222
TEXAS STATE LiBRARY
A few days before child birth the women prepares herself with every thing necessary, and digs a hole in the ground about a foot in depth fixing a stake firmly in the ground at one edge, and putting at the bottom of the hole a quantity of moss and buffalo skin - At the critical moment, when the pains of travail commence she places her- self by the side of the excavation and holding firmly to the stake con- tinues in that position until after the time is passed and the offspring is deposited at the bottom of the excavation on the bed prepared to re- ceive it - She then washes first the new comer and then plunges herself in the water - After which she dresses herself in dry clothes> and also clothes the infant according the temperature of the atmos- phere - If the child is a son it soon becomes a great favorit with the father and cannot be controlled by the mother somuch so that if the mother attempts chastise her son even at the age of five or six years the father flies into transport of rage which he satiates by falling upon her like an infuriated demon and throwing her prostrate upon the ground calls upon his son to avenge himself which he does by striking, kicking biting her &c - The brother may with impunity abuse his sisters and if in a passion he kills them he is not even repremanded - In fact the death of a female child is no more regretted than that of a dog- In every town there is a chief who has the management of the affairs, who is always an old man - There is also a crier whose duty it is to transmit the orders of the Chief - When a council is to be held it is held in the Chief's tent, and called and managed in thP following manner - A fire is built in the center of the Chief's tent, and in the back part of the tent opposite the door is a small enclosure made of green branches of trees - The Chief takes the principal seat, and sends the crier to give notice to all the warriours to come to the council of the pipe - He goes out and cries thro~ the town "Come to the pipe" the pipe is ready" - a centinel is placed at the door and thev come to the door one Ht a time and sav ''here am I, what seat shall I occupy? The answer is given by the ·Chief, on the right or left, as the case may be and he enters and seats himself ac- cordingly each one as he enters divesting himself of the ornj\ments and clothing he wears and depositing them in the enclosure in the back part of the tent - All the men having entered & seated themselves in this manner (no woman is allowed to attend) a profound silence reigns in the meeting - while the preparation is making for com- mencing the ceremony - The Chief then fills his pipe from a pouch in which he carries tobaco mixed with leaves of another quality - every one holding his nmie to prevent inhaling the smoke before the ceremony commences - The Chief then lig-hts the pipe and draw<1 a mouthful of smoke, then turm his fa<'e. towards heaven and blows out the smoke which 11scends to the top of the tent-this is intended as an offering to the sun he a.irain fills his mouth and turning his face- towards the earth blows the smoke downward and then blows smoke first to the right then to the left - After this he draws from the pipe 4 times and swallows the smoke - then passes the pipe to the next person asking at the same whence he will re<'eive it - if he answers from helow. he tflkes hold near the bowl-if from above. he takes hold of the end of the stem. In this way the pipe is passed alJ around and smoked by every one in the same manner as by the chief -
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