Changes of the Season

before the work of the dawes commission

in the enrolling of indians the ages of

each older indian to be enrolled was not

certain

it was a difficult task for the

members of the commission to take

and make an accurate list of the ages

as they never knew what year they were born

on what day or the month

they would forget their ages in the

following years and wouldnt bother about

keeping up with them

they could only fix the time of their

birth by the different changes occurring

in a season as they knew it or by some

certain incident that was generally known

such as cherry blossom or plum blooming

time

some told of how they were able to

ride a horse alone at the outbreak of

the civil war horre rakkobig war

or indicate how tall they were

others told of how they were able

to walk at some certain event they

remembered

some spoke of the time of the first

fall of leaves or when corn was so high

and indicating this time with the hands

showing an imaginary height of corn

they never knew the names of the

months of the present calendar but they

used their own adopted and selected

names for the different months according

to the changes of the season such as

may being mulberry month

june being blackberry month

my allotment consisted of only about

thirty seven and one half acres of

practically worthless land located

near a river which overflowed onto it

i sold it at the first opportunity