﻿364 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [HTH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  thing. 
  Dolls 
  were 
  improvised 
  by 
  children 
  from 
  corncobs. 
  Sometimes 
  

   mothers 
  made 
  dolls 
  for 
  their 
  little 
  girls 
  and 
  also 
  small 
  dishes 
  for 
  the 
  

   young 
  housekeepers. 
  The 
  hobby-horse 
  of 
  the 
  boys 
  was 
  a 
  sunflower 
  

   stalk 
  with 
  one 
  nodding 
  bloom 
  left 
  on 
  the 
  end. 
  Races 
  were 
  run 
  on 
  

   these 
  " 
  make-believe 
  " 
  ponies. 
  Generally 
  the 
  boys 
  rode 
  one 
  stalk 
  and 
  

   trailed 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  others 
  as 
  "fresh 
  horses." 
  

  

  The 
  game 
  of 
  uhe'baslio" 
  sho 
  n 
  (literally, 
  "the 
  crooked 
  path") 
  was 
  

   the 
  game 
  familiarly 
  known 
  to 
  us 
  as 
  " 
  Follow 
  my 
  leader." 
  The 
  children 
  

   sang 
  as 
  they 
  ran 
  and 
  made 
  their 
  merry 
  way 
  through 
  the 
  village, 
  each 
  

   one 
  repeating 
  the 
  pranks 
  of 
  the 
  leader. 
  The 
  line 
  was 
  kept 
  by 
  each 
  

   boy 
  holding 
  to 
  the 
  string 
  about 
  the 
  waist 
  of 
  the 
  boy 
  in 
  front. 
  It 
  is 
  

   said 
  that 
  the 
  song 
  which 
  accompanied 
  this 
  game 
  had 
  been 
  handed 
  

   down 
  by 
  generations 
  of 
  children. 
  Certainly 
  every 
  Omaha 
  seemed 
  to 
  

   know 
  it. 
  (Fig. 
  S3.) 
  

  

  "FOLLOW 
  MY 
  LEADER" 
  

  

  i_te 
  -g 
  

  

  The 
  cpiiet 
  games 
  often 
  played 
  about 
  the 
  fire 
  were 
  "cat's 
  cradle" 
  

   (wa'baha, 
  meaning 
  "the 
  litter") 
  and 
  a 
  game 
  resembling 
  jackstraws, 
  

   in 
  which 
  a 
  bunch 
  of 
  joints 
  of 
  prairie 
  grass 
  was 
  dropped 
  from 
  one's 
  

   hand 
  and 
  the 
  players 
  strove 
  to 
  pull 
  out 
  one 
  joint 
  after 
  another 
  without 
  

   disturbing 
  the 
  bunch. 
  The 
  player 
  could 
  use 
  a 
  joint 
  to 
  disentangle 
  

   those 
  he 
  was 
  trying 
  to 
  secure. 
  Another 
  game, 
  called 
  dua, 
  was 
  played 
  

   with 
  a 
  long 
  stick 
  one 
  side 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  notched. 
  The 
  person 
  who 
  

   could 
  touch 
  the 
  greatest 
  number 
  of 
  notches, 
  saying 
  dua 
  at 
  every 
  

   notch 
  without 
  taking 
  breath, 
  was 
  winner. 
  

  

  The 
  boys 
  enjoyed 
  the 
  game 
  called 
  waM'gagnugiike, 
  /'bone 
  slide." 
  

   Formerly 
  ribs 
  were 
  used; 
  sticks 
  are 
  now 
  substituted. 
  Four 
  or 
  five 
  

   could 
  play 
  at 
  this 
  game. 
  The 
  sticks 
  are 
  about 
  4£ 
  feet 
  long, 
  made 
  of 
  

   red 
  willow, 
  and 
  ornamented 
  by 
  banding 
  with 
  bark 
  and 
  then 
  holding 
  

   them 
  over 
  a 
  fire. 
  The 
  exposed 
  part 
  turns 
  brown 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  bands 
  

   are 
  removed 
  the 
  sticks 
  are 
  striped 
  brown 
  and 
  white. 
  Each 
  boy 
  holds 
  

   a 
  number 
  of 
  sticks 
  and 
  throws 
  one 
  so 
  it 
  will 
  skim 
  or 
  slide 
  along 
  the 
  

   level 
  ground 
  or 
  the 
  ice. 
  The 
  boy 
  who 
  throws 
  his 
  sticks 
  farthest 
  wins 
  

   all 
  the 
  sticks; 
  the 
  one 
  who 
  loses 
  is 
  tapped 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  by 
  the 
  winner. 
  

   The 
  Ponca 
  call 
  this 
  game 
  mo 
  n 
  i'bagi 
  n 
  , 
  "arrow 
  throwing." 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  annual 
  buffalo 
  hunt 
  when 
  the 
  tribe 
  remained 
  in 
  a 
  

   camp 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  day 
  the 
  boys, 
  ranging 
  from 
  ten 
  to 
  fourteen 
  

   years 
  of 
  age, 
  would 
  engage 
  in 
  a 
  sport 
  called 
  zhi 
  n 
  ga 
  uti 
  n 
  (zhi"g<i, 
  

   "little," 
  referring 
  to 
  the 
  little 
  birds 
  (wazhi 
  n 
  ga, 
  "bird"); 
  uti 
  n 
  , 
  "to 
  

   strike"). 
  The 
  boys 
  armed 
  themselves 
  with 
  sticks 
  about 
  a 
  yard 
  

   long, 
  to 
  which 
  small 
  twigs 
  were 
  attached; 
  then 
  ranging 
  in 
  line 
  through 
  

   the 
  prairie 
  grass 
  they 
  scared 
  up 
  the 
  little 
  birds. 
  As 
  these 
  rose, 
  the 
  

   boys 
  threw 
  their 
  sticks 
  into 
  the 
  air 
  and 
  the 
  fledglings, 
  mistaking 
  

  

  