The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-16

the eastern range of hills the dancers
to the sun, fifteen in all, entered to
fulfill their VOW. On their heads
were wreaths of sweet grass or horns,
over their chests depended repreSen-
tations of the sun, and from their
waists hung tOtemS. The singers
commenced to howl and beat their
drum. The dancers put to their lips
the goose-bone whistles, trimmed
with the rare feather of the "medi-
cine 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 shutdown. Some
women, to supplement the noisy beat
of the drum, commenced to "hi-yi' in
a shrill tone and beat hide spread on
the ground.
THE DEvOTEES' PREPARATION.
There was not a light il the en-
closure. The pole, tiuttering with
banners, stood out in the moonlight.
Near its top was bound fasces of
willow twigs, which gave it reSem-
blance to a cross. The figure of buff
falo, cut from a hide, represented 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
tagged. While the moon was up
their faces were turned and their
arms outstretched to it, and when
Cheezis, the sun, came "like a war
rior, robed an painted from his shin
ing lodge of silver" they turned to it
and prayed earnestly. They faced it
all day; if one shows signs of break
ing down he is taken to the shade for
Il moment and given pull at a pipe
or a bit Of wild sage to encourage
saliva. The Indians look on indiffer-
emily and eat hard bread and boiled
dog, which the squaws have brought
in dirty black kettles; outside the lit
tie Indian boys are playing tricks on
each other, the elder ones making
love by catching some dusky maiden
and standing with her for hours
wrapped in their blankets, in plain
view of everybody of the prairie.
About noon the medicine man COM
menced to paint the three dancers
who were to be tied to the pole. Fol-
lowS-a-W Oman, the first to suffer,
was thrown on the ground, and the
medicine man skilfully made two in
cisions with sharp knife over each
breast, in the vicinity of the pectoral
muscles. The flesh was lifted, and a
hard wood skewer thrust under and
fastened by Sinews to the rope which
hung from the pole. Already weak
ened by the fifteen hours of eXertion,
of thirst and of hunger, he was to
strain at the rope until he broke loose
by tearing out his own flesh. He was
magnificently brave, and it did not
take long. In five minutes he was
dancing with the others as if nothing
had happened, and the parasol then
allowed him would have made him
ridiculous had not the red blood been
seen coursing down his body.
THE WORST SUFFERER.
Lives-in-the-Air was the next. He
tore out one stick in ten minutes, and
was then released from tearing out
the other by the gift of three ponies.
Poor Dog had dogs luck. The cuts
seemed to have been deeper on him.
He struggled and pulled, then gave
the rope slack, and danced about the
pole until, suddenly jerking back, the
flesh would stand out two or three
inches from the breast. The squaws,
who came near to throw clothes and
calicoes at his feet or on the rope as
gifts to the poor, turned away crying.
Toward the sun his hands were lifted,
Both the palms spread out against it,
And between the parted fingers
Fell the sunshine on his features,
Flecked with ght his native shoulders,
AS it falls anc t1eckS an oak
Through the ritted leaves and branches.
Twenty minutes of this agony with
A
and catching the man around the
this did not break the stout integu-
ment, and it was not until half an
hour had passed that the brave fellow
fell back on the earth painting and
weak, two great wounds torn in his
breast.
One more exhibition remained.
Yellow was cut in the shoulder and
skewer inserted, from which rope
was passed around the head of horse.
The animal was hit, and jumped, and
thus the instrument of torture was
torn out. Several men, who did not
dance, had bits of flesh cut from their
arms also, some squaws, to make the
amount necessary from their hus-
bands less, or to satisfy VOWS of their
own. The dancers by this time were
a shocking sight, tottering about, not
able to stand erect, one or two sup
ported by friends, their whistles still
clinging to their dry lips, their move
ments slow, mechanical, spasmodic.
Not one had failed fa tthfe 5eff1aeal, how
ever, which ceased at SHUTDOWN. Not
one had cried out for relief or made a
sign of distress. If he had he would
have lost his place among the warriors
forever, been ranked with the women,
and by them despised.