For tongs they used the [p]edi¢a¢isande ("fire-holder"), made by slitting one end of a stick. This implement was also called, jaⁿ jiñga nini ibista ("the stick that presses the fire against the tobacco"), because it was used for lighting pipes.
The pipes in use among the Omaha are of three kinds: the sacred pipe (niniba waqube, mysterious pipe), including the war pipes and those used by the chiefs in making peace; the niniba weawaⁿ or calumet (illustrated in figure 315), used in the calumet dance or dance of adoption,[1] and the hatchet pipe or maⁿzepe niniba, introduced since the coming of the white man. One form of the pipe used on ordinary Tobacco pouches (niniújiha) were made of deer or antelope skin, and were ornamented with porcupine quills or a fringe of deerskin. Sometimes buffalo bladders were used for this purpose. The women used them as receptacles for their porcupine quills.
[Footnote 1: See "Omaha Sociology," Third Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethnology, chap. vi.]
occasions is shown in figure 316. This pipe has a bowl of catlinite, and the stem is decorated with horsehair.
[Illustration: Fig. 316.--Omaha pipe used on ordinary occasions.]
Saddles (cánakág¢e) were in use before the coming of the whites. They were made of wood, around which was wrapped hide, while still "ʇaha-nuʞa" (green or soft). According to Joseph La Flèche these saddles did not rub sores on the backs of the native horses (Indian ponies), but Dougherty[1] said, in 1819, "The Indians are generally cruel horse-masters, perhaps in a great measure through necessity; the backs of their horses are very often sore and ulcerated, from the friction of the rude saddle, which is fashioned after the Spanish manner, being elevated at the pummel and croup, and resting on skin saddle cloths without padding." They ride very well, and make frequent use of the whip and their heels, the latter being employed instead of spurs.
For bridles and halters they used strips of hide, out of which material they made also lariats. The bridle used consisted of a withe, one end of which was wrapped two or three times around the animal's lower jaw, while the other was held in the hand, forming but a single rein. This did not hinder the rider from guiding his horse, as he was able to turn him to the left by pressing the single rein against the animal's neck, as well as by the use of the right heel against its side. When he wished to turn to the right, he pulled the rein and pressed his left heel against the horse's side.