nion of him, as he obtained much that agreed with what had
been furnished by members of other tribes in former years. Besides, the
author obtained partial accounts of similar traditions from other Osage,
who used the same chant which Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se had sung. None of the younger
Osage men knew about these matters and the author was urged not to speak
to them on this subject. He observed that several of the elder men,
members of the secret order in which these traditions are preserved, had
parts of the accompanying symbolic chart (Fig. 389) tattooed on their
throats and chests. This chart is a fac simile of one that was drawn for
the author by Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ue{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se. At the top we see a tree near a river. The
tree is a cedar, called the tree of life. It has six roots, three on each
side. Nothing is said about this tree till the speaker nearly reaches the
end of the tradition. Then follows the "ceremony of the cedar." The tree
is described very minutely. Then follows a similar account of the river
and its branches.

[Illustration: FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.]

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.

Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning
Star. Next are six stars, Taca*d*cin. The Omaha know a similar group,
which they call "Minxa si {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}anga," or "Large foot of a goose." Next is the
Evening Star; and last comes the small star, "Mikak'e-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}in{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a." Beneath
these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'e u*d*atse
pecun*d*a, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and
the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and
the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper
worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines,
each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The
lowest world rests on a red oak tree.

The journey of the people began at a point below the lowest upper world,
on the left side of the chart. Then the people had neither human bodies
nor souls, though they existed in some unknown manner. They ascended from
the lowest upper world, on the left, to the highest. There they obtained
human souls in the bodies of birds, according to Sa*d*ekice.
{~LA