The Newtown bee., 1879-07-23
A REMARKABLE CEREMONY.
The Sun-Dnnce as Performed by the Sioux Indians-Youn Indians Passing Through n Horrible Ordeal.

Sioux lndians-Y Young Indians Passing
 Through Horrible Ordeal.
 The Philadelphia Tunes publishes letter dated at Pine Ridge Indian of the sum- dance, an annual sacred festi- val of the Sioux Indians. About 50, 1000 Indians of all ages and both sexes were present. The warriors only were allow ed to take part in the ceremony, and on the first day they chanted and danced around the sacred staff or sun dance pole, gave away their property to one another, and pierced the ears of infants for the pur pose Of inserting heavy leaden rings. The dancers rested at night, and resumed the dance at sunrise next morning: and, as the sun approached its meridian height, the preparations for the more in teresting ceremonies were made. AS the sun reached its highest point, one of the ashen- hued dancers advanced to the pole, and, with hands and eyes toward the burning sun, uttered a tervent and impressive prayer. This prayer was in- terpreted to me by MT. Charley Provost, the gcntlemanly and obliging agency in terpreter, and was perhaps the first prayer of like purport ever delivered by young warrior. He asked that the Great Spirit would give him strength and courage to bear the ordeal through which he was about to pass; and that the Indians might be free of plague and bad luck; that they might increase in wisdom and in numbers; shat th' y might live at peace with their pale-faced breth- ren, and might learn their ways; that the buffalo might return and the pony herd grow larger until they would hide the green grass and beautiful flowers by their great numbers. And thus, through it all, was breathed a loving, tender spirit, widely at variance with the usual inclinations of the young men. The solemn, utter silence with which this in vocation was received the fervent earn estness of the applicant; the extended arms; the parched, cracked lips, past which food or water had not been during sixty hours; the evident suffering-all made d scene of the very deepest solem- nity, and instinctively l removed my hat and bowed; and 1 can readily imagine how one might have been affected to tears
 The prayer ended, he gently and calmly laidrdown upon his back, and two of the medicine men advanced, and be- fore his burning eyes slowly whetted a glistening butcher-knife, and, after re- peated trials, finding the edge satisfac- tory, bent over the prostrate form and felt for moment of the flesh upon the breast then, elevating the knife an in- stant toward the sun, it was slowly thrust through the quivering flesh. 1 stepped close up, saw the bright blade withdrawn crimsOned, saw the form ot the dancer writhe and quiver, the toes and fingers drawn up convulsively and than relax. but no hand was 4eeded to stay him, for he did not raise finger or shrink hairs breadth. and no moan es- capped his lips. The cutting was then repeated upon the other side of the hrpu uSt--thn tNVn nJInrtIlrp= hp1nr 9Nnllt eight inches apart, through which skew CTS were thrust, when the two ends of q lariat suspended from high up on the pole were tied to the skewers, and, thus literally lariatcd by his own flesh, he was left. Slowly he raised himself to sitting posture, looked sadly at the man gled breast, rose to his feet, staggered a moment and inserted the feathered whis- tie between his lips. The arms were Praised again; the head was thrown back between the shoulders that the sun might reach straight into the eye and he again began dancing. slowly tightening the lariat by pulling back until the skin and ffeslr uponsthe breast was drawn outward six or eight inches. Thus he danced around the pole, winding and unwinding the lariat, and then violently threw himself back in the endeavor to teaI~foose from this Notwithstanding; but IIle lunlttn Shln IS IOupl, anu IL IcluStu to tear and he was thrown violently forward upon his face. He arose slowly again, danced a moment, and stepping quickly back, threw himself with such force that the flesh was tern.out with 8 plainly-audible snap and he again fell headlong. He lay thus unheeaed a mos ment, and then fejoined his companions and proceeded with the dance. Had he failed to break loose himself, others would have jerked him back until the flesh was torn.
 This was repeated with the others, with slittle. variation-all passing. the ordeal 9ravely; one Showever, being llf,- wardaefa haR hour breaking loose. and repeatedly falling and fainting. But al- though he had been siXty-five hours without food or drink, no drop was al- lowed him-the nearest approach to this being the blowing of a spray of sa- liva over the bistered @faee4 fsoa1 the mouth of the attendant and rubbing 1t off with bunch of some neurishing weed.
 mode of worship, had cut from 41is bqdy one hundred and eighty distinct pieces of flesh. He was brown small fel}oN2 of about thirty-five years. Headyalle
 and encircled the sacred pole ssxiit5s ..{ss Isz arms. laying his cheek close up &ssains it, and. while standing thus, one ap- preached him upon either side, and sim ultaneously cut from the point of his shoulder piece of skin and flesh about the size of one's thumb-nail; then 3 similar piece was taken from the leg near the ankle; so, alternately above anc below the cruel knife did its work. TC suspend for q moment this steady efft-z cut, he once wheeled and stepped .quiekl, across to position close beside NEaefsEss stood, and knelt against pole ther stand ng, when the knives were againa work until the cuts approached eacl other and joined at the waist. And ye the work was not conf51let Thel down and up each arm until the re quisite number were. severed, when h rejoined the dancers, under the stil blazing sun.