Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 79 



America, such as the one which tells of his catching his paw between 

 two tree branches which have been rubbing together and producing 

 a squeaking noise, and in this way losing his roasted meat to a band 

 of wolves. 



Ghosts are still feared by the Ponca. Sometimes they cry; at other 

 times they whistle. When traveling alone at night, present-day 

 Ponca are terrified if they happen to hear a whistling noise. 



Fletcher and La Flesche (1911, p. 49) record a Ponca myth 

 in which Wakqda gives the people a bow, a dog, and a grain of corn. 

 They planted the corn "and when it grew they found it good to eat 

 and they continued to plant it." This myth was unknown to my 

 informants, and differs considerably from the legend found in PLC's 

 "History" (pp. 20-21), which was also given by JLR. 



The same authors (1911, pp. 47-48) record a myth in which the 

 Ponca receive the feathers for the Wd-wq pipes. The same myth 

 also tells how the clan pipes were made and distributed. 



Decoration was formerly applied to nearly every article used by 

 the Ponca. Tipis, clothing, and household utensils were all taste- 

 fully ornamented. On clothing the decoration, in the 18th century, 

 was usually done with paint or with dyed and flattened porcupine 

 quills. Gradually, in the 19th century, beadwork replaced the paint 

 and quillwork in clothing decoration. Such decorative art was usually 

 done by women. 



Apparently the type of design was determined by the object to 

 be decorated. Whitman (1937, p. xiii) mentions that all Ponca bead- 

 work was geometric, but this statement is clearly in error. Most 

 of the beaded designs on the breechcloths of the Sun dancers figured 

 by G. A. Dorsey are stylized floral motifs (1905, pis. xv, xvi, xvii, 

 xviii, xix, xxi, xxiv, xxvi, xxvii, and xxx). In present-day dancing 

 costumes, both geometric and floral designs are used, with a few real- 

 istic motifs as well. In present-day "fancy dance" costumes, both 

 geometric and floral designs are used, with a few zoomorphic motifs 

 as well. The man's beaded breechcloth is usually done in a combi- 

 nation of floral and zoomorphic (usually horse) motifs. Moccasins, 

 headbands, and "suspenders" most commonly have geometric de- 

 signs. Gauntlets, armbands, and belts employ either floral or geo- 

 metric patterns. The use of both floral and geometric designs holds 

 true not only for the Ponca and other "Prairie" tribes, but for many 

 "High Plains" tribes. The oft-reiterated statement that "Plains 

 Indians always use geometric designs. Woodland Indians always 

 use floral designs" is a standardized error in North American ethnology 

 long in need of correction. 



Some decorative art of the Ponca was highly symbolic in nature. 

 Fletcher and La Flesche (1911, p. 45) write: "The people of the 

 Makq, subdivision painted their tents with black and yellow bands." 



