Part 28

Dr J. D. Glennan, attending surgeon to the Indian troop at Fort Sill, had already distinguished himself at Wounded Knee two years before by his bravery and coolness in attending to the needs of the wounded and dying while bullets were flying thick around him. Now, when the epidemic broke out among the Kiowa, he gave his services with the same quiet devotion to duty, with such good result that, although for months the hospital camp was crowded with stricken Indians, whose relatives outside were dying all over the reservation, only six of those under his care died, and these not from the prevailing epidemic, but from a complication of diseases. In recognition of his services the Kiowa soldiers afterward raised a sum of money with which to purchase a horse for him, but as the doctor already had a horse, the testimonial took the form of a valuable piece of silver.

The Anko calendar has also a row of circles, representing dollars, to indicate a large payment of grass money by the cattlemen this summer. As by this time the Indians had learned that the leasing of their surplus grass lands was very much to their advantage, they held a council in February, 1892, to select delegates to go to Washington for the purpose of negotiating leases for the whole reservation; also to secure some back payments due from previous leases. Quanah, Lone-wolf, and Whiteman were chosen on behalf of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache, respectively, and proceeded to Washington, where they received the desired permission, under which authority leases were negotiated producing for the three tribes an average income of about $100,000. On their return they received through a special agent nearly $70,000 due under the new and old leases. This large payment gave occasion for general rejoicing and marked an era in their history. A large part of the money was invested in lumber for building permanent houses; so that in this way, and with the additional help of a small appropriation for the hire of carpenters, the agent reports about sixty houses built within the year, and says:

With the assistance of the Indian Office as to the pay of carpenters, together with the revenues from their grass leases, I see no reason why in the near future the tepee should not be banished and comfortable houses he substituted in their stead (_Report, 116_).

* * * * *

Here end the yearly calendars. The subsequent events, including the unratified treaty negotiations and the present condition of the tribes, will be found noted in the preliminary tribal sketch.

KIOWA CHRONOLOGY

TERMS EMPLOYED

Now--_íñhogo_ (_íñhoti_=this).

Then (past)--_óhyo_ (same as _there_).

Second, minute, hour--unknown.

Day (from sunrise to sunset)--_kíădă_, abbreviated _kíă_.

A day (of twenty-four hours, i. e., one day and one night)--_pägo kiă´_ (="one day").

Dawn--_kíăt'ä´_ (literally, "first light," _t'ä; t'ä_ seems to be connected with _t'aiñ_, white; _gyäpá-iñgya_).

Sunrise--_paí-báda_, literally, "the sun has come up."

Morning--_kíädä´_, literally, fall day; cf. Day and Dawn; _gyäpá-iñgya_; very early in the morning--_gíñaga_ (cf. Night); late morning, shortly before noon--_kyähíñ kíäsá_.

This morning--_íñhoti gyäpá-iñgya_.

Noon--_kíäsá_.

Afternoon (early, until about 3 oclock)--_dekíäsa_.

Afternoon (late)--_déhíñ_.

Evening--_dám-kóñkya_ (literally, first darkness); _dekómdóle_ (_-gya_, from an archaic root referring to slight darkness).

Night--_gíñde; gíñăgya_; one night, _pägo gi_.

Midnight--_gíñ-kopá-iñgya_; after midnight--_gíñă-tógya_ (_togya_, after or past).

Tonight--_íñhoti gi_.

Today--_íñhoti kiă_.

Yesterday--_kíädédal_.

Tomorrow--_kyähíñgă_.

Day after tomorrow--_añgádal kíăgyă kyähíñ_ (literally, a day--_kíăgyă_; beyond or more--_añgádal_; tomorrow--_kyähíñ_); abbreviated, _añgádal kyähíñ_.

Day before yesterday--_tópde kíädédal_, literally, before yesterday; day next before, understood.

Journey--estimated by "darks," _koñ_, i. e., nights, instead of by "sleeps." Thus, if one asks how far away is a certain distant place, he is told that it is _pä´go koñ, yía koñ_, one dark, two darks, etc., i. e., that to reach it he must be one night, two nights, etc., on the road. They understand now how to measure short distances by the mile, _on_, literally, "a measure."

