Kansas and Kansans Ch. 10 Pt. 6

1918 KANSAS AND KANSANS

Chapter 10

Part 6

THE PAWNEES

As in the case of the Osage and Kansas, much of the history of the Pawnees was told in the accounts of explorations. It has been already noted that the view that the Turk was a Pawnee was scarcely tenable. It is much more likely that he was a Quapaw. In the account of Coronado the argument was made that Quivira was the country immediately north of the Arkansas River, extending to the northern watershed of that stream, and the land of the Wichita. Also that Harahey was the country of the Pawnees, and began at the north boundary of the Wichita domain, or Quivira. From these conclusions future students are not likely to depart. Investigations to be made will, no doubt, confirm them. In the account of the Kansas the bounds of the country of the Caddoan linguistic family were discussed. There is no fear that the views there arrived at can be successfully controverted. Prior to the northward migration of the Kansas from the mouth of the Osage the Caddoan eastern boundary, was the Missouri River. The Kansas penetrated the Caddoan country to the mouth of Independence Creek, but were there halted by the Pawnees, who continued to dwell on the west bank of the Missouri about the mouth of Wolf River into historic times. The tribes of the Siouan family passed to the Upper Missouri by keeping to the east shore of that stream and to the country still eastward. The Caddoan territory taken by the Kansas and held when they lived at Independence Creek did not extend westward from the Missouri beyond the heads of the small streams. And the Kansas did not venture into the valley of the Kansas River until long after the establishment of Louisiana. The Pawnees kept the Kansas confined to the narrow strip along the Missouri until the shifting of the tribes and their concentration in villages due to the coming of the white man, and the appearance of white traders among them. Then the Pawnees ceased to defend the valley of the Kansas River below the mouth of the Big Blue. Finding the valley practically abandoned, the Kansas entered it and ascended it to the Blue, but were ever in terror of the more powerful Pawnees. These matters are all factors in determining the extent of the explorations of Coronado and subsequent Spanish expeditions. In treating the Pawnees it was found necessary to make this review of tribal holdings and movements west of the Missouri.

The Pawnee lands in Kansas were taken by the Government through treaties with the Kansas and Osages. The cession of the Pawnees in Kansas was insignificant. They had a much better title to Kansas west of the Blue than any other tribes. Irving found the remains of their towns on the Cimarron as late as 1832. Brower claimed to have traced them or their kindred from the Ozarks to the forks of the Kansas River. They lived on the Lower Neosho, in the vicinity of the present Vinita, in the time of Du Tisne. But they were despoiled by the agents of the Government, and their place in Kansas history was thereby circumscribed.

The name Pawnee, Dunbar tells us, comes from the word pa-rik-i, a horn. The tribal mark of the Pawnees was the scalp-lock. No other tribe had one like it. With the Pawnees the scalp-lock was bound about and held in a solid body by buffalo tallow and the paints used by the Indians. It was thus so stiffened that it stood erect. Sometimes it was curved back in the shape of the horn of a buffalo bull. It is said that the term, pa-rik-i, at one time embraced the Pawnee Picts, known to us now as the Wichita Indians.

The four bands of the Pawnees were known among themselves by the following names:

1. Xau-i, or Grand Pawnees.
2. Kit-ke-hak-i, or Republican Pawnees.
3. Pit-a-hau-e-rat, or Tapage Pawnees.
4. Ski-di, or Loup Pawnees.

The origin and meaning of some of these tribal designations are lost. Indeed, only the Pit-a-hau-e-rat signification is remembered, and is supposed to imply that the Tapage were the Noisy Pawnees. They were also known as the Smoky Hill Pawnees, having lived on that stream in what is now Kansas well down into historic times. In 1836 they pointed out to Mr. Dunbar the remains of their villages on the Smoky Hill. In 1719 there was a Pawnee town at the mouth of the Republican River - most probably a Tapage Pawnee town.

There were, among the Pawnees, the usual divisions of gentes, but the names of these cannot now be stated with certainty. Morgan gives the following as probable names of Pawnee gentes, but does not pretend that the list embraces all the gentes of the Pawnees as their organization originally existed:

1. Bear.
2. Beaver.
3. Eagle.
4. Buffalo.
5. Deer.
6. Owl.

The compact manner in which the Pawnees were always found, and which remained until recently, would seem to justify the conclusion that these gentes or clans extended through all four of the tribal divisions, as with the Iroquois. The chiefs of the band were the governing power, the individuals having little influence in tribal matters.

