When the author visited the Osage, in the Indian Territory, in January,
1883, he learned of the existence of a secret society of seven degrees, in
which, it was alleged, the traditions of the people have been preserved to
the present time. Owing to the shortness of his visit, one month and
eleven days, he was unable to gain more than fragmentary accounts of the
society, including parts of two traditions, from several Osage who had
been initiated.
The version of the first tradition was dictated to the author by
Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se (Red Corn), a halfbreed Osage of the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wacta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e gens. He
obtained it from Sa*d*ekice. Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se was adopted in childhood by a
white man named Matthews, who sent him to a Jesuit college in Missouri(?)
to be educated for the priesthood. But the boy left the institution after
he had been taught to read and write, as he did not wish to become a
priest. He took the name of William P. Matthews, but among his white
associates he is known as Bill Nix. He has tried several occupations and
is now an Indian doctor. The author was inclined at first to underrate Mr.
Matthews's accomplishments and stock of information, but subsequently
changed his opinion of him, as he obtained much that agreed with what had
been furnished by members of other tribes in former years. Besides, the
author obtained partial accounts of similar traditions from other Osage,
who used the same chant which Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se had sung. None of the younger
Osage men knew about these matters and the author was urged not to speak
to them on this subject. He observed that several of the elder men,
members of the secret order in which these traditions are preserved, had
parts of the accompanying symbolic chart (Fig. 389) tattooed on their
throats and chests. This chart is a fac simile of one that was drawn for
the author by Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se. At the top we see a tree near a river. The
tree is a cedar, called the tree of life. It has six roots, three on each
side. Nothing is said about this tree till the speaker nearly reaches the
end of the tradition. Then follows the "ceremony of the cedar." The tree
is described very minutely. Then follows a similar account of the river
and its branches.
[Illustration: FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.]
FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.
Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning
Star. Next are six stars, Taca*d*cin. The Omaha know a similar group,
which they call "Minxa si {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}anga," or "Large foot of a goose." Next is the
Evening Star; and last comes the small star, "Mikak'e-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}in{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a." Beneath
these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'e u*d*atse
pecun*d*a, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and
the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and
the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper
worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines,
each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The
lowest world rests on a red oak tree.
The journey of the people began at a point below the lowest upper world,
on the left side of the chart. Then the people had neither human bodies
nor souls, though they existed in some unknown manner. They ascended from
the lowest upper world, on the left, to the highest. There they obtained
human souls in the bodies of birds, according to Sa*d*ekice.
{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayin{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a said that there they met a male red bird, to whom they
appealed for aid. (See p. 383, line 18.) This was distinct from the female
Red Bird, who gave them human bodies. They descended to the first world,
and from that they traveled until they alighted on the red oak tree. (See
p. 383, line 30.) The ground was covered with grass and other kinds of
vegetation. Then the paths of the people separated: some marched on the
left, being the peace gentes that could not take life; they subsisted on
roots &c.; while those on the right killed animals. By and by the gentes
exchanged commodities.
The small figures on the left, in going from the tree (on the right when
facing the tree), show the heavenly bodies or beings to whom the Black
Bear went for help, and those on the right, in going from the tree (on the
left when facing the top of the chart), show similar bodies or beings to
whom the Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e or war gentes applied for assistance. These are unknown to
the members of the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gentes. After the female red bird gave bodies to
the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u people, the Black Bear found seven skins, which were used for
tents. Subsequently the people discovered four kinds of rocks, which were
the In'qe sa*d*e, or black rock; In'qe tuhu,(1) or blue (green?) rock;
In'qe {~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, or red rock; and In'qe ska, or white rock. Therefore, when a
child is named, four stones are heated for the sweat bath. After finding
the rocks, according to {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayin{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a, four buffalo bulls approached
the people, as one of the men was returning to the company. When the first
bull arose after rolling on the ground, an ear of red corn and a red
pumpkin fell from his left hind leg. The leader of the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wacta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e
noticed them, and asked his younger brother to pick them up and taste
them. The leader of the Bald Eagle subgens did so. Then the elder brother
said: "These will be good for the children to eat. Their limbs will
stretch and increase in strength." When the second bull arose after
rolling, an ear of spotted corn and a spotted pumpkin dropped from his
left hind leg. These, too, were tasted and declared good for the children.
