Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-07-24
SIOUX sUpEEsr1rIoNs.

| H. G. Yarrow has communicated to the
Anthropological Society of Washington,
| d. G., some observations by William Z.
| Everett, a Government scout at Fort Gus
| ter, on some snperstitions of the live In
diana. The Sioux believe that when they
die they go directly to the "Great Spirits
Big Village" having to cross a long divide,
and perhaps fight the spirits of their dead
enemies or the way (; fer this reason they
want their best horses killed with them.
and their arms put by their side. Reach
ing their paradise, they are received by
their friends and relatives and escorted to
fine lodge, where they meet their wives
and children that have gone before; all
their war horses that have been killed in
battle reappear before them if they have
been MANNED in war, their missing mem-
bers Immediately return to them If they
have mutilated themselves greatly for
some friend or relative, that person comes
to them and embraces them, and makes
them large presents and they find them
selves encamped amid most delightful
surroundings. Their idea of sickness Is
that bad spirit of one OF their enemies
has entered the sick person, and must be
driven out by noise and great uproar Is
made, while the invalid is made to inhale
the smoke of sweet grasses and herbs to
assist IN the exorcism. Bad spirits are be-
leVed to be sometimes cent back to earth
In the shape OF some animals, and Indians
often fancy that they can talk to their
friends under such forms. Mr.. Everett
once saw Sitting Bull making motions
with his hands, and talking to large
wolf, which apparently understood what
he SAID, Tor whenever he would make the
sign for Do you understand !! the wolf
would throw up his head and howl" The
chief told Mr.. Everett that he was making
medicine to find where the main herd OF
buffalo were, and whether it would rain or
snow before the hunters got back and he
said the wolf was the spirit of a great
hunter, and always gave him warning
whenever there was any danger close at
hand, and told him whore the buffalo were
to be found. He also repeated some pre-.
dictions the wolf had made to him. which
seem to have been afterward exactly
fulfilled. a remarkable superstition pre-.
walls with relation to the white.tailed deer.
and ia 30 strong that an Indian can seldom
be induced to shoot one of these animals,
They believe that the deer embodies the
spirit of a woman, who, if it is killed, will
appear before them and kill them, or make
their life torture. Mr.. Everett is 40.
quainted with several stories of Indians
who started out, in spite of the supersti.
tion, TO hunt the white-tailed deer, and did
not return, but who were afterward found,
by their friends going out to search for
them, lying by the side of dead deer
strangled, with the marks of woman's
hand on their throat, and a woman's feet
on the ground. Ono grim story of this
character, which he repeats with its par.
ticularr, relates to six young men who
went out together and shot SIX deer, and
were found strangled with marks of fingers
on their throats, and borrifed looks, as if
they had seen something awful. A curse
was pronounced upon the spot where the
tragedy happened, by the oldest man of the
tribe, which was said by the Indians TO
have been fulfilled to the letter.