DORssY] ARROW MANUFACTURE. 287 



a groove in the middle of one side. These grooves were brought to 

 gether, and tlie arrow was drawn between them. 



War arrows had crooked lines drawn along the shafts from the points 

 to the other ends, down which, so I was informed by the Indians, it 

 was intended that the blood of a wounded foe should trickle. 



Arrowheads (mahi"si), when made of tiint, as at the first, were called 

 "i""6 mahi^si," stone arrowheads. In more recent times, they were 

 manufactured of pieces of sheet iron; as, fen* example, hoojjs of pails 

 and barrels. 



Arrow cement (hi"'pa), for attaching the heads to the shafts, was 

 usually made from the skin taken oft" a buftalo or elk head. This was 

 boiled a long time, till ready to fall to pieces. When the gelatinous 

 matter forming the cement rose to the top of the water, a stick (called 

 hi°pi'i-ja"jiri'ga) was thrust in and turned round and round, causing the 

 material to be wrapped around it. When cooled it was smoothed with 

 the hand. Then the act was repeated till a large quantity was collected 

 on the stick. When needed for use, it was warmed by placing either 

 in the mouth or in hot water. The skin of the big turtle was also used 

 for making cement. 



A set of arrows were called, collectively, "ma"wi"'da°." A set gen- 

 erally consisted of ten arrows, but the number varied; sometimes there 

 were two, four, or even twenty. Wlien a man had arrows left in his 

 quiver, he compared them with that which was in the slain animal. 

 When he had none left, he appealed to some one who knew his style of 

 arrow. 



There were no clan or gentile marks on arrows. One set was distin- 

 guished from another by the order of the paint stripes on them, bj' the 

 kind of feathers used, by the mode in which the arrowheads were made, 

 etc. The Oto made bad arrows ; those of the Pawnee were better, but 

 they were inferior to those made by the Dakota, Ponka, and Omaha. 



The feathers, half-webs generally, put on arrows were those ot the 

 eagle, buzzard, wild turkey, great owl, and goose. Sometimes hawk 

 or crow feathers were employed. 



, QCIVEKS. 



Quivers (ma°'jiha) for men were made of buffalo hide; but boys" 

 quivers were made either of otter skins or of the skins of cougars, with 

 the tail of the animal hanging down from the upper extremity. A skin 

 case was attached to the (juiver for carrying the bow when not in use. 

 The wrist was defended from the percussion of the bowstring by the 

 leather wristguard or dtjande-da. 



Shields and abmor. 



Shields (^ahawagife) were made of the hides of buffalo bulls. They 

 were round and very thick, reaching to the waist of the bearer. Arrows 

 did not jjenetrate them. Joseph La Fleche never heard of the use of 

 defensive armor, such as helmet and mail, among the Omaha and Ponka. 



