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The Miamis were called Twightwees by the Early English writers. They were sometimes spoken of as the Crane people. Little Turtle, their chief, replied when asked the bounds of his country by “Mad” Anthony; “My forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit; from thence he extended his line to the headwaters of the Scioto; from thence to its mouth; from thence to the mouth of the Wabash; and from thence to Chicago, on Lake Michigan. These are the boundaries within which the prints of my ancestors’ houses are everywhere to be seen.” The Miamis were an important tribe in the […]

Much concerning the early history of the Osages had already been told in the account of Pike’s expedition and the history of the Kansas. They called themselves Wa-zha-zhe. This name the French Traders corrupted to the present Osage. In historic times the tribe was divided into three bands: Pahatsi, or Great Osages Utsehta, or Little Osages Santsnkhdhi, or the Arkansas Band There are different accounts as to how the tribe became separated into the two principal bands—Great and Little Osages. Some insist that the division occurred in primal times. The Osages then dwelt about a great mountain, an immense mound,

The Kiowas enjoy the distinction of constituting alone a linguistic family of North American Indians. The name comes from their word Ka-i-gwu, meaning “Principal People.” They lived first on the Yellowstone and the Upper Missouri. From thence they began a southern movement which brought them to notice in historic times along the Upper Arkansas and Canadian rivers. At one time, in their migration, they were in alliance with the Crows. They were at war with the Arapahos and Cheyennes until about 1840, when they began to act in concert with those tribes. They are said by plainsmen to be the

The Kickapoos were first mentioned in history about 1670, when they were found about the water-shed between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers. That region seems to have been their prehistoric home. They drifted to the southward in historic times, finally stopping on the Sangamon and Wabash rivers. Those dwelling on the waters of the Wabash had their town on the Vermilion River, and from that circumstance came to be called the Vermilion band. Those to the westward were known as the Prairie band. All of them were followers of Tecumseh, and many of them fought under Blackhawk in his war

The Iowas are of the Siouan family, but here we find them confederated with two tribes of the Algonquian stock. The Iowas claim to be an offshoot from the Winnebagos. They were the wanderers of the Sionans, and have lived in Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, and some of them have lived in Nebraska. This was before they were settled in Kansas. At one time they lived on the Missouri River opposite the site of Fort Leavenworth. The name signifies “The Sleepy Ones.” Their social organization is similar to that of other Siouan tribes. There are two phratries, each having four gentes:

The name Delaware is of English origin, coming from the voyage of Lord Delaware to the Delaware River region. The true name of the Delaware—what he calls himself—is Lenape. In the pronunciation of this name the a is as in father. The final e is a separate syllable, and is sounded as a in fame. The accent of the word, Lenape, is on the a. The name often appears in the early writings with the adjective prefix lenni. The exact meaning of this word had been the subject of much discussion. Mr. Heckewelder is the best authority, and he says

The Chippewas are one of the largest of the Algonquian tribes. The correct form of the name is Ojibwa. It signifies “to roast till puckered up” and had reference to the puckered seam in their moccasins, it being peculiar to the tribe, no others making the moccasin in that way. The original territory occupied by this tribe bordered both shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and extended westward to the Turtle Mountains, in North Dakota. This land was beyond and beside the trails and courses of the first settlers, and as a consequence the Chippewas were not embroiled in

The Comanches were of the Shoshonean linguistic stock. They formerly dwelt with kindred tribes in Southern Wyoming. They were driven south by the Sioux and other tribes with whom they warred. In the early history of the plains they were known as Paduca, the name given them by the Sioux. They lived at one time on the North Platte, which was known as the Paduca Fork as late as 1805. They were said to have roamed from that stream to Bolson de Mapimi, in Chihuahua. They were the finest horsemen that rode the Great Plains, and as buffalo hunters none

The Arapahos and Cheyennes will be considered together. They both belong to the great Algonquian family, and, for a long period, were closely associated. Both were important Plains tribes and bore prominent parts in the early history of that plain along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Cheyennes ranged far down the plains streams, coming into close contact with pioneer settlers of Northwestern Kansas. The Arapahos did not trouble the white people making homes in Western Kansas. Both tribes lay in wait along the great trails to fall upon the strugglers and the unprotected. They were fierce and

The Cherokees belong to the Iroquoian linguistic family. No Indians in North America have a more interesting history. In prehistoric times they lived in what is now the State of Ohio, where they erected many mounds and other earthworks. Other tribes expelled them from the Ohio country. They retreated from the Ohio River up the Kanawha, settling about the headwaters of that stream and the Tennessee. They also claimed the country extending far down into Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. They were virtually expelled from their Eastern home by the United States, and were given a reservation in what is now