﻿86 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [eth. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  daughter, 
  but 
  the 
  father 
  was 
  silent. 
  It 
  was 
  noticed 
  that 
  a 
  certain 
  young 
  man 
  was 
  

   also 
  missing, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  two 
  were 
  probably 
  together. 
  After 
  the 
  girl 
  

   had 
  been 
  gone 
  some 
  time, 
  a 
  boy 
  rushed 
  to 
  the 
  father's 
  house 
  one 
  morning, 
  as 
  the 
  

   family 
  were 
  eating 
  their 
  meal, 
  and 
  said: 
  "Your 
  daughter 
  is 
  found! 
  The 
  old 
  man 
  

   has 
  stripped 
  her 
  of 
  her 
  clothing 
  and 
  is 
  flogging 
  her 
  to 
  death. 
  Hurry, 
  if 
  you 
  would 
  see 
  

   her 
  alive!" 
  The 
  father 
  turned 
  to 
  his 
  sons 
  and 
  said: 
  "Go, 
  see 
  if 
  there 
  is 
  truth 
  in 
  

   this." 
  The 
  eldest 
  refused, 
  the 
  second 
  son 
  bowed 
  his 
  head 
  and 
  sat 
  still. 
  The 
  young- 
  

   est 
  arose, 
  seized 
  his 
  bow, 
  put 
  on 
  his 
  quiver, 
  and 
  went 
  out. 
  The 
  village 
  had 
  gathered 
  

   to 
  the 
  scene. 
  As 
  the 
  brother 
  approached, 
  he 
  heard 
  his 
  sister's 
  cries 
  of 
  anguish- 
  

   Pushing 
  his 
  way 
  through 
  the 
  crowd 
  he 
  shouted 
  words 
  of 
  indignation 
  to 
  those 
  who 
  had 
  

   not 
  tried 
  to 
  rescue 
  the 
  girl, 
  and, 
  drawing 
  his 
  bow, 
  shot 
  the 
  angry 
  old 
  man. 
  The 
  

   relatives 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  man 
  and 
  those 
  who 
  sympathized 
  with 
  his 
  exercise 
  of 
  marital 
  

   rights 
  ran 
  for 
  their 
  bows 
  and 
  fought 
  those 
  who 
  sided 
  with 
  the 
  young 
  rescuer. 
  A 
  

   battle 
  ensued; 
  fathers 
  fought 
  sons 
  and 
  brothers 
  contended 
  with 
  brothers. 
  All 
  day 
  the 
  

   two 
  sides 
  contested 
  and 
  many 
  were 
  slain 
  before 
  night 
  put 
  an 
  end 
  to 
  the 
  conflict. 
  

   The 
  next 
  day 
  those 
  who 
  had 
  fought 
  with 
  the 
  brother 
  left 
  the 
  village 
  with 
  him 
  and 
  

   traveled 
  eastward, 
  while 
  their 
  opponents 
  picked 
  up 
  their 
  belongings, 
  turned 
  their 
  

   back 
  on 
  their 
  homes 
  and 
  moved 
  toward 
  the 
  south. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  wailing 
  nor 
  any 
  

   outward 
  sign 
  of 
  mourning. 
  Silently 
  the 
  living 
  separated, 
  and 
  the 
  village 
  was 
  left 
  

   with 
  the 
  unburied 
  dead. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  

  

  "A 
  new 
  generation 
  had 
  grown 
  up," 
  this 
  strange 
  story 
  continues, 
  

   "when 
  a 
  war 
  party 
  traveling 
  east 
  beyond 
  the 
  Missouri 
  river 
  encoun- 
  

   tered 
  a 
  village 
  where 
  the 
  people 
  spoke 
  the 
  Omaha 
  language. 
  Aban- 
  

   doning 
  their 
  warlike 
  intents, 
  the 
  Omaha 
  warriors 
  entered 
  the 
  village 
  

   peaceably, 
  persuaded 
  their 
  new-found 
  relatives 
  to 
  return 
  with 
  them, 
  

   and 
  so 
  the 
  Omaha 
  people 
  were 
  once 
  more 
  united." 
  The 
  village 
  

   where 
  the 
  reunion 
  took 
  place 
  was 
  near 
  one 
  then 
  occupied 
  by 
  the 
  

   Iowa, 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  town 
  of 
  Ponca 
  City. 
  

  

  The 
  attacks 
  of 
  the 
  Dakota 
  tribes 
  forced 
  the 
  Iowa 
  to 
  leave 
  that 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  and 
  they 
  moved 
  southward 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  river 
  

   Platte 
  and 
  never 
  again 
  built 
  a 
  town 
  near 
  the 
  Omaha 
  tribe. 
  The 
  

   Omaha 
  were 
  driven 
  by 
  the 
  Dakota 
  from 
  their 
  village 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time 
  as 
  the 
  Iowa 
  and 
  finally 
  settled 
  on 
  a 
  stream 
  that 
  flows 
  in 
  a 
  north- 
  

   erly 
  direction 
  into 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  which 
  they 
  named 
  To 
  n 
  'wo 
  n 
  ni, 
  or 
  

   Village 
  creek, 
  from 
  the 
  village 
  they 
  built 
  on 
  its 
  wooded 
  banks. 
  This 
  

   village 
  was 
  erected 
  near 
  a 
  rock 
  containing 
  a 
  hole 
  or 
  depression 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  fork-tailed 
  kites 
  used 
  to 
  nest, 
  and 
  the 
  site 
  was 
  known 
  as 
  

   I 
  n 
  'be 
  zhu 
  n 
  ka 
  mo 
  n 
  sho 
  n 
  de 
  te, 
  "the 
  fork-tailed 
  kites' 
  hole." 
  The 
  village 
  

   itself, 
  built 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  quarter 
  of 
  the 
  eighteenth 
  century, 
  was 
  called 
  

   To 
  n 
  'wo 
  n 
  to 
  n 
  ga, 
  "large 
  village." 
  The 
  stream 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  situated 
  

   is 
  now 
  called 
  Omaha 
  creek. 
  It 
  was 
  here 
  that 
  the 
  smallpox 
  and 
  

   cholera 
  reached 
  the 
  people 
  and 
  nearly 
  destroyed 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  traditions 
  concerning 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  the 
  scourge 
  of 
  smallpox 
  

   vividly 
  portray 
  the 
  terror 
  and 
  desperation 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  It 
  is 
  said 
  

   that 
  when 
  the 
  enfeebled 
  survivors 
  saw 
  the 
  disfigured 
  appearance 
  of 
  

   their 
  children 
  and 
  companions 
  they 
  resolved 
  to 
  put 
  an 
  end 
  to 
  their 
  

   existence, 
  since 
  both 
  comeliness 
  and 
  vigor 
  were 
  gone. 
  They 
  did 
  not 
  

  

  