Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-06-13
THE suN.pANcE OF THE SIOUX.
A Graphic Description OF tho Great Dance
Dedicated to tho Sun.

Frederic Remington graphically Illus
trates in the Century, a curious custom
of the Sioux. From this article we
quote the following: when all had
assembled and the medicine-men had
set the date for the beginning OF the
great dance dedicated to the sun, the
.sun-pole' was selected. A handsome
young pine or fir. forty or fifty feet
high, with the straightest and most uni
formly tapering trunk that could be
found within a reasonable distance,
was chosen. The selection is always
made by some old woman, generally
the oldest one in the camp, If there is
any way of determining, who leads
number of maidens gaily dressed in the
beautiful beaded buckskin gowns they
wear on state occasions; the part OF
the maiden is to strip the tree OF its
limbs as high as possible without fell
ing it. Woe to the girl who claims to
be maiden, and joins the procession
the old squaw forms, against whose
claims any reputable warrior or squaw
may publicly proclaim. Her punish
ment is swift and sure, and her degra-
dation more cruel than interesting.
The selection of tho tree is the only
special feature of the first days cele-
bration- After it has been stripped IT
its branches nearly to the top the
brushwood and trees for considerable
distance about it are removed, and it
is left standing for the ceremony of the
second day.
Long before sunrise the eager par
Elephants in the next great step were
preparing themselves for the ordeal;
and quarter of an hour before the sun
rose above the broken hills OF white
clay long line of naked young war;
riors. in gorgeous war-paint and feath-
ers, with rifles, bows and arrows, and
war-lances in hand, faced the east and
the sun-pole, which was from five to
six hundred yards away. Ordinarily
this group of warriors number from
fifty to possibly two hundred men. An
interpreter near me estimated the line
/ beheld us from thousand to twelve
hundred strong. Not far away, on
high hill overlooking the barbaric
scene, was an old warrior. medicine
man of the tribe, think, whose solemn
duty it was to announce by shout
that could be heard by every one of
the expectant throng the exact moment
when the tip of the morning sun APP
peared above the eastern hills. Per-
feet quiet rested upon the line of young
warriors and upon the great thrOng of
savage spectators that blocked the
green hills overlooking the arena. Sud-
denly the old warrior, who had been
kneeing on one knee, with his extend
ed palm shading his scraggy eyebrows.
arose to his full height, and in slow
die nilied manner waved his blanketed
arm high above his head. The few
warriors who were still unmounted
now jumped hurriedly upon their
ponies; the broken, wavering line
rapidly took on more regular appear
ance; and then the old man, who had
gathered himself for the great effort.
hurled forth yell hat could be heard
to the uttermost nmits 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 spec
tators on the hills as the line of war;
riors hurled themselves forward to-
ward the sun-pole. the objective OF
every armed and naked savage in the
yelling line. AS they converged to-
wards it the slower ponies dropped
out, and the weaker ones were crushed
to the rear. Nearer and nearer they
came, the line now becoming massed
until it was but a surging crowd of
plunging horses and yelling, gesticu-
lating riders. When the leading war
riors had reached point within a hum
dred yards of the sun-pole, n sharp re-
port of rifles sounded along the line.
and n moment later the rushing mass
was a sheet of flame, and the rattle of
rifle shots was like the rapid beat of
drum resounding among the hills.
die. and not unfrequently falls dead
from the saddle. He is more accom-
plished with the lasso than the cowboy,
and no vacquero is considered thor
oughly competent lasso-thrower, or
roper, unless he can catch a horse run
ming at its utmost speed by any one Of
its four feet, or its two front or hind
feet. Merely to be able to throw a
lasso over the horses head is no quail
fication for vacquero. Then, too, an
efficient vacquero understands thor
oughly the art of braiding horse-hair
or raw hide and making therefrom
brides. riding whips or 'querts." and
lassos or lariats- Every portion of his
large and heavily-rigged saddle has its
proper Spanish name, which is UNI
known to the ordinary cowboy of the
present day, although some years since,
when Southerners were engaged ex-
clusively in that business, most of those
were familiar with the Spanish name
of each portion or section of the saddle.
OF course. the main difference be-
tween the vacquero and cowboy is that
the former is employed exclusively
with range horses. while the lattcrs
charges are horned creatures. Be-
sides this. the thorough vacquero is
rarely seen in the North. In other re-
spects, however, his life and habits are
very similar to those OF the cowboy;but
ne is better paid, and actually his life
IS in greater danger; for, while the
} cowboy may have occasionally to break
broncho or half-wild horse that is
the vacquero's regular occupation, and
ne may be called on to ride five or six
day for weeks ut a time Chambers