Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-27
BURNING THE WHITE DOG.
Peculiar Ceremony Oftae Pagan OnOnda-
gas Near Syracuse-An Offering to the
Great Spirit for Forgiveness.

3
gas Near Syracuse-An Offering to the
Great Spirit for Forgiveness.
Syracuse (E. ~ Special Jan. 81.
Modern civilization and ancient bar.
barlty were strangely blended in this
township to-day, where, within sight Of
tue steeples of Syracuse, the Onondaga
Indians held their feast of Burning the
white Dog" These savages have q
reservation near here, which is about
eight times as big as Central Park. The
mayor part of it is a lovely valley, shield.
ed Dy hills that still retain the forests
nature clad them with. In this valley, In
tumDle-dOwn shanties. some built of logs
with plastefed crack, and some being
ordinary frame dwellings, live 400 Indians,
principally OnOndagas, but embracing a
lew survivors Ofeach of the famous Six Ma.
tions OF a century ago. They have been
0ut slightly affected by civilization. A
lew are Christians. A few work their
little farms in an indOleut, clumsy man.
ner, and for the rest, they hunt and fish,
play Indian games, drink as much rum
as they can get, and preserve their old
tribal government almost as 1t was when
theV trod this soil unchallenged. Their
houses stand far apart along the winding
roads OF the valley, and at the junction
OF these roads their castle or council
mouse stands. 1t is a One-stOyy frame
building, with many windows and a door
on each side, and looks like a country
school house.
Two Indian lads stood before one of
tnese doors rapidly discharging old army
muSketS ana calling ''HunyOiiV
'Hunyoiv' in voices that rang through
the valley. That word is Indian for hurry
up Out of nearly every house came
chiefs, warriors and squaws, all stalking
with the stride peculiar to old BOwerv
tragedians over the sparkling snow.
They wore the same clothing as the peO-
pie of Syracuse, although it was as rule
threadbear and i'll fitting. There were
ecceGtrlcities in their dress not Observ-
able In the city, however. The women.
for instance, wore no hats, but covered
their heads with Shawls or squares of
blue cloth, the ends of whiGa fell
to their breasts and were held
there under their folded arms.
Some OF them, too, had their legs
covered with buckskin leggings, prettily
decked with beads and poreupine feath-
ers: The range of beauty, or the absence
OF 1T, was wider than among their soft
checked city sisters. Ugliness more hide
Gus than that of the old squaWs, whose
faces were scanned like peach stones, it
would be difficult to imagine. Their
white hair against their cOffee.colOred
skin looked strangely unnatural. The
little girls were rather pretty. Their
glossy black hair, bright jet eyes, plump
brOnzed cheeks, and their straight noses
and Shapely mouths made them attrac-
tive. The young wives were not so nre-
sentable. Hard work had thinned their
faces, so that their cheek bones stood out
ana their eyes were sunken in. All wore
bright-cOl0red shawls. 1t must be said
for them that they neither looked nor
ACTED like the depraved and wretched
beings their converted fellow Indians saw
they are.
The warriors We're nearly all tall, finely
built men, dark skinned, with straight
features and jet black hair. They were
as fond Of color as their women. though
the only means they had for display was
IN bright WOr5ted scarfs that they wound
around their necks. The men sat on
benches at one end Of the Council Hall
The women were at the other end, The
room was bare-tOOred, and no ornaments
Droke the squares of wall paper between
me windows. There was big wood
stove at each end Of the apartment.
When all had gathered and were seated
there was long pause. No man or wo-
man uttered word. They did not even
salute one another. They were waiting
for the medicine man to bring in the white
dog, which, by the way, was u cur that
had belonged to Jake Farmer, a warrior.
and had been hanged until dead in Jake's
house anu then daubed with red spots. |
The white hide represented nnrisyg. tthc !
red spots were symbOlical OF blood offer |
ing, and the whole celebration was the
Indian observance of q combination of
New Years day and Thanksgiving. when /
the last years sins were supposed to have !
entered into the cur in readiness to be |
burned up.
Tom " abEfnp va IA
The last of long list of hereditary priests.
ne belongs to the clan of TaWis-ta-wis-tas /
Or bnlpes, and they and the clans of Ugh |
lua-e and Skan-un-tung, the Bears and /
The Deer were over across the campus in /
dwelling. There were only twenty or /
thirty warriors and squaws and four
chiefs there, so slender have the Snipes. |
Bears and Deer grown, but the Wolves, /
Mud Turtles and Beavers filled the bic
council house. Suddenly Medicine Man I
W ebster appeared in the doorway before
he throng, which at once exclaimed
'Ughnj as though ne was biz dose or
medicine they all had to swallow. He
wore maroon cOlOred handkerchief. held
IN his head by gold band, above which,
n front, waved long, broad plume. His
ace was streaked with black paint on a
background of red. Besides all this he
wore well-Worn $12 business suit. Behind |
lin stalked a typical lOgwood-c0l0red
armeT, and behind him brave. who car
led the dog. Its neck was GecKed with
'iu9 ribbons, and its tail was done up in
/ red love knot. Other ribbons were
wound around its body. AS it was borne /
II the men and women, with one voice,
uttered the yell with which the red men
descend upon the gentle white maiden in /
)ne Of the Hon. William II. COdy's alb /
original melOdramas. The dogs legs were !
lied together with a rope, and the medi- |
cine man swung it on school bench in /
the middle of the room. Six chiefs, head /
ed by Head Chief Daniel La Fort, sat on /
a bench at right angles with the dogs /
head, and SIX centenarian squaws sat OPP /
Dosite on bench behind the dogs decor |
ated tail.
The medicine mans aids sat down, and !
he began solemn chant as he walked /
around and around the dog. His bearing
was impressive and his singing very
weird. Suddenly he stopped before chief,
who told him what especial blessing be
desired from the Almighty. The medicine
man repeated the chiefs words in his
song. At the next turn the
next chief named his needs, and so the
chiefs and the squaws, one after the other,
urged their petitions through their priest
Presently the medicine man started for
the door, and his aids followed, one carry
ing the decorated dog. They went over
to the council room of the Snipes, the
Bears and the Deer, and there repeated
the ceremony. Here the dog was laid in
aApretty wicker basket. 1t was such as
New York merchants use as receptacles
for waste paper, except that it was
hung with cOlOred ribbons and was one
third full Of cheap tobacco. When the
prayers ended all followed the medicine
man, the basket, and the dog across the
campus and through the big council hall,
where all the others joined them, and filed
behind them in a march around and
around the outside of the building. Such
scene few New Workers would have
imagined would ever be presented east of
the Mississippi. There was no sign of
mixture of white blood in any of the $50
copper-hued faces. They were all stoical,
stOlid, brawny red men and women, strid-
ing along with toes straight before them,
chanting a barbaric tune in cultural
tones. They seemed dirty and poor, if
one looked at their clothing, but impress
sive and savage when their impassive,
regularly marked faces were studied.
Somebody said they were giving thanks,
but probably no white man really knew
what they were doing.
Going back to the council room again,
they laid the dog and the basket down in