When the third bull arose after rolling, an ear of dark corn and a dark
(black?) pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. From the left hind leg of
the fourth buffalo dropped an ear of white corn and a white pumpkin.
Therefore, when a child is named in the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gens (alone?) the head man
of that gens ({~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayin{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a himself, according to his statement) takes
a grain of each kind of corn and a slice of each variety of pumpkin, which
he puts into the mouth of the infant. Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se knew that the four
kinds of rocks were found, "but he could not say in what part of the
tradition the account belonged. He said that subsequently the Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e and
Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gentes came to the village of the Han'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utacan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, a very war-like
people, who then inhabited earth lodges. They subsisted on animals, and
bodies of all kinds lay around their village, making the air very
offensive. The Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u succeeded at last in making peace with the
Han'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utacan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se. After this followed the part of the account given to the
author by {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayin{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a:
"After the council between the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u, Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e, and Han'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utacan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, two
old men were sent off to seek a country in which all might dwell. One of
these was a Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wacta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e and the other a Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka-wacta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e. Each man
received a pipe from the council and was told to go for seven days without
food or drink. He carried a staff to aid him in walking. Three times a day
he wept, in the morning, at noon, and near sunset. They returned to the
people at the end of the seven days, being very thin. The report of the
Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u man was accepted, so the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gens is superior to the
Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka-wacta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e or Watsetsi. A Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e man acted as crier and told all about
the new home of the nation. All the old men decorated their faces with
clay. The next morning the two old men who had gone in search of the new
home led their respective sides of the nation, who marched in parallel
roads. When they reached the land the policemen ran around in a circle,
just as they do previous to starting to war. The Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e man ran around
from right to left and the cuqe man from left to right. At different
stations the two old leaders addressed the people. Finally the men took
sharp pointed sticks, which they stuck into the ground, each one saying 'I
wish my lodge to be here.' The next day the Cuka or messenger of the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u
old man went to summon the Elk crier. The latter was ordered to make a
proclamation to all the people, as follows: 'They say that you must remove
to-day! Wakan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}a has made good weather! They say that you must remove today
to a good land!' In those days the Osage used dogs instead of horses. When
the old Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u man made his speech, he went into details about every part
of a lodge, the fireplace, building materials, implements, &c. Four sticks
were placed in the fireplace, the first pointing to the west. When this
was laid down, the Tsi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u leader spoke about the West Wind, and also about
a young buffalo bull (Tse{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}u'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}in{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a), repeating the name Wani'e-ska. When
the stick at the north was laid down, he spoke of Tsehe qu{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se (gray
buffalo horns) or a buffalo bull. When the stick at the east was laid down
he spoke of Tse{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}u{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a tan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a (a large buffalo bull). On laying down the
fourth stick at the south, he spoke of Tse min{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a (a buffalo cow). At the
same time a similar ceremony was performed by the aged Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka man on the
right side of the tribe.(2)
"In placing the stick to the east, Ta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}aqpa tse, The East Wind, and
Tahe ca*d*e, Dark-Horned Deer, were mentioned; to the north, Ta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se *P*asan
tse, The North Wind, and The Deer with gray horns were mentioned; to the
west, Ta{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se Man'ha tse, The West Wind, and an animal which makes a lodge
and is with the Tahe pasi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e were mentioned; to the south, T]a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se Ak'a tse,
The South Wind, and Ta wanka he a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ca{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}i skutan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a were mentioned."(3)
{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayin{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a gave no further information, as a reported case of
smallpox near the agency led the author to start for the East February 21,
1883. Since then he has learned of the existence of similar societies
among the Kansa and the Ponka, and he suspects that there were formerly
such societies among the Omaha.(4)