Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-12-03
THE UNTAMED KIOWAS
INTERESTING INDIANS TO FIG
URE AT THE WORLDS FAIR.

Relics of Tribe That Is Rapid
Disappearing Order Of tn
bog Soldiers s-Feats of Bravery
Dolls on Horseback.
The exhibit of the Smithsonian Insti
tuition at the Worlds Fair in Chicago
will include a display illustrating tn
manners and customs of Kiowas, wht
are the most interesting of all the Indiar
tribes in the United States. original,
they were, perhaps, the widest, carrying
Y their raids from their home in the IndiaI
Territory as far south as the City of Mex
leo and as far to the north as the present
State of Washington. They are tanned
now and rapidly dying off, so that it will
not be long before their lands will b,
open to the invasion of a horde of boom
ers. What renders them chiefly remark
able is their extreme conservatism
While other aboriginal nations hav,
mostly adopted the white mans WAYS
and more or less of his costume, the XII
owas are much the same intelligent saw.
ages that their forefathers were when
Columbus discovered America.
One of their peculiarities is their
method of burial. Their cemeteries are
up in trees. A frame work of strong
wlthers is constructed among the
branches, and on this the bodies of the
dead are laid, each warrior wrapped in
his blankets end with all his property
about him. No survivor would ever
. venture to use anything that had be-
's,1nged to person defunct for fear lest
the latter's spirit should haunt and de.
stIoy him. At the 1isk of the lives of
himself and his party Mr.. Mooney, of
the Bureau of Ethnology recently pro-
cured one of these burial platforms,
taking it down from the tree in which it
was built. Also he brought away a lot
of bones that were found on it, and the
whole will make feature of the exhibit
referred to.
There was one curiosity of the Kiowas
for which Mr.. Mooney would almost have
been willing to give his own head, but
neither he nor any other white man has
been permitted even to look upon it. 1t
is bag containing the palladium of the
trlbe-all the grand medicine parapher-
MALTA, etc. Not least important of the
contents of this sacred receptacle are
800 scalps of white men and Mexicans,
taken in war or by murder. Also there
is the outfit of the famous sun dance, in
Which the young braves acquire their
title to warriorship by passing lariats
through strips of flesh in their breasts
and backs, fastening the other ends to
the saddles of their ponies and causing
the latter to tear the ropes loose at full
gallop. Among the things which Mr..
Mooney did secure are tomakawk that
has killed six men and spear with
long steel point which has slain twelve
persons in fight, welded by the big chief
who owned it.
The most interesting battle trophy OBJ
tanned, however, is standard of war be-
longing to an order of knighthood
among the Kiowas, which is called the
Order of the Dog Soldiers. 1t is staff
six feet high, wrapped spirally with ot-
ter skin in strips, and ornamented with
eagle feathers and bells. When the tribe
fought one warrior was chosen to bear
this standard. He was always the
bravest, because he was pretty sure to
be killed. His duty was to rush as far
as possible to the front and plant the
staff in the ground, at the same time
fastening himself to it in such a manner
that he could not leave it. He carries
with him broad strip of tam ed leather
with slit in one end oft through which
he put his head, while through hole in
the other end he thrust the staff as he
planted it in the earth. Thus he stood,
bound to his post and immovable, while
the fight ragged around him. Under no
circumstances was he permitted to lift
the standard, although fellow warrior
might release him. ''No retreat" was
the motto of these fierce wild men.
Like the Comanches, the Kiowas lived,
as they have always fought, on horse
back. Consequently when on foot they
are awkward and bow-legged. The very
dolls of the little girls usually ride.
Each female child in the tribe has her
"doll stick" as it is called. 1t is
stick of wood, on which is mounted and
set a-straddle three or four doll babies,
securely fastened. Sometimes each doll
has a little saddle beneath it. One Of
the doll sticks secured by Mr.. Mooney
has four doll babies on it. One repre-
sents a woman with pappoose on her
back, another is miniature warrior
carrying a shield with scalp attached
to it, third is Il girl and the forth is a
boy. Some of the bigger dolls, which
do not ride, are very elaborate indeed.
There is a warrior doll two feet high,
with long hair that evidently once be-
longed to dog, shield with picture
of buffalo painted on it, quiver, a
bow and arrows, a hair brush and two
wooden spoons attached to his belt
The face of the doll is made of buckskin,
with the features marked upon 1t. Such
one the little Kiowa girl does not carry
in her arms, but in a sort of cradle on
her back, because that is the way In
which she will carry her own children
whom she has them.
Very interesting are the games
played by the Kiowas. The boys are
very fond of tops. They are always
whip tops, of the same shape as those
used by Caucasian youth, with pegs of
bone. These adolescent savages are
wonderfully expert in making them
whirl and take great pride in their skill
at the sport. Another form of amuse-
ment is throwing with wooden lances at
a target made out of withe bound in
circular shape with network of raw
hide strips. Counts are made according
to the distance from the bull's-eye of
the mesh in which the lance sticks. The
hnus also nlav a sort of shinnu with a