A Village of Sod Dwellings

     The bulk of the tribe, according to their ancient fashion, at once built a village of sod dwellings between the two Black-bird creeks. A few mixed bloods took up separate homes and opened am all farms, while on the military road, the only road through the country at that time, the agency was established and a government farm begun. A number of the, more progressive men followed the lead of La Flesche and erected a village of frame and log houses not far from the mission school, the mill and shops, and the steamboat landing. The illustration (No. 9 of the Exhibit) is taken from a sketch of this village drawn from memory by one of the Indians who lived there.³ One hundred and sixty acres or more on the river bottom land were fenced off, ploughed, and divided, so that each family had a field of its own. La Flesche and a few others started separate farms a little removed from the village. The men raised large, crops of corn, hauling it in winter on the ice to Sioux City and selling it at a good price. Sorghum was another product, and here the first wheat was planted. The children of these families were all in the mission school and some were learning trades in the shops.

Historic Sketches of the Omaha Indian

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