136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 191 



was industrious, and married well. Nevertheless, a young man was 

 greatly handicapped by having no father to whom he could go for 

 early guidance in ritualistic matters. He was fm'ther handicapped 

 belonging to a household without an adult hunter, for it never received 

 the same share of hides and could not put up as much goods in the 

 ceremonies. Likewise, having no mature male to assist in the cere- 

 monies, the household did not receive many gifts during the cere- 

 monies. Due to the heavy losses of males as war casualties, it was 

 not uncommon for a household to be without a male provider for 

 several years, during which time the children were growing up, for 

 the Hidatsa population was composed primarily of women and 

 children. 



Although the products of the community summer hunts were 

 equally available to all households, as were the animals taken in corrals 

 during other seasons, they did not always resort to these methods of 

 securing game. The people of the clan would provide their basic 

 necessities and the women of the household would trade garden 

 produce for meat and other things. A boy would frequently stay 

 out of an age-grade society in which he should belong because he felt 

 that his people could not spare the goods. At the same time, other 

 boys would take the honored positions because their families were 

 wealthy and showed good prospects of a continuous income from 

 prominent positions held in the various tribal ceremonies. Death 

 of a father was a serious blow to a young man's ceremonial ambitions — 

 chiefly because one was expected to pay "ceremonial" fathers for 

 their advice and, frequently, the household was poor. 



The Hidatsa say that the best husbands often were those who had 

 no fathers or became orphans too late to be adopted; they had to 

 work hard to get ahead. The sons of eminent men were the ones to 

 lead the war parties but the poor boys were often the ones to capture 

 most of the horses. Difference in wealth was reflected in the course 

 of a young man's interests. One who was poor and felt unable to 

 accumulate the goods to buy the deceased father's rites, generally 

 established personal bundles based on his visions preliminary to later 

 tribal bundle purchases when he had prospered. The richer boy, 

 while still a relatively young man, would perform the formal cere- 

 monies and obtain the same rites as his father owned. A young 

 man's interest, whether in warfare and hunting or in rituals, was 

 usually evident before he had married. This was partially deter- 

 mined by his birth — into a household that either did or did not possess 

 many rights in ceremonies. In either instance the com'se followed 

 to attain eminence was difficult and exceedingly competitive. 



A young man usually received his first serious training in the hard- 

 ships of warfare and hunting at one of the formal ceremonies which 



