72 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



pressed a desire to return to the system of Government rations ; but struggled man- 

 fully througli the "winter, and on the opening of spring went to work with a will to 

 plant and cultivate another crop. I am pleased to say that their efforts have been 

 crowned with a degree of success which will afford them abundant provision for the 

 year. 



The following figures frova the statistics gathered by Mr, McKenzie, the clerk in 

 charge, will show the aggregate results of their farming operations during the past 

 year. They had in cultivation 971 acres, from which there were produced 1,177 bush- 

 els of wheat, 35,000 bushels of corn, 969 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of potatoes, 300 

 bushels of peas and beans, 5,000 melons, 3,000 pumpkins, besides a variety of veg- 

 etables too tedious to mention. They have also cut and secured 300 tons of hay. In 

 the way of stock they own 300 head of cattle, 15 mules, 100 swine, and a large num- 

 ber of ponies. 



o-mX-has. 



[Omaha: Laws of the United States. Indian Bureau, June, 1885.] 



The remains of a numerous tribe, nearly destroyed by the small-pox in 1823, now 

 living under the protection from the Sioux of the Pawnees ; their numbers, about 1,500. 

 On Platte River (now in Nebraska). See also Pawnees, herein. 



112. Man-sha-qlii-ta, the Little Soldier; a brave. 



(Painted in 1833. No plate.) 



113. Ki-ho-ga-'waw-shtl-shee, the Brave Chief; chief of the tribe. 



(Painted in 1833, plate No. 145, page 27, vol. 2, Catlin's Eight Years.) 



114. Om-pah-tdn-ga, the Big Elk; a famous warrior, his tomahawk in his hand, and 



face painted black for war. 



(Painted in 1833, plate No. 146, pages 27-28, vol. 2, Catlin's Eight Years.) 



An able and highly respectable man. He is the principal chief of his nation, and 

 the most considerable man among them in point of talent and influence. He uses 

 his power with moderation, and the white men who have visited his country all bear 

 testimony to his uniform fair dealing, hospitality, and friendship. He is a good 

 warrior, and has never failed to effect the objects which he has attempted, being 

 distinguished rather by the commonsense and sagacity which secures success, than 

 by the brilliancy of his achievements. 



The Omahas have one peculiarity in their customs, which we have never noticed 

 in the history of any other people. Neither the father-in-law nor mother-in-law are 

 permitted to hold any direct conversation with their son-in-law. It is esteemed in- 

 delicate in these parties to look in each other's faces, or to mention the names of each 

 other, or to have any intercourse, except through the medium of a third person. If 

 an Omaha enters a tent in which the husband of his daughter is seated, the latter 

 conceals his head with his robe, and takes the earliest opportunity to withdraw, 

 while the ordinary offices of kindness and hospitality are performed through the 

 female, who passes the pipe or the message between her father and husband. 



Ongpatonga married the daughter of Mechapa, or the Horsehead. On a visit to his 

 wife one day he entered the tent of her father, unobserved by the latter, who was 

 engaged in playing with a favorite dog, named Arrecatt-a-waho, which, in the Paw- 

 nee language, signifies Big Elk — being synonymous with Ongpatonga (Big Elk !) in 

 the Omaha. This name the father-in-law was unluckily repeating, without being 

 aware of the breach of good manners he was committing, until his wife, after many 

 ineffectual winks and signs, struck him on the back with her fist, and, in that tone 

 of conjugal remonstrance which ladies can use when necessary, exclaimed, " You old 

 fool! Have you no eyes to see who is present? You had. better jump en his back 

 and ride him about like a dog." The old man, in surprise, ejaculated ''IVah," and 

 ran out of the tent in confusion. — McKenny & Hall, vol. 1, pages 136, 137. 



Big Elk delivered a sjieech to Ca.]itain Long and his expedition in 1819, in which he 



