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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1901)
; The Conservative * HARAHEY. At the time Mr. Brewer was makiug his explorations iu the Kansas field , Mr. W. F. Hedge of the Bureau of Ameri can Ethnology was conducting a study of this subject from the manuscript sources , and a very complete summary of his work appears in Mr. Brewer's second volume of memoirs , "Harahey. " It is prefaced with the following signi ficant and self-explanatory phrases from the pen of Mr. Brewer : "His paper , which I consider the most valuable and exhaustive ever written on this subject of absorbing interest , is in serted in full , and the fact that his studies have yielded results end exactly where the archaeological discoveries be gan , each in an advanced stage of con sideration before our correspondence was initiated , and at a time when our labors in this field of research were dis tinctly independent and separate , in augurates a community of conclusions destined to invite the test of scrutiny , since all personal designs have been studiously eliminated , that the facts of history , without distortion , may bo per petuated. " I wish to show how nearly these two men , one working in the field following the archaeological evidences , and the other working in the manuscript sources , came together in then : con clusions , by quoting a few paragraphs from the complete and very accurate work of Mr. Hedge : "As the distance from the southern bend of the Arkansas northeastward to the town of Great Bend is about eighty miles , or thirty leagues , the distance given by the Relation del Succso , it is evident that the southerly bend of the river must have been the point crossed by the Spaniards , and that Great Benc or its vicinity is the site of the first village of the province of Quivera , "Midway between , or probably a little more toward the southwest , between Kinsley and Larued , was doubtless where the Spaniards "made an example" of the -Turk and the place where the first natives of Quivera were seen. \ * * * ' 'Corouado went for twenty-five leagues through the Quivera settlements , accord ing to the Relation del Suceso ( page 577) ) , but as to the direction we are left to surmise that the explorations were continued toward the northeastward , or to where the leader 'obtained an account of what was beyond. ' "From the point on the Arkansas at which the first Quivera Indians were seen , Ooronado 'dispatched a letter to the governor of Harahy and Quivera , having understood that he was a Christian from the lost army of Florida , because wha the Indian had said of their manner of government and their general character had made us believe this. ' As hitherto stated , the Spaniards went on to the firs settlement , and , if Jaramillo is oorrctly interpreted , there were , on various treams in Quivera , six or seven villages [ uite a distance apart , among which hey traveled for four or five days , since it was understood to bo unin- mbited between one stream and the other. ' It would appear from this that Coronado , after leaving the village at or near Great Bend , continued iu a north easterly course , and either followed down the Smoky Hill or crossed that stream and also the Saline , Solomon , and Republican forks , reaching Kansas river not far from Junction City. That one of these routes was followed seems to be shown by Jaramillo's farther statement , after speaking indefinitely of streams with no settlements between , bhat , 'here there was a river , with more water and more inhabitants than the others. Being asked if there was any thing beyond , ' continues Jaramillo , 'they said that there was nothing more of Quivera , but that there was Harahey and that it was the same sort of place. " One scarcely knows where to stop in the discussion of this interesting field all the explorations seem to have such a direct interest in their bearing on the archaeology of this state , but enough has been said to prove that at least two very important points have been definitely settled : First , the geographi cal location of Ooronado's field of ex ploration , and , second , the fact that the old Santa Fe trail was a prehistoric route of travel between these anoien aboriginal provinces. The next most important result of Mr. Brower's work in the Kansas field and the one which interests Nebraska arohajologists more particularly is his discovery and scientific classification o : "the typical Quivera and Harahey knife and tomahawk" as he calls them. These implements are new to the realms o : science and should be illustrated side by side if you are to get a proper coucep tion of their individual characteristics and marked differences ; the Quivera implements are coarse , being chipped in large flakes and have blunt edges ; thej may be readily picked out even by novice. While the Harahey type is chipped in fine flakes , having thin , sharj edges , and the whole implement shows a smooth , even surface and is thin throughout. They show art and mncl skill , and with the Harahey type , is in variably found pot shard , while witl the Quivera type is a marked obscene of pottery of every kind. The two types overlap , and we shall see how these two provinces , once constituting one mighty nation , after their migra tiou northward or "up" separated , and how , later on , a warlike people , like wedge , came between them and grad ually drove the Wichitas south and th Pawnees north , until , in 1662 , Penalosa found this same warlike people , th Escanseques , "who dwelt along th fortieth parallel of latitude , marching northward to attack Quivera" ( quotation rorn Shao's "Peualosa's Expedition , 662. " ) The types are both found iu his state and their forms are near enough alike to be traced to the same original source or fountain head but the art and skill shown are so different that ; hey prove a wide divergence in civiliza- ion. The Quivera type is plainly paleolythic hi form but neolythio really , as they are found on top of ground. The name "Harahey , " as used by Mr. lodge and Mr. Brewer , is not a house- lold word in this state as is Quivera , but it has more interest for Nebraska people than has Quivora itself , especially if we are to consider the Quivera ex plored by Ooronado the only point which bore that musical name. If we rest contented with the settlement of the question touching Corouado's explora tions , the bounds of Quivera did not reach to the territory of Nebraska. When we began the study of this "great elusive myth , " as one writer calls it , we did not expect to prove that Coronado ever visited Nebraska ; almost our first published utterance was to the effect that Coronado never reached Qu > vera proper , the great empire which lie was led to believe existed , the land from , which eminated the halo and glory , the legends and insignia which made this name known for a thousand miles in all directions. Now , this needs explanation : I do not doubt but Coronado reached a country called "Quivera , " but I do doubt that he reached the center from which eminated this insignia which gave Quivera such widespread notoriety. As I briefly stated in a prior article , the "very barbarous" natives which Coron ado found here could never have given the name such a far-reaching fame , and the real centre of this great empire was never reached until Penalosa , in 1662 , penetrated the present state of Nebraska as far as the Platte river and saw "the many thousands of houses , built of hewn timber , some three and even four stories high , " where Columbus now stands. If you will follow the threads of proof leading to this conclusion , as I have done for a number of years , you will agree. In an article like this , one can bring but a few points to bear : You will notice the Indian characteristic to designate other tribes , not by the name which they call themselves , but by some other ; the Black Pawnees or Pawnee Pics are now universally known as the Wichitas : tEe" Pawnees , when white men first knew them , called south , "kir-i-ku-ruks- tu" which , translated , means toward or with the Wichitas. ( From Dunbar. ) This proves that the name Wichita was applied to the branch of this tribe which wandered off and went south. Grinnell says the , Wichitas accompanied the Pawnees'on their journey from the southward until they came to the Kansas line , where they branched off and went south ; after which the two tribes lost sight of each other. The date at which this happened can