Spiro High School - Bulldog Yearbook (Spiro, OK)

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Dedication Pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flower, its bloom is shedg Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white-then melts forever: Burns To the ages past, to the eventful present, to the hopeful future, we humbly dedicate this yearbook as a tribute of respect. While we who are pictured here are not bowed with cares of the age, we salute our predecessors and those who now lead the wayg but we recognize that it is we who will assist in assuring a brighter tomorrow. So to those who read these pages, we submit this 1953 edition of THE BULLDOG as: A votive stone, which may endure, When like our sires, our sons are gone. -Emerson THE SPIRO MOUND MODEL VILLAGE front cover is an authentic reproduction of the temple and The model pictured in the lower right corner on the G a portion of the village which existed near the great pre-historic Indian mound north of Sprio in northern LeFlore under the direction of Dr. Forrest E. Clements of the An- part of a Work Projects Administration project sponsored County. The site was excavated by archaeological crews thropology Department of the University of Oklahoma as by the state university. Details of house construction accurately follow the field excavation data and the costumes on the human figures are copied from those illustrated on engraved shell gorgets found in the prehistoric graves. The ceremony which is shown in progress has been reconstructed from writings of about twenty early authorities on the southeastern Indians covering the period from 1540 to 1758. It is not certain, of course, that the prehistoric Spiro In- dians practiced the same rituals as the later southeastern tribes, but similarities in the material culture lend prob- ability to the supposition. This model was prepared under the supervision of Miss Sarah White. Death ceremonies the world over are occasions filled with pathos. Few people, however, observed such A CHIEFTAINS FUNERAL terrible and tragic rites as the Southeastern tribes. These were based on a firm belief in a life after death in Splrit1and, where the departed lived much as they had on earth but in more ideal fashion. Upon the death of a chief his officials, wives and servants were killed by strangling. The souls of these were to accompany the warrior to the other world, and serye his needs as they had on earth. The number of victims victims sacrificed for such duty depended on the rank of the Sun or Chief who had died. We are told by Du Pratz that some- times hundreds of natives were immolated in this manner. In the Spiro Mounds over a thousand skeltons were found. Most of these were discovered ln groups of 10 to 30 individuals. Since no evidence sacrificed victims. A brief introduction to the plunged the whole village into wailing of the entire tribe. All A half-built house, shown participate in the all important bound with cane and plastered of death by warfare was found, it is probable these group burials were those of scene depicted in the model is necessary. A great warchief has died, which tragedy has mourning. The eternal fire in the Temple has been extinguished amid the weeping and activity in the village save that pertaining to the funeral has been terminated. in the lower corner of the case, has been temporarily abandoned so its builders can veneration of the dead. The outside walls, formed of upright cedar poles, later will be with clay. Four center posts used in supporting the thatch roof stand firmly planted in the clay subsoil. All posts in this model are made from cedar wood actually found in the prehistoric Spiro houses. The between absolute life the dians it The natives must exhibit victims seen in the interior of the Temple have prepared for dissolution in the days that have intervened the death of the Warchief and the present, final moment of their lives. The great Warchief has exercised authority over his people, and has received perfect submission and obedience during his life. In death as in profound respect. Though the tragic custom appears brutal to us, to the ancient in- is an expression of great love and devotion. funeral procession, having slowly walked three times around the Temple, has entered with the body of the Warchief. In the model the Temple roof has been removed in order for us to look in. The body of the Warchief lies in state on a cane bier. He is dressed in his finest garments, and provided with an abundance of food and weapons for the journey to Spiritland. A faithful dog has been killed and lies at the foot of the bier, ready to serve his master in the New World. Standing at the head of the Warchief is an old warrior, a staunch friend at whose side he has fought many times. Presiding over the body is the Chief Priest of ehe Temple, the Master of Ceremonies whose in- cantations are necessary for a safe journey into Spiritland. Four pallbearers, the Guardians of the Temple, flank the secret place, a cane closet containing objects sacred to the religion of these ancient peoples. And two other Guardians stand facing each other in reverent silence over the dead embers of the Temple fire. The death cry has been given by the officials of the Temple, and the victims are taking their places on mats. Each victim is surrounded by eight kinsmen, who have clamored for the opportunity to aid in their strangling. By taking part in the ceremony the kinsmen have risen from the lower class and taken a place among the nobility of the tribe. They are dressed in typical costume for warm weatherg a loin cloth of mulberry bark fabric, decorated with raccoon tails or shell ornaments. Shell bracelets, or necklaces supporting a gorget, and stone ear spools wom in the distended ear lobes decorate these dandies. The Death ritual above all other ceremonies calls for elaborate dress. Each of the kinsmen has a role in the strangling of a victim. One carries a tomahawk, and makes frequent move- ments as if to strike the victimg another carries the mat upon which the victim kneelsg a third carries the cordg another, a bowl containing six balls of tobacco which the victims swallow to be stupefiedg a fifth bears a small bottle of water to wash down the tobaccog and the remainder lend their strength with three of the aforementioned to throttle the victim.

