Genealogy | Native American | DNA | About Us
Tell A Friend!




Genealogy Records

Genealogy
Biographies
Cemetery Records
Census Records
DNA
Family Tree Search
History Books Online
Military Records
Native American Records
Surnames
Vital Records
World Genealogy

Indian Genealogy

Proving Your Indian Heritage
Native American Rolls
Indian Tribal Histories
Indian Tribes by Location
Indian Books and Articles
Indian Genealogy Queries
Indian Census Records
Indian Cemetery Records

Indian Tribes

Abenaki Indians
Algonquian Indians
Apache Indians
Arapaho Indians
Blackfeet Indians
Caddo Indians
Cherokee Indians
Cheyenne Indians
Chickasaw Indians
Chinook Indians
Chippewa Indians
Choctaw Indians
Comanche Indians
Cree Indians
Creek Indians
Crow Indians
Dakota Indians
Delaware Indians
Fox Indians
Hopi Indians
Huron Indians
Illinois Indians
Iowa Indians
Iroquois Indians
Kansa Indians
Kickapoo Indians
Kiowa Indians
Menominee Indians
Miami Indians
Missouri Indians
Modoc Indians
Mohawk Indians
Mohegan Indians
Munsee Indians
Natchez Indians
Navajo Indians
Nex Percé Indians
Omaha Indians
Onondaga Indians
Osage Indians
Oto Indians
Ottawa Indians
Paiute Indians
Pawnee Indians
Pottawatomie Indians
Sauk Indians
Seminole Indians
Seneca Indians
Shawnee Indians
Siouan Indians
Sioux Indians
Stockbridge Indians
Tuscarora Indians
Winnebago Indians
Zuni Indians


 

A Boy and his Pony

The pony does not see his way out of the poles, and is forced to keep up with the procession. At the first halt strife is renewed. The pony jumps over a nest of children slung between tent-poles, and rouses the ire of the dogs. With them at his heels, and the boy on his back, he is an object of terror as well as of mirth to the camp. He goes where he likes. All the boy can do is to hold on; but hold on he does, until at nightfall he dismounts without the aid of the pony. The animal recognizes this as a defeat, and the struggle is over. An admiring uncle presents the boy with a whip, the handle of which, decorated in porcupine-quill work, is terminated by a tassel of elk teeth; and thenceforth he rides his pony with the pride of a conqueror, while the pony himself prances along as if he too were proud of his own part of the performance.
     Many similar scenes occurred along the line of march, when more than a thousand men, women, and children, with many more ponies and colts, stretched out over the prairie. The line was guarded on both sides by warriors appointed by the leader to act as soldiers, whose office was not simply to protect, but to prevent any slipping out on a private adventure of any sort.
     At the close of a day's journey, at a point designated by the leader, the tribe halted, the tent-poles dropped from the sides of the ponies, and each woman, according to the gens of her husband, set up her tent in its relative position in the Hoo-thu-ga, which shaped itself with marvelous precision and rapidity. The girls ran to the creek for wood and water, men and boys unpacked the ponies and staked them outside the camp, and in an incredibly short time smoke rose from the numerous tents, and the evening meal was ready for the tired multitude.
     If it was decided to continue the journey on the morrow, the smoke curled up from the circle of tents beneath the morning stars, and breakfast was over before the half-opened eye of the sun on the horizon line looked along the prairie upon the pleasant scene. Packhorses were waiting for their loads; the youngsters were impatiently running here and there, intent upon the performance of their little parts. Tent-pins had been loosened, the fronts unfastened, and outside each tent stood a woman grasping the long poles that held the smoke flaps. The impatient, fluttering canvas broke the slanting sunlight, and every one watched the tent of the leader. When that fell, down dropped the tent covering of the entire camp, and the naked poles stood stark against the brightening sky, with the busy hives beneath, where all were at work tying up bundles and babies and other items of the family belongings.
     When the leader judged that the buffalo were not far off, he selected a number of young men swift of foot and cautious in action, the sons of noted persons, and sent them out as runners to find the game. The herd found, they hastened back, and, coming in sight of the tribe, signaled the people by peculiar waving movements of their robes. If the tribe chanced to be moving, an immediate halt was ordered, and if the signals indicated a favorable report, the wife of the keeper of the pole, wearing the buffalo robe ceremonially (with the hair outside), took the pole upon her back, and the wife of the keeper of the white buffalo-hide, similarly clothed, took its pack, and the two together went out to meet the runners, who were coming in one at a time. The official herald, also ceremonially clothed, went with them. Arrived beyond the line of the camp, they halted, and the women set up the pole and the pack on their respective supports, and the herald, stepping in front of the pole, sat down with crossed arms and bowed head. The foremost runner arrived and whispered to the pole, over the shoulder of the herald, then stepped aside to the right. A second runner approached and repeated the tidings. Meanwhile a messenger had sped to the leader, who immediately retired to his tent, and remained there until he heard the herald making his way toward the sacred tent of the white buffalo-hide, shouting as he went:
     "It is reported that smoke is rising from the earth as far as eye can reach!"
     Then the leader also went to the tent to meet the Hun-ga, who had already gathered there with the seven principal chiefs and the herald. Within the sacred tent the chiefs sat with bowed heads, while the leader gave his commands to the herald. The hunters were to go forth ; two men were designated to precede the hunters, one to carry the wa-sha-bae, the other the pipe to which the shell disk had been tied;6 and the herald left the tent, turned to the left, and circled the camp, calling out as he went, in the name of the leader, the command
    "You are to go upon the chase; bring in your horses.
     "Braves of the In-stha-sunda, Hun-ga-chey-nu7 pity me who belong to you!
     "Soldiers of the In-stha-sunda, Hun-gachey-nu, pity me who belong to you!
     "Women of the In-stha-sunda, Hun-gachey-nu, pity me who belong to you!"


6 This pipe and the shell disk were provided by the leader when a candidate for the office; the pipe is smoked with religious ceremonial in the sacred tent by the leader, the Hun-ga, and the principal chiefs. The leader did not go personally to the hunt proper, but sent the wa-sha-bae as the badge of his office, and the pipe to symbolize his dependence upon Wakened; in a word the two stood for the temporal and spiritual power of his office.

Previous | Title | Next

Omaha Hunting Customs

 

Genealogy Websites

Other Websites

Disclaimer:

This site includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied.


Access Genealogy is the largest free genealogy website not owned by Ancestry.com. As such, it relies on the revenue from commercial genealogy companies such as Ancestry and Footnote to pay for the server and other expenses related to producing and warehousing such a large collection of data. If you're considering joining either of these programs, why not join from our pages, and help support free genealogy online!

Copyright 1999-2009, by Access Genealogy.com
A project by Webified Development