Week--The Kiowa did not originally group the days into weeks, but have now learned to make such a period, counting by Sundays or by the biweekly ration issue. Thus Sunday is _Dakíădă_, literally, "medicine day," i. e., "sacred day." One week is _pä´go Dakíădă_; two weeks, _yía Dakíădă_, etc. Next week--_ki-gía Dakíădă_, literally, after Sunday; also, _koñtä´kia_, literally, middle of (issue) nights.

One issue--_pä´go kóñakán_, literally, one end or series (_akán_) of darks or nights. The regular ration issue is made every two weeks, on Friday, and as this is the great gathering time of the Indians, when they meet their friends and talk over matters of mutual interest, it has become a red-letter day and a starting point, like our Sunday.

Month or moon--_p'a_. The same word means river or stream, while _pa_, without the aspirate, signifies a buffalo bull.

Year--The years are counted hy winters; one year, _pägo sai_, literally, one winter or cold season, from _saí-gia_, or _sai_, winter; plural, _säta_.

Days of the week (modern)--Sunday, _Dakíădă_; Monday, _Dakía kyähíñ_; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, have no names, but are counted as two, three, four, or five days after Sunday; Saturday, _Dakía-sän_ literally, little Sunday.

Christmas (modern)--_Píä-kíădă_, "eating day," or "feast day."

Fourth of July (modern)--_Tsolaí_ (i. e., July, which they take to be the name of the day); _Tsä´nkia kíădă_, "race day," because on that occasion races are held by the Indians at the agency and at Fort Sill.

THE SEASONS

The Kiowa distinguished only four seasons, unlike some of the agricultural tribes of the east, who distinguished five, separating the autumn season into _early_, when the leaves change color, and _late_, when the leaves fall, but assigning entirely different names to each. The Kiowa begin the year with the beginning of winter as fixed by the first snowfall. This seems to have been the case also with the Pawnee and perhaps with other prairie tribes. To an agricultural people the renewal of vegetation would seem a more natural starting point.

The first season is called _Saígya_ or _Säta_, abbreviated _Saí_, which is considered to begin on the first fall of snow. In western Oklahoma this is generally about the first or middle of December, although on one occasion, about ten years ago, this occurred as early as October. Cold weather and frost may come, but it is not called _Saígya_ until snow falls.

Next comes _Áségya_, spring. This is an archaic term which cannot be analyzed. It is sometimes called by the more modern name of _Són-páta_, "grass springing." It is considered to begin when the grass and buds sprout and the mares foal (about first of March), and is known to be near at hand when the breasts of the eagles begin to turn white and when the panther whelps are born. The old men say that one half of the month _Ka`gúăt P'a Sän_ belongs to _Saí-gya_ and the other half to _Áségya_.

The third season is _Paígya_ or _Paíta_, abbreviated _Pai_, summer. The name seems to have a connection with the word for sun, _pai_. It begins after the grass has ceased sprouting (_sónpáta_) and is considered to continue until fires are needed in the tipis at night, i. e., from about June to September. During this season the fires are made outside the tipis, or, rather, outside the leafy arbors under which the people sit and sleep during the hot weather.

Next comes the fourth and last season, _Paóngya_ or autumn. The term is archaic and seems to refer to the thickening of the fur (_pa_) of the buffalo and other animals as the cold weather approaches. It is sometimes called _Aídeñ-gyägúădal-ómgyä-i_, the time "when the leaves are red." The season is supposed to begin when the leaves change color and fires become comfortable in the tipis at night, that is, about the first of September.

In addition to these recognized divisions the summers or warm weather periods, as distinguished from the winters, were usually counted by _k`ádós_ or sun dances, which were commonly held once a year, the time being fixed by the whitening of the down on the cottonwoods, about the beginning of June.

The following table is a good approximation of the manner in which the Kiowa divide the year, beginning about October 1:

SAÍGYA: WINTER

Gákiñăt'o P'a, _last half_. Ä`gâ´nti. Tépgañ P'a. Gañhíña P'a. Ka`gúăt P'a Sän, _first half_.

ÁSÉGYA: SPRING

Ka`gúăt P'a Sän, _last half_. Ka`gúăt P'a. Aideñ P'a. Pai Ä`gâ´nti, _first half_.

PAÍGYA: SUMMER

Pai Ä`gâ´nti, _last half_. Pai Tépgañ P'a. Pai Gañhíña P'a. T'águñótal P'a Sän. T'águñótal P'a, _first half_.

