Kaw people

Definition and stakes

Andrew J. Blackbird,  History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan

“ Kaw-be-naw, after lying awhile in the pit, magically released himself and went home, and told his people that the Wenebagoes were very close at hand; and by to- morrow there would be a great battle, so every man must be well prepared. The village was in terrible anxiety that night, the women and children were all gathered in one place and the warriors in another, and the village was well guarded. Early in the morning the war cry was heard, and every warrior went forward to meet the Wenebagoes, but Kaw- be-naw remained in his lodge while his warriors were fighting. ”
Source: Gutenberg

Carrie De Voe,  Legends of The Kaw: The Folk-Lore of the Indians of the Kansas River Valley

“ The document refers to the Kaws, Osages and Pawnees, as the dominant tribes. The Padoucas, of whom little is known, then dwelt near the head waters of the Kansas River. They were strong and numerous, and ranged the country southwest, [Pg 33] in Colorado and New Mexico. The nation and language were unknown in other parts of the continent; and no relationship could be traced to the four principal Indian families. The habits of the people were different from those of any other tribe. They lived in houses in villages with streets regularly laid out ”
Source: Gutenberg

Carrie De Voe,  Legends of The Kaw: The Folk-Lore of the Indians of the Kansas River Valley

“ For many years the old women of the tribe told, in accents of awe, how evil spirits had gone into the brain of their noblest warrior and looked out of his eyes with terrible glances of murderous hatred, in the moment of his greatest triumph. How they had been driven out with a rifle ball, and Lay-law-she-kaw, O-kee-nah (the chief) , sorrowing for his first born, had that day been called by the Great Spirit to enter the Happy Hunting Grounds.
The North American Indian was of a strange, somewhat contradictory character: in war, daring, cunning, boastful, ruthless
”
Source: Gutenberg

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