Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-08-27
Some Indian Customs.

are but six half-breeds in the tribe.
They have retained their purity of
blood in remarkable degree, and are,
as a consequence, purer in morals than
either the Kaws or Osages. They mt
one time had a number of half and
quarter bloods in the tribe, but these
have nearly all died out, and none have
been born TO fill their places. The
Poncas are gaining numerically year
by year since coming TO this reservation
six years ago. They were moved from
Baxter Springs here at that time, but
came originally from Dakota In the
matter of civilization they get on slowly.
Few OF the men and none of the women
can speak English. They have large
brick schoo-house, two and one half
stories high, with basement, capable of
accommodating one hundred scholars,
and have an actual enrolment of over
seventy. There are no laws compelling
school attendance. The children arc
doing fairly, learning to speak English
rapidly, and some of the classes are in
the Third Reader. Mathematics come
easy TO them.
Nearly half the men wear civilized
clothing, and all Ponca women wear
pelticoats instead of loggings. Tho
blanket is never wholly discarded, how
ever, and seems TO be noarly indispcnsa-
bio for wrap and for bedding. Nearly
all prefer boots and shoes TO moccasins
in bad weather. In the matter of farm
ing eighty TO ninety families will raise
considerable corn this season, averag-
ing, perhaps, six TO eight acres to each
family. Tho agent thinks there may
bo'eight hundred acres of corn raised
this year by the Poncas. They raise
some wheat and potatoes, but arc sadly
deficient in stock of all kinds. Many
families have none of any kind, and
very few have teams for farming. The
tribe is without religious instruction
except n Sunday school. There is no
mission here of any kind. The men do
what outdoor work is done at all. The
! Government issues about one-third
ratons of salt, sugar, beef, soap and
| flour.
The tribe has l0l, 1911 acres of land
and $4,000 trust funds at five per cent.
| They also have treaty fund of SIS, 900
| per annum for five years yet, for cloth
ing, etc. They have leased seven thou
sand acres of land to j. III. Sherburn,
the licensed trader here, for live years,
for 81 ZOO per annum. He is to fence
it all, and is now engaged in that work.
Mr.. Sherburn came here five years ago
n bankrupt, is now lessee of about two
thirds of the reservation, has fine
| stock of goods, and ncary two thousand
head of cattle.
In preceding letters mention was
made of Kaw and Usage polygamy.
But comparison of these tribes and
] h. l. 30. he.
credit of the former. The Poncas have
number of polygamists-how many
could not be definitely ascertained, nor
are the instances always known. The
practice is open and acknowledged,
sanctioned by usage and suiferance, and
il 1t has not many open advocates it
certainly has few or no assailants. All
acquiesce in il; none attack it. The
Otoes are worse. Out OF about fifty
families ten polygamous ones were
named rs well known, with the admis-
sion that there were probably several
others. Probably one-third of all the
married men in the tribe have more
than one wife.
The interpreter, u fat, lazy hulk, sat
in the agency store taking his ease
while his wives drew several barrels of
water from the we'll to haul home. He
then got in the wagon and one of his
wives drove the team. Their marriages
rest upon agreement, are usually made
up by friends, and the young couple
have less TO say concerning il than any
others of the tribe. Friends of the
groom propose to the friends of the
bride. The question of price then
comes in. Ponies, calico, etc, are
given by his friends to hers. If any
uncle, cousin, or other near relative OPP
poses the match it is delayed or broken
off. Usually few extra presents
softens the objections. A feast follows.
Separations have not been common in
times past, but two cases have occurred
in six weeks in which the husband
abandoned his wife and children and
married another woman. Unless the
tribe council breaks up these practices
the Government will soon be compelled
10 take action.
Their funerals partake of the veriest
savagery. A prominent Otoe died q
week ago. A large crowd of his male
friends staid in the woods all night
beating drum and performing incan-
tations. They came to the house of the
twenty of them having sticks as large
as cedar pencil stuck through the
skin and flesh of their arms in many
places, and thus nakeh bloody and
daubed with paint, escorted the remains
to the grave with beating of drums and
bowling of men.
The body was placed in the grave in
q sitting position, the mouth of the
nnyara1 xxr;tl,
on these, and a horse killed on top of
this. The horse must be tho best which
can be procured, and it is choked to
death on the grave. If the dead man
had one or more relapses prolonging
his sickness, the horse must be tortured
In similarly slow manner. After the
burial comes horse-racing and feasting.
All friends of the family are expected
to make presents of calico and other
articles.
An Otoe scandal of the first water has
just occurred. A schoolgirl was re-
Gently married to man much older
than herself against her wishes. She
soon after ran away with her former
youthful lover. The deserted husband
was irate and about to follow on the
war-path. A council was called, and
many of the friends of the runaway
couple sat up with him all night at
tempting to allay his anger. One of
them gave himhis finest moccasins and
leggings, another brooch, and others
still other presents, till he said ''his
heart felt better; his heart was not so
bad as it had been," and he finally said
his "heart was all right now" and they
might come back. "She was dead"
This Otoe custom might be sensible
one in some white communities. -Ponca
Cor. So. Louis Democrat.
Lewis McMurray, the owner of
some three thousand acres of land near
Frederick, Md, finding the present
system of blowing too slow, has intro
duced the new and novel method of