affairs came a great change in the condition of the Kiowa and their
confederated tribes. The old chiefs who had so often led them on the
warpath were dead or in prison; their horses, which to prairie warriors
were almost as essential as the bow or rifle, had been taken from them,
together with their weapons; military posts and garrisons had been
established in their midst and the chain of white settlements had been
drawn closer around them; their old allies, the Cheyenne, had been
rendered powerless to help them, and, more than all, their unfailing
commissary, the buffalo, had practically disappeared. They felt that
they were powerless in the hands of the stronger race, and with a deep
sigh of regret for their vanished sovereignty they literally put their
hands to the plow and endeavored in their weak fashion to follow the
white man's road. The warriors, realizing that their time was too short
to learn new ways, were anxious to see their children prepared to meet
the changed conditions, and in consequence the schools were soon
crowded, some of the chiefs even assisting the teachers in the work of
organizing. Henceforth we find them trying to follow the new path with
patient resignation, in spite of difficulties and frequent neglect, with
only occasional weak ebullitions of the old fighting temper when aroused
by some particularly aggravated grievance.
EPIDEMICS OF MEASLES AND FEVER IN 1877--FIRST HOUSES BUILT
In 1877 an epidemic of measles in the tribe carried off a large number
of children. It was followed immediately afterward by an outbreak of
fever. In the fall of the same year the government, through agent
Haworth, built a number of houses for the prominent chiefs, these being
the first Indian houses on the reservation (see the calendar). In
accordance with a new plan of employing Indians at agencies, a police
force of about thirty natives was organized in 1878. The result in this
as in all other cases has been eminently satisfactory (_Report, 60_).
AGENCY REMOVED TO ANADARKO--THE LAST OF THE BUFFALO
For years Indians and agents alike had complained of the location of the
agency at Fort Sill. In consequence of repeated representations of
the matter, it was removed toward the close of 1879 to Anadarko on the
Washita and consolidated with the Wichita agency at that point, where it
still remains (_Report, 61_). As a result, the Kiowa, who had previously
been together in a single camp on Cache creek below the fort, now began
to scatter and take up individual farms along the Washita and on the
creeks north of Mount Scott. This year may be taken as the date of the
disappearance of the buffalo from the Kiowa country, the Indians during
the summer of 1879 being reduced to the necessity of killing and eating
their ponies to keep from starving, in consequence of the almost total
failure of their annual hunt (see the calendar). Thereafter the
appearance of even a single buffalo was a rare event.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT, PL. LXIV
PHOTO BY SOULE, ABOUT 1870
PHOTOS BY JACKSON, 1872
SET-ĬMKÍA OR STUMBLING-BEAR (PUSHING-BEAR)]
In the same year died Lone-wolf, the principal chief and leader of the
war element in the late outbreak. Dohásän, Set-ängya, and Set-t'aiñte
being already gone, his death may be said to mark the end of the war
history of the Kiowa. Shortly after his return from Florida he had
conferred his name and succession upon the present bearer of the name,
who had been the comrade of his son, killed in Texas, although not
related by blood. The succession is now disputed by Ä´piatañ, the nephew
of the first Lone-wolf.
THREATENED OUTBREAK INSTIGATED BY DÁTEKÂÑ
In June of 1881 there was considerable excitement caused by threats of
an outbreak by the Kiowa on account of dissatisfaction with the rations.
Their attitude became so threatening that the more peaceable Wichita and
associated tribes became alarmed, and troops were sent from Fort Sill to
prevent trouble, which had the effect of quieting the unrest (_Report,
62_). It is possible that the Kiowa were instigated to this course by
Dátekâñ, who soon afterward began preaching the return of the buffalo
and the old Indian life (see the calendar, 1882).
EPIDEMIC OF 1882--BEGINNING OF CHURCH WORK
In the fall of 1882 the tribe suffered from an epidemic of whooping
cough and measles (_Report, 63_). In 1883 the first church was built at
the agency by Reverend J. B. Wicks of the Episcopal church, who had been
conducting missionary work among the associated tribes for about two
years previously. It was built and supported, however, by the Wichita
and affiliated tribes, the Kiowa and Apache as yet taking little
interest in such matters (_Report, 64_). The work was abandoned shortly
after and not resumed until 1887, when the Methodists entered the field,
followed later by the Presbyterians, Baptists, and Catholics.