The principal expeditions to the country of the Pawnees in early times have been noted. In 1833 John T. Irving, Junior, went with Commissioner Ellsworth on a tour of the Indian country tributary to Fort Leavenworth, visiting the Pawnees. Later, he was present when the various tribes gathered at the fort to compose their differences. At that time he witnessed a Pawnee dance, his description of which is here given to show the savage nature of the Pawnees:

In the evening it was determined to bring the Delawares and the Pawnees together as friends, for as yet they had held no intercourse. A large fire was accordingly built before the outhouses in which the Pawnees had taken up their quarters, and the wild troop sallied forth, prepared to commence one of their national dances round the flame. A group of eight or ten savage-looking fellows seated themselves a little distance off, furnished with a drum and rattle. They commenced a song, accompanied by their rude instruments. For a time there was no movement among the Pawnees who stood huddled in a large, condensed crowd. Suddenly one of them, a tall muscular savage, sprang into the middle of the circle, and gazed around with a hurried air; then with a loud yell he commenced his dance. He jumped slowly round the fire, with a kind of zigzag step; at every leap uttering a deep guttural "Ugh!" occasionally accompanied with a rattling sound from the very bottom of his lungs. His comrades looked on silently, but with intense interest. They were a savage group; face and body begrimed with paint; their fierce features reflecting the flame, their teeth bared, and every brow knotted into a frown. Head rose behind head, and gleaming eyes were seen peering through the living mass, until those farthest off were hid by the darkness.

When the first warrior had made two or three circles about the fire, a second left the crowd, and sprang forward in the dance; a third followed, and a fourth, until about twenty were fltting[sic] swiftly round, and joining in the song. Occasionally they stopped short in their course, and uttered a loud shrill yell, which was taken up by the whole surrounding horde, until the very trees echoed to the sound. At one moment they moved swiftly forward, and at another their steps were slow and wearied. As we watched their fierce, earnest faces, the forms of some wrapped in shaggy robes, the painted bodies of others writhing in the dance, and then turned to the silent, and equally savage group of lookers-on, it required no great stretch of the imagination to fancy them a host of evil spirits, busied in fiendish revel.

While they were thus engaged, the crowd separated, and revealed a Delaware watching their movements. Behind him were about twenty more of the same tribe. No sooner had the Pawnees caught sight of them than they retired. Old prejudices could not be rooted out at once, and though the dancers remained at their employment, the rest of the tribe drew off in a sullen and haughty group, and stood watching the countenances of their quondam enemies.

This continued during the whole evening. As it grew late, group after group of the Pawnees left the fire, and retired into their dwelling. The Delawares soon followed their example; and although their visit had continued for several hours, I fear it did but little towards removing that ancient venom, which, in spite of their apparent friendship, was rankling in their hearts.

The treaty-scene between the Pawnee and the Kansa, as described by Irving, is worthy a place in any historic work:

The deliberations lasted during the whole day: for, as these Indians had no particular injuries to dwell upon, they confined themselves to things in general; and, as this was a subject that would bear to be expatiated upon, every man continued his address until he had exhausted his wind. The Pawnees listened with exemplary patience, though I doubt if there was one who regretted when the last speaker had finished.

The morning following, the Pawnees and the Kanzas had a meeting to settle their difficulties. A large chamber in the garrison had been selected for the purpose. About ten o'clock in the forenoon they assembled. The two bands seated themselves upon long wooden benches, on opposite sides of the room. There was a strong contrast between them. The Kanzas had a proud, noble air; and their white blankets, as they hung in loose and graceful folds around them, had the effect of classic drapery.

The Pawnees had no pride of dress. They were wrapped in shaggy robes, and sat in silence - wild and uncouth in their appearance, with scowling brows, and close pressed-mouths.

At length the speaking commenced. First rose the White Plume. He had boasted to his tribe that he would relate such things, in his speech, as should cause the Pawnees to wince. With true Indian cunning, at first, in order that he might conciliate the favourable opinion of those present, he spoke in praise of the whites - expressing his high opinion of them. After this, he gradually edged off into a philippic against the Pawnee nation, representing them as a mean and miserly race - perfidious and revengeful. There was a hushed silence among his own people as he spoke, and every eye was fastened upon the grim group opposite. The White Plume went on; and still the deepest silence reigned through the room ; that of the Kanzas arose from apprehension; the silence of the Pawnees was the hushed brooding of fury.

