Chapter VII: Part 7

A great many caves, some rather large, occur in the limestone formation, often in the cliffs facing or near the streams. As previously mentioned, these show evidence of long or frequent occupancy by the Indians. At the openings are masses of wood ashes and charcoal, filling the space between the sides to a depth of several feet, and in the caves encountered in the vicinity of the Gasconade quantities of broken pottery are found, with bones of animals which served as food, various implements, shells, etc., all intermingled with the accumulated ashes. A short distance from the bank of the Piney, several miles above its junction with the Gasconade, a cave of more than usual interest is met with in the high cliff. This is in Pulaski County. Flowing from the cave is a small stream of clear, very cold water. It enters the main chamber through an opening not more than 4 feet in height and about the same in width, the stream, when the cave was visited some years ago, being 3 or 4 inches in depth. A few yards up the watercourse the channel widens several feet and so continues for a short distance. This widening was caused by pieces of chert having been removed from the mass, this evidently having been one of the sources whence the Indians secured material for the making of their implements. The bed of the stream was strewn with flakes and roughly formed rejected pieces of stone.

Thus, as has been shown, vessels of earthenware were made and used by the people who occupied or frequented this part of the Ozark country, but conditions appear to have been different in the western sections. Bits of pottery do not occur on the surface of the camp sites, and it is evident it was neither made nor used by the occupants of certain settlements. Fragments of pottery are not encountered on these particular sites, but large stone mortars are often found, objects which do not seem to have been very frequently used farther east.

The valleys of the James and White Rivers, in Stone and Taney Counties, Missouri, were visited some years ago and many interesting sites were discovered. Traces of a comparatively extensive village were encountered on the E. 1/2 of lot 1, S. W. 1/4 of Sec. 9, T. 22, R. 23, Stone County, on the left bank of White River. Within a radius of a few feet, on a level spot near the center of the once occupied area, were found four large sandstone mortars, the concavity of the largest being about 15 inches in diameter and 6 inches in depth, while the entire block of stone was more than 2 feet in thickness. When discovered, June 11, 1901, the mortars gave the impression of not having been touched since they were last used by some of the inhabitants of the ancient village, and from the surrounding surface, an acre or more in extent, were collected several hundred stone implements, but not a fragment of pottery was encountered. This site, although rather larger and more extensive than the majority, was, nevertheless, typical of the 20 or more which were discovered during that interesting journey through the valleys mentioned. Quantities of stone implements were gathered from the surface of the sites, and many mortars were found, but no pottery.

While the material recovered from the sites in the valley of the Gasconade is similar to that found to the eastward, the finding of mortars and the lack of pottery on the James and White River Valley sites suggests a different culture, and it is possible the latter owe their origin to parties of the Wichita or neighboring tribes who entered the western valleys of the Ozarks from the prairie lands.

QUAPAW.

This, the southernmost tribe of the Dhegiha group, occupied several villages west of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Arkansas. When the closely allied tribes had removed from their ancient habitat in the upper valley of the Ohio, and had arrived at the mouth of that stream, the Quapaw are believed to have turned southward while the others went northward. The name of the tribe, Quapaw, signifies "downstream people;" Omaha being translated "those going against the wind or current." As a people they seem to have been known to the members of the De Soto expedition about 1541, probably occupying villages on or near the sites of the settlements visited by the French during the latter part of the next century.

Pere Marquette, while on his memorable journey down the Mississippi, in the year 1673, went as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, where he lingered a few days before returning northward on July 17. The villages of the Quapaw, designated the Arkansa, were reached, but the habitations were only briefly described: "Their cabins, which are long and wide, are made of bark; they sleep at the two extremities, which are raised about two feet from the ground. They keep their corn in large baskets, made of cane, or in gourds, as large as half barrels." They used both wooden dishes and "plates of baked earth. Their cooking was done in large earthen pots, of their own make." (Shea, (2), p. 48.) But the most interesting early account of the villages is contained in Joutel's narrative of La Salle's last expedition, when he attempted to reach the Illinois country overland from the Gulf coast. Through jealousy and intrigue of members of the expedition he was murdered by one of their number, March 20, 1687; but others continued eastward, and on July 24, 1687, arrived at the four villages of the Quapaw, and to quote from the narrative of the expedition: "The Nation of the _Accancea's_ consists of four Villages. The first is call'd _Otsotchove_, near which we were; the second _Toriman_, both of them seated on the River; the third _Tonginga_; and the fourth _Cappa_, on the Bank of the _Missisipi_. These Villages are built after a different Manner from the others we had seen before, in this Point, that the Cottages, which are alike as to their Materials and Rounding at the Top, are long, and cover'd with the Bark of Trees, and so very large, that several of them can hold two hundred Persons, belonging to several Families. The People are not so neat as the _Cenis_ [Caddo], or the _Assonis_ [Caddo], in their Houses, for some of them lie on the Ground, without any Thing under them but some Mats, or dress'd Hide. How ever, some of them have more Conveniencies, but the Generality has not. All their Movables consist in some Earthen Vessels and oval wooden Platters, which are neatly made, and with which they drive a Trade."