LEASING OF GRASS LANDS
For some time various agents had called attention to the fact that the
Indians had a large surplus of valuable grass lands, which might be made
to yield them a considerable income if leased to cattlemen. The
suggestion being approved by the department, an arrangement was made
with several large cattle firms. The first money payment to the Indians
under this agreement was made in the summer of 1885, but only to the
Comanche, as the Kiowa and Apache for a year longer refused to accept
the money, believing this to be a scheme to deprive them of their lands.
There is no official notice of this at the time, for the reason that the
arrangement was at first only a matter of tolerance and mutual agreement
between the Indians and cattlemen, without formal official recognition
or responsibility for several years afterward.
PÁ-IÑGYA, THE MEDICINE-MAN AND PROPHET
In the spring of 1887 a prophet named Pá-iñgya, "In-the-middle," revived
the doctrine which had been taught five years before by Dátekâñ of the
speedy return of the buffalo and the revival of the old Indian life,
adding the usual accompaniments of invulnerability for his followers and
the destruction of the whites and unbelieving Indians by fire and
whirlwind. He claimed also the power to resurrect the dead and to
destroy his enemies with a glance as by a lightning stroke. His
preaching aroused great excitement among the Kiowa, and nearly the
entire tribe was soon enrolled among his adherents, including every
prominent chief except Stumbling-bear and Sun-boy. He established
headquarters on Elk creek, at the extreme western end of the
reservation, to which all his followers repaired. Here, by the friction
of a stick upon a block of wood, he kindled a sacred fire, from which
the devotees took brands to light and warm their tipis, being commanded
to throw away the white man's matches or flint and steel, together with
the white man's dress and weapons. As the day appointed for the final
cataclysm approached, the Indians took their children from the schools
at the agency in order that they might escape the destruction which was
soon to overwhelm the intrusive race, and left in a body for the
rendezvous on Elk creek. The movement alarmed the whites, who saw that
there was trouble brewing, but could get no explanation of the reason.
In anticipation of an outbreak, the agent, Captain Hall, summoned the
troops to his assistance. With a small escort he visited the prophet's
camp, and through the medium of Stumbling-bear invited the chiefs to a
conference, with the result that the Kiowa agreed to return to their
homes and await developments. As the time came and went without
supernatural event, they became satisfied that the prophecy was a
delusion, and the excitement died out. Pá-iñgya still lives, and when
the messiah revelation spread among the southern tribes a few years
later he hailed it as the delayed fulfillment of his own prophecy (see
the calendar).
INDIAN COURT ESTABLISHED
As a practical step toward educating the Indians in civilized forms of
self-government and to save the time consumed by the agent and other
officials in trivial concerns, an Indian court consisting of three
judges was organized upon the reservation in 1888 for the trial of minor
offenses and questions, the first judges appointed being Quanah,
Lone-wolf, and Tawákoni Jim, head chiefs respectively of the Comanche,
Kiowa, and Wichita (_Report, 65_). This court is still in successful
operation.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. LXV
PHOTOS BY JACKSON; 1872
PAÍ-TÄLYÍ OR SUN-BOY]
INTERTRIBAL COUNCIL OF 1888
The questions of railroads through the reservations, intrusions,
allotments, and the ultimate opening of Indian Territory to white
settlement, had now assumed such proportions that the civilized tribes
had become alarmed and had called an intertribal council to debate
measures to meet the emergency. The council met at Fort Gibson, in the
Cherokee nation, in June, 1888, with representatives of about twenty
tribes in attendance. Although recognizing civilization as their
ultimate destiny, they were strongly opposed to any change in the tribal
holding of their lands, and the sentiment was practically unanimous
against allotment or any disturbance of the existing tribal system. The
delegates and speakers from the Kiowa and associated tribes were
Täbinä´naka and White-wolf for the Comanche, Big-tree for the Kiowa.
White-man for the Apache, and Caddo Jake for the Caddo, Wichita, and
smaller bands (_Report, 66_).
DEATH OF SUN-BOY--THE LAST SUN DANCE
In the fall of 1888 died Pai´-tälyi´, "Sun-boy," one of the last of the
prominent chiefs of the old days of the buffalo hunt and the warpath
(see the calendar). The summer of 1890 is notable for the last sun dance
(_k`adó_) undertaken by the tribe. On this occasion the agent, making
objection to the ceremony, which the Indians refused to abandon, ordered
out the troops from Fort Sill to prevent it. On their arrival, although
the Kiowa were at first disposed to resistance, upon the advice of
Stumbling-bear and some other of the cooler heads, they finally
dispersed to their homes, leaving the unfinished medicine lodge standing
(see the calendar).
