New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-28
THE GRASS DANCE.
A GREAT FESTIVAL IN THE TEEfhhS of
TIE TWO KETTLES. {

s~nr tho nresent tumult OF religious enon"-
s.osr, have manifested no interest IN the en-
nected advent of the Red Mans Messiah IhcS
;nbabit the muddy gumbo hills arou"u Wv
Pierre S D.. and have so attached themselves
IN that unbeautiful region that 'heS Pie
lesser evil Of civilization to the calaiii'S VI
inc another and peradventure o e''ei' w.
Mace Most Of them speak English IneS '.ii ".
soil and are daily seen in the marhc's -
perre exchanging the fruits OF IleH '"" ~, -
srcL Injuries as coffee, sugar and tobacco in'i'
$50 ao,,I, c,otbino and farming implements
o,e furnished by the Government, according "
a.. i,a,e,rv and worth Of the indvidual' or "
- oro lteral according TO the esumauon III
,,h;ch no is held by John Holland, heao laih''
,nd oorcral superintendent of the trlDe' roi NJ
- II = Two Kettle wants an axe or sp"u0
no has to apply to John Holland VINO auuio
,ho claim and awards withholds the Uooi ID
his superior judgment dictates aauoh.
Many of these people send their sohs III" ""s :,
,.rs IN Hampton and Carlisle ana IL Is i,o'' nv"
Coz, that n large number OF the educa'eu S'"Hs
Iaa,ons retuno TO their tribe only To oie "
..,.,o,orr consumption. l do not oher any
fIo.;or NJ this but do state IL as Ido''
porhans education does not agree WIN co ""
Ket,le temperament Certainly IL has hU'io IN
nm their natural superstitlous tehoe"'
,e,,oions dances and fetchism vi '''
making have been discouraged py ,e"o"'ls "n
missionaries to little purpose Inc D"i sS Tos
"sun-dance" in which the braves WIZ NOV
long been discontinued IN .h"' nis'',i txoo,t
~ n slit was cut in the skin OF each pio'''
s,,ou,er nossed through and attached 10 poi1
~, . rowbidc cord The candidate 0anceu ui'''
~ eosb broke through to prove himself oI"NC
Gu awful practces have been done away WIZ"
s,,nnc tho Two Kettles but other ceiemoii''
equally dear TO the savage heart sun eNis'' on"
or. faithful,v and enthusiastically gone 'lious"
with. ;.;o.o tho
Tho grass dance" is supposed to propitla'e 'nc
sn;rits which have charge Of the CROWN VI oiop'
and the increase OF game ANY o"e WV
manage to get an invitation to a grass usiioe "'D
hotter accept Tie picture that mce's tnc e"
nm your arrival at thc "dance-house VIII uIP'S
renav for the discomfort Of the eleh'-ihiie UNIV
from Fort Pierre over the worst roau YOU wv
travelled IN the far distance one Oh 'hos0 WIN
derful sunsets only to he seen Oh inc pi''il
,rnrp,s ,hc duIl-hued landscape and casts ur the
dark rises of the guWhO hills into MACK ui"SSe
If shadow To the left, far away, but dlstihc,S
eoo, ~ tb, clcor air. the tall cottorwOodcd banKS
Of tho BAD River wind away. Twenty 'eePteS'
VOID and vellow N the sunset light. surround
LARGO lorhousc. tAatched and chinkcd with mud
the dance-house in the foreground, TWO heiit
Indian boys. almost nated. arc racing. A mon Oh
Two Kettles look on with noisy interest," All
oocd Indian crosses tho middle distance, leading
q large and very detected dog. Inc amman 10
about one-third stachound and the rest yei!o" cur
Tie two disappear III one oil the teepecs' pis,''
shot is heard a,i the poor dog has gone 10 'Ho
happy land OF canine
Why this sacrifice? At the risk OF ohehol"e
your scnsbitics-this is a barbecue Inc oos
is nlacpd on q he'd Cf Goals and Thoroughly sir2eu'
A scuaw deity runs a knife over nm ara IT,
moves the Observation-Disclosures reserved Tor cile'9
and djonitarjcs present He is now cnt up INTO
small bits and flung into the pot IN tHe pie'tn''
If an enthusiastic rabblc Of Two Kettles whose
mouths water al the sight There are othcr doss
of course, since ore would rot suffice to ieed
sucb r1nltitude but this big fellow is the piece
dc resistance. II your nostrs arc delicate you
will leave the kitchen and wander among 'hc
other ,ecrces Dirt squawS, dogs, children ana
braves ad0rn the interiors.
