The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1905-04-12
INDIAN CUSTOMS.
Some Of the Tribes Are Sun Wor.
shippers.

SOiA~ VI e'N '''SSS s'S O'' - -
shippers.
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
Yes, some of our Reamen are sun
worshipers. | have seen many Iowas
and Taryness address their prayers
and lamentations to the glorious orb
of day. The Iowas, who have dwindled
down to eighty-two persons, believe in
spirits, spiritual horses, dogs and
birds. Billy Dole, an old Iowa Amer
ind, once told me: I have eleven
squaws ana papooses up there. can
see them, and see lots of my ponies
grazing on the ever green prairies,
where white men can't burn the
grass
when asked who made the light
ming and thunder, the late Chief To.
hee said: 'fhe big, very big thunder,
God makes it to scare or kill bad peo-
pie. When He makes sheet or forked
lightning, then He wants to just scare
bad people, but when He wants to kill
great liar or thief, then He shoots
them to death with a ball. Only one
Iowa Amerind was ever killed by
lightning. All Iowa preserves the ac-
count of that terrible event with great
care. 1t is taught and retold to the
Iowa children with religious precision.
Long ago, when over 100, 900 Iowas
lived in the state of Iowa, certain
foremost medicine man sent word to
all the 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 $4,000 Iowas
assembled at the appointed place when
the flowers were blooming. Their
provisions had been used up They
were very hungry and were about
starving. Then the head-men asked
the medicine man when the promised
feast would come off Then he
laughed like fool and said: I just
wanted to deceive, to fool you. | have
hardly anything to eat myself Just
then the thunder god sent 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 after. White folks first teach
their offspring a doodg dorge jargon,
and then take great pains to unlearn
what they impressed on their minds
and tongues.
Hardly any of the Amerindian my
thologies have been condensed and
printed. The Amerinds have many as.
sistant 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 socalled shooting star-meteor
they exclaim that a departed Amer.
ind 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 entombed in $50 shroud
collins. Some have mourners to sing,
chant or grunt the great deeds per
formed by the deceased. The hired
mourners have to abstain from eating
during the mourning. They are tied
securely on theor ponies so that when
sleeping they cannot fall from their
horses. Some of these paid mourners
for the dead refrain from eating for
four days and nights.
"The last noted mourner was hired
to mourn four days and nights on the
banks at the salty Cimarron. He was
paid four gallons of whiskey in ad-
vance for his doleful services. He
managed to drink all his wages, ex-
cept one mouthful, before the last five
minutes of his solemn contract. He
drank the last drink at midnight OF
the fourth day and expired in ten min,
utes. s."-Kansas City Journal.