302 CALENDAR HISTORY OF THE KIOWA [ethasn 17 



trimmed with wild sage, wliicli bad been given liim by his uncle Knna- 

 bifiate or Konate, "'Black-tripe." It was his medicine, which he car- 

 ried i>ublicly only m the sun dance, and no one else had such a stick. 

 He carried it on this occasion, keeping time to the dance with it, and 

 at the end of the ceremony planted it, with the fork down, inside the 

 medicine lodge as a sacrifice. On returning to the place next year the 

 Kiowa found that it liad been reversed by someone and had taken root 

 and put forth green leaves. This was the more remarkable, as it h.id 

 previously been stripped of its bark. The news of the phenomenon 

 spread throu.uh the tribe and confirmed the previous impression con- 

 cerning the mysterious powers of the ii'poto. Ten years later, on the 

 occasion of the treaty of Medicine Lodge, the Kiowa visited the spot 

 and found that the rod had grown into a tree and was still alive. It 

 is just possible that K'ayii hte, who is still living, could explain the 

 matter. 



After this dance two war parties started out, one against the 

 Fii'si'ifiko {Piisenos, Mexicans of El Paso), and another, consisting princi- 

 pally of Comanche under the chief Miiwi, against the Sauk and Fox 

 tribes, who had so badly punished them three years 

 before. Thej- met the Sauk northeast of the scene 

 of the foi-mer battle and had an engagement in 

 which several of the Sauk were killed. Gaiipiatan 

 was one of this party. Xo mention of these expe- 

 ditions occurs in the official reports. 

 The story of the origin of the u'poto staft' is 

 FiG.i2i-s.immer 1857- romautic, and throws light upon several interesting 

 Forked-stick-sprouting points of Indian belief aud custom. Eighteen years 

 sund.™ce. before this sun dance (i. e., in 1S39) a small party of 



about twenty Kiowa warriors led by Guadalonte, "Painted red," 

 started against the Pii'si'tnl-o, already mentioned. The old chief Do- 

 hasiin accompanied the party, but not as leader. It should be noted 

 that usually every war party had a substitute leader or lieutenant, who 

 took command in case of the death of the leader. For some reason 

 they made no attack upon El Paso, probably because they found it too 

 vigilantly guarded, but stayed only one night and started the next day 

 on their return. In the desolate Jornada del ^luerto. between the lower 

 Pecos and the Eio Grande, they halted for the night at a spring coming 

 out of a cave since known to the Kiowa as Tso-doi-gyatii'dd'-dce, "the 

 rock house (cave) in which they were surrounded." Xone of the Kiowa 

 can define its exact location, but they describe it as a deep rock well 

 with a large basin of water, and on one side of it a cave running under 

 the rock from the water's edge. Pope's statement shows it to have been 

 the Ilueco Tanks, in western Texas, just south of the New Mexico line. 

 While resting there they were surrounded by a large force of Mexican 

 soldiers, who killed several of their horses aud forced them to take 

 refuge in the cave. The Mexicans had with them several Mescalero 



