Two points in connection with this massacre deserve attention. First, the Osage war party was on foot; this, as the Kiowa state, was the general custom of the Osage and Pawnee, more especially the latter, who are sometimes called Domáñk`íägo, "Walkers," by the Kiowa, and was occasionally followed by other tribes, including also the Kiowa. Grinnell states that the Blackfeet always went to war on foot (Grinnell, Blackfeet, 2). There was an obvious advantage in the practice, as a foot party could more easily travel and approach a hostile camp without attracting observation, relying on themselves to procure horses to enable them to return mounted. T'ébodal, when a young man, was twice a member of a large Kiowa war party which went out on foot. The Kiowa say that the Pawnee in particular went afoot on war expeditions, and more recently when they visited other tribes for the purpose of a social dance, in the latter case always returning with large numbers of ponies given them by their entertainers (see summer [1851] and winter [1871—72]). Gregg says that small war parties of the Pawnee were accustomed to rove on foot through every part of the plains, even to the Mexican frontier, but generally returning mounted on captured horses. When, on one occasion, his train was attacked upon the upper Canadian, he says:
It was evidently a foot party, which we looked upon as another proof of their being Pawnees, for these famous marauders are well known to go forth upon their expeditious of plunder without horses, although they seldom fail to return well mounted (Gregg, 4).
Dunbar says that Pawnee runners have been known repeatedly to travel over 100 miles in twenty-four hours or less, going at a swinging trot, without stopping on the way for sleep or food (Clark, 11).
Secondly, it is to be noted that the Osage beheaded the Kiowa without scalping them. This, the Kiowa say, was a general Osage practice; in fact, according to the Kiowa, the Osage never scalped their enemies, but cut off the heads and left them unscalped upon the field. They kept tally of the number killed, however, and when an Osage warrior had killed four he painted a blue half circle, curving downward, upon his breast. So far as Kiowa knowledge goes, no other tribe of the plains practiced the custom of beheading, but all of them scalped their enemies. It seems certain, however, that the Dakota at an early period had the same custom, as they are called "Beheaders" in several Indian languages, while their name is indicated in the sign language by drawing the hand across the throat to signify the same thing. Clark says:
In former times the Sioux Indians, if they had time, cut off the heads of their slain enemies and took them to their first camp after the fight, where the entire scalp was taken off. To make it particularly fine, they kept on the ears with the rings and ornaments. In case a woman had lost some of her kin by death, and her heart was, as they say, bad, she was at times allowed to go with the war party, remaining in the camp established near the point of attack. The head of a slain foe would be given to her, and after removing the scalp she would make her heart good by smashing the skull with a war club (Clark, 12).
Among other tribes, as well as the Osage, especially in the north, the number of enemies slain or other brave deeds performed was sometimes indicated by the style of body paint or dress adornment. Among the Kiowa the number of transverse stripes upon a woman's legging indicates the scalps or coups won by some warrior kinsman.
WINTER 1833—34
D'ä´-p'é'gyä-de Sai, "Winter that the stars fell." This winter takes its name from the memorable meteoric display which occurred shortly before daylight on the morning of November 13, 1833. It was observed throughout North America, and created great excitement among the plains tribes, as well as among a large part of our own population; the event is still used as a chronologic starting point by the old people of the various tribes. It is pictorially represented on most of the Dakota calendars discussed by Mallery in his valuable work on the Picture Writing of the American Indians. Set-t'an was born in the preceding summer, and the small figure of a child over the winter bar indicates that this is his first winter or year; the stars above his head represent the meteors.
Fig. 64—Winter 1833—34—The stars fell.