The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Omahas

OMAHAS, a tribe of American Indians of the Dakota family. Marquette represented them on his map in 1673, and about 1766 Carver found them on the St. Peter's. They formed two tribes, the Hongashano and the Ishtasunda or Gray Eyes, divided into 13 clans, one of which preserved a sacred shell in a rude temple constantly guarded. They cultivated corn, beans, and melons. Among their customs was one prohibiting a man from speaking to his father-in-law or mother-in-law. About 1800 they made a lasting peace with the Pawnees and Poncas. In 1802, from a tribe able to send out 700 warriors, they were reduced by smallpox to 300; they then burned their village, and became wanderers. The Sioux pursued them relentlessly then as now. In 1805 Lewis and Clarke found them on the Quicoure, numbering 600. Treaties were made on July 20, 1815; Sept. 23, 1820, ceding lands at Council Bluffs; Oct. 6, 1825; and July 15, 1830, ceding lands for an annuity, a blacksmith, and agricultural implements. The Sioux frequently drove them to the Elkhorn, but in 1843 they returned to their village and made peace with some Sioux bands. A mission begun in 1839 failed, and one established in 1846 has had but little success. By a treaty of March 16, 1854, more of their lands were ceded. Their great chief, Logan Fontanelle, was killed by the Sioux in 1855. Since then they have devoted themselves exclusively to agriculture, and their condition has rapidly improved. In 1873 they numbered 1,001, and had a good church and three schools. Their property was estimated at $75,000, and their reservation contained 345,000 acres, in the N. E. part of Nebraska, between the Elkhorn and the Missouri.