Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-02-24
HIRED INDIAN MoURNERS.
Strange Customs and Superstitions OF
the Red Men of Oklahoma.

Strange customs ana SupeToeitioUS ot
the Red Men of Oklahoma.
Hardly any Of the Indian mytholo-
gies have been condensed and printed
They have many assistant gods; the
snow god, the rain god, the tornado
gods, and a host of bigger and lesser
gods," said Matt Duhr to the Oklahoma
correspondent Of the Kansas City
Journal. 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-they exclaim
that a departed Amerind 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 performed by
the deceased. The hired mourners
have to abstain from eating during the
mourning. They are tied securely on
their 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.
1.-The last noted mourner was hired
to mourn four days and nights on the
banks Of the salty Cimmarron. He was
paid four gallons Of whisky In ad-
vance for his doleful services. He
managed to drink all his wages. except
one mouthful, before the last five min
utes Of his solemn contract. He drank
the last drink at midnight Of the
fourth day and expired in ten minutes.
Most Of the Indian parents refrain
from teaching their infants baby talk.
The pappooses are taught to speak
correctly from their birth, or shortly
after. White folks first teach their Off
spring a jargon, and then take great
pains to unlearn what they impressed
on their minds and tongues.
Some of our red men are sun wor-
shippers. I have seen many Iowas and
Tarvness address their prayers and la
mentations to the glorious orb Of day,
The Iowas, who have dwindled down
to eighty-two persons, believe in spir-
it's, spiritual horses, dogs and birds
Billy Dole, an old Iowa, once told me:
have eleven squaws and pappooses
up there I can see them, and see lots
Of my ponies grazing on the evergreen
prairies, 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
it to scare the 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 him to death with
BALL Only one Iowa was ever killed
by lightning. All Iowas preserve the
account of that terrible event with
great care. 1t is taught and retold
to the Iowa children with religious
precision.
Long ago. when more than 100000
Iowas lived in the state of Iowa, a
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
SO, 900 assembled at the appointed place
when the flowers were blooming. Their
provisions had been used up. They
were hungry; they were about starv-
ing. Then the headmen asked the
medicine man when the promised feast
would come off. Then he laughed like
a fool and said: I just wanted to de-
ceive, to fool you. I have hardly any
thing to eat myself Just then the
thunder god sent lightning bolt from
the clear sky and killed the greatest
liar of the Iowa nation"