in the blackfeet tribe was an association known as the all comrades. this was made up of a dozen secret societies graded according to age, the members of the younger societies passing, after a few years, into the older ones. this association was in part benevolent and helpful and in part to encourage bravery in war, but its main purpose was to see that the orders of the chiefs were carried out, and to punish offences against the tribe at large. there are stories which explain how these societies came to be instituted, and this one tells how the society of bulls began.