Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-03-21

WAVED HIS BLANKETED ARM ABOVE HIM.
fAfter Frederic Remington in the March Cen
tury.l
"Long before sunrise the eager partici-
pants in the next great step were pre-
pairing themselves for the ordeal, and a
quarter of an hour before the sun rose
above the broken hills of white clay a
long line of naked young warriors, in
gorgeous war paint and feathers, with
rifles, bows and arrows, and war lances
IN hand faced the east and the sun pole,
which was from 500 to 600 yards away.
Ordinarily this group of warriors num-
bers from 80 to 200 men. An interpreter
near me estimated the line beheld as
from 1000 to 1900 strong. Not far
away, on a high hill overlooking the bar
baric scene, was an old warrior, medi-
oine man of the tribe, l think, whose
solemn duty it was to announce by a
shout that could be heard by every one
of the expectant throng the exact mo-
ment when the tip of the morning sun
appeared above the eastern hills.
"Perfect quiet rested upon the line of
young warriors and upon the great
throng of savage spectators that BACKED
the green hills overlooking the arena.
Suddenly the old warrior, who had been
kneeling on one knee, with his extended
palm shading his scraggy eyebrows,
arose to his full height, and in a slow,
dignified manner waved his blanketed
arm above his head. The few warriors
who were still unmounted now jumped
hurriedly upon their ponies; the broken,
wavering line rapidly took on n more
regular appearance, and then the old
man, who had gathered himself for the
great effort, hurled forth a yell that
could be heard to the uttermost limits of
the great throng. The morning sun had
sent its commands to its warriors on
earth to charge.
'The shout from the hill was re-echoed
by the thousand men in the valley; it
was caught up by the spectators on the
hills as the long line of warriors hurled
themselves forward towards the sun
pole, the objective point of every armed
and naked savage in the yelling line. As
they converged towards it the slower
ponies dropped out and the weaker ones
were crushed to the rear. Nearer and
nearer they came, the long line becom-
ing massed until it was but a surging
crowd of plunging horses and yelling,
gesticulating riders.
"When the leading warriors had
reached point within hundred yards
of the sun pole, sharp report of rifles
sounded along the line, and a moment
later the rushing mass was sheet of
flame, and the rattle of rifle shots was
like the rapid beat of a drum resounding
among the hills. Every shot, every ar
row and every lance was directed at the
pole, and bark and chips were flying
from its sides like shavings from the ro-
tary bit of planer. When every bullet
had been discharged, and every arrow
and lance had been hurled, the riders
crowded around the pole and shouted
as only excited savages can shout"
Several days following the consecra-
tion of the sun pole were devoted to sun
worship, fasting, dancing and various
other rites. The final ordeal is thus de-
scribed by Lieut.. Schwatka:
"The row of dancers took their places
promptly at sunrise, but it was not be-
fore or 10 that the tortures began.
"Then each of the young men pre-
sented himself to a medicine man, who
took between his thumb and forefinger
fold of the loose skin of the breast, about
half way between the nipple and the
collar bone, lifted it as sigh as possible,
and then ran a very narrow bladed but
sharp knife through the skin underneath
the hand. In the aperture thus made,
and before the knife was Withdrawn,
stronger skewer of bone about the size
of a carpenters pencil was inserted.
Then the knife blade was taken out, and
over the projections of this skewer, back
wards and forwards, alternately right
and left, was thrown figure .of-eight
moose with a strong thong of dressed