﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHB] 
  ENVIRONMENT 
  ; 
  RESULTANT 
  INFLUENCES 
  87 
  

  

  know 
  that 
  new-born 
  children 
  would 
  not 
  inherit 
  their 
  parents' 
  dis- 
  

   figuration, 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  time 
  the 
  tribe 
  would 
  again 
  be 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  of 
  

   old, 
  strong 
  and 
  well-looking. 
  Being 
  determined 
  to 
  die, 
  they 
  proposed 
  

   to 
  die 
  fighting 
  their 
  enemies, 
  therefore 
  the 
  tribe 
  — 
  men, 
  women, 
  and 
  

   children 
  — 
  moved 
  out 
  as 
  a 
  great 
  tribal 
  war 
  party 
  to 
  find 
  their 
  foes 
  

   and 
  meet 
  a 
  valiant 
  death. 
  The 
  Cheyenne 
  had 
  been 
  harrying 
  the 
  

   people, 
  so 
  the 
  strange 
  war 
  party 
  started 
  for 
  the 
  Cheyenne 
  country. 
  

   The 
  story 
  of 
  this 
  war 
  party 
  runs 
  as 
  follows: 
  t 
  

  

  On 
  their 
  way 
  they 
  encountered 
  the 
  Ponca 
  tribe 
  returning 
  from 
  a 
  successful 
  buffalo 
  

   hunt, 
  well 
  supplied 
  with 
  meat 
  and 
  pelts. 
  The 
  Omaha 
  chiefs 
  sent 
  messengers 
  to 
  the 
  

   Ponca, 
  explaining 
  that 
  their 
  people 
  were 
  going 
  against 
  the 
  Cheyenne, 
  but 
  they 
  were 
  

   in 
  need 
  and 
  asked 
  for 
  food. 
  The 
  Ponca 
  drove 
  the 
  Omaha 
  messengers 
  away 
  and 
  shot 
  

   at 
  them. 
  This 
  angered 
  the 
  Omaha 
  and 
  they 
  prepared 
  to 
  fight 
  the 
  Ponca. 
  In 
  the 
  

   battle 
  that 
  followed 
  it 
  was 
  observed 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  fiercest 
  warriors 
  on 
  the 
  Ponca 
  

   side 
  was 
  an 
  Omaha, 
  who 
  was 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  married 
  a 
  Ponca 
  woman. 
  This 
  warrior 
  

   was 
  the 
  nephew 
  of 
  a 
  prominent 
  man 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  tribe, 
  and 
  therefore 
  his 
  capture, 
  

   rather 
  than 
  his 
  death, 
  was 
  sought. 
  At 
  last 
  he 
  was 
  taken 
  and 
  word 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  his 
  

   uncle, 
  who 
  was 
  fighting 
  in 
  another 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  field, 
  that 
  his 
  nephew 
  was 
  captured, 
  

   and 
  he 
  was 
  asked, 
  "What 
  shall 
  be 
  done?" 
  " 
  Hold 
  him 
  until 
  I 
  come," 
  was 
  the 
  reply. 
  

   When 
  the 
  uncle 
  arrived 
  at 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  capture 
  he 
  saw 
  his 
  nephew 
  standing 
  with 
  an 
  

   Omaha 
  warrior 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  holding 
  his 
  arms. 
  The 
  uncle 
  raised 
  his 
  spear 
  and 
  plunged 
  

   it 
  through 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  man 
  who 
  had 
  fought 
  against 
  his 
  kindred. 
  

  

  The 
  Ponca 
  were 
  driven 
  from 
  their 
  camp 
  and 
  lost 
  possession 
  of 
  their 
  meat 
  and 
  

   camp- 
  equipage. 
  Then 
  the 
  Ponca 
  sought 
  to 
  make 
  peace, 
  and 
  dispatched 
  a 
  man 
  to 
  the 
  

   Omaha 
  with 
  the 
  tribal 
  pipe. 
  As 
  he 
  approached, 
  the 
  Omaha 
  chief 
  called 
  out, 
  " 
  Who 
  

   is 
  he?" 
  When 
  he 
  was 
  told, 
  he 
  replied: 
  "The 
  man 
  is 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  blood." 
  So 
  the 
  

   pipe 
  was 
  refused 
  and 
  the 
  man 
  driven 
  back, 
  but 
  not 
  killed. 
  A 
  second 
  man 
  was 
  sent. 
  

   He 
  came 
  toward 
  the 
  Omaha 
  with 
  the 
  pipe 
  extended 
  in 
  his 
  left 
  hand 
  and 
  his 
  right 
  

   hand 
  raised 
  in 
  supplication. 
  Again 
  the 
  chief 
  asked: 
  "Who 
  is 
  he?" 
  When 
  told, 
  he 
  

   replied: 
  "He 
  is 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  peace." 
  The 
  pipe 
  was 
  received 
  and 
  the 
  fighting 
  ceased. 
  

   The 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  Ponca 
  was 
  divided 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  tribes, 
  and 
  the 
  Omaha 
  moved 
  on. 
  

  

  The 
  story 
  goes 
  on 
  to 
  recount 
  the 
  desperate 
  fighting 
  with 
  the 
  

   Cheyenne, 
  the 
  Pawnee, 
  and 
  the 
  Oto. 
  At 
  last 
  those 
  that 
  remained 
  

   of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  returned 
  to 
  their 
  village 
  on 
  Omaha 
  creek. 
  Here 
  

   Lewis 
  and 
  Clark 
  met 
  the 
  people 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  nineteenth 
  

   century, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  from 
  the 
  bluffs 
  near 
  this 
  site 
  in 
  1836 
  that 
  the 
  

   tribe 
  saw 
  the 
  little 
  steamboat 
  Antelope 
  puff 
  its 
  way 
  up 
  the 
  Missouri. 
  

   As 
  the 
  boat 
  seemed 
  to 
  move 
  of 
  itself, 
  they 
  called 
  it 
  mo 
  n 
  de'waxube, 
  

   "mystery 
  boat" 
  — 
  a 
  term 
  that 
  has 
  lost 
  its 
  early 
  significance, 
  and 
  

   has 
  become 
  the 
  common 
  Omaha 
  name 
  for 
  all 
  steamboats. 
  

  

  Forays 
  of 
  the 
  Dakota 
  grew 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  frequent, 
  and 
  later 
  

   the 
  Ponca 
  joined 
  them 
  in 
  these 
  attacks. 
  The 
  Omaha 
  lost 
  many 
  of 
  

   their 
  horses, 
  and 
  life 
  became 
  so 
  unsafe 
  that 
  the 
  people 
  abandoned 
  this 
  

   village 
  and 
  moved 
  southwest 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  quarter 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century. 
  

   At 
  tliis 
  period 
  the 
  Omaha 
  were 
  harassed 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  by 
  the 
  Dakota 
  

   and 
  Ponca 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  west 
  by 
  the 
  Oto 
  and 
  Pawnee. 
  

   Peace 
  was 
  made 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time, 
  and 
  as 
  frequently 
  broken; 
  con- 
  

   sequently 
  the 
  village 
  on 
  Omaha 
  creek 
  was 
  never 
  again 
  steadily 
  

  

  