BULL. 30] 



WICHITA 



949 



Kichai, by which all these acknowledged 

 the jurisdiction of the United States. 

 In 1855 the majority of the Tawakoni and 

 Waco, together with a ]iart of the Caddo 

 and Tonkawa, were gathered on a res- 

 ervation on Brazos r. westward from the 

 present Weatherford. In consetjuence of 

 the determined hostiUty of theTexans,the 

 reservation was abandoned in 1859, and 

 the Indians were removed to a temporary 

 location on Washita r., Okla. Just pre- 

 vious to the removal the Tawakoni and 

 Waco were officially reported to number 

 204 and 171 respectively. In the mean- 

 time the Wichita had fled from the vil- 

 lage at Rush Springs and taken refuge at 

 Ft Arbuckle to escape the vengeance of 

 the Comanche, who held them responsi- 

 ble for a recent attack upon themselves 

 by United States troops under Major Van 

 Dorn (1858). The Civil War brought 

 about additional demoralization and suf- 

 fering, most of the refugee Texas tribes, 

 including the Wichita, taking refuge in 

 Kansas until it was over. They returned 

 in 1867, having lost heavily by disease and 

 hardship in the meantime, the Wichita 

 and allied tribes being finally assigned a 

 reservation on the n. side of Washita r. 

 within what is now Caddo co., Okla. In 

 the next vear they were officially reported 

 at 572, besides 123 Kichai. In 1902 they 

 were given allotments in severalty and 

 the reservation was thrown open to set- 

 tlement. The whole Wichita body num- 

 bers now only about 310, besides about 

 30 of the confederated Kichai remnant, 

 being less than one-tenth of their original 

 number. 



Like all tribes of Caddoan stock the 

 Wichita were primarily sedentary and 

 agricultural, but owing to their proximity 

 to the buffalo plains they indulged also in 

 hunting to a considerable extent. Their 

 permanent communal habitations were of 

 conical shape, of diameter from 30 to 50 

 ft, and consisted of a framework of stout 

 poles overlaid with grass thatch so as to 

 present from a short distance the appear- 

 ance of a haystack. Around the inside 

 were ranged the beds upon elevated plat- 

 forms, while the fire-hole was sunk in the 

 center. The doorways faced e. and w., 

 and the smoke-hole was on one side of 

 the roof a short distance below the apex. 

 Several such houses are still in occupancy 

 on the former reser\ation. There were 

 also drying platforms and arbors thatched 

 with grass in the same way. The skin 

 tipi was used when away from home. The 

 Wichita raised large quantities of corn and 

 traded the surplus to the neighboring 

 hunting tribes. Besides corn they had 

 pumpkins and tobacco. Their corn was 

 ground upon stone metates or in wooden 

 mortars. Their women made pottery to 

 a limited degree. In their original con- 



dition both sexes went nearly naked, the 

 men wearing only a breech-cloth and the 

 women a short skirt, but from their 

 abundant tattooing they were designated 

 preeminently as the "tattooed people" 

 in the sign language. Men and women 

 generally wore the hair flowing loosely. 

 They buried their dead in the ground, 

 erecting a small framework over the 

 mound. 



The Wichita had not the clan system, 

 but were extremely given to ceremonial 

 dances, particularly the picturesque 

 "Horn dance," nearly equivalent to the 

 Green Corn dance of the Eastern tribes. 

 They had also ceremonial races in which 

 the whole tribe joined. Within recent 

 years they have taken up the Ghost dance 

 and Peyote rite. Their head-chief, who at 

 present is of Tawakoni descent, seems to 

 be of more authority than is usual among 

 the Plains tribes. In general character 

 the Wichita are industrious, reliable, and 

 of friendly disposition. (j. m. ) 



Black Pani. — Charlevoix, Voy. to Amer., ii, 2-16, 

 1761. Black Pawnees.— Prichard, Phys. Hist. Man., 

 v,4U8, 1847 (confounded with Ankara). Do'gu'at. — 

 Mooney, Ghost Dance, 1095, 1896 ('tattooed peo- 

 ple': Kiowa name). Do'kana. — Mooney, ibid, 

 ('tattooed people': Comanche name). Freckled 

 Panis.— Bouquet (1764) quoted by Jefferson, 



sau.— Gatschet, Arapaho MS., B. A. E. (Arapaho 

 name). Hinasso.— Ibid. (Arapaho name). Hox- 

 suwitan.— ten Kate, Synonymie, 9, 1884 ('tattooed 

 people': Cheyenne name). Huichites.— Bull.Soc. 