Presently leathcr-lunged cricr announces the
beginning Of the dance in vernaculaf TWO hc''h.
The summons of John-llunts-thc- Enemy Who
as a town-cricr is a glittcrng success, Whatever
he may he as tarmer-is not nnheedod Inc
band assemblies in the large Lighthouse men on
one side women on the other. Dogs, heas,
children and dirt, adj lib. 4 huge kctt!edrnm, on
which six virtuosos perform, occupies one corner.
Then is raised that universal Indian chant
"Hi-yah, hi-yah, hi-yah, hi-yah, beginning IN
low cultural key and increasing both in volume
and pitch until the participants reach state ol
frenzy and breathlessness. Then, AFTER hre'
pause some one RECEIVERS wind enough 10 starr
up a hoarse "IIi-yah, hi-yah!" and in "A moment
the whole crew are yelling for dear life The
object of the music" is a double 1t serves
80
one they fall into the ring to dance and whoop
The costumes arc many and varied One gen
tlcman is attired principally in plug hat, another
in a sort Of Grccian bend made of turkey
feathers, another in two yards OF rec
flannel that drags behind like the tail o
the Irshnan's coat at D0nnyhro0k ran
David Smoking Bear has arraycd his person II
a generous coat Of gray gumhO mud. ~! are more
or less painted. One INDIAN wears blue D!ee =
ciout His head, even before 1t was shdSneI II
on the left side was not handsome Now he ma
adorned the smashed portion w u req ana SIi t
paint The yioissltudes of an e,entiul life have
cropped OF both legs below the knees ana cTiprl''
his Jeff hand for him. All of which. while II L
rot h, fault has served 20 decrease his popuaTIt
among the fair sex. lie is god dancer, nor
withstandiug his infrmties, and IS as graceful a.
any of his friends. Ills body Is smeaied wltl
yellow, and his hair Is STUCK iull OF tuhYi
feathers and porcupine quilts. He dances, yell
and bounces around in frenzy which Strikes yo
as ridiculous or sckcnng according 10 your sens
for me either in the mazcs Of the dance or IN N
nnrsnit of his business which is horsc-b' eakln2
When he wraps those stumps OF ms arouhd VI
lean hide OF br0ncho, that noble amman may
well make up ms mind first as last that tho'
stumps are there 10 stay.
Now the dog soup is brought in to regale ID
rostrils of the dancers. The pungent oior NJ
the air and whets the appetite OF tne fdInlshe
crowd, hut the dance goes on. One huge pray
plucks n bunch of grass from the ceilhg' thrusl
IL into the fire and lights H. Another seife' u
lirccian bend and holds it in the smoke chan'ln
and moaning meanwhile. In The l%usrs OF u
dance the old warriors recount thfi!lHg 'ae f.
Moir nrowcss and daring in battle with the Pa
Face Assent and approval are eyinced by 49,
and prolonged howls and bca,lng OF the B ke'tI
drums. Finally the sous OF ne company ~
eneuch TO eat. Several of the old fellows dam
around the pot and make passes at 1t, kee ~
time with the orchestra. Several toun,s OF IN
,hno Wore dancing Ono selzes n handful OF I
ems and distributes them, Agai thc. dane
circulate around the pot The ceremo'i"s zee
1