SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I929 2O9 



the northwest, though apparently absent among the Fox, occurs 

 among the Kickapoo. The rough character of the Mexican country 

 is accounted for by ascribing it to the wanderings of the culture-hero 

 (Wi©A'ka'A). How the Kickapoo received, or adapted, the obviously 

 modern myth that zebras come from underneath the water is un- 

 known to me. 



The religious ideas and practices hold their own with great vigor. 

 Producing rain Ijy dipping a garfish (of a sacred pack) in water is 

 firmly believed in; this was tried with success in Sonora in 1915. 

 What a triumph for Kickapoo fundamentalists ! Causing sickness and 

 death by " soul-stealing " is said to be still practiced. Details of the 

 formal rituals appurtenant to the various gentes are still unknown, 

 though it is clear that they resemble Fox counterparts. Kickapoo dif- 

 ferentiate such ofl^enses as will bring supernatural punishment and such 

 as will bring human punishment ; the former we would term " sins " : 

 the latter " torts " (rarely " crimes "). Some ofifenses fall under both 

 categories. To this extent are ethics and religion associated among the 

 Kickapoo. Ofi:'enses are graded : it is worse to desecrate a sacred pack 

 than it is to steal ; murder is worse than desecrating a sacred pack. In 

 this connection it may l)e noted that the Kickapoo claim they olitained 

 the obscene songs which are frequently sung during the moccasin 

 game when ladies are not present, from the Sauk and Fox. A few 

 years ago a Fox visitor ventured to sing these objectionable songs, in 

 accordance with the custom of his own tribe, in the presence of Kicka- 

 poo ladies ; the latter were indignant, but let it go as he was a visitor. 

 A point in Kickapoo sociology may be here mentioned : it is claimed 

 that two boys who have the same father but a difl"erent mother are 

 more closely related than two boys who have the same mother but a 

 dififerent father. The Kickapoo language is an archaic Algonquian 

 one, despite some secondary changes. 



Work among the Sauk and Shawnee was chiefly linguistic. The 

 new data clearly show that Shawnee is further removed from Sauk, 

 Fox, and Kickapoo than supposed, though it is abundantly clear that it 

 is closer to them than to any other central Algonquian language. 



Only a short time was given to Cheyenne, and practically only 

 linguistics were considered. The phonetics of the language are diffi- 

 cult, voiceless syllables m particular being difficult to record accurately. 

 The opinion that I gave years ago that Cheyenne must he considered 

 aberrant Algonquian is fully sustained. It had been long known that 

 Cheyenne was Algonquian. Some phonetic shifts were worked out. It 

 is obvious that a detailed study of the language would be well worth 

 while. Some social customs were noted, among them, male descent. 