The expedition was then resting at the village standing on the banks of the Arkansas, not far above its junction with the Mississippi. Here they remained three days, departing on July 27. On that day "We imbark'd on a Canoe belonging to one of the Chiefs, being at least twenty Persons, as well Women as Men, and arriv'd safe, without any Trouble, at a Village call'd _Toriman_, for we were going down the River." The river was the Arkansas. Later in the day they reached the "fatal River, so much sought after by us, called _Colbert_, when first discover'd, and _Missisipi_, or _Mechassipi_ by the Natives that were near us." The party lingered at Toriman during the twenty-eighth, and on the following day arrived at "the next Village call'd _Tonningua_, seated on the Bank of that River [the Mississippi], where we were receiv'd in the Chief's Cottage, as we had been in the others." On July 30, "We set out for Cappa, the last Village of the _Accancea's_, eight Leagues distant from the Place we had left." (Joutel, (1), pp. 155-161.) Passing up the Mississippi from the Quapaw towns, they encamped during the night of August 2 on an island, "for our greater Safety, for we were then come into an Enemy's Nation, call'd _Machigamea_, which put our Indians into great Frights."

Pere Anastasius Douay, also a member of the party, had very little to say about their stop among the Quapaw, only that "We visited three of these villages, the Torimans, the Doginga, and the Kappa; everywhere we had feasts, harangues, calumet-dances, with every mark of joy." (Shea, (2), p. 220.) Evidently his notes were faulty, as no mention was made of the fourth town.

When La Harpe made his journey into the region bordering the Mississippi some distance above New Orleans he encountered the Quapaw, and in his journal referred to them as the Alkansa, and said: "La nation Alkansa, ainsi nommee parce qu'elle sort des Canzes [Kansa] etablis sur le Missouri, est situe sur le bord du Mississipi dans un terrein isole par les ruisseaux qui l'environnent; elle se divise en trois villages, Ougapa, Torisna et Tonginga, eloignes d'une lieue les uns les autres, et renfermant ensemble quatre cents habitans; leur principal chef est celui des Ougapas; les Sotoueis le reconnaissent aussi pour le leur; ils Sotoueis le reconnaissent aussi pour le leur; ils sont tous sortis de la meme nation et parlent le meme langue." (La Harpe, (1), p. 317.) Elsewhere he referred to reaching the "riviere Blanche, qui court dans le nord-ouest du cote des Osages," which entered the "riviere des Sotoueis," or Arkansas, 4 leagues from the Mississippi. Here stood a village of the Sotoueis, consisting of 40 habitations and having a population of 330.

Nearly a century elapsed between the time of La Harpe's visit to the country occupied by the Quapaw and the journey performed by Nuttall. On February 27, 1819, when the latter was ascending the Arkansas River, he wrote: "In the course of the day we passed the outlet of the bayou, or rather river, Meta, which diagonally traverses the Great Prairie, also two Indian villages on the south bank [of the Arkansas].... The first was the periodical residence of a handful of Choctaws, the other was occupied by the Quapaws." (Nuttall, (1), p. 91.) This was near the line between Lincoln and Desha Counties, Arkansas. Some distance beyond, apparently at some point in the present Jefferson County, on March 11, 1819, he saw other native villages, but whether occupied by Quapaw or some other tribe was not told. However, they were probably Quapaw settlements. On that day: "Passed Mr. Embree's, and arrived at Mr. Lewismore's. Six miles above, we also saw two Indian villages, opposite each of those settlements.... The Indians, unfortunately, are here, as usual, both poor and indolent, and alive to wants which they have not the power of gratifying. The younger ones are extremely foppish in their dress; covered with feathers, blazing calicoes, scarlet blankets, and silver pendants. Their houses, sufficiently convenient with their habits, are oblong square, and without any other furniture than baskets and benches, spread with skins for the purpose of rest and repose. The fire, as usual, is in the middle of the hut, which is constructed of strips of bark and cane, with doors also of the latter split and plaited together." (Op. cit., pp. 97-98.)

When returning down the Arkansas, on January 18, 1820, Nuttall evidently reached the Quapaw village which he had passed when ascending the stream during the preceding February. He wrote: "About noon we landed at one of the Quapaw or Osark villages, but found only three houses constructed of bark, and those unoccupied. In the largest of them, apparently appropriated to amusement and superstition, we found two gigantic painted wooden masks of Indians, and a considerable number of conic pelt caps, also painted. These, as we learnt from an Indian who came up to us from some houses below, were employed at festivals, and worn by the dancers.... At the entrance of the cabin, and suspended from the wall, there was a female figure, with a rudely carved head of wood painted with vermillion. Being hollow, and made of leather, we supposed it to be employed as a mask for one of the musicians, having in one hand a pendent ferule, as if for the purpose of beating a drum. In the spring and autumn the Quapaws have a custom of making a contribution dance, in which they visit also the whites, who live in the vicinity, and the chief alms which they crave is salt or articles of diet." The following day the party reached Arkansas Post. (Nuttall, (1), p. 223.)

