Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/858

832 themselves with the Arapahoes. Within a few years they have all been collected on a reservation in the western part of the Indian Territory. Their whole history has been a series of wars against their red neighbours and the whites. They are a large, powerful, athletic race, mentally superior to most of the other tribes. Their occupations are war and hunting. Thus far they have made little or no progress in civilization. They number about 3600.

The Arikarees, Gros Ventres, and Mandans are three tribes which inhabit a permanent village at Fort Berthold, Dakota, on the Missouri. They have a partial civilization of their own, not acquired from intercourse with whites. They live in houses made of wood, covered and thatched with earth and straw. For sustenance they depend largely upon the produce of agricultural labour. Their total number is probably about 2000, the Arikarees being the largest tribe, and the Mandans the smallest. The Arikarees, Arikaras, or Rees, as the name is variously rendered, originally lived in the Platte valley, in Nebraska, with the Pawnees, to whom they are related. Within the present century they have made their way northward to their present location. The Mandans were first found living on the Missouri, at the mouth of Heart river, while the Gros Ventres, or Minnetarees, occupied three small villages at the mouth of Knife river. These three tribes were decimated by the small-pox in 1837, shortly after which event they joined together in one village at their present location.

The Sacs and Foxes, now one tribe, located in Indian Territory, were originally separate, living near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Driven on before the westward march of civilization, they moved first to Iowa, then to Missouri, and finally to their present location. A few still remain in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

The Shawnees or Shawanees, supposed to have been primarily a part of the Kickapoo tribe, were first found in Wisconsin. Moving eastward, they came in contact with the Iroquois, by whom they were driven south into Tennessee. Thence they crossed the moun tains into South Carolina, and spread northward as far as New York and southward to Florida. Subsequently they drifted northward, again came in contact with the Iroquois, and were driven over into Ohio. They joined in Pontiac's conspiracy, and during the Revolution fought under the English flag. After the latter war they commenced migrating westward, and finally accepted homes in Indian Territory, where they now are. In 1854 most of them abandoned tribal relations, and divided their lands in severalty. They are now in a civilized and prosperous condition.

The Crows or Upsarokas are a branch of the Dakota family occupying at present a large reservation in southern Montana, south and east of the Yellowstone river. Their original range included this reservation, and extended eastward and southward, while from their forays no part of the country for many hundreds of miles around was safe. A cowardly tribe, they have ever been noted as marauders and horse stealers. Though they have generally been crafty enough to avoid open war with the whites, they have not scrupled to rob them whenever opportunity offered. Physically they are tall and athletic, with very dark complexions. Their number is about 4200. They have made little if any progress in civilization, preferring to be supported by the Government.

The Osages were first found on the lower Missouri, whence they moved south to the Arkansas, and shortly after became allies of the French. After the usual succession of treaties and removals, they finally found themselves in Indian Territory, where they are now fast reaching a condition of self-support. They number about 2100 souls.

The Kaw or Kansas tribe was originally an offshoot from the Osages. Their original home was in Missouri, whence they were driven to Kansas by the Dakotas. They were moved from one reservation to another, until finally they were placed in Indian Territory, where they are rapidly becoming civilized. They numbered 360 souls in 1879.

The Winnebagoes are a branch of the Dakota family. At the time of the advent of the whites they formed the vanguard of the eastward migration of the Dakotas, and were living about Winnebago Lake and Green Bay in Wisconsin. They took up arms on the side of the French in the Franco-English wars, on the side of the English in the Revolution and the war of 1812. In 1820 they numbered about 4500, and inhabited their original home. A series of treaties followed, by which they were moved no less than six times, occupying reservations in various parts of Minnesota and Dakota. At present they are on the Omaha reservation in eastern Nebraska, and are prospering.

The Otoes and Missouries, which now form one tribe, under the former name, are a branch of the great Dakota family. They were early allies of the French. They now inhabit a small reservation in Nebraska, where they are making gratifying progress. They number but 457.

The Omahas were found on St Peter's river, in Minnesota, where they lived an agricultural life, supporting themselves from the soil. After a fatal visitation of the small-pox, which reduced their numbers terribly, they abandoned their village, and wandered westward to the Niobrara river in Nebraska. After a succession of treaties and removals, they are now located on a reservation in eastern Nebraska, where they are rapidly improving in civilization and pecuniary resources. They numbered 1100 in 1878.