PAÓNGYA: AUTUMN

T'águñótal P'a, _last half_. Gákiñăt'o P'a, _first half_.

Autumn seems to be less definitely noted than the other seasons.

KIOWA MOONS OR MONTHS

While the Kiowa note the changes of the moon and have a fixed name for each moon or lunar month, it is not to be supposed that their system could have the exactness of the calendar systems of the more cultivated nations of the south, or perhaps even of the sedentary tribes of the east, whose interests so largely depended upon noting carefully the growth and ripening of crops, the appearance of the various species of fish in the streams, etc. Nevertheless, they have a system, imperfect though it be, and it can not be said of them, as Matthews says of some northern tribes, that "they have no formal names for the lunar periods." In this, as in other matters of tribal lore, they defer to the superior knowledge of certain old men who assume the position of experts on the subject.

The Kiowa recognize twelve or more moons or months, beginning the year, according to one authority, with the first cold weather, about the end of October, or according to other authority, with the first snowfall, about a month or more later. They have seven distinct moon or month names, and some of these are duplicated and distinguished as _great_, _small_, or of _summer_, to make the full number for the year. These moons of course do not coincide closely with our calendar months, and as the system is necessarily imperfect, there is a discrepancy of authorities, some recognizing twelve moons while a few count as many as fourteen or fifteen, the additional names being a further duplication of some of the others, as already explained; all authorities agree on the first eight as here given, and all but one agree on the ninth, after which there is a discrepancy. The author has made no arbitrary attempt to harmonize conflicting statements, as the result would be artificial and not aboriginal; and we must expect a certain amount of uncertainty and disagreement on such a complicated subject, among primitive people. Our own calendar system has been of slow growth, and more than one hundred million Europeans still refuse to accept it. The list here given is that obtained from Anko, the best calendar authority in the tribe, and is that generally accepted by the Kiowa. By means of tally dates from his picture calendar their periods can be pretty closely assigned, although, as will be noticed, even he varies a month in some instances in the course of three years. Some of the old men put another moon, _Pai Ka`gúăt P'a Sän_ (see number 5), between _Pai Gáñhíña P'a_ and _T'águñ´ótal P'a Sän_.

1. _Gákiñăt'o P'a_--"Ten-colds moon." It is so called because the first ten days of it are cold, a premonition of winter, after which it grows warm for a time; this moon is about equivalent to late September and early October. It is the first and last moon of the Kiowa year, the old year and the summer being considered to end with the full moon of this period, after which the winter and the new year begin; by the time this moon ends the leaves are off the trees; in talking with Anko on September 23 (1895) he said: "This is _Gákiñăt'o P'a_, but it is still summer. After the moon is full and again begins to wane, then winter has begun, and we are in the _winter half_ of _Gákiñat'o P'a_." Snow sometimes comes in this moon.

2. _[.A] gâ´nti or Ä`ga´ntsänha_ (does not take _p'a_), from _ä`gâ´ntsän_--"wait until I come," or "I am coming soon." According to Kiowa folklore, this moon says to his predecessor, "You went, but did nothing. _Hítugŭ´ ä`gâ´ntsän_--wait, and I'll go, and I'll show what I can do in the way of storms and cold weather." This moon includes parts of October and November. A tally date is the lunar eclipse of November 4, 1892, which is noted on the Anko calendar as occurring in this moon. Some authorities speak of it also as _sä-kop p'a_, "midwinter moon," i. e., midway between two consecutive sun dances, which would seem to bring it nearer to December.

3. _Tépgañ P'a_, "Geese-going moon," so called because the geese now begin to pass overhead on their migration southward; it may bo considered to include parts of November and December, and is sometimes called _Bonpä P'a_, "sweathouse moon," for some unexplained reason. (See number 9, _Pai Tépgañ P'a_.)

4. _Gañhíña P'a_, "Real-goose moon," so called because in this moon the great southward migration of wild geese occurs; it may be considered to comprise parts of December and January, although some put it later, as one old man talking on the subject on January 25, said: "We are now in the beginning of _Gañhíña P'a_."