This account of the ceremonial lodge, for such it undoubtedly was, of the Quapaw of a century ago, is most interesting, as it proves how the rapidly diminishing tribe held to their old customs. The tribe gradually disappeared from the lower Arkansas. The remnants of this once large body moved westward, and on August 11, 1853, some were encountered by the Whipple expedition in the extreme north west corner of the Choctaw Nation, on the right bank of the Canadian, where the Shawnee Hills reach to the river bank. There, on the "high bank of the Canadian, stand still some wigwams or rather log-houses of Quappa Indians, who may boast of not having yet quitted the land of their forefathers. But they have shrunk to a small band that cannot furnish above twenty-five warriors, and it would scarcely be supposed that they are all who are left of the once powerful tribe of the Arkansas, whose hunting grounds extended from the Canadian to the Mississippi." (Moellhausen, (1), I, p. 74.)

Probably no section of the country has revealed more traces of the period of aboriginal occupancy than has that part of the Mississippi Valley which extends southward from the Ohio to the Arkansas. This was the region traversed by the Quapaw during the latter part of their migration from their earlier habitat east of the Mississippi, and may have been occupied by them since the fifteenth century, or before. Many of the mound groups, village sites, and burial places occurring within this area may undoubtedly be justly attributed to the Quapaw. Vast quantities of earthenware vessels, of great variety of forms and sizes, have been recovered from the sites north of the Arkansas, and these often present marked characteristics differing from the ware found farther south. The Quapaw are known to have been skilled pottery makers. As already mentioned, Marquette, in 1673, referred to their "plates of baked earth," and also to the large earthen cooking vessels "of their own make." And in 1687 Joutel wrote of their earthen vessels "with which they drive a Trade." Therefore it is more than probable that much of the ancient pottery encountered in this part of the Mississippi Valley was made by this southern Siouan tribe. Many of the village sites discovered near the Mississippi, north of the Arkansas, were probably once occupied by the Quapaw who, by the latter part of the seventeenth century, had moved as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas River, in the present Desha County. The earlier references to the tribe, those contained in the narratives of the De Soto expedition, 1541, mention the towns being protected by encircling embankments and ditches. The former were probably surmounted by palisades. The village or villages of this period probably stood on the bank of the Mississippi, and one may have occupied the interesting site at Avenue, in Phillips County, where some remarkable pottery vessels have been discovered. Other ancient sites in Lee and Crittenden Counties, north of Phillips, were possibly occupied by the same people at different times.

The position of the village of the Algonquian Michigamea, who lived north of the Quapaw, has not been determined.

CHIWERE GROUP.

This group, so designated by the late Dr. J. O. Dorsey, includes three tribes, the Iowa, Oto, and Missouri, who spoke slightly different dialects of the same language. According to tribal traditions, they were, generations ago, allied and associated with the Winnebago, from whom they separated and scattered while living in the vicinity of the Great Lakes east of the Mississippi, where the Winnebago continued to dwell. It is not the purpose of the present sketch to trace the movements of the three tribes from their ancient habitat to the banks of the Mississippi, thence westward to the Missouri and beyond, but the routes followed in their migrations can be fairly accurately determined by comparing their own statements and traditions with early historical records, and it is quite probable that many village sites now discovered within this region were once occupied by some members of these tribes.

While living east of the Mississippi in a region of lakes and streams surrounded by vast forests, their habitations were undoubtedly the bark or mat covered structures, but when some moved far west and came in contact with tribes beyond the Missouri they evidently learned the art of constructing the earth-covered lodge which they soon began to occupy. Likewise when and where the skin tipi first became known to them is not possible to determine, but probably not until they had reached the valley of the Missouri and were nearing the banks of that stream north of the Kansas.

IOWA.

On September 15, 1819, the expedition under command of Maj. Stephen H. Long arrived at the mouth of Papillion Creek, on the right bank of the Missouri a few miles above the Platte, a site now covered by the city of Omaha, Nebraska. In the narrative of the expedition it is said that at the mouth of the Papillion "we found two boats belonging to the Indian traders at St Louis. They had passed us some days before, and were to remain for the winter at the mouth of the Papillion, to trade with the Otoes, Missouries, and other Indians.

"The banks of the Missouri above the Platte, have long been frequented by the Indians, either as places of permanent or occasional residence. Deserted encampments are often seen. On the northeast side, near the mouth of Mosquito river, are the remains of an old Ioway village. Four miles above, on the opposite side, was formerly a village of the Otoes." (James, (1), I, pp. 144-145.)

As mentioned elsewhere, the Iowa and their kindred tribes had migrated from their ancient habitat in the vicinity of the Great Lakes to the Missouri Valley, and in 1848 a map was prepared by an Iowa Indian showing the route of the tribe from the mouth of Rock River, Illinois, to the banks of the Missouri, across the State which perpetuates the tribal name. The map was reproduced by Schoolcraft. (Schoolcraft, (3), III, pp. 256-257.)

