﻿218 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [eth. 
  ann. 
  27 
  

  

  continued 
  so 
  until 
  the 
  sun 
  again 
  arose. 
  When 
  the 
  young 
  man 
  returned 
  home 
  he 
  told 
  

   his 
  father 
  of 
  the 
  wonder. 
  Together 
  they 
  went 
  to 
  see 
  the 
  tree; 
  they 
  saw 
  it 
  all 
  alight 
  

  

  as 
  it 
  was 
  before 
  but 
  the 
  father 
  observed 
  something 
  that 
  had 
  escaped 
  the 
  notice 
  of 
  the 
  

   young 
  man; 
  this 
  was 
  that 
  four 
  animal 
  paths 
  led 
  to 
  it. 
  These 
  paths 
  were 
  well 
  beaten 
  

   and 
  as 
  the 
  two 
  men 
  examined 
  the 
  paths 
  and 
  the 
  tree 
  it 
  was 
  clear 
  to 
  them 
  that 
  the 
  

   animals 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  tree 
  and 
  had 
  rubbed 
  against 
  it 
  and 
  polished 
  its 
  bark 
  by 
  so 
  doing. 
  

   This 
  was 
  full 
  of 
  significance 
  to 
  the 
  elder 
  man 
  anil 
  on 
  his 
  return 
  he 
  told 
  the 
  leading 
  

   men 
  of 
  the 
  mysterious 
  tree. 
  It 
  was 
  agreed 
  by 
  all 
  that 
  the 
  tree 
  was 
  a 
  gift 
  from 
  WaW'Ma 
  

   and 
  that 
  ii 
  would 
  lie 
  the 
  thing 
  that 
  would 
  help 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  people 
  together. 
  With 
  

   great 
  ceremony 
  they 
  cut 
  the 
  tree 
  down 
  and 
  hewed 
  it 
  lo 
  portable 
  size. 
  

  

  Both 
  Omaha 
  and 
  Ponca 
  legends 
  concerning 
  the 
  Pole 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  

   people 
  were 
  living 
  in 
  a 
  village 
  near 
  a 
  lake, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  tree 
  grew 
  

   near 
  a 
  lake 
  at 
  sonic 
  distance 
  front 
  where 
  the 
  people 
  were 
  dwelling. 
  

   The 
  finding 
  of 
  the 
  Pole 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  occurred 
  while 
  a 
  council 
  was 
  

   in 
  progress 
  between 
  the 
  Cheyenne, 
  Arikara, 
  Omaha, 
  Ponca, 
  and 
  Iowa, 
  

   to 
  reach 
  an 
  agreement 
  on 
  terms 
  of 
  peace 
  and 
  rules 
  of 
  war 
  and 
  hunt- 
  

   ing, 
  and 
  to 
  adopt 
  a 
  peace 
  ceremony." 
  (See 
  p. 
  74.) 
  

  

  The 
  account 
  in 
  the 
  Omaha 
  .Sacred 
  Legend 
  is 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  During 
  this 
  time 
  a 
  young 
  man 
  who 
  had 
  been 
  wandering 
  came 
  back 
  to 
  his 
  village. 
  

   When 
  he 
  reached 
  his 
  home 
  he 
  said 
  "father. 
  1 
  have 
  seen 
  a 
  wonderful 
  t 
  r 
  ee!" 
  And 
  he 
  

   described 
  it. 
  The 
  old 
  man 
  listened 
  but 
  he 
  kept 
  silent, 
  for 
  all 
  was 
  not 
  yet 
  settled 
  

   between 
  the 
  tribes. 
  

  

  After 
  a 
  little 
  while 
  the 
  young 
  man 
  went 
  again 
  to 
  visit 
  the 
  tree. 
  On 
  his 
  return 
  

   home 
  he 
  repeated 
  his 
  former 
  tale 
  to 
  his 
  father 
  about 
  the 
  wonderful 
  tree. 
  The 
  old 
  

   man 
  kept 
  silent, 
  for 
  the 
  chiefs 
  were 
  still 
  conferring. 
  At 
  last, 
  when 
  everything 
  was 
  

   agreed 
  upon 
  between 
  the 
  tribes, 
  the 
  old 
  man 
  sent 
  for 
  the 
  chiefs 
  and 
  said: 
  "My 
  son 
  

   has 
  seen 
  a 
  wonderful 
  tree. 
  The 
  Thunder 
  birds 
  come 
  and 
  go 
  upon 
  this 
  tree, 
  making 
  

   a 
  trail 
  of 
  fire 
  that 
  leaves 
  four 
  paths 
  on 
  the 
  burnt 
  grass 
  that 
  stretch 
  toward 
  the 
  Four 
  

