The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-08-14
A DANCE OF DEATH.
Annual Occurrences Of the
Great Indian Sun
Dance.

Horrible Atrocities Practiced
Upon Themselves by
the Devotees.
INDIAN SUN DANCE
Rosebud Agency. Oak. August 8. The
great annual sun dance of the Sioux occur.
red here this week, probably the last which
the government will permit. An attempt
was made to dissuxde the Indians from
this years performance, which caused old
Swift Bear to utter this shrewd reply in
council: "You had Christ to die upon the
cross for you, and you talk much about
that. But We do something YOU dare not
do. We tie ourselves up TO the cross OF
our god and suffer with him. You are
afraid to do that" Yet it has lost much
of its early severity and popularity. To
dance was at one time compulsory on
Young braves; it is now entirely voluntary,
The redemption of vow made to Wakan-
TAXA, the great spirit. A warrior may have
promised that If q sick child or a dear
friend recover from dangerous illness he
would dance in the heat of the sun at the
next sun dance. or he may have been him.
self in tight place, or asked success and
achievement in some contemplated raid.
A runner announces the time and place OF
the event to the various tribes. The camp
this year, near the agency, contains l0OOO
Indians, and make circle FIVE miles in
circumference beautiful sight. In front
of the tent where the sun-dancers were
awaiting their ordeal lay a whitened buf-
{ 10 skull on bunch Of wild sage. Inside
the tepee was the sacred medicine pipe on
some mysterious sticks.
On Friday . scouting party was sent out
to discover q suitable pole for the center OF
THE DANCING CIRCLE,
and the next day the pole, q tall elm tree,
wac cut BY an Indian maiden, consecrated
to this Office by Her Pipe, niece OF Stand
| ing Bear. She is said to have cut thirteen
poles, and will never marry. When it had
been trimmed and placed in position, there
came the charge on the pole" a thousand
warriors on q thousand horses, down from
the hill, around the camp, reckless OF limb,
DELL nell, themselves and their horses
decked with green branches, "Birnam wood
come to Dunsinane." What rush OF color,
what life, what vigorous movement
/
Custer when he stood alone. Many are in
saddles that belonged to that command.
With the boughs they bring the pavilion is
built around the pole, and by Sunday
evening the tall grass in tire arena has
been tramped smooth with much ceremony,
and all is ready.
Just as the round, full moon peeped
over the eastern range of hills the dancers
| to the sun, fifteen in all. entered to fulfill
their vow They were: Follow-a-Woman,
Lives-in-the-Air, Plenty Hole, White Calf,
Point-at-Three, He Dog, Little Day, Little
Boy, Hollow Horn, Eagle, Shed, Two Eagle,
yellow, Poor Dog. and Troublesome Hawk
They were stripped to the waist. and wore
skirts of red plaid shawls with panels OF
blue hanging from their belts In front and
behind. On their heads were wreaths OF
sweet grass of horns, over their chests de-
pended representations OF the sun, and
iron their wrists hung totems. The sing
ers comBenced to howl and beat their
drum. The dancers put to their lips the
goose-bone whistles, trimmed with the rare
feather of the medicine bird" and began
to hop up and down. As long as they
danced they were to whistle-and they
were TO dance until the next sun down.
Some women, to supplement the noisy
music of the drum, commenced TO "Hi-yi"
in shrill key, and beat hide spread on
the ground.
THERE WAS NOT LIGHT
i'm the Enclosure. The pole. fluttering with
banners, stood out in the moonlight. Near
its top was bound a fasces of willow twigs,
which gave it resemblance to q cross The
figure Of buffalo, cut from hide, repre-
sented the sun, and above it dangled the
figure of an Indian, black on one side,
white on the other the bad and the good
spirit. All night the dancing never flag
ged. While the moon was up their faces
were turned and their arms outstretched to
it, and when CHEEKS, the sun, came @like a
warrior robed and painted, from his shin
ing lodge of silver" they turned to it and
prayed earnestly. They faced it all day;
il one shows signs of breaking down he is
taken to the shade for . moment and given
q pull at pipe or bit of wild sage TO en-
courage saliva. The Indians look on in
differently and eat hard bread and boiled
dog which the squaws have brought in
dirty black kettles; outside, the little In
dian boys are playing tricks on each other,
the older ones making love by catching
some dusky maiden and standing with her
for hours wrapped in their blankets, in
plain view of everybody ON the prairie.
Papooses are brought into the arena to
have their ears pierced, which admits them
into Sioux fellowship. The operation is
not actually performed there, but at home,
and great amount of calico and a pony
! have to be "given away" for the privilege.
During this week between six and seven
hundred ponies have been given away in a
sort of c0mmunistic distribution by the
Indians.
About noon the medicine man COM
menced to
PAINT The THREE DANCERS
who were to be tied to the pole. When
decorated their 0uide led them In the fonr