Omaha Dwellings, Furniture and Implements | Page 5

bowls of a very wide and simple form and of various sizes, generally carved out of large knots of wood. These served as drinking cups (ni[']i[|c]��ta^{n}), but now cups of tin or earthenware are used for that purpose.
Water Vessels
When pottery was made, they used bowls and kettles. Some used wooden bowls of different sizes, the largest being about 2 feet in diameter. When they went on the hunt, they used the ��nijeha (or sack made of the muscular coating of the buffalo paunch, by filling with, grass to make it stand out and keep its shape until dried). When the ��nijeha was filled with water the mouth was tied, and it was kept covered and in the shade that it might remain cool. After being used for a few days it became strong smelling, and was thrown away, another taking its place. Some preferred the "[t]en[)a]n[']de uq[|c]a[']ha [|c]a^{n}" or pericardium(?) of the buffalo, which is like sinew. This does not smell unpleasant, even when used for seven or ten days. But at the expiration of that time it is unfit for further service.
Jugs have been introduced by the traders.
Other Vessels.
Provision sacks or parfl��che cases were made of dried buffalo hide. When used for carrying the dried meat, they were called we��bast��. After two or three years' use they became soft and were fit only for making moccasin soles. These sacks had the hair taken off, and were sometimes made in trunk fashion.
Fruit baskets were of three kinds. The Ponka made them of the bark of a tree, called taw��[,]a^{n}he, which is found on the old Ponka reservation in Dakota. Northern Indians make boats of this bark. The Omaha do not find the tree on their land, so they make the fruit baskets of other kinds of bark. The three kinds of baskets are as follows: Na^{n}[']pa ��[|c]is[)e], used for chokecherries; ag[|c]a?[']kama?ge ��[|c]is[)e], used for raspberries; and bact ��[|c]is[)e], used for strawberries. When the Ponka wished to make the baskets, they stripped off the bark in horizontal sections, not pulling upward or downward.
In modern times the Omaha have learned to make sacks of thread of different colors drawn from black, red, blue, and white blankets. Different figures are woven. Each sack is about a foot deep, 16 inches from the mouth to the opposite side, and from 2 to 2-1/2 feet long. The opening is on one of the long sides, and when the articles are put in a gathering string is drawn and tied.
Hoes and Axes.
For hoes, the Omaha used the shoulder blades of the buffalo. Axes and hatchets are now made of iron, hence, the Omaha name, ma^{n}[']ze-pe, sharp iron. But the Kansa have the ancient name, ma^{n}[']hi-spe, answering to the Dakota, wa^{n}hi^{n}[']-kpe, sharp flint. The hatchet is distinguished from the ax by adding "ji?ga," small. Some of the stone axes and hatchets have been found on the Omaha reservation, but they could hardly have been used for cutting. It is not known what tools were used for felling trees.
Knives.
Knives were made of stone. A prominent butte, near the old Ponka agency, Nebraska, is known as "M��hi^{n}-[t]u," signifying blue knife, from the character of the stone with which its surface is covered. It is several miles from the mouth of Ponka creek and nearly opposite the month of Choteau creek, South Dakota.
Implements Connected with Fire.
In former ages, the [|C]egiha made fire by rubbing or turning a stick round and round between the hands. On the present Omaha reservation, and in that region, the Omaha use elm roots for that purpose. In the country called [P]iz��bah��he, near the source of Elkhorn river, there is a grass known as "du��du��hi," which has about a hundred fine shoots from each root, which is half the size of the head. The stalk was used for hand drills and fire sticks. One stalk was cut almost flat, and the man puts his feet on the ends to steady them. Then, holding the other stick in his hands, with one end touching the stalk on the ground, he turned it round and round till the friction produced fire. Sometimes a small quantity of dry sand was placed on the flat stick. The same flat stick answered for several occasions. When the cavity made by turning the hand drill became too large, the point of contact was shifted to another part of the flat stick, and so on until the whole of that stick was used, when it was thrown away and another was obtained. Du��du��hi, according to Mr. Francis La Flesche, may be found in Judiciary square, Washington, District of Columbia. After the coming of the white man, but before the introduction of friction matches, which are now used by the whole tribe, the Omaha used flints and tinder for making fire.
Spits for roasting, etc.,