The Poncas were originally part of the Omaha tribe, with whom they lived near the Red River of the North. They shared the common fate of the weaker tribes in this part of the country, being driven westward by the Dakotas. They halted on the Ponca river in Dakota, and there held their ground, but suffered severely from their hereditary enemies. After a succession of treaties and removals, they were placed on a reservation at the mouth of the Niobrara, where they took lands in severalty, and were prospering greatly, when they were forced to give up their lands and improvements and remove to Indian Territory. Naturally they were extremely dissatisfied with this change, and in 1878 a number of them left the reservation in Indian Territory and made their way back to the Omahas, their former neighbours. They were arrested for leaving the reservation, and were about to be returned to Indian Territory, when the case was taken up by able lawyers, and after a long trial the Indians were set free, it having been decided that they were United States citizens, and therefore not to be confined on reservations. The whole history of the Poncas is a tale of oppression by red men and white.

The Pawnees were formerly a brave, warlike tribe, living on the Platte river in Nebraska. Their history, until a recent date, is one of almost constant warfare with the Dakotas. In 1823 their village was burned by the Delawares, and shortly after the tribe lost heavily by the small-pox. In 1874 they moved to a reservation in Indian Territory, where they are making gratifying progress. They number 1440.

The Caddos, now located on a small reservation in Indian Territory, are but the remnant of a large tribe that formerly ranged over the Red River country, in Arkansas, northern Texas, and Indian Territory. They have well-managed farms, and are noted for industry and intelligence. Their number is 543.

The Shoshones or Snakes are a tribe inhabiting the country about the head of the Snake, Green, and Bighorn rivers, in Wyoming, Idaho, and northern Nevada, and distributed mainly on four reservations. They number about 6000. They are a mild, peaceful tribe, but until within a recent period have been involved in almost constant defensive warfare with their neighbours, the Crows and Blackfeet on the north, and the Cheyennes and Arapahoes on the south. The history of their relations with the whites has been one of almost unbroken peace.

The Bannacks are a small tribe of the Shoshone family, in the southern portion of Idaho. Their number is about 1000, divided between the Fort Hall and the Lemhi reservations. They have generally been friendly with the whites, although in 1866, and again in 1878, they broke out into hostilities. Very little progress has been made by the tribe.

The Kiowas are another tribe of the Shoshone family, a wild, roving people, ranging over the country about the Arkansas and Canadian rivers, in Indian Territory, Colorado, and New Mexico. Formerly their range was very much less restricted, extending from the Platte to the Rio Grande. They have the reputation of being brave warriors, but cruel and treacherous. In recent years they have made repeated raids upon the settlers in western Texas, which have been stopped by the imprisonment of their chief, Satanta. In 1869 they were placed on a reservation in the Indian Territory, which they appear to use only as headquarters for raids into the adjoining country. Their number is given as 1138, but this is undoubtedly too small.

The Ute or Utah tribe, which is composed of several bands, all acknowledging the authority of one head chief, inhabits reservations in the western part of Colorado and eastern Utah. They number about 4200. Averse to civilization, they have made little or no progress. They originally inhabited the whole mountain region of Colorado and northern New Mexico, whence they made inroads on the plains in pursuit of buffalo, and of their hereditary enemies the Sioux, the Cheyennes, and the Arapahoes. Their intercourse with the whites has been, almost without exception, characterized by friendship. The recent outbreak of the White River band, in 1879, is almost the only case on record. The rapid settlement of the State has driven them westward, and has deprived them of the fairest portion of their domain.

The Apaches are a branch of the Athabasca family which has wandered far from the parent region, and now range over large parts of New Mexico and Arizona. It is a powerful, warlike tribe, at war with the whites almost continually since the latter entered the country. A large part of the tribe is on the Fort Stanton reservation in eastern New Mexico, while another portion, under the chief Victoria, has for a long time been devastating the border settlements of New Mexico. The Tonto-Apaches, collected in large numbers on the San Carlos reservation in Arizona, where they are doing something at farming, are of Yuma stock. Besides these, there are several bands of Apaches scattered about on other reservations, or roaming without a fixed habitat, swelling the total to about 10,600 souls.