332 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY. 



various directions with his club or hatchet, with which he struck the 

 ground each time, he said, "Niaei n ga wi n ga6'a n :" I did thus to a man; 

 "Maci n ga wi" aqfi," I killed a man ; "Niaci n ga wi n nb^a n ," I took hold 

 of a man; or some other expression. When he finished the He^ucka 

 dance was ended. 



§ 218. The Mandan dance with fallen friends. — When the Omahas 

 lost any of their number in a fifiht they had the Mandan dance on their 

 homeward way, or after they reached home. If they had the bodies of 

 their dead they placed the latter in the middle of a lodge, making them 

 sit upright, as if alive aDd singing. And they made them hold rattles 

 of deers' claws on their arms. 



In the war story of ja('i n -na n paji, recorded in Part I, Vol. VI, Contri- 

 butions to N. A. Ethnology, the narrator says : " All the people danced 

 in groups, dancing the Mandan dance. I rode the horse which I had 

 brought home. I painted my face and wore good clothing. I hit the 

 drum : ' Ku+ !' I said, ' Let Waqa-naji n take that for himself,' referring 

 to the horse. I presented the horse to one who was not my relation. " 



§ 219. When the war party return home, whether they have been suc- 

 cessful or not, the captains invite the warriors to a feast. The war- 

 riors, in turn, invited the captains to a feast. There was no regular 

 order; if the warriors boiled first they were the first to invite (the cap- 

 tains) to a feast. 



§ 220. A battle may be ended either by the death of one of the prin- 

 cipal captains or by sending a man with a sacred pipe towards the 

 ranks of the enemy. The sacred pipe is a peace pipe, and is used in- 

 stead of a flag of truce. (See Punishment of a murderer, § 309.) 



§ 221. Treatment of the woundedfoes. — If they fell into the power of the 

 men of the victorious side they were killed and their bodies were cut 

 in pieces, which were thrown towards the retreating foes, who cried 

 with rage and mortification. Their treatment at the hand of the women 

 has been described in § 184. 



§ 222. Treatment of captives. — Captives were not slain by the Omahas 

 and Ponkas. When peace was declared the captives were sent home, 

 if they wished to go. If not they could remain where they were, and 

 were treated as if they were members of the tribe ; but they were not 

 adopted by any one. When Gahfge-jin'ga, father of Wacuce, of the 

 Iuke-sabe" gens, was a small boy he was captured by the Ponkas as 

 they were fighting with the Omahas, who were camped near their ad- 

 versaries. The Omahas having overcome the Ponkas, the latter sent 

 the aged Han'ga-ckade, whom the Omahan admired, with a peace pipe, 

 and, as an earnest of their intentions, they sent with him the boy whom 

 they had captured that day. He was restored to his tribe, and peace 

 was declared. (See International Law, § 306.) 



§ 223. Bravery. — The following anecdotes were told by Mr. La Fleche 

 as illustrating the bravery of his people : 



An old man had a son who reached manhood, and went into a fight, 