GHOST DANCE INAUGURATED--ÄPIATAÑ'S JOURNEY IN 1890
In the fall of 1890 Sitting-bull (Hänä´chä-thíak), an Arapaho, came and
inaugurated the ghost dance among the Kiowa. As this subject is treated
at length in the author's work on "The Ghost-dance Religion," in the
Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, it need only be
mentioned here. Like all the neighboring tribes except the Comanche, the
Kiowa went heart and soul into the new religion, which was in line with
the previous prophecies of Dátekâñ and Pá-iñgya. A few months later they
sent Ä´piatañ, "Wooden-lance," a prominent young man of the tribe, to
find the messiah and investigate and report upon his doctrine. On his
return in the following spring he denounced the new teacher as an
impostor, whereupon the Kiowa abandoned the dance. Within the last two
years, however, they have revived the ghost-dance ceremonies with all
the old-time vigor (see the calendar).
[Illustration: FIG. 52--A´piatañ or Wooden-lance]
In the same winter, in January, 1891, three boys ran away from the
government school at the agency in consequence of the harshness of a
teacher, and a day or two later were found frozen to death in the
mountains, having been overtaken by a blizzard while attempting to
reach their homes. The affair naturally created intense excitement in
the tribe and threats were made against the teacher who was responsible
for the occurrence, but the matter finally quieted down without the
necessity of calling on the troops (see the calendar).
ENLISTMENT OF INDIANS AS SOLDIERS
In March, 1891, the Secretary of War authorized the enlistment of an
Indian contingent for each of the cavalry and infantry regiments serving
in the west. In pursuance of this plan, a troop was enlisted from among
the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes in the fall of 1891 and placed
under the command of Lieutenant (now Captain) H. L. Scott, and
designated as troop L, of the Seventh cavalry, then stationed at Fort
Sill. Of this troop probably two-thirds were Kiowa and Apache. The
experiment did not prove satisfactory, and all of the Indian companies
have now been disbanded. The Kiowa troop maintained its existence
longest, under Captain Scott, who was peculiarly fitted for the position
by his intimate and sympathetic acquaintance with Indian habit and
belief and his expert knowledge of the sign language. For this reason he
has several times been selected by the War Department to investigate
threatened troubles among the associated tribes, particularly during the
critical period of the ghost dance, and has also been selected by the
Indians themselves to represent their interests at Washington (see the
calendar; also _War, 4_).
MEASLES EPIDEMIC OF 1892--GRASS LANDS LEASED
The year 1892 was signalized by several important events. Early in the
spring an epidemic of measles broke out among the children in the Kiowa
school. Instead of isolating and nursing the sick, the superintendent in
charge sent the infected children home to their camps, thus spreading
the disease broadcast, resulting in the death of about two hundred and
twenty persons, nearly all children, among the Kiowa and Apache, or
fifteen per cent of the entire number. The superintendent was soon
afterward removed. This epidemic was the most terrible calamity that has
befallen the tribe in many years. Every family lost relatives, and in
addition to the large number of deaths thousands of dollars' worth of
property, in the form of horses, wagons, blankets, etc, was destroyed at
the graves in accordance with the Indian custom (see the calendar).
As by this time the Indians had learned that the leasing of their grass
lands would be a substantial benefit to themselves, they held a joint
council in the spring of the same year and authorized Quanah, Lone-wolf,
and White-man, head chiefs of the three confederate tribes, to go as
delegates to Washington, where they succeeded in negotiating leases for
nearly all of their surplus grass lands for an aggregate annual rental
of nearly $100,000. This money, with that received by the Indian
soldiers, has been invested largely in houses and improved stock. Today
probably half the Indians of the three tribes are owners of houses paid
for with their own money (see the calendar).
[Illustration: FIG. 53--H.L. Scott, Captain, Seventh cavalry, U.S.A.]