5. _Ka`gúăt P'a Sän_, "Little-bud moon." This may be considered to include late January and early February; in this moon the first buds come out, especially those of the elm, called by the Kiowa _tá-ä_, or _gádal-ä_, "saddle-wood," or "buffalo-wood." The first part of this moon is regarded as belonging to winter (_saígya_), the latter part to spring (_áségya_). Anko says that the mares foal in this moon and that the white men (in Oklahoma) usually begin to plow. A tally date from his calendar makes a February event occur in this moon.

6. _Ka`gúăt P'a_, "Bud moon." It is sometimes distinguished from the preceding by adding _edal_, "great;" the buds are all out and it is now full (_áségya_), spring; it is considered to include parts of February and March.

7. _Aideñ P'a_, "Leaf moon." The leaves are all out by the end of this moon, which approximately comprises late March and early April. Anko remarks that the moon names already given, with the two _T'aguñótal P'a_, are all old recognized names, but that this moon has no proper name. It is here also that the discrepancy begins on the other lists; a tally date on the Anko calendar gives April 19 as belonging to this moon.

8. _Pai [.A]gâ´nti_, "Summer _Ägâ´nti_" (see number 2). This moon is so named because, in Kiowa folklore, it says to its predecessor, "Just watch me; pretty soon I'll make it hot. Spring (_áségya_) ends and summer (_paígya, pai_) begins after this moon is full and begins to wane; it maybe considered approximately to include late April and early May, but a tally on the Anko calendar puts an event of June 14 within this period.

9. _Pai Tépgañ P'a_, "Summer _Tépgañ_ moon" (see number 3). It is possible that this moon is so called on account of a northward migration of wild geese, although it seems too late in the season. According to the testimony of white observers on the Kiowa reservation, wild geese appear first in October, stay all winter in the lakes and ponds, and go north again in March and April. The wild ducks, in the rivers, remain all the year. The name may have kept this place as part of the series from the time when the Kiowa lived in the far north, where the seasons are of course later. It usually comprises parts of May and June, although in one place Anko puts the 4th of July in this moon; in other places he puts the same date in the next or second moon following. It is one of the summer moons.

10. _Pai Gañhíña P'a_, "Summer _Gañhíña_ moon" (see numbers 4 and 9). This is also a summer moon, approximating June-July. Tallies from the Anko calendar put events of July 4 and July 20 within this moon, to which also he says belongs the time of school closing, about June 20.

11. _Táguñótal P'a Sȧn_, "Little-moon-of-deer-horns-dropping-off," because the deer now begin to shed their horns. This is another summer moon, equivalent to July-August, and was considered to begin after the annual sun dance. Tallies from the Anko calendar give to it an event of July 29, and in one instance the celebration of July 4.

12. _Táguñótal P'a_ (_Edal_), "(Great-) Moon-of-deer-horns-dropping-off," because when it is at an end, all the deer have shed their antlers. This moon comprises August-September; summer ends and fall (_páongya_) begins in the middle of this moon. It is sometimes also called _Aídeñgúak`o P'a_, "Yellow-leaves Moon," because the leaves now begin to change color.

MOONS OR MONTHS OF OTHER TRIBES

Some extracts from standard authorities on other wild tribes may be of interest in connection with the moons or months of the Kiowa.

_Hidatsa and Mandan_--"Many writers represent that savage Indian tribes divide the year into twelve periods corresponding to our months, and that each month is named from some meteorological occurrence or phase of organic creation observable at the time. Among others, Maximilian presents us with a list of twelve months; 'the month of the seven cold days,' 'the pairing month,' 'the month of weak eyes,' etc.; he introduces this list in one of his chapters descriptive of the Mandans. He does not say it is their list of months, but publishes it without comment, and yet it is presented in such a manner as to lead the reader to suppose that it is the regular and original Mandan calendar. Other authors present lists of Indian months in much the same way. As the results of my own observations, I should say that the Mandan and Minnetaree are generally aware that there are more than twelve lunations in a year, that they as yet know nothing of our manner of dividing the year, and that although, when speaking of 'moons,' they often connect them with natural phenomena, they have no formal names for the lunar periods. I think the same might be said of other tribes who are equally wild.

