﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHE] 
  RECENT 
  HISTORY 
  617 
  

  

  Introduction 
  of 
  Guns 
  

  

  Guns 
  were 
  introduced 
  toward 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  quarter 
  of 
  the 
  

   nineteenth 
  century, 
  receiving 
  the 
  name 
  waku'toHhe, 
  "to 
  make 
  a. 
  

   noise 
  with." 
  The 
  bullet 
  was 
  called 
  mo"' 
  a 
  mo" 
  , 
  "metal 
  arrow;" 
  

   gunpowder 
  was 
  called 
  mo".rii'ih 
  , 
  "ashes." 
  The 
  first 
  guns 
  received 
  by 
  

   the 
  Omaha 
  were 
  flintlocks: 
  rifles 
  did 
  not 
  reach 
  them 
  until 
  the 
  third 
  or 
  

   fourth 
  decade 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century. 
  The. 
  use 
  of 
  guns 
  destroyed 
  another 
  

   native 
  industry, 
  arrow 
  making, 
  and 
  made 
  pointless 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  

   teachings 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  (see. 
  p. 
  331). 
  Copper 
  kettles 
  and 
  tin 
  and 
  iron 
  

   utensils 
  took 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  the 
  native 
  pottery, 
  consequently 
  the 
  pot- 
  

   tery 
  industry 
  was 
  abandoned. 
  Wooden 
  bowls 
  and 
  cups 
  gradually 
  

   disappeared 
  from 
  family 
  use 
  but 
  the 
  former 
  were 
  retained 
  in 
  the 
  

   sacred 
  tribal 
  ceremonies 
  and 
  other 
  rites 
  of 
  a 
  serious 
  character. 
  

  

  Introduction 
  of 
  Money; 
  Pelt 
  Values 
  

  

  Before 
  the 
  Omaha 
  had 
  dealings 
  with 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Govern- 
  

   ment 
  little, 
  if 
  any, 
  coin 
  had 
  been 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  tribe. 
  The 
  smallest 
  unit 
  

   of 
  value 
  among 
  the 
  skins 
  used 
  in 
  barter 
  with 
  the 
  traders 
  was 
  the. 
  

   raccoon 
  skin, 
  rated 
  at 
  twenty-five 
  cents. 
  Mika'ha 
  ithawa 
  (milca'ha, 
  

   " 
  raccoon 
  skin 
  ; 
  " 
  ithawa, 
  "to 
  count 
  with") 
  became 
  the 
  established 
  

   name 
  of 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  dollar. 
  A 
  dollar 
  was 
  called 
  wi 
  n 
  'bthuga 
  {wi 
  n 
  , 
  

   "one;" 
  hthu'ga, 
  "whole'or 
  "unit"); 
  a 
  fifty-cent 
  piece, 
  mo 
  n 
  ?o 
  n 
  'thi 
  n 
  h 
  a, 
  

   "half;" 
  a 
  dime, 
  shuga'zhi 
  n 
  ga 
  (shuga, 
  "thick;" 
  zhi 
  n 
  ga, 
  "little" 
  — 
  "little 
  

   thick"). 
  A 
  silver 
  half 
  dime 
  was 
  called 
  bthe'l:azhi 
  n 
  ga 
  (lihe'Jca, 
  

   "thin;" 
  zhi 
  n 
  'ga, 
  "little" 
  — 
  "little 
  thin"); 
  a 
  nickel 
  (5 
  cents), 
  ive'tha- 
  

   wafa'to" 
  (wethawa, 
  "counters;" 
  pa'to 
  71 
  , 
  "five"); 
  a 
  copper 
  cent, 
  

   we'ihawazhide, 
  "red 
  counter;" 
  seventy-five 
  cents, 
  mika'Jiaitliawa 
  

   iha'bihi 
  n 
  (fha'bihi 
  11 
  , 
  "three"), 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  three 
  raccoon 
  skins. 
  A 
  

   thousand 
  dollars 
  was 
  called 
  hu'ge 
  wi 
  n 
  (ku'ge, 
  "box:" 
  tri", 
  "one"), 
  

   the 
  name 
  originating 
  from 
  the 
  custom 
  of 
  packing 
  this 
  number 
  of 
  

   silver 
  dollars 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  box 
  for 
  convenience 
  of 
  transportation. 
  In 
  

   the 
  case 
  of 
  payments 
  to 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  by 
  government 
  agents 
  the 
  

   term 
  for 
  the 
  number 
  1,000 
  was 
  gth('ho"ltiuyi 
  n 
  to 
  n 
  ga 
  (gihe'bo 
  n 
  , 
  "ten;" 
  

   hivn 
  n 
  , 
  " 
  progressing 
  toward 
  one;" 
  iri"to 
  n 
  ga, 
  "big"). 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  prices 
  were 
  obtained 
  for 
  the 
  skins 
  named, 
  in 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century: 
  Buffalo, 
  $15 
  to 
  $20; 
  otter, 
  $12 
  to 
  $15; 
  

   mink, 
  $2 
  to 
  $5; 
  beaver, 
  $4 
  to 
  $6. 
  As 
  beavers 
  were 
  plentiful 
  and 
  the 
  

   use 
  of 
  traps 
  facilitated 
  catching 
  them 
  good 
  trappers 
  sometimes 
  gave 
  

   up 
  the 
  more 
  laborious 
  pursuit 
  of 
  large 
  game 
  and 
  confined 
  their 
  

   efforts 
  to 
  securing 
  beavers, 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  secure 
  good 
  

   pay 
  for 
  their 
  skins 
  ami 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  to 
  keep 
  their 
  families 
  sup- 
  

   plied 
  with 
  meat. 
  Comparatively 
  little 
  trading 
  in 
  furs 
  was 
  done 
  for 
  

   cash. 
  Trading 
  on 
  a 
  barter 
  basis 
  continued 
  until 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   the 
  fur-bearing 
  animals 
  brought 
  the 
  old-time 
  trader's 
  career 
  to 
  an 
  end 
  . 
  

  

  