Unfortunately very little is to be found in the early writings regarding the appearance of the Iowa villages, but they probably did not differ from those of the tribes with whom they were so closely associated, and the primitive village, composed of a group of mat or bark covered structures, must have resembled the towns of the Osage. But in addition to the usual habitation the Iowa evidently erected a larger, longer structure. Maximilian on April 25, 1833, when in the region then occupied by the Iowa, wrote: "The canal between Nadaway Island and the cantonment is called Nadaway Slew, at the end of which we saw the remains of some Indian huts. In a dark glen in the forest, we observed a long Indian hut, which occupied almost its whole breadth, and must have served for a great number of persons." (Maximilian, (1), p. 124.) It is to be regretted that a full description of this "long Indian hut" was not preserved. It may have been a ceremonial lodge rather than a large dwelling.

An interesting though brief account of the Iowa as they were at this time is preserved. It was related by a missionary, Samuel M. Irvin, who arrived among the Iowa April 10, 1837. They were living in the northwestern part of Missouri, the "Platte purchase," but were soon to be removed to lands west of the Missouri. At that time, the spring of 1837, so the narrative continues: "They numbered in all 830. They were a wild, warlike, roving people, and in a most wretched condition, depending mainly on the chase for a subsistence. Their habitations were of the most frail and temporary kind. They were shelters in the form of huts or houses made of the bark of trees stretched over slender poles and tied together with bark strings, or they were tents or lodges made of the skins of the buffalo or elk, and sewed together with the sinews of these animals. These bark houses were mainly for summer shelter, and would in a few years yield to the wear of time, when they would be abandoned and a new location sought. The skin tents were carried with them, and made their habitations wherever they chanced to stop. They were strictly a migratory and unsettled people." (Plank, (1), p. 312.) And "domestic animals, excepting ponies and dogs, were not among them. Indeed, to some of them, such things as cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry were almost unknown, and did such animals happen their way they would pounce upon them for present food as quickly as upon a buffalo or wild turkey."

An excellent picture of an Iowa habitation accompanied the article from which the preceding quotations have been made and is now reproduced in plate 32, _b_.

OTO.

When Lewis and Clark ascended the Missouri during the summer of 1804 they reached the mouth of the Platte July 21. At that time, so they entered in their journal, the Oto were living on the south side of the Platte 10 leagues above its junction with the Missouri, and 5 leagues beyond, on the same bank, were the Pawnee. Living with the Oto were the remnants of the Missouri who had, a few years before, joined them. On August 3, 1804, the expedition having ascended the Missouri to about the location of the present city of Council Bluffs, Iowa, held a council with representatives of the two tribes, Oto and Missouri, an event which has been perpetuated in the name of the city. A majority of the two tribes were then absent from their village on their summer buffalo hunt, consequently few were present at the council.

On May 3, 1811, Bradbury arrived at the Oto village, but it was deserted. All were probably some miles away hunting the buffalo. However, a very interesting description of the habitations in the deserted village is preserved. First referring to the Platte: "The southern bank is wholly divested of timber, and as the village is situated on a declivity near the river, we could see the lodges very distinctly, but there was no appearance of Indians." (p. 54.) On the following day, May 4, 1811, he visited the village and found it "to consist of about fifty-four lodges, of a circular form, and about forty feet in diameter, with a projecting part at the entrance, of ten or twelve feet in length, in the form of a porch. At almost every lodge, the door or entrance was closed after the manner which is customary with Indians when they go on hunting parties and take their squaws and children with them. It consists in putting a few sticks across, in a particular manner, which they so exactly note and remember, as to be able to discover the least change in their position. Although anxious to examine the internal structure of the lodges, I did not violate the injunction conveyed by this slight obstruction, and after searching some time found a few that were left entirely open. On entering one, I found the length of the porch to be an inclined plane to the level of the floor, about two and a half or three feet below the surface of the ground; round the area of the lodge are placed from fifteen to eighteen posts, forked at the top, and about seven feet high from the floor. In the centre, a circular space of about eight feet in diameter is dug, to the depth of two feet; four strong posts are placed in the form of a square, about twelve feet asunder, and at equal distances from this space these posts are about twenty feet high, and cross pieces are laid on the tops. The rafters are laid from the forked tops of the outside posts over these cross pieces, and reach nearly to the centre, where a small hole is left for the smoke to escape; across the rafters small pieces of timber are laid; over these, sticks and a covering of sods, and lastly earth. The fire is made in the middle of the central space, round the edges of which they sit, and the beds are fixed between the outer posts. The door is placed at the immediate entrance into the lodge; it is made of a buffalo skin, stretched in a frame of wood, and is suspended from the top. On entering, it swings forward, and when let go, it falls to its former position." (Bradbury, (1), pp. 56-57.)

It is to be regretted that Bradbury did not give a more detailed account of the general appearance of the village; that he did not tell of the placing of the lodges, and of the other structures, if any stood within the village. But this large group of earth-covered lodges undoubtedly resembled the village of the Republican Pawnee, as shown in the photograph made by Jackson more than half a century later.

