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  met 
  with 
  a 
  disastrous 
  defeat 
  from 
  an 
  unknown 
  enemy, 
  which 
  deci- 
  

   mated 
  the 
  trihe. 
  The 
  tradition 
  concerning 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  this 
  stream 
  

   is 
  known 
  to 
  both 
  Omaha 
  and 
  Ponca, 
  and 
  in 
  both 
  tribes 
  the 
  tradition 
  

   is 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga, 
  as 
  here 
  used, 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  Omaha. 
  The 
  

   Omaha 
  name 
  for 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  January 
  was 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga 
  umu'bthi, 
  mean- 
  

   ing 
  " 
  the 
  drifting 
  of 
  the 
  snow 
  into 
  the 
  lodges 
  of 
  the 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga," 
  that 
  is, 
  

   of 
  the 
  tribe. 
  

  

  From 
  these 
  traditions 
  and 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  term 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga 
  as 
  applied 
  

   to 
  divisions 
  and 
  gentes 
  in 
  the 
  Omaha, 
  Osage, 
  Kansa, 
  and 
  Quapaw 
  

   tribes, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  these 
  tribes 
  either 
  claimed 
  for 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  this 
  name 
  or 
  were 
  known 
  to 
  one 
  another 
  by 
  it, 
  it 
  seems 
  not 
  

   improbable 
  that 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  name 
  by 
  winch 
  the 
  

   people 
  called 
  themselves 
  when 
  they 
  were 
  living 
  together 
  as 
  one 
  com- 
  

   munity 
  or 
  tribe. 
  The 
  general 
  meaning 
  of 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga 
  ("leader") 
  is 
  not 
  

   unlike 
  that 
  belonging 
  to 
  names 
  by 
  which 
  other 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  designate 
  

   themselves, 
  i. 
  e., 
  "the 
  men," 
  "the 
  people," 
  etc. 
  The 
  term 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga 
  is 
  

   sometimes 
  combined 
  with 
  another 
  word 
  to 
  form 
  the 
  title 
  of 
  an 
  officer, 
  

   as 
  Nudo" 
  Ho 
  n 
  'ga, 
  "war 
  leader" 
  or 
  "captain." 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  data 
  concerning 
  the 
  gentes, 
  personal 
  names, 
  and 
  other 
  

   features 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  cognate 
  tribes 
  are 
  taken 
  from 
  original 
  notes 
  

   made 
  by 
  the 
  writers. 
  

  

  THE 
  PONCA 
  TRIBE 
  

  

  Po 
  n 
  'ca 
  is 
  an 
  old 
  word, 
  the 
  meaning 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  lost. 
  It 
  occurs 
  as 
  

   the 
  name 
  of 
  a 
  gens 
  or 
  subdivision 
  of 
  a 
  gens 
  in 
  the 
  Osage, 
  Kansa, 
  and 
  

   Quapaw 
  tribes, 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  Omaha, 
  a 
  fact 
  winch 
  may 
  have 
  sig- 
  

   nificance 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  tradition 
  that 
  the 
  Ponca 
  constituted 
  a 
  gens 
  

   of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  before 
  the 
  separation 
  of 
  the 
  tribes. 
  As 
  the 
  Omaha 
  

   retained 
  at 
  the 
  parting 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  sacred 
  tribal 
  objects, 
  their 
  

   rituals 
  and 
  ceremonies, 
  the 
  Ponca 
  were 
  everward 
  after 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  

   "Orphans." 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  seven 
  gentes 
  in 
  the 
  Ponca 
  tribe, 
  namely: 
  Waca'be, 
  

   Thi'xida, 
  Ni'kapashna, 
  Po 
  n 
  'caxti,Washa'be,Wazha'zhe, 
  Nu'xe. 
  These 
  

   camped 
  in 
  the 
  order 
  indicated 
  in 
  the 
  diagram 
  (fig. 
  2), 
  beginning 
  on 
  the 
  

   southern 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  tribal 
  circle, 
  to 
  which 
  

  

  a 
  The 
  Ponca 
  tribe 
  is 
  now 
  divided. 
  One 
  part 
  is 
  living 
  in 
  northern 
  Oklahoma 
  on 
  lands 
  purchased 
  by 
  the 
  

   Government 
  from 
  the 
  Cherokee 
  in 
  1883, 
  which 
  were 
  allotted 
  in 
  severalty 
  to 
  the 
  tribe 
  some 
  ten 
  years 
  later. 
  

   The 
  other 
  part 
  lives 
  in 
  northern 
  Nebraska 
  on 
  the 
  Niobrara 
  river. 
  Their 
  land 
  was 
  given 
  them 
  in 
  1881, 
  and 
  

   some, 
  years 
  later 
  was 
  allotted 
  to 
  them 
  under 
  the 
  Severalty 
  act. 
  Already 
  these 
  two 
  parts 
  arc 
  spoken 
  of 
  by 
  

   different 
  designations. 
  Those 
  in 
  Oklahoma 
  are 
  "the 
  hotoountry 
  Ponca;" 
  those 
  in 
  Nebraska, 
  "the 
  cold- 
  

   country 
  Ponca 
  " 
  Relations 
  between 
  the 
  Ponca 
  and 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  were 
  officially 
  opened 
  by 
  a 
  treaty 
  

   made 
  in 
  1817 
  "to 
  reestablish 
  peace 
  and 
  friendship 
  as 
  before 
  the 
  war 
  of 
  1812." 
  In 
  1825 
  another 
  tri 
  at 
  y 
  was 
  

   made 
  by 
  which 
  only 
  American 
  citizens 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  allowed 
  to 
  reside 
  among 
  the 
  tribe 
  as 
  traders, 
  and 
  the 
  

   tribe 
  agreed 
  to 
  delegate 
  the 
  punishment 
  of 
  offenders 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Government. 
  In 
  1S58 
  the 
  

   Ponca 
  ceded 
  their 
  hunting 
  grounds 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  reserving, 
  however, 
  a 
  certain 
  tract 
  for 
  their 
  

   own 
  use. 
  In 
  1865 
  the 
  Government, 
  by 
  treaty, 
  reconfirmed 
  this 
  tract. 
  In 
  1877 
  the 
  tribe 
  was 
  forcibly 
  

   removed 
  to 
  the 
  then 
  Indian 
  Territory 
  (now 
  Oklahoma). 
  See 
  note, 
  p. 
  51. 
  

  

  