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Two other victims may be seen entering the passage way of the Temple. Each is followed by his eight execu- tioners. These are the Doctor and Pipebearer of the dead Warchief. This aboriginal doctor could not afford to lose his patient, since in so doing he signed his own death warrant. The Pipebearer holds the favorite pipe of the de ceased, an exact duplicate of one of the famous effigy pipes unearthed in the Spiro Mound. Large mats skillfully woven of cane and grass line the entrance passage, the roof of which has been removed in the model. The other victimes, kneeling on mats in front of the large cedar center posts are: the favorite wife, dressed in a blue gown worn off the shoulderg the Warchief's second wife, who is both bewailing the death of her loved husband and her own ill fortune, the Chancellor, the stern counsellor of the dead rulerg and a noblewoman whose friendship for the deceased has prompted her to join him in Spiritland. The moment depicted in this tragic scene is that Just before the strangling. Outside the Temple the evil-smelling people or commoners wail and lacerate themselves in their grief. The best hunters oflthe tribe have secured fat deer and antelope for the funeral feast to take place after the sacrifice. A little boy, seen in the upper corner, proudly brings his contribution-an opossum which has fallen easy prey to his minia- ture bow and arrow. Around the cooking pots may be seen the squaws, whose duties of tending to the papooses may not be neglected even on so solemn an occasion. Standing beside the house next to the Temple, a young warrior is painting a death mask on the face of his comrade. Up from the Arkansas River bank warriors from a nearby village hasten to take their places in the ceremony. A late comer quickly paddles his dugout to the scene. Dugout canoes were hollowed from cedar logs with the use of fire. The model for this one was taken from a sketch on a conch shell found in the Spiro Mounds. The house next to the Temple is a complete reconstruction based on field data from Spiro. The high roof is thatched with long river sedge grass, a custom practiced by the Caddo, Ceni, Taensas, Choctaw and Natchez Indians in historical times. In the rear of the second house from the Temple are seen a group of young warriors. This house has been cut away to show the manner of construction. Especial attention is called to the cane matting under the thatchwork of the roof. Du Pratz, Joutel, and other early explorers say that these houses were quite waterproof and might stand for 20 years without repairs. Note also the manner of attaching the rafters. Lacking the concept of nails, iron or wooden, these people utilized grass rope to lash the poles together. The French explorers have given us excellent notes on the furniture used in the houses. The beds shown in one of the houses are based on a model used by the Natchez Indians. It is a simple frame work covered with woven cane strips and supported on forked sticks. The cane matting in the model is patterned exactly after fragments unearthed at Spiro. It is an intricate twilled weave. 'All the implements, tools, weapons and pottery are exact duplicates of specimens found in the Spiro Mound. As in other crafts the Spiro Mound people were excellent potters. In front of the third house a pot is seen in the process of manufacture. Directly following the sacrifices, the body of the Warchief, with those of his wives, will be buried under the floor of the Temple. The other victims will be buried nearby. Included with the bodies of the victims will be all of the necessities for their new life in Spiritlandg water bottles, cooking pots, pipes, weapons, and quantities of intricately carved conch shells. Beads, copper-covered masks, and shell gorgets will also be placed in the graves for the use of the deceased and the benefit of future archaeologists. After the burial ceremony, the cabin of the Warchief will be burned, the people will return to their duties of everydayf life, and the Spiro Mound Culture will continue to flourish until claimed by oblivion. Such is the scene from the past as discovered by Oklahoma archaeologists. Though centuries old, it is a picture filled with pathos, tragedy, and human drama, made to live again. Department of Anthropology-University of Oklahoma ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Yearbook Staff and Faculty of the Spiro Schools express their appreciation to the following for their co- operation and assistance in the building of the theme for our Yearbook: 1. Bonnie C. Palmer, Museum Secretary, Museum of the University, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 2. Patrick Patterson, Director, Woolaroc Museum, Frank Phillips Ranch, Bartlesville, Oklahoma 3. Mrs. C. E. Cook, Curator, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City 5, Oklahoma REFERENCES 1. Aboriginal Dwellings in the Museum Center including A Heroic Statue of Sequoyah, Museum of the University of Oklahoma, Norman-1948. 2. Hamilton, Henry W., THE SPIRO MOUND, THE MISSOURI ARCHAEOLOGIST, Volume 14 cWhole Volumeb, October 1952, Columbia, Missouri. 3. Shead, Ralph B., ENGRAVED SHELLS POF THE SPIRO MOUNDQ Reprinted from The Seventh Annual Report of M The 1 v Nas man can tether tdme or tide.