The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-03-12
INDIAN CUSTOMS.
Some of the Tribes Are Worshipers Of
the Sun.

From the Kansas City oJurnal.
A recent article written by Matt Duhr
contains a graphic description of some Of
the strange customs of certain tribes of
Oklahoma Indians. Mr.. Duhr says:
Eyes, some of our red men are sun
worshippers. | have seen many Iowas
and Tarvness address their prayers and
lamentations to the glorious orb of day.
The Iowas, who have dwndled down to
ei;hty-two persons, believe in spirits,
spiritual horses, dogs and birds. Billy
Dole, an old Iowa Amerind once told me-:
L have eleven squaws and papooses up
there. I can see them and see lots of
my ponies grazing on the evergreen
praries where white men can't burn the
grass"
when asked who made the lightning
and thunder the late Chief Tohee said:
The big, very big thunder. God makes
1t to scare or kill bad people. When
he makes sheet or forked lightning, then
he wants to just scare bad people, but
when he wants to kill a great liar or thief
then he shoots them to death with BALL
Only one Iowa Omerind was ever killed
by lightning. All Iowas preserve the ac-
count of that terrible event with great
care 1t Is taught and retold to the Iowa
children with religious precision
Lion ago. when over 100000 Iowas
lived in the state of Iowa, certain
foremost medicine man sent word to all
members of the tribe to come to his
wigwam during the time when the trees
were green and partake of a nine days
feast. Over 50rN Iowas assembled at the
appointed place when the flowers were
blooming. Their provisions had been
used UP. They were very hungry. They
were about starving. Then the headmen
asked the medicine man when the prom
ised feast would come off. Then he
laughed like a fool and said: I Just want
ed to deceive. to fool You. I have hardly
anything to eat myself Just then the
thunder god sent a lightning bolt from
the clear sky and killed the greatest liar
of the Iowa nation.
Most of the Amerindian parents re-
frain from teaching their infants baby
talk The papooses are taught to speak
correctly from their birth or shortly af-
ter White folks first teach their off
spring a dodge dorge iargon and then
take great pains to unlearn what they
impressed on their minds and tongues.
Hardly any OF the Amerindlan my
thologies have been condensed and print
ed The Amerinds have many assistant
gods-the snow god, the rain god, the
tornado gods and a host of bigger and
lesser gods Some of our Oklahoma
Amerinds firmly believe that some OF
their noted ancestors dwell In certain
stars, and when they see a so-called
shooting star-meteor-the exclalm that
a departed Amepind has descended from
above to visit his relatives on earth.
Some OF the ignoble red men mourn
with vigor for their dead and have them
entomhed In fifty dollar shroud coffins
Some have mourners to sing, chant or
grunt the great deeds performed by the
| deceased. The hired mourners have to
| abstain from citing during the mourn
! ing. They are tied securely on their
| ponies so that when sleeping they cannot
| fail from their horses. Some of these
| paid mourners for the dead refrain from
| eating for four days and nights.
1.-THE last noted mourner was hired to
mourn for days and nights on the banks
| of the salty Cimarron. lie was paid four
gallons of whisky In advance for his dole
full services He managed to drink all his
wages except one mouthful before the
| last five minutes of his solemn contract
He drank the last drink at midnight OF
the fourth da.' and expired in ten min
| utes"