In the Peabody Museum of Harvard University have been placed, for safe-keeping, the contents of two of the sacred tents of the Omaha tribe of Indians. The sacred pole and its pack were deposited in 1888, while the articles pertaining to the sacred tent of war were transmitted four years earlier, in 1884. These relics are unique and of rare ethnological value, and the relinquishing of them by their keepers is, I think, without historic parallel. It came about in this wise: When the changes incident to the impinging of civilization upon the Omahas made it evident to their leading men that ancient tribal observances were no longer possible, the question arose. as to what should be done with the sacred objects that for generations had been essential in their ceremonies, and expressive of the authority of those charged with the administration. of tribal affairs. To destroy these sacred articles was not to be thought of, and it was suggested that they should be buried with the chiefs of the gens charged with their keeping; which manner of disposal was finally determined upon.

At that time, I was engaged in a serious study of the tribe, and to me it seemed a grave misfortune that these venerable objects should be suffered to decay, and the full story of the tribe be forever lost; for that story was as as yet but imperfectly known, and until these sacred articles, so carefully hidden, could be examined, it was impossible to gain an inside point. of view, whence one could study as from the center, ceremonies connected with these articles and their relation to the autonomy of the tribe. The importance of securing these objects became more and more apparent, and influences were brought to bear upon the chiefs who were their keepers to prevent the carrying out of the plan for burial.

After years of labor, wherein large credit must be given to

the late Joseph La Flesche, former head chief of the tribe, and to his son, the sacred articles were finally deposited in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. The transfer was not effected without dramatic incidents evidencing the awe in which these objects were held-objects which, in their unpretending appearance, give little idea of the important part they have played in the history of more than one Indian tribe of our country.

The Omaha tribe is composed of ten villages or ta-won-gdhe, to which for convenience sake we apply the term gentes; these camped in a fixed place, in a circular form, known as the hu-dhu-ga, which had its opening to the east; five gentes camped along the line of the northern half and five along the southern half. When the tribe left their villages to go out upon their annual buffalo hunt, at which time they often traveled several hundreds of miles, the opening of the hu-dhu-ga was always in the direction in which the tribe was moving; but the idea of orientation was never lost, for, if the people were going westward, the horseshoe-shaped hu-dhu-ga turned as on a hinge placed opposite the opening, and the northern half, when the opening faced the east, was still the northern half, now that the opening faced the west. In the mind of the people, the hu-dhu-ga always opened to the east, and the tribe ideally faced the rising sun, wherever they pitched their tents. The northern half of the hu-dhu-ga was called In-shta-sunda, taking the name of the gens that camped at the northern point of the opening. The southern half was known as the Hon-gashe-nu, from the Honga gens, which occupied the middle place among the five gentes forming the south half. All the tents faced or opened toward the space enclosed by the line of lodges forming the hu-dhu-ga.

There were three tents set apart to contain the sacred objects of the tribe, known as the dti-ghu-be, or sacred tents. One of these contained the paraphernalia of the ceremonies connected with war. This tent was pitched a short distance in front of those of the We-jin-shte gens, its keeper. This gens camped at the southern end of the opening, opposite the In-shta-sunda gens. The other two sacred tents were set side by side in front of the Honga gens, who had them in charge. The tent toward the west held the hide of the white buffalo cow, and the tent cover was decorated upon the outside with stalks of corn in full ear. In the tent towards the east was deposited the sacred pole and its belongings, and the decoration on the cover of the lodge was a number of round red spots.

These tents were objects of fear; no one unbidden went near them or touched them, and should any person or any animal or a tent pole come accidentally in contact with any of the three tents, the offending thing must be brought to the keeper, who would wash it with warm water, and brush it with a spray of artemisia, to prevent the evil that was believed to follow such profanation.

The sacred pole is of cottonwood and bears marks of great It has been subjected to manipulation; the bark has been removed and the pole shaped and shaved at both ends, the top or "head" rounded into a cone shaped knob and the lower end trimmed to a dull point. Its circumference near the head is 15 cm. 2 mm.; the middle part increases to 19 cm. and is diminished toward the foot to 14 cm. 6 mm. To the lower end is fastened by strips of tanned hide, a piece of harder wood, probably ash, 55 cm. 21⁄2 mm .in length, rounded at top with a groove cut to prevent the straps slipping, and with the lower end sharpened so as to be easily driven into the ground. There is a crack in the sacred pole extending several cm. above this foot piece, which has probably given rise to a modern idea that this foot piece was added to strengthen or mend the pole when it had become worn with long usage. But the pole itself shows no indication of ever having been in the ground; there is no decay apparent, as is shown on the foot piece whose flattened top proves that it was driven into the ground. Moreover, the

name of this piece of wood is zhi-be, leg, and as the pole itself represents a man, and as this name zhi-be is not applied to a piece of wood spliced on to lengthen a pole, it is probable that a foot piece was originally attached to the pole.

Upon this zhi-be, or leg, the pole rested; it was never placed upright, but inclined forward at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and was held firmly in place by a stick tied to it about I m. and 46 cm. from its "head." The native name of this support is i-mon-gdhe, a staff, such as old men lean upon.

Upon the top or "head" of the pole was tied a large scalp, ni-ka mon-ghi-ha. About one end, 14 cm. 5 mm. from the "head" of the pole, is a piece of hide bound to the pole by bands of tanned skin. This wrapping covers a basket work of twigs and feathers lightly filled with down of the crane. The length of this bundle of hide is 44 cm. 5 mm., and its circumference about 50 cm. But this does not give an exact idea of the size of this basket work when it was opened for the çeremony, as the covering has shrivelled with age, it being twenty years this summer since the last ceremony was performed and the wrapping put on as it remains to-day.

