Clubs.
[Illustration: Fig. 320.--Omaha club (ja^{n}-[p]a[c]na).]
The ja^{n}-weti^{n}, "striking-wood," is a four-sided club. It is made
of ash, and is as long as from the elbow to the tips of the fingers. The
ja^n-daona, "wood with a smooth head," is a club made of ironwood, which
is very hard. According to the late Joseph La Fleche, the Omaha form of
this weapon had a steel point projecting from the ball.
[Illustration: Fig. 321.--Omaha club (ja^{n}-da[c]na).]
[Illustration: Fig. 322.--Omaha club (weaq[|c]ade).]
Figures 320 and 321 are forms of the ja^{n}-[p]a[c]na which may be seen
in the National Museum (nos. 2649 and 22419). The weaq[|c]ade, another
kind of war club, is made of some kind of hard wood. There are two
varieties, one of which is shown in figure 322 (National Museum no.
23729). The other has a ball carved at the end of a straight handle,
with a wooden point (of one piece with the ball and handle) projecting
from the ball, making an angle of about 130 deg. with one side of the
handle. There is a steel point inserted in the ball, forming an angle of
about 110 deg. with the other side of the handle. The i^{n}[']-wate-jin[']ga
is something like a slung shot. A round stone is wrapped in a piece of
hide which is fastened to a wooden handle about 2 feet long.
Tomahawks.
The heads of tomahawks as well as of battle-axes were at first made of
stone; but within the last century and a half they have been fashioned
of iron.
Spears.
Lances, darts, or spears are designated by the general term
man[']d[)e]hi. The ja^{n}[']-man'd[)e]hi are made of ash, and are from 6
to 8 feet long. There are two kinds, of one of which the handle is
round, and about an inch in diameter, and the point is flat and about
the width of three fingers at its juncture with the handle.
Besides these there are the lances, called waq[|c]exe-[|c]aze, of which
there are two varieties. One consists of a straight pole, which has been
thrust through a piece of buffalo hide that has its long end sewed
together, forming a sort of covering. To this hide are fastened feathers
of the crow and mi^{n}[']xa-sa^{n}, or swan, in alternate rows or
bunches. Between the feathers are fastened square pieces of blanket.
About the middle of the pole a space of nearly 6 inches is left without
feathers, and this is the place where the spear is grasped. When the
pole was not set into a metal point the lower end was cut very sharp.[1]
The other variety, or mand[)e]hi [|c]iguje, "bent spear," is the weapon
which the Dakota call "wahukeza." It is ornamented with eagle feathers
placed at intevals, one being at the end of the curved part; and it
generally terminates at the bottom in an iron point. It is possible for
one of these waq[|c]exe[|c]aze to reach a man about 6 feet distant; and
even mounted men have been killed by them. Spears are used also in some
of the dances. Around the shaft is wrapped the skin of a swan or brant.
The end feather at the top is white; the other feathers are white or
spotted. The bent spear is no longer employed by the Omaha, though the
Osage, Pawnee, and other tribes still use it to a greater or lesser
extent.
Bows.
[Illustration: Fig. 323.--Omaha bow (za^{n}zi-mand[)e]).]
[Illustration: Fig. 324.--Omaha bow ([t]a[k]a^{n}-mand[)e])]
Bows (man-d[)e]) are of two kinds. One is the man-d[)e] or
za^{n}zi-mand[)e] (bow-wood bow), having an unbroken curve past the grip
to within an inch or two of each nock.[2] The other kind is the
[t]a[k]a^{n}-mand[)e], so called because it has deer sinew glued on its
back.[3] Bows were made of hickory, ash, ironwood, or za^{n}zi, the last
being greatly preferred. It is a wood resembling that of the Osage
orange, with which some persons confound it; but it is black and much
harder than the former, the Osage orange wood being yellow, soft, and
easily cut. The za^{n}zi is probably that which Dougherty[4] called
"bow-wood (<i>Maclura aurantiaca</i> of Nuttall)."
[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.
[Illustration: Fig. 325.--Omaha hunting arrow.]
The arrows (ma^{n}) 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 nazi[|c][)e], 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 326.--Omaha war arrow.]
The war arrow (<i>b</i>) 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 327.--Omaha style of hide-[t]ace]
Children used the hide-[t]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 (ma^{n}sa) of ja^{n}-[']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," (<i>Viburnum</i>) 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 ma^{n}[']-[|c]iq[|c]ade, 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 (mahi^{n}-si), when made of flint, as at the first, were
called "i^{n}['][,][(e] mahi^{n}si," stone arrowheads. In more recent
times, they were manufactured of pieces of sheet iron; as, for example,
hoops of pails and barrels.
Arrow cement (hi^{n}[']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
hi^{n}pa-ja^{n}jin[']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 quantity
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, "ma^{n}wi^{n}[']da^{n}." 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 Pawnee 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 (ma^{n}[']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 ([t]ahawag[|c]e) 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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee 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."