COMMISSION FOR ALLOTMENT OF LANDS--PROTEST AGAINST DECISION
In the autumn of 1892 a commission, which had already concluded
agreements with several other tribes, visited the Kiowa, Comanche, and
Apache to negotiate with them for the distribution of individual
allotments and the sale of the remainder of their reservation. As the
terms of the Medicine Lodge treaty, under which they hold their present
reservation, do not expire until August 25, 1898, the Indians were
opposed to any change in the existing conditions, but by bringing strong
pressure to bear upon them, an agreement was finally reached by which
the reservation was to be thrown open immediately upon the ratification
of the contract by Congress. On learning the true nature of the
instrument, the Indians denounced the interpreter and demanded that
their names be stricken from the paper. This being refused, they
repudiated in council the action of the chiefs who had signed, and
elected other representatives to go to Washington to protest against the
whole proceeding. The delegates chosen were Ä´piatañ, already mentioned,
Apache John (_Goñk'oñ_, "Stays-in-tipi") and Piänä´vonĭt,
"Big-looking-glass," for the Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche, respectively,
with Captain Scott, U. S. A., and Andres Martinez (_Ä´ndali_), an
influential Mexican captive among the Kiowa, as interpreter. The
delegation arrived in March, 1894, and made such representation of the
matter that no action was taken upon the agreement, and it is still
unratified.
[Illustration: FIG. 54--A group of Kiowa]
PRESENT CONDITION--AGENTS IN CHARGE OF CONFEDERATE TRIBES
Realizing that a change is inevitable in the near future, the Indians
are going to work, and with the aid of the money received for their
grass lands invested in houses, cattle, and improved breed of horses,
the opening of small farms, and the general educational work of the
schools, there is a fair prospect that at the expiration of their
present treaty in 1898 they will be able to meet the new conditions (see
52d Cong., 2d sess., Senate ex. doc. 17--Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache
Agreement; 53d Cong., 2d sess., misc. doc. 102--Kiowa, Comanche, and
Apache memorial).
Following are the names of the agents who have been in charge of the
Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche since they were first brought upon the
reservation in December, 1868. Of the earlier ones, Haworth
(_Senpo-gúadal_, "Red-beard") is held in best remembrance:
1869--Laurie Tatum (Kiowa name, _Dän-pá-iñgya-t'á-i_, "Bald-head").
1873, April--J. N. Haworth (_Sénpo-gúadal_, "Red-beard").
1878, April--P. B. Hunt (_Tádalk`ia_, "Lean-man").
1885, September--J. Lee Hall (_K`ódal-gúadal_, "Red-neck").
1887, September--E. E. White, special agent (_T'áiñte_, "White").
1888, September--W. D. Myers (_Maiz_).
1889, October--Charles E. Adams (_Ädam_).
1891, December--George D. Day (_Ĭmasä´nmot_, "Grinning").
1893, June--Hugh G. Brown, captain Twelfth infantry.
1893, November--Maury Nichols, lieutenant Seventh infantry
(_Dogúatal-taíde_, "Young Man Chief").
1894, October--W. H. Abell, special agent (_Pá-ehémgó`te_, "Lame-bull").
1894, November--Frank D. Baldwin, captain Fifth infantry.
SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS
The principal events in the history of the Kiowa may be summarized as
follows:
1700 (about)--Migration from the mountains to the Yellowstone region.
1732--Mentioned in Spanish document of New Mexico.
1770 (about)--Massacre of the K'úato and expulsion from the Black Hills.
1790 (about)--Peace and alliance with the Comanche.
1805--First American mention; Kiowa then on North Platte.
1833--Massacre by the Osage and capture of the _taíme_.
1834--Dragoon expedition and first official intercourse with United
States.
1837--First treaty, at Fort Gibson.
1839--Smallpox epidemic.
1849--Cholera epidemic.
1854--Defeat of plains tribes by the Sauk.
1864--General outbreak of plains tribes.
1866--Death of Dohásän.
1867--Medicine Lodge treaty; Kiowa agree to go on reservation.
1868--Battle of the Washita; Ute capture the _taíme_.
1869--Kiowa go upon present reservation.
1871--Setängya killed.
1872--First attempt to establish schools.
1874--Outbreak of Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa.
1879--Practical disappearance of the buffalo.
1881--Dátekâñ's prophecy.
1886--First money for grass paid to Kiowa and Apache.
1887--Pá-iñgya's prophecy.
1890--Last sun dance; beginning of the ghost dance in the tribe.
1892--Measles epidemic; unratified agreement of land sale.