   Winds. 
  When 
  the 
  Thunder 
  birds 
  alight 
  upon 
  the 
  tree 
  it 
  bursts 
  into 
  flame 
  and 
  the 
  

   fire 
  mounts 
  to 
  the 
  top. 
  The 
  tree 
  stands 
  burning, 
  but 
  no 
  one 
  can 
  see 
  the 
  fire 
  except 
  

   at 
  night." 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  chiefs 
  heard 
  this 
  tale 
  they 
  sent 
  runners 
  to 
  sec 
  what 
  this 
  tree 
  might 
  he. 
  

   The 
  runners 
  came 
  back 
  and 
  told 
  the 
  same 
  story 
  — 
  how 
  in 
  the 
  night 
  they 
  saw 
  the 
  tree 
  

   standing 
  and 
  burning 
  as 
  it 
  stood. 
  Then 
  all 
  the 
  people 
  held 
  a 
  council 
  as 
  to 
  what 
  this 
  

   might 
  mean, 
  and 
  the 
  chiefs 
  said: 
  "We 
  shall 
  run 
  for 
  it; 
  put 
  on 
  your 
  ornaments 
  and 
  

   prepare 
  as 
  for 
  battle." 
  So 
  the 
  men 
  stripped, 
  painted 
  themselves, 
  put 
  on 
  their 
  orna- 
  

   ments, 
  and 
  set 
  out 
  for 
  the 
  tree, 
  which 
  stood 
  near 
  a 
  lake. 
  They 
  ran 
  as 
  in 
  a 
  race 
  to 
  

   attack 
  the 
  tree 
  as 
  if 
  it 
  were 
  a 
  warrior 
  enemy. 
  All 
  the 
  men 
  ran. 
  A 
  Ponca 
  was 
  the 
  

   lirst 
  to 
  reach 
  the 
  tree, 
  and 
  he 
  struck 
  il 
  as 
  he 
  would 
  an 
  enemy. 
  [Note 
  the 
  resemblance 
  

   Id 
  the 
  charge 
  upon 
  the 
  He'dewachi 
  tree; 
  also 
  in 
  the 
  manner 
  of 
  felling 
  and 
  bringing 
  

   the 
  tree 
  into 
  camp. 
  (See 
  p. 
  J."i:i. 
  i| 
  

  

  Then 
  they 
  cut 
  the 
  tree 
  down 
  and 
  four 
  men, 
  walking 
  in 
  line, 
  carried 
  it 
  on 
  their 
  

   shoulders 
  to 
  the 
  village. 
  The 
  chiefs 
  sang 
  four 
  nights 
  the 
  songs 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  com- 
  

   posed 
  for 
  the 
  tree 
  while 
  they 
  held 
  a 
  council 
  and 
  deliberated 
  concerning 
  the 
  tree. 
  A 
  

   tent 
  was 
  made 
  for 
  the 
  tree 
  and 
  set 
  up 
  within 
  the 
  circle 
  of 
  lodges. 
  The 
  chiefs 
  worked 
  

   upon 
  the 
  tree; 
  they 
  trimmed 
  it 
  and 
  called 
  it 
  a 
  human 
  being. 
  They 
  made 
  a 
  basket" 
  

   work 
  receptacle 
  of 
  twigs 
  and 
  feathers 
  and 
  tied 
  it 
  about 
  the 
  middle. 
  Then 
  they 
  said; 
  

   " 
  It 
  has 
  no 
  hair! 
  " 
  So 
  they 
  sent 
  out 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  large 
  scalp 
  lock 
  and 
  they 
  put 
  it 
  on 
  the 
  

   top 
  of 
  the 
  Pole 
  for 
  hair. 
  Afterward 
  the 
  chiefs 
  bade 
  the 
  herald 
  tell 
  the 
  people 
  that 
  

   wlhii 
  all 
  was 
  completed 
  they 
  should 
  see 
  the 
  Pole. 
  

  

  Then 
  they 
  painted 
  the 
  Pole 
  and 
  set 
  it 
  up 
  before 
  the 
  tent, 
  leaning 
  it 
  on 
  a 
  crotohed 
  

   stick, 
  which 
  they 
  called 
  imomgthe 
  (:\ 
  staff). 
  They 
  summoned 
  the 
  people, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  

  

  "Seethe 
  Hako, 
  in 
  the 
  Twenty-second 
  Annual 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  American 
  Ethnology, 
  part 
  2. 
  

  

  