﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHE] 
  

  

  SOCIAL. 
  LIFE 
  

  

  319 
  

  

  shunned. 
  Young 
  men 
  befriended 
  one 
  another 
  in 
  minor 
  matters 
  as 
  well 
  

   as 
  in 
  the 
  graver 
  affairs 
  of 
  life. 
  A 
  young 
  man 
  would 
  be 
  assisted 
  by 
  his 
  

   friends 
  to 
  deck 
  himself. 
  Two 
  friends 
  would 
  paint 
  each 
  other's 
  faces, 
  

   fasten 
  each 
  other's 
  ornaments, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  toilet 
  they 
  

   were 
  resplendent 
  in 
  their 
  finery. 
  Not 
  only 
  would 
  a 
  friend 
  help 
  to 
  

   make 
  his 
  friend 
  look 
  well 
  but 
  he 
  would 
  act 
  as 
  a 
  go-between 
  and 
  

   secure 
  an 
  interview 
  for 
  his 
  friend 
  with 
  the 
  chosen 
  girl. 
  Such 
  meet- 
  

   ings 
  generally 
  took 
  place 
  at 
  the 
  spring, 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  morning. 
  

   Girls 
  never 
  went 
  alone 
  to 
  get 
  water 
  for 
  the 
  family; 
  two 
  sisters, 
  an 
  

   aunt 
  and 
  niece, 
  or 
  else 
  two 
  intimate 
  friends 
  and 
  neighbors 
  started 
  off 
  

   together. 
  The 
  young 
  men 
  haunted 
  these 
  places 
  ; 
  they 
  lay 
  hidden 
  in 
  

   the 
  grass 
  or 
  among 
  the 
  bushes, 
  so 
  that 
  one 
  could 
  suddenly 
  seize 
  a 
  

   favorable 
  opportunity 
  to 
  speak 
  with 
  the 
  girl 
  of 
  his 
  fancy. 
  These 
  

   encountei's 
  were 
  sometimes 
  accidental 
  but 
  generally 
  the 
  lover 
  made 
  

   his 
  presence 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  girl 
  by 
  his 
  love 
  song 
  played 
  on 
  the 
  flute 
  

   (fig. 
  65). 
  Music 
  was 
  composed 
  especially 
  for 
  this 
  flute, 
  as 
  songs 
  that 
  

   were 
  sung 
  were 
  not 
  played 
  on 
  the 
  instrument, 
  its 
  compass 
  being 
  

   too 
  limited. 
  The 
  following 
  is 
  a 
  favorite 
  flute 
  song: 
  

  

  LOVE 
  CALL 
  

  

  As 
  custom 
  did 
  not 
  permit 
  young 
  men 
  to 
  visit 
  young 
  women 
  in 
  

   their 
  homes, 
  the 
  opportunities 
  for 
  the 
  young 
  people 
  openly 
  to 
  become 
  

   acquainted 
  were 
  limited 
  to 
  gatherings 
  for 
  tribal 
  ceremonies 
  and 
  during 
  

   the 
  confusion 
  incident 
  to 
  breaking 
  up 
  or 
  making 
  camp 
  when 
  the 
  tribe 
  

   was 
  on 
  the 
  annual 
  hunt. 
  The 
  stream 
  and 
  spring 
  were 
  at 
  all 
  times 
  

   the 
  favorite 
  trysting 
  places. 
  Men 
  sometimes 
  composed 
  their 
  own 
  

   love 
  songs 
  and 
  by 
  the. 
  song 
  the 
  girl 
  not 
  only 
  identified 
  her 
  lover 
  but 
  

   became 
  aware 
  of 
  his 
  nearness. 
  There 
  are 
  pathetic 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  humor- 
  

   ous 
  stories 
  told 
  which 
  hinge 
  on 
  these 
  individual 
  love 
  songs. 
  It 
  has 
  

   been 
  stated 
  that 
  a 
  true 
  love 
  song, 
  one 
  that 
  had 
  for 
  its 
  purpose 
  the 
  

   honorable 
  wooing 
  of 
  a 
  maid, 
  did 
  not 
  exist 
  among 
  peoples 
  living 
  in 
  

   the. 
  stage 
  of 
  development 
  represented 
  by 
  the 
  native 
  tribes 
  of 
  Amer- 
  

   ica. 
  This 
  statement 
  does 
  not 
  hold 
  good 
  for 
  the 
  Omaha 
  and 
  

   their 
  close 
  cognates. 
  The 
  following 
  songs 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  love-song 
  

   class. 
  The 
  words 
  are 
  few; 
  soft, 
  breathing 
  vocables 
  float 
  the 
  voice 
  

   throughout 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  melody. 
  Where 
  there 
  are 
  words, 
  they 
  gener- 
  

   ally 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  morning 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  songs 
  have 
  only 
  vocables. 
  

   These 
  songs 
  are 
  called 
  bife'waa 
  n 
  . 
  The 
  music 
  expresses 
  the 
  purpose 
  

  

  