In the narrative of the Long expedition, during the spring of 1820, more than a century ago, is a brief note on the Oto. It reads: "The Oto nation of Indians is distinguished by the name of _Wah-toh-ta-na_. The permanent village of this nation is composed of large dirt lodges, similar to those of the Konzas and Omawhaws, and is situate on the left bank of the river Platte, or Nebreska, about forty miles above it confluence with the Missouri." (James, (1), I, p. 338.) On the map which accompanies the narrative the village is indicated on the south or right bank of the Platte, in the eastern part of the present Saunders County, Nebraska. Continuing, the journal states (p. 342): "The hunting grounds of the Oto nation, extend from the Little Platte up to the Boyer creek, on the north side of the Missouri, and from Independence creek to about forty miles above the Platte, on the south side of that river. They hunt the bison, between the Platte and the sources of the Konzas rivers." Thus their hunting grounds included one of the richest and most fertile sections of the valley of the Missouri, now occupied by many towns and villages.

Much of interest respecting the manners and ways of life of the Oto when they occupied their village near the mouth of the Platte is to be found in Irving's narrative of the expedition of which he was a member. During the summer of 1833 the small party under the leadership of Commissioner H. L. Ellsworth left St. Louis and, with several teams, proceeded up the Valley of the Missouri. They traversed the vast rolling prairie: "Hour after hour passed on; the prospect was still the same. At last a loud cry from our guide announced that we had come in sight of the cantonment. There was a snowy speck resting upon the distant green; behind it rose a forest of lofty timber which shadowed the Missouri. This was Leavenworth.... It was mid day when we first caught sight of Leavenworth, but it was near sunset before we arrived there. About a dozen white-washed cottage-looking houses, composed the barracks and the abodes of the officers. They are so arranged as to form the three sides of a hollow square; the fourth is open, and looks out into a wide but broken prairie. It is a rural looking spot--a speck of civilization dropped in the heart of a wilderness." (Irving, J. T., (1), I, pp. 46-47.) From Fort Leavenworth they continued up the valley, soon reaching the village of the Oto, near the banks of the Platte. After describing the reception accorded the party by the people of the town Irving wrote: "The village of the Otoe Indians is situated upon a ridge of swelling hills overlooking the darkly wooded banks of the Platte river, about a quarter of a mile distant. There is but little beauty or neatness about an Indian town. The lodges are built in the shape of a half egg. They frequently are twenty feet in height, and sometimes sixty in diameter. The roofs are formed of long poles, which diverge like the radii of a circle, from one common centre. The ring of the circle is formed of upright posts, driven closely together in the ground, and projecting upward about five feet. These are interwoven with brushwood and the smaller branches of trees, and form the support of the outer end of the poles composing the roof, the interstices of which are also interwoven with twigs and brushwood. The whole is then covered with earth, and when finished resembles a large hillock. The town contained about seventy of these lodges, standing singly or in groups, without any attention to order or regularity. Within, they are capacious, but dark, being lighted merely by a small aperture at the top, which serves both as window and chimney. The fire is built in a cavity in the centre, directly under the hole in the roof, by which the smoke escapes after floating in easy wreaths about the interior.

"As the lodges are very spacious, a little back from the fire there is a circular range of tree trunks standing like columns, and connected by timber laid in their forks, forming a support for the roof, which otherwise, from the great length of the poles that form it, and the heavy mass of superincumbent earth, might fall in, and bury the inhabitants. Around the wall of the building, are ranged cribs or berths for sleeping, screened from view by heavy mats of grass and rushes. Over the fire is inclined a forked stake, in the hook of which hangs a large kettle, generally filled with buffalo flesh and corn. This, to judge from its looks, is never removed from the fire, even for the purpose of cleaning it." (Op. cit., pp. 158-160.)

A week or more passed after the arrival of the party at the Oto village before a council was held with the chief men of the tribe, "for the purpose of forming a treaty, with respect to the lands lying in the neighbourhood of the Nemahaw river." The time for holding the council having arrived, the commissioner and his party proceeded from their camp to the earth-covered lodge in which the ceremony was to be enacted. They entered and "found nearly the whole tribe assembled, and seated in circles, in the large lodge of the Iotan chief. At the far end of the building was the Iotan; and by his side were stationed those two worthies, the Big Kaw and the Thief. Next them were the stern forms of the older warriors and braves.... The lodge was excessively crowded. One ring was formed beyond another; one dark head rose behind another; until the dim, dusk outlines of the more distant were lost in shadow, and their glistening eyes alone could be seen. The passage which led to the air was completely crowded with women and children; and half a dozen curious faces were peering down through the round hole in the roof.

"The most of them had adorned themselves for the occasion. Plumes were floating from their scalp-locks; their heads and breasts were painted with vermilion, and long strings of wampum hung from their necks and mutilated ears. But at the present moment there appeared to be no thought of their appearance. Every sense was wrapped up in an intense interest in the approaching council; every breath was held; and every eye fixed with eagerness upon the face of the Commissioner, as he arose to address the meeting." (Op. cit., pp. 233-235.) This vivid description of the gathering of the Oto in a great earth-covered structure near the banks of the Missouri during the summer of 1833 tends to recall Lieut. Timberlake's meeting with the head men of the Cherokee, when they came together in the townhouse at Chote late in the year 1761. The two structures were of similar appearance and probably did not differ greatly in size, although at Chote there were several tiers of seats surrounding the central space within the house which were lacking in the Oto lodge, but the two gatherings were evidently quite similar, although belonging to different generations and being in regions separated by many hundreds of miles of forest and plain. The great rotundas, or townhouses of the Cherokee, were the most interesting of the various native structures which formerly stood east of the Mississippi. (Bushnell, (1), pp. 59-63.)

