﻿618 
  the 
  omaha 
  tribe 
  [eth. 
  ann. 
  27 
  

  

  Introduction 
  of 
  Intoxicants 
  

  

  The 
  competition 
  among 
  the 
  rival 
  fur 
  companies 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  intro- 
  

   duction 
  of 
  intoxicating 
  liquors 
  among 
  the 
  tribes 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  

   securing 
  skins 
  and 
  trade. 
  So 
  great 
  was 
  the 
  trouble 
  experienced 
  by 
  the 
  

   tribes, 
  and 
  so 
  earnest 
  were 
  the 
  appeals 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  chiefs 
  and 
  other 
  

   leading 
  men, 
  that 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  1S02 
  President 
  Jefferson 
  made 
  this 
  traffic 
  

   the 
  subject 
  of 
  a 
  message 
  to 
  Congress, 
  which 
  resulted 
  in 
  the 
  passage 
  

   of 
  an 
  act 
  forbidding 
  the 
  sale 
  of 
  liquor 
  to 
  Indians, 
  under 
  penalty. 
  

   Knowledge 
  of 
  congressional 
  action 
  traveled 
  slowly 
  in 
  those 
  days 
  and 
  

   laws 
  were 
  difficult 
  to 
  enforce 
  in 
  the 
  sparsely 
  settled 
  country; 
  conse- 
  

   quently 
  the 
  fur 
  trade 
  continued 
  to 
  be 
  stimulated 
  and 
  th<j 
  natives 
  

   demoralized 
  by 
  intoxicants 
  offered 
  by 
  the 
  trader. 
  The 
  harm 
  done 
  

   by 
  this 
  unlawful 
  procedure 
  has 
  not 
  yet 
  passed 
  away 
  from 
  the 
  tribes 
  

   in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  It 
  is 
  singular 
  that 
  "fire 
  water" 
  should 
  be 
  a 
  

   common 
  term 
  for 
  intoxicants 
  in 
  widely 
  different 
  languages. 
  The 
  

   Omaha 
  word 
  is 
  pede'ni, 
  literally 
  "fire 
  water" 
  (pede, 
  "fire;" 
  ni, 
  

   "water"). 
  

  

  The 
  Omaha 
  tribe 
  did 
  not 
  escape 
  the 
  baneful 
  influence 
  of 
  liquor. 
  

   The 
  traders 
  plied 
  the 
  people 
  with 
  rum 
  ; 
  it 
  was 
  cheaper 
  than 
  goods 
  to 
  

   use 
  in 
  barter 
  and 
  although 
  the 
  traffic 
  was 
  illegal, 
  the 
  gain 
  to 
  the 
  

   companies 
  was 
  so 
  great 
  that 
  their 
  agents 
  were 
  instructed 
  to 
  take 
  the 
  

   chances 
  of 
  detection; 
  they 
  did 
  so 
  and 
  unfortunately 
  generally 
  suc- 
  

   ceeded 
  in 
  eluding 
  discovery. 
  

  

  DRUNKENNESS 
  AND 
  ITS 
  PUNISHMENT 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  third 
  decade 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century 
  an 
  incident 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  

   Omaha 
  tribe 
  which 
  is 
  still 
  spoken 
  of; 
  this 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  hut 
  erected 
  

   to 
  accommodate 
  the 
  visiting 
  trader 
  and 
  his 
  wares. 
  

  

  The 
  agent 
  of 
  a 
  trading 
  company 
  had 
  arrived 
  with 
  his 
  half-breed 
  son, 
  then 
  a 
  lad 
  

   about 
  seventeen 
  years 
  old, 
  who 
  acted 
  as 
  clerk. 
  The 
  Indians 
  had 
  gathered 
  with 
  their 
  

   pelts 
  and 
  had 
  received 
  goods 
  and 
  liquor 
  in 
  payment. 
  Late 
  one 
  afternoon, 
  when 
  the 
  

   clerk 
  was 
  alone 
  in 
  the 
  hut, 
  two 
  men, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  intoxicated, 
  came 
  in 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  

   quarrel. 
  A 
  third 
  with 
  his 
  little 
  son 
  entered 
  the 
  hut 
  to 
  trade 
  but, 
  being 
  afraid 
  of 
  the 
  

   quarreling 
  men, 
  he 
  kept 
  back 
  from 
  them. 
  A 
  fourth 
  man 
  entered 
  who 
  had 
  had 
  liquor 
  

   and 
  was 
  disposed 
  to 
  be 
  troublesome 
  and 
  the 
  quarreling 
  men 
  seemed 
  to 
  excite 
  him 
  

   still 
  more, 
  when, 
  catching 
  sight 
  of 
  the 
  quiet 
  man 
  and 
  his 
  boy, 
  he 
  drew 
  his 
  knife, 
  

   rushed 
  at 
  him 
  and 
  buried 
  the 
  weapon 
  in 
  his 
  throat. 
  As 
  his 
  victim 
  fell 
  dead 
  the 
  

   drunken 
  man 
  realized 
  his 
  deed 
  and 
  became 
  suddenly 
  sober. 
  The 
  two 
  men 
  ceased 
  to 
  

   quarrel 
  and 
  stole 
  away, 
  leaving 
  the 
  murderer 
  alone 
  with 
  the 
  dead 
  man 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  

   half-breed 
  clerk. 
  Meanwhile 
  the 
  boy 
  had 
  run 
  off 
  to 
  spread 
  the 
  news 
  of 
  his 
  father's 
  

   death. 
  The 
  clerk 
  counseled 
  the 
  guilty 
  man 
  to 
  remain 
  in 
  the 
  hut, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  his 
  only 
  

   place 
  of 
  safety, 
  and 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  he 
  heeded 
  this 
  advice; 
  but 
  at 
  last 
  he 
  exclaimed: 
  "I 
  

   have 
  forfeited 
  my 
  life. 
  I 
  may 
  as 
  well 
  meet 
  my 
  death 
  now! 
  " 
  and 
  went 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  

   night. 
  He 
  had 
  gone 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  steps 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  shot 
  with 
  an 
  arrow 
  and 
  shortly 
  died. 
  

  

  The 
  horror 
  of 
  this 
  murder 
  and 
  the 
  realization 
  it 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  

   young 
  clerk 
  that 
  liquor 
  was 
  robbing 
  the 
  people 
  of 
  their 
  manhood 
  

  

  