household : There are bad spirits, who wish to harm us. ‘they have caused 
the death of the person. Unless the members of the household make them- 
selves poor (destitute of all things, and too miserable for the demons to 
notice), they will come again and kill another person. The Omahas give 
another explanation of the custom: (1) Objects needed by the deceaged in 
' the other world. (2) The survivors wish to see nothing belonging to the 
deceased. This refers to the property of the dead, however, not to other 
things given away. In some cases, presents were made fo the survivors ! 
Il. Man as a Spiritual Being.—This is the firm belief of ail the tribes 
ameng whom I have lived. The Oregon Indians say that at death the 
released spirit returns to the Mother, who sends it back to inhabit the body 
of a new-born infant. Some Siouan tribes think a man has four souls 
(Mathews, Hthn. Hidatsa, 1877, p. 50). In the Omaha Black Shoulder 
gens, the dying person is thus addressed: ‘‘ Your four souls are going to the 
animal gods, the four winds, and your ancestors! Be strong!” Articles 
of food have been buried with other objects by Omahas, and have been 
placed by graves (by Omahas, Ponkas, &c.) for the ghosts to eat. Various 
articles have been seen by the writer by the graves of Oregon Indians. 
Horses have been strangled by the grave for the benefit of the deceased 
owner. When the Omaha head chief, Big Elk, was dying, he wished his 
successor to provide him with a retinue, telling him to give “ medicine” to 
certain subordinate chiefs ! 
IIT. (a). See above. The Omahas have a myth of four creators, of which 
the writer has the original (unpublished). The Jowas tell of I-shchin-ke, 
son of Pi, the Sun, who was expelled from the upper world for gazing on his 
father’s nakedness. On reaching this world, he was seated in a boat, as the 
earth was under water. He lowered a musk-rat into the water, and obtained 
mud from the bottom. A bird that he sent off returned with a branch in 
its beak. tripping off the leaves, and breaking up the twigs, he mixed the 
pieces with the mud, which he scattered over the water, causing the land to 
appear. ‘hen he made all the animals. In the tradition of the Osage 
secret order, they tell of a flood, a dove, &c. 
Page 314. Thanksgiving.—For the thanksgiving ceremonies of the Omahas 
after a buffalo hunt, see Omaha Sociology, pp. 293-299. 
Page 315. Prayer.—Omahas and Ponkas invoke a higher Power before 
undertaking a journey, hunting expedition, &c. For minor actions, as 
trapping or fishing, when going but a short distance from home, it is un- 
necessary. At a feast, food and drink are poured on the ground, after 
turning to the four winds. The use of the pipe is connected with prayer, as 
its smoke ascends on high and is pleasant to Wakanda. 
Prayer is offered when the objects are gathered for the sweat-lodge. (See 
p. 242, Part I, Vol. VI., Contributions to N. A. Ethn., where it is given in 
full.) See “ Kansas Mourning and War Customs,” pp. 674, 676, 678, in 
American Naturalist, July, 1885. 
Page 316. Saerifices—The Sun-dance among the Ponkas is borrowed 