The preceding notes on the Oto refer to their permanent earth-lodge villages, which were occupied only part of each year. When away from the village they would make use of the skin-covered tipi, although the temporary shelter of the Pawnee may have been copied by some members of the tribe. Fortunately a very good description of the appearance of a winter encampment of several families, at some point far west of the Missouri on the prairie of Nebraska, during the winter of 1851-52, has been preserved. The account was prepared by a traveler who became separated from his companions and reached the camp unexpectedly while traversing the snow-covered wilderness. The "little camp consisted of two large tents, which stood in a deep ravine, overgrown with stunted oaks, and on the banks of a deep stream, whose waters were hidden beneath a thick covering of ice." One tent belonged to the chief Wa-ki-ta-mo-nee, the other to a half-breed named Louis Farfar. Arriving at the camp, so the narrative continues, I "crawled into the tent of the medicine-man, and took my place by his blazing fire, while the other occupants lay or crouched around. The old mother was busy in the preparation of the meat, and by her side, next the opening, were two daughters; the older about eighteen, the younger about two years old. The father of the family, his son, and Schin-ges-in-ki-nee had, according to Indian custom, kept the best places for themselves, which was so much the better for me as I was placed between them. The medicine pipe, with a bowl cut out of some red stone, went round briskly, and the time that was employed in distributing the meat intended for the meal I spent in taking a good view of the Indian dwelling. Sixteen long poles, made of slender pine trees, were so placed as to form a circle of sixteen or eighteen feet in diameter, their tops being bent over and fastened together. Around this framework was thrown, like a mantle, the tent leather, consisting of a great number of buffalo-hides, tanned white, and neatly sewed together for the purpose with sinews. The leather did not reach quite to the top, but left an opening, by which the smoke could escape; but there were two prolongations of the tent leather, something like flags, which were supported by particular poles, so as, in stormy weather or contrary winds, to form a very tolerable chimney. The tent was fixed so firmly to the ground with pegs that the tightly stretched sides would admit neither the rain nor the snow, when it melted from the heat of the fire; and the inhabitants had not only a secure refuge, but a tolerably comfortable dwelling. The various possessions of the Indians were hung round on the tent poles, where they only took up room that could easily be dispensed with, and kept out the cold that could have most readily found an entrance at those places. On the space round the fire, buffalo-hides were spread for beds at night, and when rolled up in the day made convenient seats; the fire, in a kind of pit half a foot deep, and two and a half in diameter, was a mass of glowing embers, with a number of logs blazing on the top, and diffused a most pleasant warmth over the small space. Near the fire a branch of a tree was stuck into the ground, and another placed horizontally across it, and running the whole breadth of the tent, from which hung the most indispensable of household utensils in the form of a great kettle, whilst the rest of the pole was covered with wet and torn mocassins and gaiters, in a manner that was certainly more convenient than ornamental.... Besides the wild half-naked forms of the Indians, a number of dogs, young and old, made part of the company assembled in Wa-ki-ta-mo-nee's tent. The attention of the mistress of the family, a very dirty old squaw, was exclusively devoted to the vast kettle and its bubbling contents; a row of roughly-cut wooden platters stood before her, and by means of a pointed stick she fished up from the cauldron large joints of bear and half turkeys, and loaded each of the platters with a huge portion of the savoury smelling food." (Moellhausen, (1), I, pp. 171-175.) The second tent, so he wrote, "was more spacious" than the one which he had entered, and described. This is an interesting description of a small winter camp of the Oto as it stood in the midst of the snow-covered prairie, near a stream "whose waters were hidden beneath a thick covering of ice." The scene could undoubtedly have been repeated in many localities in the vast region west of the Missouri. The identity of the stream near which the two tents stood during the winter of 1851-52 is suggested by a note in Fremont's journal, written 10 years earlier. On June 22, 1842, when traversing the prairies, soon to reach the right bank of the Platte, he wrote: "Made our bivouac in the midst of some well-timbered ravines near the Little Blue.... Crossing the next morning a number of handsome creeks, with clear water and sandy beds, we reached at 10 A. M., a very beautiful wooded stream, about thirty-five feet wide, called Sandy creek, and sometimes, as the Ottoes frequently winter there, Otto fork." (Fremont, (1), p. 14.) The greater part of the course of Sandy Creek is through the present Clay and Thayer Counties, Nebraska, a hundred miles or more south of west from the Oto village then situated near the mouth of the Platte.

