124 the osage tribe. teth.ann.39 



Wolf Songs. 



The next group of three songs is called Sho°'-ge Wa-tho°, Wolf 

 Songs. These songs not only refer to but they belong to the Xthe'- 

 ts'a-ge, the commanding officers chosen at the ceremonial organiza- 

 tion of a war party. These commanding officers are always eight in 

 number, four chosen from the Ho"'-ga division and four from the 

 Tsi'-zhu. The word Sho^'-ge includes the gray wolf, the coyote, and 

 the domestic dog, but the gray wolf is particularly referred to in 

 these songs. The distinctive quality of the animal so aptly chosen 

 to be the symbol of these officers is alertness which partakes of a 

 divining nature, a quality that has for its aid an extraordinary sense 

 of hearing and of smell. As an example of tliis peculiarity the 

 following story is often told among the Omaha, a cognate tribe: 



About the middle of the last century a large war party of Pawnee 

 Indians raided the Cheyennes who happened to be camped upon one 

 of the branches of the Arkansas River toward its head. In the flight 

 and pursuit that followed the capture of Cheyenne horses an Omaha 

 warrior who had joined the Pawnees became sick from an old wound 

 in his leg and was obliged to steal away from his fleeing companions 

 and take another route toward his home. One morning as the 

 Omaha was riding along at a slow pace he noticed a coyote trotting 

 ahead of him, looking back now and then to see if he was still moving. 

 At night when the man hobbled his horse and camped the coyote sat 

 near by watching every movement of the sick warrior. When in 

 the morning the Omaha continued his travel the coyote trotted 

 ahead as before. Suddenly, in the afternoon, the coyote drew his 

 tail between his legs and fled into a deep ravine. The man hur- 

 riedly looked around but saw nothing. However, he also fled to 

 the ravine, liitl his horse, and then from a safe vantage point he 

 carefully scanned the coimtry and saw in the distance a large war 

 party going by on a steady lope. Three times the coyote who con- 

 tinued to accompany the Omaha on his homeward journey gave like 

 warning of danger and in each instance the warning proved timely. 



The wolf is also esteemed by warriors for his power of endurance; 

 he can travel long distances and resist hunger for many days. When 

 a buffalo is taken sick or is wounded, the wolf will wait a long time 

 without feeding for the animal to die in order to feast upon him. 

 This was the case of the coyote in the Omaha story, only the sick 

 animal happened to be a wounded warrior instead of a buffalo. 



The wolf is envied by the warrior for another quahty, that is, his 

 contentment to be alone and far away from his native habitat for 

 long periods of time. A Do-do" '-ho°-ga of a war party often had 

 difficxilty in keeping his men from deserting when suffering from 

 attacks of homesickness. In some of the war songs of the Siouan 