 Geog. Hex., 267, 1870. Ikarik.— Gatschet, Pawnee 

 MS., B. A. E. (Pawnee name). Ki'-(<i-ku'-^uc. — 

 La Flesche quoted by Dorsev, MS., B. A. E.,1878 

 (Omaha name). Kiddekedisse.— ten Kate, Sy- 

 nonymie, 10, 1884 (own name). Kidikurus.— 

 Gatschet, Wichita MS., B. A. E., 1884 (own name). 

 Kiri-kur-viks.— Grinnell, Pawnee Hero Stories, 241, 

 1889 (' bear's eyes ': Pawnee name). Kirikurus. — 

 Ibid, (own name). Ki'tikiti'sh.—Moonev, Ghost 

 Dance, 1096, 1896 (own name). Mitsita.-^Dorsey 

 Kansa MS. vocab., B. A. E., 1882 (Kansa name). 

 Niteheta.— Sibley, Hist. Sketches, 75, 1806 (evident 

 misprint of Witcheta; given as a village). Ochi- 

 vitas.— Bull. Soc. Geog. Mex., 504,1869. Onachita.— 

 Ann. de la Propag. de la Foi., I, no. 5, 44, 18.53 

 (misprint). Ositas.— La Harpe (1719) in French, 

 Hist. Coll. La., in, 74, 1851. Ouchitaws.— Bollaert 

 in Jour. Ethnol. Soc. Lend., ii, 265, 1850. Ouichi- 

 taws.— Bollaert, ibid., 279. Ouitcitas.— Robin, 

 Voy. a la Louisiane. in, 3, 1807. Ousita.— La Harpe 

 (1719) in Margry, D^c, VI, 289, 1886. Ovagitas.— 

 Barcia, Ensayo, 288, 1723. Ovedsitas.— Doc. of 

 1771-2 quoted by Bolton in Tex. Hist. A.sso. 

 Quar., IX, 91, 1905. ja^i" wasabe.— Dorsev, (Jegiha 

 MS. diet., B. A. E., 1878 ('Black bear Pawnees': 

 Ponca and Omaha name). Famassa. — Vaugondv, 

 Carte Am(§rique, 1778. Pamasus.— Alcedo, Die, 

 Geog., II, 630, 1787. Fancasa.— Barcia, Ensayo, 

 298, 1723. Fancassa.— La Salle (ca. 1680) in Margry. 

 Dec, II, 168, 1877. Faneassa.— La Hontan, New 

 Voy., I, 130, 1703. Faniaisa.— Bowles, Map of 

 America, after 1750. Fania-picque.— Sibley, Hist. 

 Sketches, 19, 1806. Fania Pique.— Jefferson (1806) 

 quoted by Bowen, Am. Discov. by Welsh, 94, 1876. 

 Paniassas. — Carver, Travels, map, 1778. Pani- 

 massas.— Dumont, La., I, 135, 1753. Panionassa.— 

 De risle (1703) cited by Dunbar in Mag. Am. 

 Hist., IV, 249, 1880. Paniouassa.— Beaurain (ca. 

 17-20) in Margry, D6c., vi, 230, 289, 1886. Pani- 

 oussa.— La Harpe (1720), ibid., 290. Paniovasas. — 

 Alcedo, Die. Geog., iv, 53, 1788. Panis.— Sibley, 

 Hist. Sketches, 74, 1806 (given as French name). 

 Panis noirs.— Bruyere (1742) in Margry, D6c., Vi, 