The

This bundle is said to represent the body of a man. name by which it is known, a-kon-da-bpa, is the word used to designate the leather shield worn upon the wrist of an Indian to protect it from the bow string. This name affords unmistakable evidence that the pole was intended to symbolize a man, as no other creature could wear the bow-string shield. It also indicated that the man thus symbolized was one who was both a provider and protector of his people.

The accompanying pack contained a number of articles which were used in the ceremonies of the sacred pole. The pack itself is an oblong piece of buffalo hide, which, when wrapped around its contents, makes a round bundle about 80 cm. long and 60 cm. in circumference. It was bound together by bands

of rawhide and was called wa-dhi-gha-be, meaning literally, things flayed, referring to the scalps stored within the pack. Nine were found in it when I opened the pack at the museum, and some of them show signs of considerable wear. They are all very large and on one is the remains of a feather, all of which has been worn away but the quill.

The pipe belonging to the pole and used in its rites was kept in this pack. The stem is round and 89 cm. in length. It is probably of ash, and shows marks of long usage. The bowl is of red catlinite 12 cm. 5 mm. at its greatest length, and 7 cm. 2 mm. in height. The bowl proper rises 4 cm. 5 mm. from the base. Upon the sides and bottom of the stone certain figures are incised which are difficult to determine; they may be a conventionalized bird grasping the pipe. The lines of the figures are filled with a semi-lustrous black substance, composed of vegetable matter, which brings the design into full relief; this black substance is also painted upon the front and back of the bowl, leaving a band of red showing at the sides. The effect is of a black and red inlaid pipe. When this pipe was smoked, the stone end rested on the ground; it was not lifted, but dragged by the stem as it passed from man to man while they sat in the sacred tent or enclosure. To prevent the bowl falling off, which would be a disaster, a hole was drilled through a little flange at the end of the stone pipe where it is fitted to the wooden stem, and through this hole one end of a cord made of sinew was passed and fastened, and the other end of the cord securely tied about the pipestem 13 cm. above its entrance into the stone pipe bowl.

The stick used to clean this pipe, ni-niu-dhu-ba-thk, was kept in a case or sheath of reed wound round with a fine rope of human hair, which was fastened with bits of fine sinew; a feather, said to be that of the crane, was bound to the lower end of this sheath. Only a part of the quill remains. Sweet grass, pe-zthe-zthon-thta, and cedar, na-zthi, broken up and tied in bundles, were in the pack. Bits of the grass and cedar were spread upon the top of the tobacco when the pipe was filled, so that when it was lit these were first consumed, making an offering of savory smoke.

Seven arrows, mon-pe-dhun-ba, were in the pack. The arrow shafts are much broken; they were originally 45 cm. 6 mm. in length, feathered from the crane, and had stone heads. Part of the quills of the feathers remain, but the arrow-heads are lost. A bundle of sinew cord, red paint, wa-the-zhi-de, used in painting the pole, and a curious brush, complete the contents of the pack. The brush is made of a piece of hide, one edge cut into a coarse fringe and the hide then rolled together and bound with bands, making a rude utensil with which the paint, mixed with buffalo fat, was put upon the pole. Those who may visit the Peabody Museum at Harvard University will notice upon the upper portion of the sacred pole something that looks like pieces of thick bark; it is the dried paint

that remains from the numerous anointings of the pole, which ceremony was a thank offering for successful hunts and a prayer for future prosperity. The anointing or painting of the pole took place in July, toward the close of the annual buffalo hunt, after the tribe had reached that portion of their hunting grounds where they felt themselves reasonably secure from their enemies. The custom long ago, beyond the memory of the oldest men, so I was told by the chief of the Honga in 1888, was to perform this ceremony twice a year, after the summer and winter hunt, but, within his memory and that of his father, it had been held only in the summer.

The rapid destruction of the herds of buffalo in the decade following 1870 caused the Indian not only sore physical discomfort, but also great mental distress. His religious ceremonies needed the buffalo for their observance, and its disappearance, which in its suddenness seemed to him supernatural, has done much to demoralize the Indian, morally as well as socially. No one can have his sacred rites overturned in a day and preserve his mental equipoise.

After several unsuccessful hunts of the tribe, poverty succeeded to their former plenty, and, in distress of mind and body, seeing no other way of relief, the people were urged to the performance of their ceremony of anointing the pole, although misfortune in hunting had made this in its integrity impossible. A new plan was suggested by which the ceremony could be accomplished and, as they fondly hoped, the blessing of plenty be restored to the people. The tribe had certain moneys due from the United States in payment for ceded lands, and through their agent they asked that such a sum as was needful to purchase thirty head of cattle should be paid them. The agent, little understanding the trouble of mind of the Indians under his charge or the motive of their request, wrote to the Interior Department at Washington, that "the Omahas have a tradition that when they do not go on the buffalo hunt, they should at least once a year take the lives of some cattle and make a feast." This interpretation of the Indian's desire to spend his own money for the purchase of the means by which he hoped to perform rites that might bring back the buffalo and save him from an unknown and terrifying future, is a significant comment upon how little the Indian's real life has been comprehended by those appointed to lead him along new lines of living and thinking. The cattle were bought at a cost to the tribe of about $1,000. The ceremony took place; but, alas! the conditions did not alter. A second time the tribe spent its money, but to no avail. New interests and influences grew stronger every month. The old customs could not be made to bend to the new ways forced upon the people. Opposition to further outlay arose from the government and among some of the Indians themselves; and one year, two years, three years passed and the pole stood silent in its tent, dreaded, as a thing that was powerful for harm, but