The lasso was called ma^{n}[']tanah-i[|c]ize, i.e., "that by which (a)
wild (horse) is taken." It was made by taking the hair from the head of
a buffalo and plaiting it into a very strong rope as thick as one's
thumb. This rope was called "[t]aha-[|c]isa^{n}," and was utilized by
the Omaha and Ponka instead of the common lasso for catching wild horses
in northwestern Nebraska. One end of the rope was formed into a noose
large enough to slip over a horse's head, and the ends of this noose
were secured to a long pole by small cords. The other end of the rope,
arranged in a coil, was fastened to the belt or waist of the man. He
rode with the pole held in one hand and tried to thrust the noose in
front of a horse. When he succeeded in passing the noose over the head
of an animal, he threw away the stick, which had become separated from
the noose, and held the rope alone, which he pulled toward him. When the
horse was caught, the man made an [)i]ndu[|c]ici^{n}. (bridle or face
cover), being careful to place some buffalo hair over the nose and under
the chin, to guard against paining the horse, whose eyes remained
uncovered.

[Footnote 1: Long, S. H.; Exp. Rocky Mts., vol. 1, p. 291, Phila., 1822]

Trappings for the saddle (s[)i]n[']de-ehe[|c][)e]) were used. Some years
ago a specimen of Omaha trapping was presented by the writer to the
Anthropological Society of Washington, and subsequently was deposited in
the National Museum.

Traveling Gear.

Snow-shoes (se-hi^{n}be) were worn by the Omaha and Ponka when they
traversed a region, north of their modern, habitat.

For traveling on foot a staff (hi-mang[|c]e) was used when it was
necessary to pass over mountains; also when, heavy loads had to be
carried. This staff differed from the crutch (i-mang[|c]e).

The women had maca[k]a^n, or straps, for aiding them in carrying loads
of wood, etc.

Boats.

When they wished to cross streams they made hide boats, or mandeha.
These were manufactured from dried buffalo hides, which were sewed
together with sinew, and so tightly that no water could penetrate the
seams. Ten branches of red willow were placed within, the ends being
bent upward and fastened by withes to two other saplings, which extended
the whole length of the boat at the inside of the gunwale. The ten
pieces were the [t]ici-iki[p]ada^{n}. The rudder or steering oar
(i[|c]isa^{n}['][|c][)e]) was fashioned like the oars (mandu[|c]ugahi),
with the blade flat an