This refers to Fig. 171, and may be thus rendered: “And I have likewise seen the tent of Fire Chief. It was decorated with cornstalks, but I do not know the reason for it. He dwelt in such a tent because he was a chief. Corn was regarded as “waqube,” mysterious. In the sub-gens of Fire Chief, the Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ, or, those who eat no small birds, the people feared to eat the first ears of corn that matured, lest the small birds (particularly blackbirds) should come and devour the rest of the crop. There was a similar tent decoration in the Iñke-sabĕ and Hañga gentes.” In the former, it was used by Waqaga (see § 53). The cornstalks and ears were green, the tips of the ears were black. There were two similar cornstalks on the back of the tent. [Illustration: FIG. 171.--Cornstalk decoration of the tents of Fire Chief and Waqaga.] CORN AND THE BUFFALO. § 49. Corn is regarded as a “mother” and the buffalo as a “grandfather” among the Omaha and other tribes.[57] In the Osage tradition, corn was bestowed upon the people by four buffalo bulls or “grandfathers.”[58] Dr. Washington Matthews tells of a similar Arikara belief about an ear of corn.[59] (See § 42.) [Illustration: FIG. 172.--Robe of Ni-ȼactage.] [Illustration: FIG. 173.--Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father’s tent.] [Illustration: FIG. 174.--Maⁿtcu-naⁿba’s tent.] OTHER OMAHA MYSTERY DECORATIONS. § 50. Among the members of the order of Buffalo (┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma) was Niȼactage, whose robe is shown in Fig. 172. The red band is at the top. The black spots represent the places where the buffaloes play “buffalo wallows.” Buffalo hoofs are in blue. Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father had a vision of horses, hence he wished to depict horse-tails and tracks on his tent, as found in Fig. 173; but he died before he finished it. The father of Maⁿtcu-naⁿba had a vision of horses, and bequeathed to his son Maⁿtcu-naⁿba the right to decorate his tent in the style shown in Fig. 174. The yellow was connected with the vision. When the owner dwelt in an earth-lodge, the horse-tail was tied to a long pole, which was thrust through the opening at the top of the lodge. So when he used his skin tent, the horse-tail hung from the top of a long pole above the smoke-hole. When the Omaha dwelt near the present town of Homer, Nebr., and Wackaⁿhi was a young child, he went out to play, and fell asleep. He said that he was aroused by the sounds made by many chickens crowing and cackling. In those days (_fide_ George Miller) there were no white people in that neighborhood; but now in that very place where Wackaⁿhi had the vision, there is a wealthy family living, and besides large herds they have a great many chickens. In remembrance of that occurrence, Wackaⁿhi painted his tent with his personal decoration as given in Fig. 175. [Illustration: FIG. 175.--Wackaⁿhi’s tent.] [Illustration: FIG. 176.--Tent of unknown Omaha.]