Moellhausen remained with the Oto until the temporary camp was abandoned, then returned with them to their permanent village. The journey required several weeks but in time they approached the Missouri, and as they neared their destination: "We passed the burial place of the Ottoes just before we descended into the valley, and shortly afterwards came to the village. The first consisted of a number of hillocks inclosed by rough palings, and decorated with sticks with little bits of coloured stuff and feathers fluttering from them. The village, which lay not many hundred yards farther was a group of about sixty huts of various construction, some of clay, shaped like haycocks or baking ovens, others like small houses, built of thick oak bark. These dwellings stood mostly empty, as the inhabitants had pitched their tents just now in the angle formed by the Nebrasca and Missouri, on account of the rich grass to be found in these bottom lands under the protecting snow, and because they and their cattle were in that situation more sheltered from the violent gales of wind." (Moellhausen, (1), I, pp. 210-211.) Here is a reference to a third form of habitation known to the Oto. In addition to the earth-covered lodge and the skin tipi, both of which were characteristic of the time and place, they appear to have reared structures similar to the habitation of the Sauk and Fox, as shown in plate 19, a type of dwelling known to several neighboring tribes in the upper Mississippi Valley.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 34

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 35

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 36

WINNEBAGO HABITATIONS, ABOUT 1870]

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 37

It is quite evident that after leaving the permanent earth-lodge village of the Oto the Long party just a century ago passed one of the temporary camps of the same people. This, fortunately, was sketched by the artist of the expedition and reproduced in the narrative of the journey, and is now shown in plate 33. To quote from the narrative: "For the elucidation of what we have said respecting the form and arrangement of the skin, or travelling lodges of the Indians, we subjoin an engraving, representing an encampment of Oto Indians, which Mr. Seymour sketched near the Platte river. In this plate, the group of Indians on the left is intended to represent a party of Konza Indians approaching to perform the calumet dance in the Oto village. It may be proper to remark, that this party when still distant from the Otoes, had sent forward a messenger, with the offer of a prize to the first Oto that should meet them. This circumstance was productive of much bustle and activity among the warriors and young men, who eagerly mounted their horses, and exerted their utmost speed." (James. (1), II, pp. 188-189.)

Various ethnological specimens collected among the Oto a generation or more ago are in the collections of the National Museum. One quite rare object, a "pemmican maul," formed of a single piece of wood, is figured in plate 34, _a_.

An original sketch by Kurz in May, 1851, representing a group of Oto with a dugout canoe, is reproduced in plate 35, _a_.

MISSOURI.

In the narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition appears this record: "June 13, 1804. We passed ... a bend of the river, Missouri and two creeks on the north, called the Round Bend creeks. Between these two creeks is the prairie, in which once stood the ancient village of the Missouris. Of this village there remains no vestige, nor is there any thing to recall this great and numerous nation, except a feeble remnant of about thirty families. They were driven from their original seats by the invasions of the Sauks and other Indians from the Mississippi, who destroyed at this village two hundred of them in one contest." (Lewis and Clark, (1), I, p. 13.) About 5 miles beyond they reached the mouth of Grand River which flows from the northwest, serves as the boundary between Carroll and Chariton Counties, Missouri, and enters the left bank of the Missouri River. Therefore the old village of the Missouri evidently stood at some point in the latter county. It was probably composed of a number of mat and bark covered lodges resembling the village of the Osage which stood a few miles farther up the river. Two days later, June 15, the party identified the site or remains of the former village of the Little Osage, and, so the narrative continues: "About three miles above them, in view of our camp is the situation of the old village of the Missouris after they fled from the Sauks." (Op. cit., p. 15.) From this village the few Missouri Indians appear to have sought refuge among the Oto, then living on the banks of the Platte.

WINNIBAGO.

When first known to Europeans the Winnebago occupied the region west of Green Bay, west of Lake Michigan, where, according to the Jesuit missionaries, they had resided for many generations. There they were living in the year 1634 when visited by Nicollet, and just 35 years later, during the winter of 1669-70, a mission on the shore of the same bay was conducted by Pere Allouez, which proved a gathering place for various tribes, including the Winnebago, Sauk and Foxes, Menominee, and Potawatomi. These, with the exception of the Winnebago, were Algonquian tribes.

As already mentioned, the Oto, Iowa, and Missouri appear to have been closely connected with the Winnebago, all speaking dialects understood by one another. And it is also evident that when the Oto, Iowa, and Missouri began their movement westward to the Mississippi and beyond the Winnebago remained behind. However, about the beginning of the last century they reached the banks of the Mississippi, and by successive moves during the next 50 years some arrived in western Minnesota, soon to be removed to lands beyond the Missouri, adjoining the Omaha, in the northeastern part of Nebraska.

While living in the vicinity of Green Bay their villages were groups of mat and bark-covered lodges, typical of the tribes of the wooded country which abounded in lakes and streams. And it is quite evident that during their migration westward, when they made long stops before finally reaching the banks of the Missouri, they continued to erect and occupy structures similar to those which had stood in their old villages generations before.

Typical examples of Winnebago dwellings are shown in plates 36 and 37. The arbor over the entrance is an interesting feature, seldom appearing in the Algonquian villages, although often shown in front of Siouan lodges.

