114 THE WINNEBAGO TRIBE [eth. ann-. 37 



Regulation of the tribal hunt. — It can not be said that there were 

 many special regulations during the tribal hunt. The rules applying 

 to the regulation of war parties held here too. (For a description 

 of these, see p. 156.) 



Individuals were strictly prohibited from taking the initiative 

 except by permission. For instance, a man was not allowed to 

 proceed beyond a certain point, or shoot before a certain time; in 

 short, not to do anything by which he might endanger his own life, the 

 safety of his companions, or the success of the hunt, such as scaring 

 away the animals or causing them to stampede. 



It is during the tribal hunts that the power of the Bear clan is at 

 its height. For this reason it may perhaps be most appropriate to 

 include here a description" of these powers, although this reaUy 

 belongs in the section on Social Organization: 



Whenever the Winnebago are on their tribal hunt or whenever they move from 

 one place to another, the soldiers (i. e., the Bear people) take the lead. Whenever 

 they decide to .stop at some place, the leader of the Bear people places his stick in 

 the ground and the other soldiers do the same. The line of sticks is a slanting one. 

 The main tril)e follows behind at some distance and always camps a little l^ehind 

 them. None of the members of the tribe dare pa.ss ahead of these sticks. If, for 

 instance, during the fall move the tribe were passing through a country in which 

 much game abounded, and if after the tribe had stopped at a certain place anyone 

 should take it upon liimself to go ahead and kill game on his own initiative, and he 

 was discovered, the soldiers would go to his camp and bum it and everything it con- 

 tained, destroy any supplies he had, and break his dishes. They would spare only 

 his life and the lives of his family. If he resisted he would get a severe whipping. If 

 even after that he resisted theip and took his gun and attempted to shoot, the soldiers 

 would not do anything but stand ready. But the moment he made an attempt to 

 shoot, they would kill him and notliing would be said of the matter, for they would 

 be putting into effect the law of the tribe. If, on the other hand, the man submitted 

 to the action of the soldiers and apologized they would make him a better lodge and 

 would give him more and better things than those they had taken away. 



Fishing and Agriculture 



Fishing. — In former times fishing seems to have been done exclu- 

 sively by spearing or by shooting. The spear {woca') consisted of 

 a long stick provided with a bone or a horn point. Spearing was 

 done preferably at night with the aid of torches made of pine pitch. 

 In shooting fish a long arrowlike stick (ma^nuxininni) with a pointed 

 end, whittled and frayed at the base like the ceremonial staff of the 

 Bear clan, was discharged from an ordinary bow. 



The most commonly used trap for fishing was a triangular weir 

 loaded with a stone at its base and placed at the head of a waterfall 

 caused by artificial damming of a stream. 



Very few fish were taboo, the principal ones being the dogfish 

 and the eel. 



« By Thunder Cloud. 



