﻿36 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TEIBE 
  [eth. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  to 
  take 
  part 
  in 
  conflicts 
  in 
  which 
  honor 
  and 
  fame 
  can 
  be 
  won. 
  

   Those 
  who 
  thus 
  fought 
  had 
  to 
  stand 
  as 
  one 
  body 
  against 
  their 
  assail- 
  

   ants. 
  The 
  term 
  uki'te 
  is 
  never 
  applied 
  to 
  quarrels 
  among 
  members 
  

   of 
  the 
  tribe 
  in 
  which 
  fists 
  and 
  missiles 
  are 
  used; 
  the 
  words 
  niu 
  n 
  ', 
  

   nage' 
  , 
  lci'na 
  are 
  used 
  to 
  designate 
  such 
  contentions, 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  

   winner 
  receives 
  no 
  renown. 
  Uki'te 
  alone 
  in 
  the 
  Omaha 
  tongue 
  means 
  

   "to 
  fight" 
  as 
  men 
  against 
  men. 
  The 
  warriors 
  of 
  a 
  tribe 
  were 
  the 
  

   only 
  bulwark 
  against 
  outside 
  attacks; 
  they 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  ever 
  ready 
  

   "to 
  fight" 
  (uki'te), 
  to 
  defend 
  with 
  their 
  lives 
  and 
  safeguard 
  by 
  their 
  

   valor 
  those 
  dependent 
  on 
  them. 
  The 
  word 
  uki'te, 
  as 
  " 
  tribe," 
  explains 
  

   the 
  common 
  obligation 
  felt 
  by 
  the 
  Omaha 
  to 
  defend, 
  as 
  a 
  unit, 
  the 
  

   community, 
  the 
  tribe. 
  

  

  The 
  descriptive 
  name 
  Omaha 
  (umo 
  n 
  'ho 
  n 
  , 
  "against 
  the 
  current" 
  

   or 
  "upstream") 
  had 
  been 
  fixed 
  on 
  the 
  people 
  prior 
  to 
  1541. 
  In 
  

   that 
  year 
  De 
  Soto's 
  party 
  met 
  the 
  Quapaw 
  tribe; 
  quapaw, 
  or 
  

   uga'xpa, 
  means 
  "with 
  the 
  current" 
  or 
  "downstream," 
  and 
  is 
  the 
  

   complement 
  of 
  umo 
  n 
  'ho 
  n 
  , 
  or 
  Omaha. 
  Both 
  names 
  are 
  said 
  by 
  the 
  

   tribes 
  to 
  refer 
  to 
  their 
  parting 
  company, 
  the 
  one 
  going 
  up 
  and 
  the 
  

   other 
  going 
  down 
  the 
  river. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  two 
  versions 
  of 
  how 
  this 
  parting 
  came 
  about. 
  One 
  

   account 
  says 
  that 
  — 
  

  

  The 
  people 
  were 
  moving 
  down 
  the 
  TJha'i 
  ke 
  river. 
  " 
  When 
  they 
  came 
  to 
  a 
  wide 
  

   river 
  they 
  made 
  skin 
  boats 
  I 
  see 
  fig. 
  1 
  ) 
  in 
  which 
  to 
  cross 
  the 
  river. 
  As 
  they 
  were 
  cross- 
  

   ing, 
  a 
  storm 
  came 
  up. 
  The 
  Omaha 
  and 
  Iowa 
  got 
  safely 
  across, 
  but 
  the 
  Quapaw 
  drifted 
  

   down 
  the 
  stream 
  and 
  were 
  never 
  seen 
  again 
  until 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  century. 
  When 
  the 
  

   Iowa 
  made 
  their 
  landing 
  they 
  camped 
  in 
  a 
  sandy 
  place. 
  The 
  strong 
  wind 
  blew 
  

   the 
  sand 
  over 
  the 
  people 
  and 
  gave 
  them 
  a 
  grayish 
  appearance. 
  From 
  this 
  circum- 
  

   stance 
  they 
  called 
  thi'msi-lvcs 
  I'a'j 
  mlt 
  , 
  "gray 
  head," 
  and 
  the 
  Omaha 
  have 
  known 
  

   them 
  by 
  that 
  name 
  ever 
  since. 
  The 
  Iowa 
  accompanied 
  the 
  Omaha 
  up 
  the 
  Mis- 
  

   sissippi 
  to 
  a 
  stream 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  "Raccoon 
  river" 
  — 
  probably 
  the 
  Des 
  Moines, 
  and 
  

   the 
  people 
  followed 
  this 
  river 
  to 
  its 
  headwaters, 
  which 
  brought 
  them 
  into 
  the 
  region 
  

   of 
  the 
  Pipestone 
  quarry. 
  

  

  The 
  other 
  version 
  of 
  the 
  parting 
  between 
  the 
  Omaha 
  and 
  the 
  

   Quapaw 
  is 
  that 
  — 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  wide 
  river 
  was 
  reached 
  the 
  people 
  made 
  a 
  rope 
  of 
  grape 
  vines. 
  They 
  

   fastened 
  one 
  end 
  on 
  the 
  eastern 
  bank 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  end 
  was 
  taken 
  by 
  strong 
  swim- 
  

   mers 
  and 
  carried 
  across 
  the 
  river 
  and 
  fastened 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  bank. 
  The 
  people 
  

   crossed 
  the 
  river 
  by 
  clinging 
  to 
  the 
  grapevine. 
  When 
  about 
  half 
  their 
  number 
  were 
  

   across, 
  including 
  the 
  Iowa 
  and 
  Omaha, 
  the 
  rope 
  broke, 
  leaving 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  

   behind. 
  Those 
  who 
  were 
  left 
  were 
  the 
  Quapaw. 
  This 
  crossing 
  was 
  made 
  on 
  a 
  foggy 
  

   morning, 
  and 
  those 
  left 
  behind, 
  believing 
  that 
  their 
  companions 
  who 
  had 
  crossed 
  

   had 
  followed 
  the 
  river 
  downward 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  side, 
  themselves 
  turned 
  down- 
  

   stream 
  on 
  the 
  eastern 
  side, 
  and 
  so 
  the 
  two 
  groups 
  lost 
  sight 
  of 
  each 
  other. 
  

  

  If 
  an 
  Omaha 
  were 
  accosted 
  by 
  a 
  stranger 
  and 
  asked 
  to 
  what 
  tribe 
  

   he 
  belonged, 
  or 
  were 
  the 
  same 
  question 
  to 
  be 
  asked 
  him 
  in 
  the 
  dark, 
  

   when 
  recognition 
  was 
  impossible, 
  he 
  would 
  reply, 
  Vmo 
  n 
  'ho 
  n 
  hthi 
  n 
  ha, 
  

   "I 
  am 
  an 
  Omaha." 
  Should 
  he 
  be 
  asked 
  "Who 
  are 
  you?" 
  he 
  would 
  say: 
  

  

  a 
  XJliti'i 
  ke, 
  M 
  the 
  river 
  dowu 
  which 
  they 
  came 
  ;" 
  the 
  name 
  is 
  stilt 
  applied 
  by 
  the 
  Omaha 
  to 
  the 
  Ohio 
  

  

  