Dedication:
St. Ignatius College
Chicago, Illinois
July 4th, 1896
Dedication
To the Province of Missouri, by which, since the 5th of August 1848, when I landed to New York, from Italy, I was looked upon, and provided for, with material solicitude, I dedicate the follow memoirs, of a token of filial gratitude.
Paul Mary Ponziglione S. J.
St. Ignatius College
Chicago, Illinois
July 4th, 1896
Dedication
To the Province of Missouri, by which, since the 5th of August 1848, when I landed to New York, from Italy, I was looked upon, and provided for, with material solicitude, I dedicate the follow memoirs, of a token of filial gratitude.
Paul Mary Ponziglione S. J.
Introduction:
Introduction
In writing the history of Aborigines, who never had any sort of writings to transmit to posterity their noble deeds, on has to place all his reliance on oral tradition.
The knowledge of traditions forms the principal part of the education of the medicine men, counsellors, and chiefs of all Indian tribes. Those traditions are generally nost faithfully transmitted by parents to their children from generation to generation, and when a boy has reached the age of 18 can, more or less, give a correct account of the history of his people. There is however a special part of this knowledge, and there are peculiar traditions, of which they are very jealous, such e.g. as are concerning their worship, as well as the caring of particular distempers (?). There they do not communicate promiscuously to every one, but are reserved for a select clan, known by the name of Medicine men, to whom the Osages and there language give the title of “Waconta-cki” which signifies in English “God’s workers.” These together with the Counsellors, and Chiefs form, I might say, a privileged class, a kind of aristocracy among them, and it is the pride of all Medicine men to preserve the clan.
To this effect they carefully watch the different dispositions of their young men, between the age of 15 and 20, and picking up some few of them, only the very best, those who seem to be more shrewd, more wise and fluent in conversation, who display more facility in developing their ideas; they for clubs of associations made up of 10 to 15 members, and initiate them in the mysteries of their craft.
Most all of the aborigines look upon the moon as their great calendar, which rules the time of planting their little gardens, or gathering the flags, with which they make their mats, or the time of starting on their regular hunting excursions, or moving on the war path. When therefore the moon has passed its first quarter, and begins to give considerable light, some of these Medicine-men, who are best informed in all Indian knowledge, will gather together their young apprentices, and squatting around small fires, they build on the open prairie, so far apart that one club might not interfere with another, they begin their exercises by the singing of their liturgical Tha-hi-hon, at the monotonous sound of the tom-toms. Having got through whit what, I might call their usual anthem, the teachers will tell their pupils the stories of their ancestors, and acquaint them with some of the mysteries of their witch-craft, they will relate, how they first come over the world in what country they first dwelt, how many nations they met, how many enemies they did conquer.
The teachers having been lecturing their pupils for quite a while, stop and the tom-toms again are beaten, and the song is again taken up for another spell; after (next) which each of the young men, in their respective circles, repeats word by word the lecture, that was delivered by the teachers, and so they keep on till each one on their turn, have as it were recited their lesson.
Once the teaches find out, that their pupils are able to give an account of their origin, and repeat the glorious deeds of their hero’s, they will keep lecturing them on other important points. They will speak to them of the course of the stars, how these with the moon, do exercise and influence on the earth, ruling vegetation, they will speak of the wonderful power many roots have for healing different distempers, they will show how a certain kind of clay, being pulverized and diluted with water, can prove very beneficial to sick people. Finally they will teach them how, by burning of special odoriferous herbs, the evil spirits may be cast out of patients. This in their estimation is the most important knowledge they can impart for according to their belief, sicknesses generally are caused by the agency of wicked spirits.
These more or less are the subjects on which the Medicine-men do teach their pupils; and once they see that they are able to repeat all they have learned, they are considered sufficiently qualified to act as professional men.
And it is this system of education that must be attributed, that great tenacity with which the full-blood Indians adhere to their old habits, and superstitions for the common people having no learning of any sort, blindly admit for granted whatever is told them by the Medicine-men. And these crafty fellows are very particular in preserving the masses of them in ignorance, this being most profitable to their personal interest.
With the half-breeds the case if quite different. From their intercourse with the white people, they have learned better ways.
To what concerns the authenticity of the oral traditions, they, as a general rule, are very scrupulous, and under no consideration, would allow themselves to depart from what they did learn from their grand-grand fathers. In regard to the sources of my knowledge in writing these memoirs, I must say that I helped myself with all the information I could reach, either through the “History of the Catholic Missions” by John Gilmary Shea, or the “History of the United States” by George Bancroft. I also consulted the different treaties made by the Osages with the U.S. Government since 1824, and the “History of Kansas” published by Mr. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Ill, 1883. Besides, I carefully examined the few old records kept at the Osage Mission Church, beginning from 1820 to 1851. From 1851 to 1889 I needed no special records, for myself have more or less been an eye witness of all that did happened among the Osage Indians.
My object in writing these memoirs has been to show what kind of people Father John Schoenmakers had to deal with, when in 1846 was given the charge of establishing a mission among the Osages. He was sent to open a mission in the midst of ignorant and superstitious people, whose majority thought they would disgrace themselves if they would admit civilization; consequently were hostile to whatever might be savoring of white man’s customs, and had no other ambition than that of showing themselves as wild as their grand-grand fathers had been. The work of the good father was at last crowned with success, and number of wild Osages, who would come from the far west, looking as savage as lions, after they had been dealing for a while with him would become as tame as lambs.
