Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 131 



some old man and older brothers there advising him, showing him 

 how to lead the moving object so as to hit it. In none of my accounts 

 was there reference to the father's participation in these games. 



While boys of 6 or 7 years of age were gaining proficiency in the 

 use of bows and arrows, the girls would play "kick ball" or learn to 

 sew clothing for their dolls. The women would encourage the little 

 girls to care for their younger sisters and encourage the boys to pro- 

 tect and look after their younger brothers. Little boys just learning 

 to use the bow and arrows would help the older ones to surround 

 small patches of brush where rabbits were known to stay and to keep 

 them from running out while they closed in on them. Frequently 

 100 or more children, both boys and girls, would surround a patch 

 of brush to enclose the rabbits. Then the older boys would teach 

 their younger brothers how to hit moving targets. According to the 

 reminiscences of numerous informants, this must have been common 

 winter sport for Hidatsa children. Each child was entitled to the 

 animals he had killed, identification of his rabbits being made by 

 special markings on the arrows. Returning home with his rabbits, 

 the parents would praise him and say that he would surely be a great 

 hunter and warrior when he grew up. Informants related that they 

 went out to surround rabbits while still so young that it was necessary 

 for their older brothers to carry them through the deeper snowdrifts. 

 Some older person would act as "crier" for the boys and caU through 

 the village that the little boys should get their weapons and come out 

 for the rabbit hunt. Here we see, even in the childhood games of 

 boys under 10 years of age, elements of the adult social pattern: the 

 organized age-group with an announcer; the leader; the cooperating 

 group; and the approval of society as a whole, expressed by praise 

 for those who had demonstrated exceptional skill. 



Concepts of reciprocal obligations were taught early in life, A boy 

 would get his bow and arrows from his maternal grandfather who, 

 in turn, should be presented with some of the rabbits, gophers, or 

 prairie chickens shot with them. A girl would do favors for her 

 "grandmothers" who had made toys for her or had taught her how 

 to decorate things with beads and quills. Informants spoke warmly 

 of these relatives and the reciprocal relationships of their childhood. 



The discipline of little boys and girls was a household responsibility 

 and the duty of the older members of the clan. In some situations 

 they learned about the police. When word was sent through the 

 winter camp that everyone should be quiet, for the buffalo herds were 

 approaching the river, freedom of movement about camp was often 

 permitted by the Black Mouth police society provided there was no 

 noise. One informant said that when he was 6 years old he was 

 sliding downhill with other boys and girls of his age when word went 



