﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHE] 
  

  

  SOCIAL 
  LTFE 
  

  

  369 
  

  

  GAME 
  SONG 
  No. 
  2. 
  

  

  da-da 
  n 
  shka-xe? 
  Ha 
  

  

  ho 
  e 
  tha 
  

  

  Foot 
  racing 
  was 
  another 
  pastime. 
  Races 
  generally 
  took 
  place 
  

   among 
  the 
  Omaha, 
  however, 
  after 
  a 
  death, 
  when 
  gilts 
  contributed 
  by 
  

   the 
  family 
  of 
  the 
  deceased 
  youth 
  or 
  maiden 
  were 
  distributed 
  among 
  

   the 
  successful 
  competitors. 
  At 
  these 
  races 
  sharp 
  contrasts 
  marked 
  

   the 
  occasion. 
  The 
  race 
  generally 
  took 
  place 
  a 
  short 
  time 
  after 
  the 
  

   burial. 
  A 
  feast 
  was 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  parents, 
  after 
  which 
  if 
  the 
  deceased 
  

   was 
  a 
  young 
  man 
  his 
  young 
  men 
  friends 
  took 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  race; 
  if 
  a 
  

   girl, 
  her 
  young 
  companions 
  competed 
  for 
  her 
  possessions. 
  The 
  dis- 
  

   tribution 
  of 
  the 
  goods 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  a 
  personal 
  friend, 
  while 
  the 
  

   parents 
  often 
  retired 
  to 
  the 
  grave, 
  where 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  their 
  wailing 
  

   could 
  be 
  heard 
  above 
  the 
  noise 
  of 
  the 
  contestants. 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  no 
  ceremony 
  in 
  the 
  tribe 
  that 
  corresponded 
  to 
  the 
  

   drama, 
  the 
  acting 
  out 
  of 
  a 
  myth, 
  a 
  legend, 
  or 
  a 
  story. 
  There 
  were 
  

   dances 
  and 
  movements 
  which 
  were 
  dramatic 
  in 
  character, 
  as 
  when 
  at 
  

   the 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  Hethu'shka 
  society 
  a 
  man 
  acted 
  out 
  his 
  warlike 
  

   experience 
  (p. 
  466) 
  ; 
  also 
  during 
  the 
  closing 
  scenes 
  at 
  the 
  ceremony 
  of 
  

   Anointing 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pole 
  (p. 
  243). 
  The 
  dance 
  at 
  the 
  Ho 
  n 
  'hewachi 
  

   was 
  dramatic 
  in 
  purport 
  and 
  expression 
  (p. 
  502) 
  ; 
  the 
  secret 
  societies 
  

   had 
  their 
  dramatic 
  acts 
  in 
  which 
  both 
  men 
  and 
  women 
  took 
  part 
  

   (pp. 
  509, 
  565). 
  The 
  nearest 
  approach 
  to 
  a 
  drama 
  was 
  the 
  He'dewachi 
  

   ceremony 
  (p. 
  251), 
  but 
  this 
  was 
  too 
  fragmentary 
  rightfully 
  to 
  claim 
  

   to 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  drama 
  class. 
  The 
  tribal 
  rites 
  combined 
  religious 
  and 
  

   social 
  elements, 
  and 
  these 
  ceremonies 
  and 
  the 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  differ- 
  

   ent 
  societies 
  formed 
  the 
  principal 
  social 
  recreations 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  one 
  amusement 
  in 
  which 
  both 
  sexes 
  of 
  all 
  ages, 
  except 
  

   infants, 
  took 
  great 
  pleasure 
  ; 
  this 
  was 
  swimming. 
  The 
  Omaha 
  swam 
  

   by 
  treading, 
  moving 
  hands 
  and 
  legs 
  like 
  a 
  dog, 
  or 
  by 
  keeping 
  the 
  body 
  

   horizontal 
  and 
  throwing 
  the 
  arms 
  up 
  and 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  alternately 
  

   as 
  the 
  body 
  was 
  propelled 
  by 
  the 
  legs. 
  The 
  people 
  were 
  good 
  swim- 
  

   mers. 
  The 
  current 
  in 
  the 
  Missouri 
  is 
  always 
  strong, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  requires 
  

   a 
  good 
  swimmer 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  safe 
  passage 
  across 
  the 
  stream. 
  During 
  

   83993°— 
  27 
  kth— 
  11 
  24 
  

  

  