Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 129-444))Mooney, James
History
Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 129-444))
Mooney, James
Kiowa Indians; Kiowa language -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.
The winter before his death, while the Kiowa were on the move somewhere
in the same neighborhood, Âdalpepte and his wife, being some distance
behind the others, met the old man mounted upon an animal nearly as
feeble as its rider, vainly endeavoring to catch up with the main party.
It was bitterly cold and he had no blanket. Âdalpepte, unable to endure
the sight, generously took off his own buffalo robe and threw it over
the old man's shoulders, saying to him, "Take it; I am young and can
stand more." Thus, before we make an estimate of Indian character from
this story we must decide how far the generosity of the one act offsets
the heartless cruelty of the other. It is but fair to state that
Gíaká-ite had no immediate relatives who were in condition to help him,
as his children were dead and his grandson was but a small boy, so that
no one felt directly responsible for his welfare. Abandonment of the
aged and helpless was not infrequent among the prairie tribes, but was
rather a hard necessity of their wandering life than deliberate cruelty,
as generally the aged are treated with the greatest respect and
consideration. This is particularly the case among tribes who are less
nomadic in habit.
SUMMER 1860
T'ené-badaí, "Bird-appearing," was killed. The figure shows a man shot
through the body, with blood streaming from his mouth, while the bird
above is intended to indicate his name. As there was no sun dance this
year, the medicine lodge is omitted.
A part of the Kiowa tribe was south of the Arkansas, while the rest,
with the Kwáhadi and other western Comanche, under the chiefs
Täbi-nä´năkă (Hears-the-sun) and Ĭsä-hä´bĭt (Wolf-lying-down), were
camped north of that stream, when one day the latter party discovered a
large body of people crossing the river. Täbi-nä'năka went out to
reconnoiter, and returned with the report that there were a great many
of them and that they were probably enemies. The Kiowa and Comanche at
once broke camp and fled northward, and on their way met the Cheyenne
and Arapaho, to whom they told the news, whereupon the latter also fled
with them. By this time it had been discovered that the pursuers were
white soldiers, accompanied by a large body of Caddo, Wichita, Tonkawa,
and Pénätĕka Comanche. As they fled, the Kiowa and their allies kept
spies on the lookout, who one night reported their enemies asleep, when
they turned and attacked them at daylight, killing a soldier, but losing
a Comanche named Silver-knife (properly Tin-knife, _Hâ´ñt'aiñ-k`á_ in
Kiowa), who was shot through the neck with an arrow, and a Kiowa named
T'ené-badaí, "Bird-appearing," noted for his handsome appearance, who
was killed by a Caddo. The engagement took place in Kansas, somewhere
northward from Smoky-hill river (_Pe P'a_).
[Illustration: FIG. 127--Summer 1860--Bird-appearing killed.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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