18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 195 



They moved to another place where the little town of St. Helena is and from 

 St. Helena, Nebraska, to Santee, Nebraska where the old agency is now. On 

 the Chalk rock walls near Springfield, S.D. is one more of the drawings of the 

 Medicine Men. 



From these villages, they would go on AYah-ni-sa (Buffalo hunt) up the Mis- 

 souri River, way in the Rocky Mountains. They say where they step over the 

 Nu-sho-day (Missouri River) they would follow the Rocky Mountains to Pikes 

 Peak and they would come back to Nebraska and they would follow on the 

 rivers back to Wah-ta where Fremont, Nebraska is. From Santee to Niobrara 

 River," here they saw a Pa-snu-tah " dead (an Elephant) and they also saw 

 a prehistoric animal they called ( Wah-kon-da-gee) . 



This animal was of long body, had forked feet, yellow hair, about 8 feet high, 

 and abov;t 40 feet long. They saw this animal go into its hole northwest of 

 Verdel, Nebraska. This place they called (AVay-kon-da-gi-mi-shon-da)." At 

 the coldest days of the winter it would go into the hole. They found Niobrara 

 River to be ideal place as they found everything they wanted to eat there, in 

 the water, under the ground. They found wild beans and potatoes and fruits 

 of all kinds. 



There are old villages up the Niobrara River. There is one southwest of the 

 Twin Buttes where the fork of the two rivers is ( Ke-ah-pa-ha ) and the Nio- 

 brara. The Twin Buttes were the places for the medicine men to perform. 

 There is a cave in the east one there is where they saw a prehistoric animal, 

 the Pah-snu-tah.^^ 



Near Verdel, Nebraska, there is a dirt fort (Na-za)" where a battle took 

 place 600 years or better," The tribe they called Pa-du-kah.^* They were 

 from the south. They, fought these Pa-du-kah four times and the last one they 

 took a little boy as prisoner from the Poncas. 



Very few of them went home. It is said that this boy prisoner came home, 

 he was a good hundred years old. He said he came 'back to die and wished to 

 be buried where his foirefathers were buried at Ma-Ah-zee. This means "Chalk- 

 rock-Bank" where the burying ground is, he told his family in the South, sons 

 and grand-children, and five of them have come back to die and they were all 

 hundred years old. The last one, Gish-ta-wah-gu died early part of 1900. He 

 was so old that he was childish. He would cry for his mama and papa. 



In the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming is the best trail marks there is 

 made by the Poncas. It is a circle in the shape of a wagon wheel, rocks laid 

 forming the shape. It represents a sun dance circle. All the colors that goes 

 with the sun dance is found, the Black, red and white. Black represents weei>- 

 ing, and White is their prayers and the answer. 



West of this circle is an arrow laid with rocks pointing directly toward it. 



In the mountains the dwarfs is found and dreaded as it leads them away at 

 nights and last until morning. "Mong-thu-jah-the-gah" is what they called 

 them. 



1^ This should read "(While traveling) from Santee to (the) Niobrara River . . ." 

 1^ PLC identified this animal as a "hairy elephant." 



14 "Way-kou-da-gi-mi-shon-da" may be translated "the lair of Wakddagi." 



15 According to PLC this "hairy elephant" was alive. 



18 Ndza is the Omaha and Ponca name for this fort. Whether or not the term is generic 

 for all such fortifications was not learned. 



1' This should read ". . . took place 600 years (ago) or better." 



"The Pa-du-kah were identified as Comanche by PLC, JLR, OYB, and VHM. LMD 

 identified them as Shoshone. Recent cthuohlstorical and archeological evidence indicates 

 that previous to the 19th century the term "Padouca" was used in reference to the Lipan 

 or Plains Apache. Later the term was transferred to the Comanche who had taken over 

 much of the Lipan territory (Champe, 1949 ; Secoy, 1957). 



