BULL. 30] 



SOUNIKAERONON SOUTHERN UTE 



619 



painted by Samuel Brookes, is in posses- 

 sion of the Wisconsin Historical Society 

 at Madison. (f. s. n.) 



Sounikaeronon. The Iroquois name for 

 a tribe defeated by them a few years be- 

 fore 1682 (La Salle in Margry, Dec, ii, 

 237, 1877). In this name ronon is the 

 tribal suffix. 



Soupnapka. A former Delaware village 

 on the E. bank of Delaware r. in New 

 Jersey. — Newcastle conf. (1675) in N. Y, 

 Doc. Col. Hist., XII, 523, 1877. 



Souscoc. A former Chumashan village 

 near Santa Ines mission, Santa Barbara 

 CO., Cal. — Tavlor in Cal. Farmer, Oct. 18, 

 1861. 



South Andrian Band. A band of Shu- 

 swap, formerly known as the Adam's 

 Lake band. —Can. Ind. Aff., 74, 1878. 



Southern Ute. The general official des- 

 ignation of the Ute (q. v.) under the 

 Ft Lewis and Southern Ute school super- 

 intendency, s. w. Colorado, on a reserva- 

 tion comprising 483, 750 acres. They com- 

 prise the Capote, Moache, and Wiminu- 

 che bands, with an aggregate population 

 of 806 in 1909. They are decreasing in 

 numbers. 



The Wiminuche are the strongest num- 

 merically (454 individuals), and occupy 

 the s.w. portion of the reservation, near 

 Mesa Verde; they are the "unallotted" 

 part of the tribe and endeavor to remain 

 as far as possible in a primitive state. 

 The Moache, next in population, and the 

 Capote, are settled about Ignacio; their 

 lands have been allotted in severalty, they 

 do some farming with Government aid, 

 and are somewhat more civilized than the 

 Wiminuche. 



Of the early history of the Southern 

 Ute but little is known; they occupied 

 portions of Utah, Colorado, and New 

 Mexico, and possibly even Arizona. In 

 1775 Father Escalante visited them, de- 

 scribing them as "inhabiting the region 

 north of the Moquis." Toward the mid- 

 dle of the 19th century they were esti- 

 mated at 200 lodges, with from 1,400 to 

 2,000 souls. They have occupied their 

 present reservation since 1863. 



The Southern Ute are neither indus- 

 trious nor wealthy. The family property 

 consists at best of a tent, a few ponies, a 

 wagon, and a few head of cattle, sheep, or 

 goats. The aged members of the Wimi- 

 nuche band arestillreceivingrations, while 

 the Moache and Capote about Ignacio 

 are assisted in other ways. They live, by 

 preference, in tipis or brush shelters; 

 only a few of those at Ignacio have houses 

 of adobe. The furnishings of the dwell- 

 ing are of the rudest description, consist- 

 ing chiefly of a quantity of rags, a soiled 

 cotton blanket or two, one or two water- 

 gourds, and sometimes a sheep skin or a 

 goatskin. Other individual property may 

 consist of a saddle, bow and arrows, or a 



gun or revolver, a few cups, pans, cans, 

 and a bag containing extra clothing and 

 ornaments. The middle of the dwelling 

 is occupied by a small fireplace. Among 

 the Wiminuche the tii)is are often moved 

 from place to place, while the huts are 

 abandoned or destroyed. 



The people all dress to-day chiefly in 

 the clothing of civilization; the blanket, 

 or in its absence a calico shawl, is still a 

 favorite part of the costume. The women 

 often wear leather belts. Decoration is 

 more highly regarded than clothing 

 and consists chiefly of objects covered 

 with beadwork, as pouches, knife-scab- 

 bards, belts, etc., of necklaces, and some- 

 times breast-plates of porcupine quills. 

 Medallions and badges, and copper or 

 silver earrings, are much in favor among 

 the men. Both sexes wear deerskin 

 moccasins ornamented with beadwork. 

 A sombrero decorated with a ribbon or a 

 feather, is preferred by the men as a 

 head-covering. The men wear their hair 

 in two braids, hanging over the chest; 

 some of the men wear another small braid 

 depending from the middle of the scalp. 

 The women wear the hair loose, cut above 

 the brows and at the back to convenient 

 length. 



The occupations of these people are few. 

 Once subsisting by the chase, they are not 

 good laborers, nor do they take kindly 

 to farming. They are neither weavers 

 nor potters, and only a limited trade is 

 conducted with other tribes. Indolence 

 is characteristic of the younger men, and 

 it is apparent that the tribe is passing 

 through a period of degradation. The 

 family life is of a rather low order. Mar- 

 riage is easily contracted and as easily 

 dissolved, and the custom of exchanging 

 wives is said to occur. Polygyny is 

 practised, though to a lesser extent than 

 formerly. The morals of the Wiminu- 

 che particularly are bad. Gambling is 

 prevalent, a woman often neglecting her 

 children for a game of cards. The aged 

 are neglected by their offspring, being 

 suffered to shift for themselves. The 

 natural abilities of the people, however, 

 are not inferior to those of other tribes. 

 The children are bright, and consider- 

 able artistic talent is exhibited by both 

 men and women. The tribe preserves 

 remnants of what may have been a clan 

 organization, and each band recognizes 

 a distinct chief. In important matters 

 the families act together. Intermarriage 

 among the three bands is not prohibited. 

 Friendship exists and visits are ex- 

 changed between the Southern Ute and 

 the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Little pro- 

 gress has been made toward Christianity. 

 They still practise a few ceremonies and 

 perform a few dances, among the latter 

 being a "bear dance," which takes place 

 in spring. They dispose of the dead as 