The character of Father John Schoenmakers was a steady one. He was always the same, either in the rushing of business, or under the pressure of disappointment; he could easy find some expedient to get out of difficulty; he always had a kind word for everybody. Positive in enforcing order, was at the same time accommodative to all. In a word he was making himself useful to all that he might gain all to God. And this was the great talisman that made him an object of love and esteem to the Indians as well as to the white man.
Introduction
In writing the history of Aborigines, who never had any sort of writings to transmit to posterity their noble deeds, on has to place all his reliance on oral tradition.
The knowledge of traditions forms the principal part of the education of the medicine men, counsellors, and chiefs of all Indian tribes. Those traditions are generally nost faithfully transmitted by parents to their children from generation to generation, and when a boy has reached the age of 18 can, more or less, give a correct account of the history of his people. There is however a special part of this knowledge, and there are peculiar traditions, of which they are very jealous, such e.g. as are concerning their worship, as well as the caring of particular distempers (?). There they do not communicate promiscuously to every one, but are reserved for a select clan, known by the name of Medicine men, to whom the Osages and there language give the title of “Waconta-cki” which signifies in English “God’s workers.” These together with the Counsellors, and Chiefs form, I might say, a privileged class, a kind of aristocracy among them, and it is the pride of all Medicine men to preserve the clan.
To this effect they carefully watch the different dispositions of their young men, between the age of 15 and 20, and picking up some few of them, only the very best, those who seem to be more shrewd, more wise and fluent in conversation, who display more facility in developing their ideas; they for clubs of associations made up of 10 to 15 members, and initiate them in the mysteries of their craft.
Most all of the aborigines look upon the moon as their great calendar, which rules the time of planting their little gardens, or gathering the flags, with which they make their mats, or the time of starting on their regular hunting excursions, or moving on the war path. When therefore the moon has passed its first quarter, and begins to give considerable light, some of these Medicine-men, who are best informed in all Indian knowledge, will gather together their young apprentices, and squatting around small fires, they build on the open prairie, so far apart that one club might not interfere with another, they begin their exercises by the singing of their liturgical Tha-hi-hon, at the monotonous sound of the tom-toms. Having got through whit what, I might call their usual anthem, the teachers will tell their pupils the stories of their ancestors, and acquaint them with some of the mysteries of their witch-craft, they will relate, how they first come over the world in what country they first dwelt, how many nations they met, how many enemies they did conquer.
The teachers having been lecturing their pupils for quite a while, stop and the tom-toms again are beaten, and the song is again taken up for another spell; after (next) which each of the young men, in their respective circles, repeats word by word the lecture, that was delivered by the teachers, and so they keep on till each one on their turn, have as it were recited their lesson.
Once the teaches find out, that their pupils are able to give an account of their origin, and repeat the glorious deeds of their hero’s, they will keep lecturing them on other important points. They will speak to them of the course of the stars, how these with the moon, do exercise and influence on the earth, ruling vegetation, they will speak of the wonderful power many roots have for healing different distempers, they will show how a certain kind of clay, being pulverized and diluted with water, can prove very beneficial to sick people. Finally they will teach them how, by burning of special odoriferous herbs, the evil spirits may be cast out of patients. This in their estimation is the most important knowledge they can impart for according to their belief, sicknesses generally are caused by the agency of wicked spirits.
These more or less are the subjects on which the Medicine-men do teach their pupils; and once they see that they are able to repeat all they have learned, they are considered sufficiently qualified to act as professional men.
And it is this system of education that must be attributed, that great tenacity with which the full-blood Indians adhere to their old habits, and superstitions for the common people having no learning of any sort, blindly admit for granted whatever is told them by the Medicine-men. And these crafty fellows are very particular in preserving the masses of them in ignorance, this being most profitable to their personal interest.
With the half-breeds the case if quite different. From their intercourse with the white people, they have learned better ways.
To what concerns the authenticity of the oral traditions, they, as a general rule, are very scrupulous, and under no consideration, would allow themselves to depart from what they did learn from their grand-grand fathers. In regard to the sources of my knowledge in writing these memoirs, I must say that I helped myself with all the information I could reach, either through the “History of the Catholic Missions” by John Gilmary Shea, or the “History of the United States” by George Bancroft. I also consulted the different treaties made by the Osages with the U.S. Government since 1824, and the “History of Kansas” published by Mr. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Ill, 1883. Besides, I carefully examined the few old records kept at the Osage Mission Church, beginning from 1820 to 1851. From 1851 to 1889 I needed no special records, for myself have more or less been an eye witness of all that did happened among the Osage Indians.
My object in writing these memoirs has been to show what kind of people Father John Schoenmakers had to deal with, when in 1846 was given the charge of establishing a mission among the Osages. He was sent to open a mission in the midst of ignorant and superstitious people, whose majority thought they would disgrace themselves if they would admit civilization; consequently were hostile to whatever might be savoring of white man’s customs, and had no other ambition than that of showing themselves as wild as their grand-grand fathers had been. The work of the good father was at last crowned with success, and number of wild Osages, who would come from the far west, looking as savage as lions, after they had been dealing for a while with him would become as tame as lambs.
The character of Father John Schoenmakers was a steady one. He was always the same, either in the rushing of business, or under the pressure of disappointment; he could easy find some expedient to get out of difficulty; he always had a kind word for everybody. Positive in enforcing order, was at the same time accommodative to all. In a word he was making himself useful to all that he might gain all to God. And this was the great talisman that made him an object of love and esteem to the Indians as well as to the white man.