Connecticut western news., 1888-10-24
THE CROW INDIAN.
Habits of a Copper-Colored Resi-
 dent of Western Plains.
He is Crafty and Brave, and is
 Utilized as Scout.

He is Crafty and Brave, and is
 Utilized as Scout.
 In personal appearance the Crow Indian men arc fine looking, tall and we'll formcl. The women are small and inferior in appearance. Their vocal language is coarse and harsh, and does not seem to have rich vocabulary. They are poor in tradition. The men cut the hair squ rely off round the fore head, leaving this bang from four to six inches in length, which, when in full dress, is made to stand upright by dressing it with clay, which is some- times made more adhesive by admixtu with a sticky substance obtained by boiling gummy weels and lu,hcs. The side hair is at times lraided and the hair on tho back of the head sepa- rated into several "strips," which are held in place by glue placed at regular intervals. To give them the appear ance of very long hair, of which they are extremely proul, that which has been cut off ia mourning, or that taken from their ponies tails and names, is glued on to length,n out. They do not pull out eyebrows or lashes. In dress, the men wear the hooded coat made of blanket. At the shoulder, wrist of the coat and down the leggings coarse fringe is fastened. Tho women wear short skirts made of raw material, and care little for colored ribbons or trinkets.
 The Crows have an excellent rcputa- tion among other tribes for their cun- ming, crafty skill ard bravery in war. With the whites, as rule, they have been friendly, and since 1876 have ren- dered valuable services to the govern ment as enlisted scouts. At prese t they are better armed and better mount ed than any other tribo of Indians.
 The Crows have a sun dance of their own as it differs essentially from that of the Sioux and other tribes. The dance origin ates Tin spirit of revenge, and through it they seek to secur, the assis . tance of the Supreme Being in carrying out their plans for vengeance, and in prosecuting their wars and horse -steal- ing expeditions.
 Besides the strings by which the dancer is fastened through the sinews of the chest and back to long pole, the bravo endcavors to produca 2 ood luck by mutilating himself with knives in many parts of tho body. Some of the young men fasten buffalo heads to the muscles of the back and dance them- selves free and through and about camp.
 Their legends say that God made them first of all human beings, the other Indians next, and the white man at the last as punishment for some offenses.
 How much bodily pain one of these Crow warriors can undergo witnessed in 1880, near this post. It was in the fall of that year when tho Hon. Carl Schurz Ohe then secretary of the inter- ior) visited the captured Sioux and Cheyennes near Fort Keogh. The hon. orable gentleman desired to observe the natives at one of their dan ces and feasts, and General Miles, our commanding officer, conducted him to the nei5hbor- ing encampment. The writer accom- panied the party, which went on horse back. As we ncared tho spot we be- held several hundreds of Indians squat ted down on the grass, singing, shout ing and drumming. They wcro not dancing just then, but were ea toying a star performance by solitary warrior, Crow Indiar-something of an ex- cruciatingly humorous character a highly seasoned and palatable side dish in the feast so to speak.
 The stalwart Crow stood in the cen- tre of the circle; the blood was stream ing from a hundred gashes which he was self-inf1icting upon chest, shoul- ders, abdomen, arms and legs with sharp edged knives, handed to him al- ternately by somo of the Sioux and Cheyenne rav.s.
 The sight was too much for the some what sensitive organization of the fas- tidious Secretary, and. giving his horse the spurs, he soon escaped from the disgusting spectacle. The attcn din 2 Indians enjoyed thu performance huge ly, for they were chatting away and laughing gayly while the horrible and certainly v,ry painful mutilation was going on. The interpreter informed mo that it was an atonement ceremony on the part of the Crow, who had in the proceeding win ter killed Sioux. From the sam source I learned afterward that tho very height of the festivity was reached by the audience when the performer final ly permitted his body to be washed with vinegar, after which ho indulged in fits and convulsions Cincinnati Enquirer.