﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHE] 
  SOCIAL 
  LIFE 
  359 
  

  

  moccasins 
  wear 
  out 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  set 
  on 
  the 
  trail, 
  pointed 
  toward 
  

   home, 
  and 
  are 
  told 
  to 
  go 
  back 
  and 
  tell 
  of 
  the 
  welfare 
  of 
  the 
  wearer, 
  

   they 
  will 
  do 
  so." 
  The 
  moccasin 
  was 
  formerly 
  the 
  only 
  part 
  of 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  attire 
  which 
  was 
  not 
  regarded 
  as 
  interchangeable 
  between 
  tribes, 
  

   as 
  each 
  tribe 
  had 
  its 
  peculiar 
  cut 
  and 
  ornamentation 
  and 
  a 
  man's 
  tribe 
  

   could 
  be 
  recognized 
  by 
  the 
  moccasins 
  he 
  wore. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  war 
  bonnet 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  called 
  a 
  garment, 
  yet 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  

   marked 
  article 
  of 
  dress 
  and 
  was 
  of 
  special 
  social 
  significance, 
  as 
  it 
  

   emphasized 
  interdependence 
  among 
  men. 
  While 
  all 
  the 
  materials 
  

   used 
  in 
  its 
  construction 
  were 
  symbolic, 
  its 
  manufacture 
  was 
  attended 
  

   with 
  ceremonies 
  significant 
  of 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  social 
  ideas. 
  The 
  

   special 
  point 
  of 
  interest 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  this 
  article 
  is 
  that 
  no 
  man, 
  

   whatever 
  his 
  rank 
  or 
  his 
  record, 
  could 
  make 
  or 
  purchase 
  for 
  his 
  own 
  

   use 
  a 
  war 
  bonnet. 
  In 
  olden 
  days 
  it 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  built 
  by 
  his 
  fellow- 
  

   tribesmen. 
  Its 
  feathers 
  represented 
  the 
  war 
  record 
  of 
  the 
  warriors 
  of 
  

   the 
  tribe, 
  who 
  thus 
  gave 
  their 
  consent 
  to 
  place 
  upon 
  a 
  fellow-tribesman 
  

   this 
  picturesque 
  mark 
  of 
  distinction. 
  In 
  like 
  manner 
  the 
  hair 
  fringe 
  

   on 
  a 
  war 
  shirt 
  represented 
  the 
  consent 
  of 
  the 
  warriors 
  to 
  allow 
  the 
  

   owner 
  so 
  to 
  decorate 
  his 
  garment. 
  

  

  The 
  dress 
  of 
  societies 
  served 
  to 
  mark 
  their 
  respective 
  membership 
  

   and 
  stimulated 
  a 
  feeling 
  of 
  brotherhood 
  independent 
  of 
  the 
  ties 
  of 
  

   blood, 
  thus 
  promoting 
  the 
  social 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  tribe. 
  

  

  Looking 
  back 
  along 
  the 
  pathway 
  of 
  progress 
  from 
  those 
  earh 
  y 
  con- 
  

   ditions 
  wherein 
  man's 
  fears 
  and 
  needs 
  held 
  him 
  in 
  vague 
  dread, 
  from 
  

   the 
  time 
  when 
  his 
  appeals 
  to 
  the 
  supernatural 
  were 
  a 
  constant 
  

   duty 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  these 
  appeals 
  were 
  relegated 
  to 
  particular 
  

   times 
  and 
  seasons, 
  we 
  note 
  that 
  under 
  the 
  regulating 
  influence 
  of 
  

   established 
  rites 
  and 
  ceremonies 
  and 
  the 
  grow 
  T 
  th 
  of 
  social 
  order, 
  

   mental 
  bewilderment 
  gave 
  way 
  and 
  conditions 
  arose 
  that 
  were 
  

   favorable 
  to 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  a 
  secular 
  life, 
  a 
  life 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  indi- 
  

   vidual 
  could 
  enjoy 
  a 
  freedom 
  hitherto 
  impossible 
  for 
  him. 
  This 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  freedom 
  under 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  social 
  order 
  and 
  secular 
  life 
  was 
  

   apparent 
  in 
  the 
  varied 
  manner 
  of 
  wearing 
  the 
  robe. 
  During 
  the 
  

   long 
  stay 
  among 
  the 
  Omaha 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  writers 
  the 
  different 
  ways 
  

   in 
  which 
  the 
  robe 
  was 
  worn 
  and 
  shifted 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  requirements 
  of 
  

   varying 
  moods 
  arrested 
  her 
  attention 
  and 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  

   ensued, 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  here 
  given. 
  

  

  The 
  blanket 
  began 
  to 
  supersede 
  the 
  robe 
  even 
  before 
  the 
  extinction 
  

   of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  made 
  the 
  latter 
  no 
  longer 
  possible 
  to 
  obtain. 
  The 
  well- 
  

   dressed 
  robe 
  was 
  almost 
  as 
  pliant 
  as 
  the 
  blanket 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  during 
  

   the 
  period 
  when 
  only 
  robes 
  were 
  worn 
  that 
  this 
  garment 
  seems 
  to 
  

   have 
  become 
  expressive 
  of 
  the 
  wearer's 
  moods 
  and 
  actions. 
  The 
  

   adjustment 
  never 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  arranging 
  of 
  a 
  costume 
  for 
  effect 
  

   but 
  a 
  free 
  expression 
  of 
  a 
  passing 
  emotion. 
  The 
  picture 
  presented 
  by 
  

   the 
  draped 
  figure 
  told 
  its 
  story 
  with 
  simplicity 
  and 
  truthfulness. 
  

  

  