The chief of the Tappage village was sitting directly opposite the speaker; his eyes were dark as midnight; his teeth were bared, and both hands were tightly grasped round his own throat; but he remained silent until the speech had finished. When the White Plume had taken his seat, half a dozen Pawnees sprang to their feet but the Tappage chief waved them down; three times did he essay to speak, and as often did he fail. He rubbed his hand across his throat to keep down his anger; then stepping out, and fixing his eye on that of the Kanza chief, in the calm, quiet voice of smothered rage, he commenced his answer; he proceeded; he grew more and more excited - indulging in a vein of biting irony. The White Plume quailed, and his eye drooped beneath the searching, scornful glance of his wild enemy. Still the Pawnee went on; he represented the injury which first kindled the war between the two nations. "My young men," said he, "visited the Kanzas as friends; the Kanzas treated them as enemies. They were strangers in the Kanza tribe, and the Kanzas fell upon them and slew them, and concealed their death. "He then entered into the particulars of the quarrel, which, unfortunately for the Kanzas, were strongly against them. The chief of the latter tribe received the answer with great philosophy; nor did he attempt to utter anything in reply. Perhaps, too, he did not wish to invite a second attack from so rough a quarter. When the Pawnee had finished, the Commissioner interposed, and after a short time harmony was restored, and several of the inferior chiefs made their harangues. They were of a more calm and conciliating nature, and gradually tended to sooth the inflamed feelings of their foes. The council lasted until sunset, when the terms of the treaty were finally adjusted.

On the 9th of October, 1833, the Confederated Pawnees - all the divisions of the tribe - ceded " all their right and title in and to all the land lying South of the Platte River." This embraced but a small portion of Kansas - a triangular tract bounded on the south approximately by Prairie Dog Creek, and on the west by the east line of range thirty-seven.

So passed the Pawnees from their ancient heritage in the future State of Kansas.

ARPAHOS AND CHEYENNES

CHIEF WHITE BUFFALO
[Copyright by Meyers, Omaha]

The Arapahos and Cheyennes will be considered together. They both belong to the great Algonquian family, and, for a long period, were closely associated. Both were important Plains tribes and bore prominent parts in the early history of that plain along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Cheyennes ranged far down the plains streams, coming into close contact with pioneer settlers of Northwestern Kansas. The Arapahos did not trouble the white people making homes in Western Kansas. Both tribes lay in wait along the great trails to fall upon the stragglers and the unprotected. They were fierce and daring riders in those days, coming over the deserts in clouds of dust, circling the emigrant train or the trader's caravan to take it if they could. If the resistance was too much they vanished across the plain like the wind. The Arapahos led the migration from the Algonquian body in the far North. The Cheyennes brought up the rear. They came from what is now Minnesota. Whether they were in league at the time or whether they formed an alliance later cannot be surely said now. They roamed from the Black Hills to the Arkansas. They were always at war with the Pawnees, Utes, and Shoshonis. Until about 1840 they were at constant war with the Sioux, Kiowas, and Comanches. Both the Arapahos and Cheyennes were separated into groups by the treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1876 - Southern and Northern Arapahos, and Southern and Northern Cheyennes.

Dunbar was of the opinion that the name Arapaho came from the Pawnee word tirapihu (or carapihu) meaning trader. The Sioux and Cheyennes called the Arapahos "Blue-Sky" men, and "Cloud-men." The import of these appellations is not now known. The Arapahos called themselves Inunaina. They have lost the clan system of organization. In the tribe there are five principal divisions:

1. Northern Arapahos, or Sage-brush men, or Red-willow men.
2. Southern Arapahos, or Southern-men, or Southerners.
3. Gros Ventres of the Prairie, or White-clay people, or Begging-men.

This division is not to be confused with the Gros Ventres of the Upper Missouri.

4. Wood-lodge people, or Big Lodge people.
5. Rock-men.

The principal divisions are the Northern and Southern Arapahos.

The Northern Arapahos are still further divided, as follows:

1. Forks of the Red River Men.
2. Bad Pipes.
3. Greasy Faces.

The Southern Arapahos are separated into the following local bands:

1. Bad Faces.
2. Pleasant Men.
3. Blackfeet.
4. Wolves.
5. Watchers.

The Cheyennes called themselves Dzi-tsi-is-tas, Our People. The name Cheyenne came from the Sioux designation of this people, that is, from the Sioux word Sha-hi-yena, those who speak a strange language. It has been said that the name came from the French word Chien - dog - but this is not so. If the Cheyennes ever had the clan system they have lost it. There are eleven divisions of the tribe:

1. Aortas closed by burning.
2. Flint People.
3. Eaters.
4. Hair Men.
5. Mangy People, or Scabby People.
6. Ridge Men.
7. Sutaio.
8. Bare Shins.
9. Poor People.
10. Ghost Head.
11. O-mi-sis.

POWDER FACE,
CHIEF OF THE CHEYENNES
[From G. A. Betts]

These divisions are still further separated, but these minor local bands need not be enumerated here. Among the Plains tribes there were Military Societies or Warrior Organizations. This was well developed in the Cheyennes, who had six such societies. One of these came to be known as the "Dog soldiers." It was a large society, and was sometimes supposed to be a regular tribal division. Dog-soldiers are often spoken of in Kansas annals, and the term was not well understood in pioneer times.