"The _Hidatsa_ recognize the lapse of time by days, lunar periods, and years; also by the regular recurrence of various natural phenomena, such as the first formation of ice in the fall, the breaking of the ice in the Missouri in the spring, the melting of the snowdrifts, the coming of the wild geese from the south, the ripening of various fruits, etc. A common way of noting time a few years ago was by the development of the buffalo calf _in utero_. A period thus marked by a natural occurrence, be it long or short, is called by them the _kadu_, season, time, of such an occurrence. Some long seasons include shorter seasons; thus they speak of the season of strawberries, the season of service-berries, etc., as occurring within the season of warm weather. They speak of the seasons of cold weather or of snow, of warm weather, and of death or decay, which we consider as agreeing with our seasons of winter, summer, and fall; but they do not regularly allot a certain number of moons to each of these seasons. Should you ask an interpreter who knew the European calendar what were the Indian names of the months, he would probably give you names of a dozen of these periods or natural seasons, as we might call them, corresponding in time to our months. In a few years, when these Indians shall know more of our system of noting time than they now do, they will devise and adopt regular Hidatsa names for the months of our calendar" (_Matthews, 4_).

_Pawnee._--"They had no method of computing years by calendric notation. Occasionally a year that had been marked by some important event, as a failure of crops, unusual sickness, or a disastrous hunt, was referred to as _a year by itself_, but at a few years' remove even this mark became indistinct or faded altogether away. Any occurrence ten or twelve years past was usually designated as _long ago_. Their great use of the past was not as history, but simply as a storehouse of tradition, and this tendency soon enveloped the most important events with a semi-traditional glamour. When time was computed by years, it was done by winters. The year comprised alternately twelve and thirteen moons or months.... The intercalary month, _ŭsarĕr´ăhu_, was usually inserted at the close of the summer months. The regular months were grouped as with us by threes, the first three constituting winter (_pi´[`c]ĭkŭt_), the second three spring (_ora´rĕkaru_), the next three summer (_li´ŭt_), the last three autumn (_lĕtskukĭ_). The year was also divided into two seasons (_kŭt´ĭharu_), a warm and a cold. As may be readily anticipated, there was much confusion in their system of reckoning by moons. They sometimes became inextricably involved and were obliged to have recourse to objects about them to rectify their computations. Councils have been known to be disturbed, or even broken up, in consequence of irreconcilable differences of opinion as to the correctness of their calculations."

"As an aid to the memory, they frequently made use of notches cut in a stick or some similar device for the computation of nights (for days were counted by nights) or even of months and years. Pictographically a day or daytime was represented by a six or eight pointed star, thus, *, as a symbol of the sun. A simple cross, thus X (a star), was a symbol of a night; and a crescent, thus ☾, represented a moon or lunar month" (_Dunbar, 1_).

_Dakota, and Cheyenne._--"The Dakota count their years by winters (which is quite natural, as that season in their high levels and latitudes practically lasts more than six months), and say a man is so many snows old, or that so many snow seasons have passed since an occurrence. They have no division of time into weeks, and their months are absolutely lunar, only twelve, however, being designated, which receive their names upon the recurrence of some prominent physical phenomenon. For example, the period partly embraced by February is called the 'raccoon moon'; March, 'the sore eye moon;' and April, that in which the geese lay eggs. As the appearance of raccoons after hibernation, the causes inducing inflamed eyes, and oviposition by geese vary with the meteorological character of each year, and as the twelve lunations reckoned do not bring them back to the point in the season where counting commenced, there is often dispute in the Dakota tipis toward the end of winter as to the correct current date" (_Mallery, 4_).

"Some tribes have twelve named moons in the year, but many tribes have not more than six; and different bands of the same tribe, if occupying widely separated sections of the country, will have different names for the same moon. Knowing well the habits of animals, and having roamed over vast areas, they readily recognize any special moon that may be mentioned, even though their name for it may be different. One of the nomenclatures used by the Teton-Sioux and Cheyenne beginning with the moon just before winter is as follows:

1. The moon the leaves fall off.

2. The moon the buffalo cow's foetus is getting large.

3. The moon the wolves run together.

4. The moon the skin of the foetus of buffalo commences to color.

5. The moon the hair gets thick on buffalo foetus; called also "men's mouth" or "hard mouth."

6. The sore-eyed moon; buffalo cows drop their calves.

7. The moon the ducks come.

8. The moon the grass commences to get green and some roots are fit to be eaten.