Fig. 175—Winter 1883—84—House built; children taken; Sioux dances.
The Anko calendar records the taking of a large number of children to the Chilocco Indian school, near Arkansas City, Kansas. The heavy drafts made during the term to furnish children for Chilocco and other schools very considerably reduced the number of pupils in attendance at the reservation schools; according to the agent's statement, seventy were thus taken at one time (Report, 103). The figure below the winter mark is intended to represent two wagons filled with children.
Anko notes also that a party of Dakota came down to dance with the Kiowa, indicated by the feather dance-wand at the side of the winter mark.
SUMMER 1884
Fig. 176—Summer 1884.—No sun dance; Hauled freight.
There was no sun dance this summer, and the Set-t'an calendar has only the figure of a tree to indicate summer, with a figure below intended to represent an inclosed field, implying that the owner stayed at home. Concerning this the agent says, under date of August 28:
The Kiowas have danced less this year than usual, and they seem to have given up their annual medicine dance, for as yet they have said nothing about it. The holding of this dance has always been a great occasion and considered one of their most important ceremonies, for they have believed it absolutely necessary to secure their health and success in all their undertakings, either at war or in the chase. They have generally gone out on the plains from 40 to 60 miles from the agency and been absent from five to six weeks. On several occasions since the buffalo disappeared, they have suffered very much with hunger while out, and I hope we have heard the last of the dance (Report, 104).
The calendar of Anko for this summer notes the hauling of government freight by the Kiowa, including himself, indicated by a figure of a wagon where the medicine pole would otherwise be. This was in agreement with a plan inaugurated several years before, by which those Indians who had suitable teams and wagons—the latter furnished by the government—were permitted to haul supplies for the agency and were paid for their labor as an inducement to get them to adopt the white man's industries. As there was no railroad near at that time, most of the freight had to be hauled overland from Caldwell, Kansas, a distance of 150 miles. For such labor during this year the Indians received nearly $8,000, and performed the work cheerfully and in a satisfactory manner (Report, 105).