Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-04-10
AN INDIAN BEAR DANCE.
White Rocks. Utah.

Mch2l, 1881.
Ed. Herald: AS the Utes have lust
closed their annual bear dance, l
thought description of the dance and
music as we'll az some of the fashion
able costumes worn by the ELITE
would be OF interest to your readers.
so let that be my excuse for again en-
croaching on your valuable space.
AS all are aware the bear, of which
there are three varieties here, black,
cinnamon and grizzly. hibernates in
winter. coming out as spring advances
very hungry and voracious BY spend
one week annually in the bear dance.
just prior to their coming out of their
dens. the utes say they are insured
against the attacks of bears during the
rest Of the year.
On Sunday Mich. Is about 2 p, M,
TabbyshutZ. master of ceremonies
opened the dance. He was dressed IN
"NIericat' (American) clothes, -astraw
hat, a grey linen buster, wooden pants
and pillow shoes. ut never gets too cold
for Ute to wear a dusternor too hot
to wear a blanket) Shakwick, leader
OF the musicians, was clad IN long
colored cotton shirt, beaded leggings
and moccasins, sans hat, with large
brass rings in his ears, brass wire
wristlets, nicllle plated armlets and on
his breast large silver cross, with
silver crescent pendants bought of the
Navijo Indians who manufacture sill
yer ornaments.
The music consisted Of wild wierd
singing accompanied by eight or ten
men keeping time by rubbing pieces of
hard wood over deep notches cut in
sticks of wood about two and one half
feet long, thelower ends of which rest
ed on an inverted box covered with
sheet iron, under which a hole was dug
in the ground to give it more sound.
The dancing ground was level circu-
lar enclosure about $50 feet in diameter
with woven brush fence around it
about six feet high, with one entrance,
opposite to where the musicians sat.
ut is about 4 mile east of the agency
On a tall pole fastened in the fence
was white flag bearing the heraldic
device OF one bear statant and one
rampant.
Long lines of dancers formed in two
rows facing each other the mahmutz
(women) in one row the towatz (men)
in the other. The dance consists of
three steps forward and three steps
back, the two lines reciprocating. 1t
is always ladies choice, groups of
squaws il twos and threes will march
arm in arm up before the braves, sit
ting around the inside OF the Enclosure
and without saying a word beckon the
desired partners to assist them. which
they dare not refuse as if they did bear
would he sure to get them before the
close of the year. Meanwhile an old
squaw armed with long CAD goes
|
filled, as soon as enough dancers are
on the floor, the dance begins. The
music grows fast and faster and the
dance correspondingly gets fast and
faster; but none are allowed to shlrk
as the before mentioned squaw march
es up and down in rear of the lines adj
ministering lusty blows on the backs
of the unsuspecting laggards. At the
signal from the chief musician, the
music ceases and the dancers return to
their seats. Should anyone fall down
while dancing the dance ceases instant
ly, all others repair to their seats but the
unfortunate one must lie still till the
medicine man makes medicine over its
head with an eagle feather when it
may ARISE.
The prevailing costume among the
men is buckskin leggings reaching to
the waist fringes down the sides and
bead work up to the knee, finely bead.
ed moccasins, a white or colored shirt
| RANGING lJOSc ANU utlCOuuuCu III CuS
legglngs, and armlets and wristlets-;
number had beaded vests, a great
many had a great number of strands OF
parti colored hair pipe beads and Others
had carved elk tooth ornaments. AL
wear the hair in two braids down the
back. n good many conline the braid'
in long pouches of beaver or otter fur
Most all had gayly colored head deco
ratlons, while the prevailing color to-
painting the face is red and yellow
with white and green stripes. TIT
souaws wear either a beaded buckskl1
dress or one of bright colored cotton
largely red trimmed with blue or vel
low. beaded moe casins with high top
buttoned with brass buttons; over tn
shoulders bright colored shawl. Th'
head bare and the hair long and hang
ing loose over the shoulders, the fac
painted not quite such carmine as tn
IN