§ 23. Service of the scouts.—When a man walks in dread of some unseen danger, or when there was an alarm in the camp, a crier went around the tribal circle, saying, "Majan´ i¢égasañga té wí á¢inhe+!" I who move am he who will know what is the matter with the land! (i. e., I will ascertain the cause of the alarm.) Then the chiefs assembled in the war tent, and about fifty or sixty young men went thither. The chiefs directed the Elk people to make the young men smoke the sacred pipe of the Elk gens four times, as those who smoked it were compelled to tell the truth. Then one of the servants of the Elk gens took out the pipe and the elk bladder, after untying the elk sinew, removed some of the tobacco from the pouch (elk bladder), which the Elk men dare not touch, and handed the pipe with the tobacco to the Elk man, who filled it and lighted it. They did not smoke with this pipe to the four winds, nor to the sky and ground. The Elk man gave the pipe to one of the bravest of the young men, whom he wished to be the leader of the scouts. After all had smoked the scouts departed. They ran around the tribal circle, and then left the camp. When they had gone about 20 miles they sat down, and the leader selected a number to act as policemen, saying, "I make you policemen. Keep the men in order. Do not desire them to go aside." If there were many scouts, about eight were made policemen. Sometimes there were two, three, or four leaders of the scouts, and occasionally they sent some scouts in advance to distant bluffs. The leaders followed with the main body. When they reached home the young men scattered, but the leaders went to the Elk tent and reported what they had ascertained. They made a detour, in order to avoid encountering the foe, and sometimes they were obliged to flee to reach home. This service of the young men was considered as equivalent to going on the war path.
§ 24. Worship of the thunder in the spring.—When the first thunder is heard in the spring of the year the Elk people call to their servants, the Bear people, who proceed to the sacred tent of the Elk gens. When the Bear people arrive one of them opens the sacred bag, and, after removing the sacred pipe, hands it to one of the Elk men, with some of the tobacco from the elk bladder. Before the pipe is smoked it is held toward the sky, and the thunder god is addressed. Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows do not know the formula, but they said that the following one, given me by a member of the Ponka Hisada (Wasabe-hit`ajĭ) gens, may be correct. The thunder god is thus addressed by the Ponkas: "Well, venerable man, by your striking (with your club) you are frightening us, your grandchildren, who are here. Depart on high. According to [P]á¢innanpájĭ, one of the Wasabe-hit`ajĭ, who has acted as a servant for the Elk people, "At the conclusion of this ceremony the rain always ceases, and the Bear people return to their homes." But this is denied by Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows, who say, "How is it possible for them to stop the rain?"
While the Elk gens is associated with the war path, and the worship of the thunder god, who is invoked by war chiefs, those war chiefs are not always members of this gens, but when the warriors return, the keeper of the sacred bag of this gens compels them to speak the truth about their deeds. (See § [214].)
§ 25. Birth names of boys.—The following are the birth names of boys in the Elk gens. These are sacred or nikie names, and sons used to be so named in former days according to the order of their births. For example, the first-born son was called the Soft Horn (of the young elk at its first appearance). The second, Yellow Horn (of the young elk when a little older). The next, the Branching Horns (of an elk three years old). The fourth, the Four Horns (of an elk four years old). The fifth, the Large Pronged Horns (of an elk six or seven years old). The sixth, the Dark Horns (of a grown elk in summer). The seventh, the Standing White Horns, in the distance (i. e., those of a grown elk in winter).
For instance, when, in any household, a child is named Wasabe-jiñga, that name cannot be given to any new-born child of that gens. But when the first bearer of the name changes his name or dies, another boy can receive the name Wasabe-jiñga. As that is one of the seven birth names of the Wasabe-hit`ajĭ it suggests a reason for having extra nikie names in the gens. This second kind of nikie names may have been birth names, resorted to because the original birth names were already used. This law applies in some degree to girls' names, if parents know that a girl in the gens has a certain name they cannot give that name to their daughter. But should that name be chosen through ignorance, the two girls must be distinguished by adding to their own names those of their respective fathers.]
Other proper names.—The following are the other nikie[3] names of the Elk gens: Elk. Young Elk. Standing Elk. White Elk (near by). Big Elk. `An-wegan¢a (meaning uncertain). B¢an-ti, The odor of the dung or urine of the elk is wafted by the wind (said of any place where the elk may have been). (A young elk) Cries Suddenly. Hidaha (said to mean Treads on the ground in walking, or, Passes over what is at the bottom). Iron Eyes (of an elk). Bullet-shaped Dung (of an elk). (Elk) Is coming back—fleeing from a man whom he met. Muscle of an elk's leg. Elk comes back suddenly (meeting the hunter face to face). (Elk) Turns round and round. No Knife or No Stone (probably referring to the tradition of the discovery of four kinds of stone). Dark Breast (of an elk). Deer lifts its head to browse. Yellow Rump (of an elk). Walking Full-grown Elk. (Elk) Walks, making long strides, swaying from side to side. Stumpy Tail (of an elk). Forked Horn (of a deer). Water-monster. The Brave Wejincte (named after his gens). Women's names.—Female Elk. Tail Female. Black Moose(?) Female. Big Second-daughter (any gens can have it). Sacred Third-daughter (Elk and Iñke-sabě gentes). Iron-eyed Female (Elk and Hañga gentes). Land Female (Elk and ₵atada gentes). Moon that Is-traveling (Elk, Iñke-sabě, Hañga, ₵atada, and [K]anze gentes); Nan-ze-in-ze, meaning uncertain (Elk, ₵atada, and Deer gentes). Ninda-win (Elk, ₵atada, and Ictasanda gentes). Names of ridicule.—Dog. Crazed by exposure to heat. Good Buffalo.
§ 26. According to [T]e-da-u¢iqaga, the chief Anpan-ʇañga, the younger, had a boat and flag painted on the outside of his skin tent. These were made "qube," sacred, but were not nikie, because they were not transmitted from a mythical ancestor.
§ 27. This gens has furnished several head chiefs since the death of the famous Black Bird. Among these were Anpan-skă (head chief after 1800), Anpan-ʇañga, the elder, the celebrated Big Elk, mentioned by Long and other early travelers, and Anpan-ʇañga, the younger. On the death of the last, about A.D. 1853, Joseph La Flèche succeeded him as a head chief.
THE IÑKE-SABĔ, OR BLACK SHOULDER GENS.
§ 28. This is a Buffalo gens, and its place in the tribal circle is next to that of the Elk gens. The head chiefs of this gens in 1880 were Gahige (who died in 1882), and Duba-man¢in, who "sat on opposite sides of the gentile fire-place." Gahige's predecessor was Gahige-jiñga or Icka-dabi.