The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902, April 04, 1901, Page 7, Image 7

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    ;
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