ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 23 



From Saucy Calf, one of the three surviving Osage re- 

 garded as past masters in these ceremonies, phonographic 

 records of the first of the ceremonies, the Waxo'be-awatho", 

 have been made in its entirety, consisting of 80 songs with 

 vs'ords and music and 7 prayers. All these have been tran- 

 scribed and in part translated into English, comprising a 

 manuscript exceeding 300 pages. In order to discuss with 

 the Osage the meaning of these rituals, Mr. La Flesche 

 found it necessary to commit them to memory, as reading 

 from the manuscript disconcerted the old seer. At Saucy 

 Calf's invitation Mr. La Flesche witnessed in the autumn, 

 at Grayhorse, a performance of the ceremony of the 

 Waxo'be-awatho", the recitation of the rituals of which 

 requires one day, part of a night, and more than half of 

 the following day. It is Mr. La Flesche 's purpose to re- 

 cord, if possible, the rituals of the remaining six divisions 

 of the No"'ho°zhi°ga le'ta. He has already obtained a 

 paraphrase of the seventh ceremony (the Nik'ino°k'o°), 

 and hopes soon to procure a phonographic record of all the 

 rituals pertaining thereto. 



In connection with his ethnological work Mr. La Flesche 

 has been so fortunate as to obtain for the National Museum 

 four of the wcijco'he, or sacred packs, each of which formed 

 a part of the paraphernalia of the No-'ho^zhi-ga Te'ta, as 

 well as a tvaxo'he-to"'ga, the great waxo'he which contains 

 the instruments for tattooing. Only those Osage are tat- 

 tooed who have performed certain acts prescribed in the 

 rites of the No"'ho''zhi°ga le'ta. The rites of the tattooing 

 ceremony are yet to be recorded and elucidated. While 

 the wa.ro'he is the most sacred of the articles that form the 

 paraphernalia of the No°'ho"zhi''ga le'ta rites, it is not com- 

 plete in itself; other things are indispensable to their per- 

 formance, and it is hoped that these may be procured at 

 some future time. 



"While not recorded as one of the ceremonial divisions of 

 the ]Sro'"ho''zhi"ga le'ta, there is a ceremony so closely con- 

 nected with it that it might well be regarded as a part 

 thereof ; that is the Washa'beathi" watsi, or the dance of 

 the standards. The introductory part of this cereniom- is 



