The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-01-11
INDIAN SUPERSTITION.



(Arizona) correspondent, was an Indian
about forty years old, tall and we'll
formed, with q keen, restless, evil eye.
He first came to Fort Apache about
June 10. Hesought out the interpreter
and told him he wanted to talk with
the " Nautan commanding, meaning
General Carr. An "interview," when
the Indian does the talking, is what the
red man loves. He said he came here
at the request of his friends; that they
wanted him to bring their dead friends
to life buried near here, as he bad
promised other tribes he would and
could do with theirs; that he was
doctor, and could bring the dead to life;
that they came out of the ground by de-
grees; that some chiefs were already
out as far as their knees, and would
soon be alive again; and that they had
told him they would come when the
corn was ripe.
How do you communicate with your
dead friendsP" General Carr asked.
He answered. ''They take the shape
OF bear, and see them and talk with
them st night. / leave food for them
in the empty lodges. They do not
want TO come till the corn is ripe, until
there is plenty to eat for all of u.s."
He then announced his intention of
holding dances near the post, and said
he wanted the Indian soldiers (the
scouts) to be present. General Carr
told him he would speak to Lieutenant
Cruise, the officer commanding the In
dian company, and that he would give
them passes to be absent, but there
must be no drinking of ''tiswin" (the
Indian whisky, and no disorder. Moth
ing was said about the determination of
the whites There were no threats.
Everything seemed quiet, and the inter-
view ended.
The next evening, about sunset, the
scouts, with their families (the men on
horses, the women and children on FOOT,
could be seen vending their way across
the hills to the place where the dance
was to be held. 1t was to be dance of
unusual ceremony, as the preparations
showed. The road was lined with men
riding, and women and children of all
ages and sizes. Soon we found our
selves in sight of huge bonfire, and
heard the hum and stir of hundreds of
voices. What an assemblagel There
must have been between 400 and 500
Indians. It was weird, strange picture
to come suddenly up the crest of the
hill on a broad, open mesa, and see
these wild, savage people, dressed in all
their barbaric costumes, meeting here
in the lonely, secluded mountains, away
from the civilized abodes of any human
creature, and performing solemn cere-
monies to bring their dead brethren 10
life
For moment it seemed like scene
passing on the stage. We sat and
watched them as they moved to and
fro, for the dancing had already be-
gun. 1t was only after time that we
could realize that the picture was a re-
ality, and we must draw nearer TO
watch the movements. The fire in the
center was kept alive by an old woman
constantly piling on dry branches, and
others bringing loads of branches to be
used. 1t was so light we could see the
shadows of the tall pines in the dis
tance, and the dusky figures of new
comers vending their way over the
steep rocks toward the scene of festiv-
titles. Seated at what seemed to be the
head of the circle were group of old
chiefs, prominent among whom was the
medicine man, Knock e-ti-Klinny. He
wore his buckskin coat decorated with
feathers, and was evidently host and
chief Magus of the occasion. Spread
on the ground in front of him was a
blanket, and on this was o row OF white
buttons, showing the number of dead
chiefs whom he promised to bring to
life.
He and the chiefs who were near him
took no part in the dance, but were
solemn spectators. AT a little distance
were group of younger men beating o
kettledrum and singing an endless,
monotonous chant, repetition of wild
sounds not unlike the Parking of
wolves, which at night it might be
easily mistaken for. From all that can
be learned. the songs of these Indians
are simply recitals of their fights, re-
peated over and over again. There is
no attempt at music or harmony. The
gole object seems to be noise of the
most distracting nature. At pause in
the wild music an Indian, who acted as
master of ceremonies, stepped out into
the ring near the fire, and called out
the next figure of the dance. The
kettledrum and singing at once began
again. The young women (the men all
this time remained seated in groups on
the ground) ran out and across the
ring, tapping as they passed each one
man in the group. The woman would
then run back to her place, the man
following her, and when a number were
provided with partners the dancing be-
gan. They took their places in lines,
the men facing toward the fire, the
women in the opposite direction, or vice
versa. SometimeS the man would have
two partners, an old woman and 8
young one, but they each took hold Of
his arm, and perhaps he, enjoying the
double compliment, would dance away
as happily with the one as ths other
Tho step was somewhat in time with
the music, or rather with their owr
chanting, for each one sang as he
dancad. IL was q short stem hack I'd