86 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 68 



curio-hunter to purchase it and so parted with the shrine. About 

 two years ago the candidate suddenly demanded that the initiation 

 ceremonies be performed. The No"'ho"zhi"ga, who had been duly 

 summoned to witness the initiation, assembled, and the ceremonies 

 proceeded in the prescribed manner, but without the waxobe. At 

 a certain part of the ritual a warrior who had won thirteen war- 

 honors was called on to recount those honors to the sacred hawk- 

 in the presence of the assembled No"'ho"zhi"ga. Kuzhiwatse, an 

 aged warrior, and one of the remaining three in the tribe who could 

 count the requisite number of war-honors at the ceremony, was 

 chosen for this coveted honor. At the proper time the old man, 

 gathering up in his hands the thirteen willow saplings which had 

 been placed before him with which to count his honors, arose, thanked 

 the members of the order for the honor conferred upon him, and 

 then addressed the sacred hawk in the following manner : " O, 

 Waxobe, I rise to speak to you, in words that carry only the 

 truth." Then, suddenly remembering that the waxobe was not 

 present, he added, ** You are not here, but wherever you may be, 

 perhaps in some place on the shores of yonder great water (pointing 

 eastward), however long the distance may be, you will surely hear 

 the words that I shall utter." Then, unmindful of the ill-concealed 

 smiles of the No"'ho"zhi"ga, he went on, with ail the dignity of a 

 warrior, to recount his war-honors, as though the sacred hawk, 

 the emblem of the valor of the Osage warriors, was actually present 

 in its accustomed place. 



The results of Mr. La Flesche's eftorts to secure from the members 

 of the Wazhazhe subdivision, residing with the " Hilltop " band, 

 their version of the tribal rites were disappointing. However, he 

 took advantage of the opportunities that arose for securing other 

 important information relating to the rites. One day there appeared 

 at the Indian house where Mr. La Flesche was staying an old woman 

 who said she had a set of " i'gagthe dapa " (" short-stakes ") she 

 wished to dispose of. Tqagthe dapa is the collective name of the 

 stakes, perforated slats and deer's antler (see fig. 88), that are used 

 as loom supports and batten in weaving the rush mats out of which 

 are made the symbolic, portable shrines for the sacred hawks, war 

 symbols, that are distributed among the various gentes of the tribe, 

 and also for the weaving of the bufifalo-hair bags that form the 

 outer coverings for the shrines. The old woman said she felt that 

 on account of her age she must soon be departing for the other 

 world and she did not wish to leave the mysterious articles to her 



