siOBX; - Smithsonian Institution

102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 103
its meeting first. AH of the captains met tliere so that they might mal^e no
mistake in delivering the message to their village exactly as their chief had
littered it. They went through with this fornmla every time so that there
would be no argument. The old speeches of this character were in a set
form and were uttered in a low voice so that they could not be heard very far
off. Special speakers, other than chiefs or captains, were chosen to address
great audiences on moral matters. Instruction was given wholly in this
way. These men were usually prophets, men who foretold the weather [at
all seasons], and sometimes wizards.
A headdress of a special pattern was worn by the head chief, and one
somewhat similar by each of the captains. The chief's hat was high and had
a narrow brim. It could be made of any kind of skin. The base of the
captain's headdress could be of any material except deer, bear, and opossum
skin, but it must be different from that of the head chief. Two silver bands
tied at the ends with red tape encircled the chief's headdress, one at the top
and one halfway up. Around the top were ranged six ostrich feathers, and
at the outer ends of each of these were hung twelve beads. Each feather was
slipped into one or two silver pieces at the butt end to hold it in place. At
an earlier period crane feathers seem to have been used instead of ostrich
feathers and the captains had but four of these. The headdresses of the cap-
tains were otherwise similar except that they had less silver. When one of
these headdresses was worn, the beads fastened to the feathers moved continually,
glittering like stars, no matter how still the wearer stood. The
head chief also wore bearskin moccasins. His costume was prescribed by the
captains, not by himself, and his wife's clothing was made by the captains'
wives. The chief's headdress was made by the captains with the help of some
women. At times the captains as well as the chief wore moccasins and all
might have fur caps.
The chief also had a pipe. It was given by Simpson Tubby's great-grand-
father, Mashulatubbl, to his grandfather, Aliktabbl, and then passed to his
son, Lewis Tubby, who was to have given it to a man named Yitombl but the
latter died before the owner of the pipe. It was offei'ed to Little Leader but
he said that Greenwood Leflore was to have it and Lewis Tubby gave it to
him. However, Leflore betrayed his people to the whites and fled to Leflore
County and Greenwood City, leaving the pipe behind him, and it again fell
into the hands of Lewis Tubby, who left it in trust for Simpson when he
should reach the age of forty. However, most of the custodians having died,
it was presented to him a little before that time. Later Simpson loaned it to
a local college and it is said to have been stolen from the collection there
along with some other objects. Simpson says that the stone of which it was
made was brownish or yellowish in color.
PROPERTY
Although when attacked the Choctaw defended themselves with
great bravery, it appears that they were not particularly jealous of
their hunting rights. This was evidently because they depended
less upon the products of the chase than any other of the south-
eastern tribes. Roman says
Their hunting grounds are in proportion less considerable than any of their
neighbours ;
but as they are very little jealous of their territories, nay with ease