NO. 3 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, IQ15 107 
versity of Iowa, who kindly examined the record of the tests and 
expressed the opinion that the abilities shown by these Indians are 
about as good as would be found among average American whites 
under similar conditions. 
OSAGE WAR. RIDES: 
In the month of March, 1915, additional information was secured 
by Mr. Francis LaFlesche, ethnologist, from Xu-tha Wa-to"-i", con- 
cerning the 7Tse-d6-ga I’-dse gens version of the great Osage war 
rites. This information consisted mostly of certain parts of the rites 
arranged in metrical form for the purpose of reciting at the cere- 
monies. This arrangement 1s called wi’-gi-e, or a recitation. The 
wi-gi1-e are as follows: 
1. Wi’gi-e To"-ga has 584 lines and covers 20 typewritten pages 
without the translations. The wi’-gi-e tells of the coming of the 
people of the 7si’-zhu from the sky to the earth and of the origin 
of the various symbolic articles used in the ceremonies of the war 
rites, as well as of the gentile symbols from which personal names 
are adopted. 
2. Wa-zho-i-ga-tha Wi’-gi-e has 406 lines and covers 15 typewrit- 
ten pages without the translations. This wi’-gi-e deals with the 
various heavenly bodies that the people of the 7’s1’-zhu of the Seven 
Fireplaces adopted for their gentile symbols. These heavenly bodies 
ake: 
I. Mi, the Sun. 2. Mi’-o"-ba, the Moon. 3. Mi-ka-k’e Ho’-ba 
do", the Morning Star. 4. Mi-ka-k’e Ho'do’, the Evening Star. 5. 
Wa-ba-ha, travois, Ursa Major. 6. Mi-ka-k’e U-ki-tha-¢’1", the Dou- 
Dlcmotag 7. la-paDeers bead weleiadess.-6. fay 1 ha-pthie,. the 
Three Deer. 9. Mi-ka-k’e Zhu-dse (Red Star), the North Star. 
10. Sho”-ge A’-ga-k’e e-go", Dog at the Side, Canis Major. 
3. Ki’-no" Wi’-gi-e has 63 lines and covers two typewritten pages 
without translations. It relates to the symbolic painting of the mem- 
bers of the Ts1’-zhu of the Seven Fire-places when about to go to 
the ceremony of the Ni’-ki-e degree of the war rites. It refers back 
to the time when the rites were being formulated. The people asked 
of one another what they should use for symbolic painting. Then 
they gathered four stones upon which they put a great pile of dry 
wood. This they set on fire and the flames that leaped upward 
*The italic letters in the Indian names indicate peculiarities of pronun- 
ciation which it is unnecessary to explain in this brief account. 
