Omaha Dwellings, Furniture and Implements Part 3

[Footnote 1: See First Annual Report of Bureau of Ethnology, 1879-'80; 1881, Pl. X, "Tolkotin cremation."]

[Footnote 2: This may be the "self-bow" mentioned in the American Naturalist for July, 1886, p. 675.]

[Footnote 3: This is the sinew-backed bow above mentioned.]

[Footnote 4: Long's Expedition, op. cit., vol. I, p. 290.]

Bowstrings were made of the twisted sinew of the elk and buffalo, as among other tribes.

Arrows.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 325.--Omaha hunting arrow.]

The arrows (man) used in former days were of several kinds. The hunting arrow, used for killing the buffalo, was generally about 2 feet long, of the usual cylindric form, and armed with an elongate triangular point, made at first of flint, afterward of sheet iron. The shoulders of the arrow were rounded instead of angular, as in the ordinary barbed form.

The point, or head, was firmly secured to the shaft by deer sinew wrapped around the neck of the point, and over that was spread some cement, made in a manner to be afterward explained. The flight of the arrow was equalized by three half-webs of feathers, neatly fastened near its base in the usual manner.

Another kind of hunting arrow was the hide n.a.z.ie, which was altogether of wood. About 6 inches from the point the shaft was triangular or quadrangular; and the point was made by holding the shaft close to a fire and turning it round and round till the heat had reduced it to the proper shape and had hardened it. This was used for killing fish, deer, and small game.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 326.--Omaha war arrow.]

The war arrow (b) differed from that used in hunting in having a barbed point, which was very slightly attached to the shaft, so that if it penetrated the body of an enemy it could not be withdrawn without leaving the point in the wound.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 327.--Omaha style of hide-?ace]

Children used the hide-?ace, or target arrow, when they began to learn the use of the bow. With this a boy could kill small birds and animals.

The Ponka used to make arrowshafts (mansa) of jan-'qude-hi, "gray wood,"

juneberry wood, which grew in their country, but is not found among the Omaha. Most of the Omaha made their shafts of the ma^n'saqtihi, or "real arrow-wood," (Viburnum) as that was the wood best suited for the purpose. Sometimes they were made of chokecherry wood; and Joseph LaFleche informs me that he has made them of ash and hickory.

Arrowshafts were held lengthwise directly in a line with the eyes of the workman, who sighted along them to see if they were straight. If one was bent, he held one end of it between his teeth, while he pressed against the rest of it with his hands. They were polished by means of the polishers, or man'-iqade, two pieces of sandstone, each of which had a groove in the middle of one side. These grooves were brought together, and the arrow was drawn between them.

War arrows had crooked lines drawn along the shafts from the points to the other ends, down which, so I was informed by the Indians, it was intended that the blood of a wounded foe should trickle.

Arrowheads (mahin-si), when made of flint, as at the first, were called "in'?e mahinsi," stone arrowheads. In more recent times, they were manufactured of pieces of sheet iron; as, for example, hoops of pails and barrels.

Arrow cement (hin'pa), for attaching the heads to the shafts, was usually made from the skin taken off a buffalo or elk head. This was boiled a long time, till ready to fall to pieces. When the gelatinous matter forming the cement rose to the top of the water, a stick (called hinpa-janjin'ga) was thrust in and turned round and round, causing the material to be wrapped around it. When cooled it was smoothed with the hand. Then the act was repeated till a large quant.i.ty was collected on the stick. When needed for use, it was warmed by placing either in the mouth or in hot water. The skin of the big turtle was also used for making cement.

A set of arrows were called, collectively, "manwin'dan." A set generally consisted of ten arrows, but the number varied; sometimes there were two, four, or even twenty. When a man had arrows left in his quiver, he compared them with that which was in the slain animal. When he had none left, he appealed to some one who knew his style of arrow.

There were no clan or gentile marks on arrows. One set was distinguished from another by the order of the paint stripes on them, by the kind of feathers used, by the mode in which the arrowheads were made, etc. The Oto made bad arrows; those of the p.a.w.nee were better, but they were inferior to those made by the Dakota, Ponka, and Omaha.

The feathers, half-webs generally, put on arrows were those of the eagle, buzzard, wild turkey, great owl, and goose. Sometimes hawk or crow feathers were employed.

Quivers.

Quivers (man'jiha) for men were made of buffalo hide; but boys' quivers were made either of otter skins or of the skins of cougars, with the tail of the animal hanging down from the upper extremity. A skin case was attached to the quiver for carrying the bow when not in use. The wrist was defended from the percussion of the bowstring by the leather wristguard or aqande-[p]a.

Shields and Armor.

Shields (?ahawage) were made of the hides of buffalo bulls. They were round and very thick, reaching to the waist of the bearer. Arrows did not penetrate them. Joseph La Fleche never heard of the use of defensive armor, such as helmet and mail, among the Omaha and Ponka.

He had heard of a p.a.w.nee who made a coat from four elk skins, two forming the front and two the back. Between each pair of skins was placed sand. A helmet was made in like manner. It covered the back of the head and extended over the forehead, coming down as far as the eyes.

When the p.a.w.nee noticed an arrow coming toward him, he bowed his head forward.

Firearms.

Firearms were introduced among the Omaha prior to 1819, when Dougherty says that they preferred those called "Mackinaw guns."