The Cheyennes were active in the movement known as the Ghost Dance, of Ghost Dance Religion.

By a treaty made February 18, 1861, the Arapahos and Cheyennes ceded to the Government all their land, and were assigned a reservation outside the limits of Kansas. That part of the cession embraced in Kansas is a tract extending from the Arkansas River to the north boundary. It is immediately west of the cessions of the Kansas, Osages, and Pawnees, and is some forty miles in width. Its extent north and south is about one hundred and forty-five miles.

KIOWAS

The Kiowas enjoy the distinction of constituting alone a linguistic family of North American Indians. The name comes from their word Ka-i-gwu, meaning "Principal People." They lived first on the Yellowstone and the Upper Missouri. From thence they began a southern movement which brought them to notice in historic times along the Upper Arkansas and Canadian rivers. At one time, in their migration, they were in alliance with the Crows. They were at war with the Arapahos and Cheyennes until about 1840, when they began to act in concert with those tribes. They are said by plainsmen to be the most cruel and bloodthirsty of the Plains tribes. They are supposed to have killed more whites than any other tribe in proportion to their number. They were confederated with the Comanches, and, with those American Arabs, raided far into Mexico.

The tribal divisions on which the social organization rests are as follows:

1. Kata.
2. Kogui.
3. Kaigwu.
4. Kingep.
5. Semat.
6. Kongtalyui.
7. Kuato (now extinct).

The tribe is now in Oklahoma, between the Washita and Red rivers. They ceded their lands in Kansas in a treaty to which the Comanches were a party, and which will be noticed in connection with that tribe.

COMANCHES

The Comanches were of the Shoshonean linguistic stock. They formerly dwelt with kindred tribes in Southern Wyoming. They were driven south by the Sioux and other tribes with whom they warred. In the early history of the plains they were known as Paduca, the name given them by the Sioux. They lived at one time on the North Platte, which was known as the Paduca Fork as late as 1805. They were said to have roamed from that stream to Bolson de Mapimi, in Chihuahua. They were the finest horsemen that rode the Great Plains, and as buffalo hunters none excelled them. To the Americans they were usually friendly, but they were at war with the Mexican Spaniards for more than two hundred years.

The clan system had ceased to exist in the Comanches. They may, in fact, never have had it. The tribe is separated into divisions or bands, as follows:

1. Detsanayuka, or Nokoni.
2. Ditsakana, Widyu, Yapa, or Yamparika.
3. Kewatsana.
4. Kotsai.
5. Kotsoteka.
6. Kwahari, or Kawhadi.
7. Motsai.
8. Pagatsu.
9. Penateka, or Penande.
10. Pohoi.
11. Tenima.
12. Tenawa, or Tenahwit.

On the 18th of October, 1865, at a camp on the Little Arkansas River, in Kansas, the Comanches and Kiowas made a treaty with the United States, by which they ceded all their lands lying in Kansas, and other lands. The tract in Kansas was that part of the State south of the Arkansas River immediately west of the Osage lands. The line between the lands of the Osages and the Comanches and Kiowas ran from a point on the Arkansas River about six miles west of Dodge City south to the state-line.

The cession of the Comanches and Kiowas divested the original Indian owners of the last acre of land they owned in Kansas. Much of this land was given by the Government to other Indians. These were known as the Emigrant Indian Tribes. They were moved to Kansas by the United States as title to their lands were extinguished in the states east of the Mississippi. Most of the Emigrant tribes were given land in Kansas in exchange for their lands further east which the white man required for settlement as he increased his numbers in his westward conquest and occupation of American soil.

One of the reasons entertained by Jefferson for the purchase of Louisiana was that it would afford land for the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. The English could never sit down and live in a country with people of another nationality. They exterminated and drove out the Gaelic tribes of Britain. They desired an exclusive possession of the land. That was their policy in America. It was continued by the United States.⁸

In the report of Lewis and Clark, 1806, to Jefferson, this policy is mentioned in discussing the lands of the Osages. The report says: "I think two villages, on the Osage River, might be prevailed on to remove to the Arkansas, and the Kansas, higher up the Missouri, and thus leave a sufficient scope of country for the Shawnee, Dillewars, Miames, and Kickapoos."

Some of the Delawares and Shawnees had crossed the Mississippi in 1793, at the invitation of the Spanish Government of Louisiana, and had been assigned a reservation at Cape Girardeau.

⁸ This subject is well treated in the History of Baptist Indian Missions, by Isaac McCoy, pp. 30 to 41.

1918 Kansas and Kansans

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A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans , written and compiled by William E. Connelley, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, 1998.

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