In a forthcoming publication Radin has given a list of the various forms of structures erected by the Winnebago, some of which existed until very recent years. (Radin, (1).)

MANDAN.

As mentioned in the sketch of the Assiniboin, a small party of French accompanied by members of that tribe during the autumn of 1738 went southward from the Assiniboin country to the Mandan towns, where the French remained several weeks. The leader of the expedition, La Verendrye, prepared an account of the journey, this being the earliest record of a visit by Europeans to the Mandans known to exist, although it is easily conceived that French trappers may have been among the tribe earlier in the century.

The expedition arrived among the Mandan November 28, 1738, after a journey of 46 days, but soon pushed forward to a larger village. Fortunately the journal contains references to the ways of life of the Mandan and a brief description of their fortified or protected settlements. At that time the tribe was said to have had six villages, and evidently all were protected by encircling palisades. The village in which the French then rested consisted of 130 lodges, and "all the streets, squares and huts resembled each other." The French were particularly interested in the manner in which the town was protected, but the account in the journal must exaggerate the strength, or rather the size, of the ditch. The palisade was described as being 15 feet in height, and "At fifteen points doubled are green skins which are put for sheathing when required, fastened only above in the places needed, as in the bastion there are four at each curtain well flanked. The fort is built on a height in the open prairie with a ditch upwards of fifteen feet deep by fifteen to eighteen feet wide. Their fort can only be gained by steps or posts which can be removed when threatened by an enemy. If all their forts are alike, they may be called impregnable to Indians.... Both men and women of this nation are very laborious; their huts are large and spacious, separated into several apartments by thick planks; nothing is left lying about; all their baggage is in large bags hung on posts; their beds made like tombs surrounded by skins.... Their fort is full of caves, in which are stored such articles as grain, food, fat, dressed robes, bear skins. They are well supplied with these; it is the money of the country.... They make wicker work very neatly, flat and in baskets. They make use of earthen pots, which they use like many other nations for cooking their food." (La Verendrye, (1), p. 21.) In addition to the six more important villages there appear to have been others, similar but smaller. Referring to these La Verendrye wrote (p. 23): "We noticed that in the plain there were several small forts, of forty or fifty huts, built like the large ones, but no one was there at the time. They made us understand that they came inside for the summer to work their fields and that there was a large reserve of grain in their cellars." Evidently these were nearer their cornfields, away from the river banks, and were occupied only parts of each year.

From this all too brief account of the Mandan it is quite evident that when they were first encountered by the French, living in their earth lodges, their villages strongly palisaded, their caches filled with corn and other food supplies, buffalo robes and bear skins, they were in their most powerful and prosperous state. But what great changes they were destined to undergo during the next hundred years!

On October 19, 1804, the Lewis and Clark party discovered the first of the ruined villages of the Mandan, evidently standing on the left bank of the Missouri, in the southern part of the present Burleigh County, North Dakota. It proved an interesting day. "In walking along the shore we counted fifty-two herds of buffaloe and three of elk, at a single view. Besides these we also observed elk, deer, pelicans, and wolves." The ruined village had been protected by palisades and, according to the Arikara chief, who accompanied them, had been occupied by the Mandan. These, so they wrote, "are the first ruins which we have seen of that nation in ascending the Missouri." During the night of October 19 the expedition encamped on the south, i. e., right, bank of the Missouri, evidently about 2 miles below the mouth of Little Heart River, which flows from the westward and joins the Missouri in the present Morton County, North Dakota. The following day they advanced 12 miles up the Missouri.

October 21, 1804, was cold and bleak. Snow and ice covered the ground, and the wind blew strong from the northeast. That day the expedition advanced only 7 miles. They passed the mouth of Big Heart River and the site of Bismarck, the present capital of the State. Two miles above their camp of the night previous, about opposite the mouth of the Big Heart, they reached "the ruins of a second Mandan village, which was in existence at the same time with that just mentioned. It is situated on the north at the foot of a hill in a beautiful and extensive plain, which is now covered with herds of buffaloes; nearly opposite are remains of a third village on the south of the Missouri, and there is another also about two miles further on the north, a little off the river. At the distance of seven miles we encamped on the south, and spent a cold night." The next day, October 22, they discovered other ruined towns of the Mandan. "In the morning we passed an old Mandan village on the south, near our camp; at four miles another on the same side.... At six we reached an island about one mile in length, at the head of which is a Mandan village on the north in ruins, and two miles beyond a bad sandbar. At eight miles are remains of another Mandan village on the south; and at twelve miles encamped on the south.... These villages, which are nine in number, are scattered along each side of the river within a space of twenty miles; almost all that remains of them is the wall which surrounds them, the fallen heaps of earth which covered the houses, and occasionally human skulls and the teeth and bones of men, and different animals, which are scattered on the surface of the ground." (Lewis and Clark, (1), I, pp. 112-114.) Other deserted villages were passed as they continued ascending the Missouri, to arrive late on the 26th of October, at an old field of the Mandan, about one-half mile below the first of their then occupied villages.