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Show 1 TALES . . . I 1 oieTRIBES 2 By Editha L. Watson t The Osage After mankind bad ascended fro the lowest of the four upper worlds tn f hp h I p h p R t- where tbey received re-ceived souls, they descended again ind came to the red oak tree on .vhich the lowest world is supported. They climbed down the b r a n c h e s of the tree, and divided di-vided into those who kept to the eft, the peace B people, and those Osage. who kept to the right, the war people. The peace people ate only vegetables, vegeta-bles, the war people meat. Later, they gave each other some of the different foods, and thus all came Into possession posses-sion of a variety. Later, the two bands met a third, very warlike folk, but managed to make peace with them and admitted them into the tribe. And this, briefly, is the origin of the Osage. Legend also relates that later the Osage were living on the banks of a great river, which overflowed, sending the people panic-stricken In fonr directions: direc-tions: to the top of a hill, to an upland up-land forest, to a thorny thicket, and to the foot of the hill. These last two united. Even at present, the Osage are divided into three communities, In commemoration of this event The "Dwellers-Upon-the-Hilltop" have their village at Grayhorse ; the "Dwellers-in-the-Upland-Forest" at Hominy, and the "Dwellers-In-the-Thorny-Thicket" and "Dwellers-Below" at Pawhuska. Marquette noted them on his map of 1673, and they remained where he found them for about two hundred years, when they moved westward. This tribe was always at war, and most of the neighboring Indians held them on terror on this account. Still, they could be generous, for the Illinois, Illi-nois, who had been their foes, fled to the Osage for protection when driven. west of the Mississippi by the Iroquois. Iro-quois. Lewis and Clark have recorded that nearly half of the tribe migrated to the Arkansas river, and took its name. They give the numbers of the Great and Little Osage and the Arkansas band as more than 1,300 warriors. The three divisions of the tribe which date from legendary days, have always been kept separate, and each division had certain functions. For Instance, If an enemy should slip into the camp circle and appeal to the chief of the peace people, he was In duty bound to defend him. The more peaceful ceremonies were delegated to this division, such as the naming of children. The war people, which Included In-cluded the third division, took charge of the warlike duties -of the tribe. Certain families carried on the manufacture man-ufacture of war pipes, mocassins, etc., and heralds were chosen from certain other families. While these smaller "offices" were hereditary, the highest place In the tribe, that of head chief, was electoral. Thus, on the death of a head chief, four candidates were named by the lending man, and one of these was chosen as head chief. The Osnge were visited by Cnpt Zebulon M. Pike in 1S06. This famous fa-mous explorer stayed more than a week In their villages on the Little Osage river, and mentioned them In the report of his expeditions. Most of what Is now Missouri and the northern part of Arkansas, the property of the Osage, was ceded to the United States by treaty In 1S0S. This left them with all of Oklahoma north of the Canadian and Arkansns rivers, a not Inconsiderable property, but they reduced the extent of this by further treaties, until the limits of their reservation were fixed. Their agent reported the Innd as being "poorly adapted for civilizing purposes," pur-poses," as there was but one small fertile valley on the reservation, but since then minerals and especially oil have been discovered on the Osage land, with the result that, as far back as 1006. the Osnge were the richest Tndlnn trihe In the United States, having hav-ing funds of more than eight and a half million dollars In the United Slates treasury, which brought them an Income of nearly half a million a year. Pnslurage leases added to this amount. The Osage are rapidly decreasing In numbers on account of Intermarry with the whites. The census of 1010 gives only S2." as full bloods out of 2.100 enrolled as Osages. and It Is even said that many of the 825 are of mixed blood. (. 1931. Western Newspaper Union.) |