Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-19

Tie Green Corn Festival or sueeolash
Danee-rurtous Prnees<finra

4
Danee-Curtous Proceedings.
Doestieks, hearing that the In
dians were going to dance the green
corn dance, concluded that he woulC
go to the spectacle. So he rode Il
the Reservation one fine morning
and, by the ways was shown what
was said to be hog. Doesticks
thought it looked very much like Q
hyena, and would be able to jump
like a kangaroo. Its body was about
as thick as an ordinary case knife.
and its nose almost as long as that
ofthe animal which was about to
devour Little Red Riding Hood, or
the stories Mr.. Sylvanus Cobb wrote
for the New York Ledger. Pretty
soon after seeing the hog, Doesticks
arrived at the Castle, alias the Coun-
cl-HOuse, alias the Big Wigwam, q
long, low, wooden building with
two chimneys, some half dozen win
dows and two adverse doors, like a
fashionable rat-trap.
Doesticks thought he would walk
In. Walked in. Saw some long
benches, some Indians and some
large copper kettles filed with some
thing that looked like potable soup.
Walked out. Saw large iron kettle
filed with some more soup, and q
big Indian lying on the grass with
long tin horn. Big Indian said moth
ing, and Doesticks said, "When will
the dance begin 2" Indian said,
Pretty soon," and then, being over
come by the effort, he stretched him
self at full length, as though he was
going to initiate the renowned Rip
Van Wrinkle himself Then Doe
sticks concluded to walk up the lane.
Then the sun shone firing hot
Then Doesticks walked down the
lane. Foundmore Indians and was
much struck by their costumes and
compilations. Some had on tight
pants of some colors; some had on
loose pants of some other colors
Some had crowns with feathers, some
had crowns without feathers; one
had red eye and black eye, while
another had red eye and black
eye and striped chin; sprinkling
ofhorse-tails, sleigh-bells and deer's
claws renders the toggery complete /;
and the dancers are ready to dance.
Doesticks saw an Indian take down |
a long-neeked turtle shell filed with
brick bats and gravel-saw another
Indian take down a bit of pine
board with a knot hole in the
middle-heard some one say they
were musicians-saw them get
astride one of the long benches and
begin to drum; they drummed first |
along pretty considerably fast, they |
then drummed faster, then they |
drummed at the rate of 2 40, when
turtle-shell Indian began to sing,
and the Indians all began to dance.
At first they danced on one foot,
then danced on the other foot, then |
they jumped, then they yelled, |
while their arms performed all sorts |
of mysterious gesticulations, till
Doesticks, afraid of being in the
way, concluded to abdicate the cas-
tie and watch the cabalistic celebra-
ton from a safe position on the an
terror portion of the aforementioned
building. The Indians danced
through several dances of different
figures, and the squaws several dan
ces, all of the very same figures
what sort of figures these were, the
goddess Terpsichore alone knows,
but DOesticks thinks they were &C
tive, eccentric, regular, moderate,
most antique figures. Indians are
mortal, and must be fed. So about
noon the dancing ceased, and then
preparations for feast were in the
ascendant. Doesticks reckoned that /
with the exception of some ripe,
mellow cucumbers, the dinner for
the banqueters promised to be of
rather homogeneous and mOnoto-
nous character, so far as the nature
ofthe different dishes was concerned.
They had corn boiled, corn boiled
in the husk, corn boiled on the
cob, corn soup, corn succotash,
copper kettle corn, iron-katle corn
and corn bread. Doesticks, though
a great Grahamist and quite fond of |
succotash and hominy, did not stay
to dinner, but was told by a friend |
that the Aborigines had a right |
"simOn pure" sumptuous sort of a
time, to which he replied with a heart
bursting with affection for the &C
complished "Onondagas," all right,
very good-he hoped they would |
live to do well, and that he might |
see them dance the ''war dance at |
the New Years festival, when the
doughty warriors, painted in a very |
frightful and dangerous manner,
flourish their big knives and toma-
hawks and enliyen the performance
with the weird and bloody war
whoop, until one would shudder all |
over like an old fashioned grist mill
and the blood fairly curdle at the
tragical appearance of these IrO
quois braves-inYincible and fierce.
And Doesticks furthermore hopes
that at the grand winding up of the
feast bran new dish of chow.ch
might be introduced with appropri-
ate ceremony, and the aforesaid
long-nosed, long-legged, shaggy, |
slab-sided, thoroughbred pOrker
roasted a Ia barbecue, should be |
brought in by way of accompani- |
ment.
BOLD CONFIDENCE GAME. |