Notes on the Caddo / by Elsie Clews Parsons.

  • Elsie Clews Parsons
Date:
[1941]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on the Caddo / by Elsie Clews Parsons. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    NOTES ON THE CADDO LOCALIZATION AND DIALECTICAL DIVISION THE remnants of the Caddo confederacies of northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas settled in Oklahoma in 1859. After the Louisi¬ ana Purchase when Louisiana bands joined their tribesmen in Texas all lived there peaceably until some White Texans determined upon an indis¬ criminate massacre of raiding Comanche and of all Reservation Indians. The Caddo escaped by a forced march of two weeks in midsummer to the banks of the Washita River. Of this period White Moon talked as follows: Comanche and Kiowa would raid, up to the Caddo villages.1 The Texans trailed them and blamed the Caddo as well. The soldiers stood by the Caddo, said they would move them north where they would have no further trouble with Texans. Caddo were scouts for the United States army. Once a Kiowa wearing a corselet of hide from buffalo head and using medicine could not be killed. White soldiers shot at him, then a Caddo scout shot him in the back where the corselet raised up as he stooped. After the Caddo killed this fellow, the Kiowa became weak. Before the Territory was opened up and afterwards, there were violent doings among both Whites and Indians. My jitney driver and friend, Jim Blakeley, who was a sheriff in those early days, told me several grim stories, but the story I found most interesting was told by James Ingkanish—to illustrate the prophetic power of Coyote. Caiyute will tell you by his crying what is going to happen. My father was killed by outlaws in 1892. One time he was riding along and two caiyutes kep’ alongside, one on each side. They was crying. They would run ahead and sit down and wait until he caught up. Then they ran ahead again and sat down and cried. My father didn’ tell me about this until two weeks later. His mind was always on tracking them outlaws. I knew I had to get his mind off that. I would go along with him; when he saddled his horse I would saddle mine. At night he began to tell me what I should do for the family, if he wasn’t there. One day as I was ridin’ off to the sheep camp he gave me five dollars. He gave five to Henery (Gen. Ill, 18) and five to Joe Dunlop (half brother to Nako’tete, Gen. Ill, 10). Them two, Dunlop and my father, was going deer hunting and then going to meet me at the sheep camp. Dunlop met me there but my father did not. Each had gone after a deer. Dunlop got his. Didn’t know what became of my father. Didn’t come home that night. When we got back to the house we saw some men coming up. I thought they was the outlaws. I gave guns to all the men in the house and said, “I am going out bare-handed; but if you see them draw a gun on me, shoot!” They was marshals after them outlaws. 1 Weko, village.
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