintock went to northwestern Montana as a member of a U.S. Forest Service expedition. He spent the next four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation, the adopted son of Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance. The Old North Trail records McClintock's experiences among the Blackfeet. Describing daily life, hunts, and ceremonials, it is enriched by vignettes of warriors and medicine men, legends and mythical stories, reminiscences of the missionary Father De Smet, and valuable information on such subjects as societies, proper names, songs, and beliefs. Since its first publication in 1910 it has remained the source par excellence on these proud people of the northern plains.

“A valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.” — Journal of the West When Walter McClintock first became acquainted with the Blackfeet Native Americans in the late nineteenth century he realised that their way of life was under threat. The young were disinterested in preserving the old ways of life and he realised that without a written language of their own, the culture, religion and folk-lore of the Blackfeet would soon fall into oblivion. “When I discovered that I could obtain the unbosoming of their secrets and that the door was open to me for study and investigation, I resolved that I would do my best to preserve all the knowledge available.” The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians is the fruit of that study and investigation. McClintock was able to gain unprecedented access to Blackfoot culture due to the fact that he became adopted by Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance, and spent four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation. “An intriguing . . . mixture of stories, legends, and descriptions of religious rituals, all woven into [McClintock’s] own personal account of his life with the Blackfeet. He tells of being inducted into the tribe, participating in family ceremonies, and living with his adoptive family. . . . Other times McClintock takes a serious anthropological approach as he describes the social customs of the tribe, including many of their songs, and catalogs the names, uses, and preparations of various herbs and medicinal plants. [The Old North Trail] has much more personal detail about Blackfoot daily life than can be found in any other sources from that period.” — Natural History Walter McClintock was born in Pittsburgh in 1879. He spent much of his life studying the Blackfeet Native Americans and wrote a number of anthropological books on his time with them as he grew to learn about their religion and culture. The Old North Trail is perhaps his most famous work, it was first published in 1910. McClintock eventually passed away in 1949.