SOCIOLOGY OF THE KIOWA
ABSENCE OF THE CLAN SYSTEM
The clan system does not exist among the Kiowa, and there is no evidence
that they have ever had it. This may be a surprise to those disciples of
Morgan who have assumed that because the system is found among the
eastern tribes and certain tribes of the southwest and extreme northwest
it is therefore universal and a necessary factor in tribal development.
It is by no means universal, and it is doubtful if it exists among the
Athapascan tribes of British America, the tribes of the Columbia region,
Oregon, or California, or any of the recognized Shoshonean stock with
the exception of the Hopi. The Cheyenne and Sioux of the plains seem to
know as little of it as do the Kiowa. Clark, in his "Indian Sign
Language," says: "I cannot help feeling that Mr Morgan's careful study
of the form of government of the Iroquois league colored his writings in
regard to all other Indians. Certain it is that no trace now exists of
such organization among many of the plains tribes." In another place he
states that among the majority of the plains tribes, and perhaps the
western Indians generally, judging from their laws of inheritance and
marriage customs, the system never did exist (_Clark, 5_). Gatschet, in
his great work on the Klamath language, declares that the Klamath
Indians of Oregon are absolutely ignorant of the clan system, while
Hale, in the "Iroquois Book of Rites," takes the ground that the system
is simply an artificial invention, adopted for convenience and spreading
from various local centers. In support of the idea that it is artificial
rather than natural he points out the fact that it is not found among
the Polynesian tribes, who are on about the same plane of development as
our Indians (_Hale, 1_). In the United States the clan system seems to
be found more particularly among the agricultural tribes.
LOCAL DIVISIONS
Before they were confined to the reservation the Kiowa were grouped into
two general local divisions, known, respectively, as _T'ó-k`íñähyup_,
"cold men" (i.e., men of the cold, or northern, country), and
_Gwáhalégo_, from the Comanche name Kwáhadi or Kwáhari. These terms were
practically equivalent to "northern" and "southern," the former ranging
chiefly along Arkansas river and the Kansas frontier, while the latter,
as the name indicates, associated more with the Kwáhadi Comanche of the
region of the Staked plain. As they were merely temporary local
designations and not proper band or gentile names, they have now ceased
to be of any practical importance.
SUBTRIBES
The Kiowa have six recognized divisions or subtribes, including the
Apache, who form a component part of the Kiowa tribal circle. The
extinct K'úato formerly made a seventh, but their position in the
circle is now forgotten. These divisions are not clans or gentes
(social) based on marriage regulations, but subtribes (political), each
division having had originally its own chief, subordinate to the
recognized head chief of the tribe, with certain peculiarities of
dialect and sometimes its special "medicine" or religious ceremonial.
They may have been in the beginning distinct cognate tribes, with the
exception of the Apache, which confederated at a later period for mutual
assistance. The Comanche, although now allied with the Kiowa, have no
part in their tribal organization or ceremonies.
THE CAMP CIRCLE
The names of the bands and their order in the camp circle on the
occasion of all tribal gatherings are as follows:
1. _K`at'a_, "Biters," i. e., Arikara. This is the largest and most
important division, occupying the first place in the camp circle,
immediately south of the door or entrance. To it belonged Dohásän, the
great chief who ruled the Kiowa for more than thirty years. To his
family was assigned the hereditary duty of furnishing the buffalo for
each annual sun dance. At present the K`at'a may be said to constitute
the aristocracy of the tribe. The name is said not to indicate an
admixture of Ree or Arikara blood, but simply a more intimate trading
association with that tribe in early days. As this association was
comparatively modern, the word may be a substitute for another name
discarded, in accordance with a Kiowa custom, in consequence of the
death of some noted individual of the same name. They are sometimes
called _Gâ´i-K`at'a_, "Kiowa K`at'a," to distinguish them from the
Arikara proper.
2. _Ko gúi_, "Elk." This band took the lead in war ceremonials. A`dáte,
whose camp was surprised and destroyed by the Osage in 1833, was its
chief. Set-t'aiñte and the first Big-bow also belonged to this band.
3. _Gâ´-igwû_, "Kiowa proper." This may have been the original nucleus
of the Kiowa tribe, as the name would seem to imply. Although not
numerous, they are held in much respect, are the keepers of the _taíme_,
and have charge of the _K`ado Dó_, or priestly tipi, at the sundance
ceremony. The western side of the circle properly belongs to them, but
in consequence of their small number individuals of other bands
sometimes camp with them.