Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-03-21
THE CHINOOK DANCE.
With wierd lamentations the Tskima
Indians Pray that the Balmy Chinook
May Remove the snow.

! With wierd IncantatiOns the Takima
Indians Pray that the Balmy Chinook
May Remove the snow.
Tdkirla { g: IT, Signal.
The Yakima Indians held their annual
| Tum animus dance and feast on Monday
last, on the reservation Just below Unlon
gap. Blue, white aud orange flags marked
the long, Low building or shsch where the
exercises were being conducted. The
medicine house, for So it proved to be, was
about seventy feet in length and complete
ly covered with tule mating. From the
/ inside came the monet onous chant ofmsny
voices and the steady beating CT Indian
drums, but although the Signal repre-
sentative and a young lady who
accompanied him talked com
pietely around the structure they could
| ind 10 entrance, and we're debating q
plan of action when fly of the mating
suddenly few up Immediately in front OF
them, and the hideous painted face of a
REALISTICALLY clad siwash presented itself to
view and nearly scared the young lady
into eonvulslous. a friendly wave 81 the
hand, however, disarmed fear and usheEed
the pilgrims before q scene OF bsrbaric
splendor and grotesquensss
On platform covered with skins, at one
end Of tie lO3ge, Indian children wsre
crowded, and in front otthe little ones was
the orchestra Of six huge bucks with instru-
meuts which appeared to be made Of sheep
sSin stretched over empty chez boxes.
Along the length Of the temple or lodge
we're ranged the buckets on one side and the
kloo;chmsn on the other. They were all
clad in gorgeous costumes, ana the many.
coloSed blankets snd prints gave rainbow
appearance TO the vorshippers. Their
faces were painted with orange, blue, red
and white paints, and where there was any
considerable space of solid color there
would appear fairly well executed figures
o. moons. stars, birds aud beasts, in con-
trss,ing tints. Ali had fans of feathers
aud many wore head dresses OF foe furs,
feathers, and even the horns of animals.
There are various pum.pums during the
year for divers objects, the one Just cele-
brated being the Tum-animus, or Chinook
dance, held for the purpose Of propitating
the deity aud bringing on the warm winds
from the Orient 10 carry of the SHOWS
When the winters are unusually hard tbs
Indians do severe penuance and three years
ago, when the cattle and csyuses were
DYING by the hundreds, the Tum7snimus
lasted for ten days and the selEinaicted
puuishments we're Of rigid nature. The
next:observsnce is the festival of the re
burial of the dead" when the bones Of In
dams VAo have died or been killed will be
exaumed. covered with new blankets and
exposed to the view OF relations. Then
comes the salmon dsrce, at which the
great spirit is en'reated TO send free run
Of this succulent fish which forms so prom.
inent factor in Indian food supply.
The recent Tum sniuus was under the
direction OF Co-iish kin, the head medi.
cine man, who directed the observsnees By
means of bell For hours and hours the
Indians would dance aud chant their
songs, which are no. devoid Of bar
mony, uu;il tired nature could bear
no longer. aud then they would
fall on their knees and offer up
heir "aueRs' 70 the exhortA,ions Of the
medicine man. The singing and prayers
wers all in the native language, and even |
the lookerson, who we're familiar with the |
"iargon," we're unable to catch the drift Of
the importunings The weird scene was
one not soon to be forgotten By those who !
were fortunate enough to be present.