﻿328 
  

  

  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  

  

  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  worn 
  by 
  the 
  women 
  was 
  tied 
  by 
  a 
  girdle 
  around 
  the 
  waist, 
  the 
  upper 
  

   part 
  was 
  placed 
  over 
  the 
  clinging 
  child, 
  and 
  the 
  ends 
  were 
  crossed 
  in 
  

   front 
  and 
  tucked 
  into 
  the 
  girdle. 
  Then 
  the 
  mother 
  gave 
  a 
  gentle 
  

   but 
  decided 
  shrug, 
  when 
  the 
  child 
  loosened 
  its 
  arms 
  and 
  settled 
  itself 
  

   into 
  its 
  bag-like 
  bed, 
  from 
  out 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  winked 
  and 
  peered 
  at 
  the 
  

   world 
  or 
  fell 
  fast 
  asleep 
  as 
  the 
  mother 
  trudged 
  about 
  her 
  business. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  mistake 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  Indian 
  babies 
  never 
  cry. 
  They 
  do 
  

   cry, 
  most 
  lustily 
  at 
  times, 
  but 
  efforts 
  are 
  always 
  made 
  to 
  soothe 
  a 
  child. 
  

   No 
  true 
  lullaby 
  songs 
  have 
  ever 
  been 
  heard 
  in 
  the 
  tribe 
  by 
  the 
  writers, 
  

   but 
  both 
  men 
  and 
  women 
  make 
  a 
  low 
  murmuring 
  that 
  resembles 
  some- 
  

   what 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  the 
  wind 
  in 
  the 
  pines 
  and 
  sleep 
  soon 
  comes 
  to 
  the 
  

   listener. 
  There 
  was 
  a 
  belief 
  that 
  certain 
  persons 
  were 
  gifted 
  with 
  an 
  

   understanding 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  sounds 
  made 
  by 
  a 
  baby; 
  so 
  when 
  a 
  little 
  

  

  Fig. 
  66. 
  Omaha 
  mother 
  and 
  child. 
  

  

  one 
  cried 
  persistently, 
  as 
  if 
  in 
  distress, 
  some 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  knowing 
  people 
  

   was 
  sent 
  for 
  to 
  ascertain 
  what 
  troubled 
  the 
  child. 
  Sometimes 
  it 
  was 
  

   said 
  that 
  the 
  baby 
  did 
  not 
  like 
  the 
  name 
  given 
  it 
  and 
  then 
  the 
  name 
  

   would 
  be 
  changed. 
  Sometimes 
  the 
  difficulty 
  was 
  of 
  a 
  more 
  practical 
  

   kind, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  a 
  baby 
  whose 
  mother, 
  being 
  particularly 
  desirous 
  

   of 
  having 
  her 
  son 
  lie 
  on 
  the 
  softest 
  of 
  beds, 
  had 
  put 
  next 
  to 
  him 
  the 
  

   soft 
  skin 
  of 
  a 
  buffalo 
  calf; 
  whenever 
  the 
  child 
  was 
  laid 
  on 
  its 
  bed 
  its 
  

   cries 
  kept 
  everyone 
  awake. 
  In 
  her 
  distress 
  the 
  mother 
  sent 
  for 
  a 
  

   person 
  who 
  understood 
  the 
  talk 
  of 
  a 
  baby. 
  This 
  person 
  was 
  evi- 
  

   dently 
  a 
  keen 
  observer, 
  for 
  he 
  at 
  once 
  saw 
  what 
  the 
  trouble 
  was 
  — 
  the 
  

   fur 
  tickled 
  the 
  chdd! 
  He 
  turned 
  the 
  skin 
  and 
  the 
  baby 
  was 
  pacified. 
  

   The 
  birth 
  of 
  twins 
  was 
  considered 
  a 
  sign 
  that 
  the 
  mother 
  was 
  a. 
  

   kind 
  woman. 
  It 
  was 
  said, 
  "Twins 
  walk 
  hand 
  in 
  hand 
  around 
  the 
  

  

  