132 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuU. 194 



around that the buffaloes had appeared on the hills opposite and that 

 everyone should be quiet. The children forgot about this order and 

 began to shout. The police appeared carrying their clubs. Seeing 

 them, the children ran for home for they had been told that the Black 

 Mouths killed people who did not obey their orders and there was 

 nothing the people could do about it. 



There were always a number of old women in the village who 

 encouraged boys to be active so that they would become good hunters 

 and warriors when they grew up. In the fall, when the corn was in 

 the milk, one of these old women would invite the boys and girls under 

 10 years of age to come to her garden where she had prepared roasted 

 corn on the cob for them. The girls would stand around the fire 

 where the corn was roasting while some old man would line up the 

 boys for a footrace to be run to the fire. The girls would shout as 

 when someone returned from the war with horses and scalps while 

 the boy who ran fastest was praised and told that he would surely be 

 the first of his group to strike the enemy. Boys were always running 

 footraces in imitation of the young men preparing for war. Some of 

 these courses were 5 and 6 miles in length. The older men would 

 encourage them to race, and commonly bet on their relatives. 



Girls' training was quite different from that of the boys. They 

 cared for their younger brothers and sisters when the women were out 

 of the lodge. As they grew older they were taught to cook, care for 

 the lodge, make and repair clothing, and care for the gardens. Even 

 the heavier work in the gardens was performed by the females of the 

 lodge. Although old men too feeble to engage in hunting or warfare 

 would frequently assist the women of the household in clearing brush, 

 repairing fences, or even hoeing the garden if the work proved too 

 much for the women, boys and young men were never permitted to 

 assist. This prohibition was fortified by ritual beliefs that those 

 young men who performed women's customary duties were more 

 likely to dream of the Woman Above and become berdaches. This 

 resulted in a distinct sex dichotomy of labor. The only common 

 exceptions were butchering and retrieving wood from the river. 



Children were taught, when 4 or 5 years old, to respect the sacred 

 bundles hanging at the head of the lodge. They were told by their 

 clansmen that these bundles were gods and that they should "cry to 

 these bundles" whenever they thought of them to get good luck. All 

 "older brothers" were not equally entitled to discipline a younger one. 

 Special rights and obligations were held by those who had shown 

 bravery in war. Age and experience were important, for a boy only 

 2 or 3 years older would teach the younger one all that he knew. An 

 "older brother" who had been unusually brave in battle would make it 

 a point to watch while going through the village for younger ones who 



