670 Mourning and War Customs of the Kansas. [July, 
MOURNING AND WAR CUSTOMS OF THE KANSAS. 
BY THE REV. J. OWEN DORSEY. 
OW, as the Kansas are few, all the men of the tribe assemble 
and go on the war path; but formerly it was not so. Then 
a sufficient number of warriors could be raised from a few gentes, 
probably among the gentes connected with the deceased by blood 
or marriage. Then a-pipe was given to one who was an impor- 
tant man in the tribe; and he fasted for six days before summon- 
ing the warriors to foi him in the expedition. 
An account of the ceremonies observed at the death of Hosa- 
sage, a Kansas, in the winter of 1882-3, will show the present 
customs of the tribe. The authorities from whom the informa- 
tion was obtained were the war captain of the tribe, Paha®le- 
gaqli; Waqube-k’i", the chief of the Eagle gens, and Nixiidje- 
yifige, the principal sacred man or doctor of the tribe. 
As soon as Hosasage died, his father-in-law, Wakanda, went 
after Paha*le-gaqli, the war captain. The old man said, “ Hosa- 
sage is dead. Therefore I have come to tell you to take the sacred 
pi The reply was, “ Yes, I will take the sacred pipe. I will 
also take the sacred bag.” Wakanda returned home, reaching it 
as day was coming. Paha"le-gaqli took the mysterious objects, 
and put clay on his face as a sign of mourning. He fasted, per- 
forming the ceremonies of the ancients. At day he took the 
pipe and went to the house of the deceased. Hosasage’s affini- 
ties had laid out the corpse, placing the body in the house near 
the door, and with the head to the east. 
A skin tent was erected outside, extending from the front of 
the house towards the east. Representative men from all the 
gentes entered the tent and took their stations, as in the accom- 
panying figure, beginning with Nq 1. 
When Paha*le-gaqli arrived he first stood at C. Then the body 
was brought from the house and placed at B, with the head to 
the east. Then Paha"le-gaqli stood at J), where he wept a great 
deal for the dead. He could not touch the corpse or any other 
_ dead body. 
After mourning for him a long time, he said, “ I will sit still for 
3 = four days, smoking the sacred pipe. Then will I wander about, 
: and I will kill any animals that I find.” _ Then he condoled with 
all pr present. After which Wakanda took the ghost (sic) from the 
ps 2 and carried it back to the moue, crying as he went. Then 
