The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1892-03-03
pony War DANCE.


switzerland OF snowy peaks. But IL
was hot, and blankets were stretched
| from the tent tops, and the women sat
, under them to catch the air and escape
| the heat The safnried native police
man Of the reserve, wearing white
stovc-pipe hat with feathers, and a
ridiculous blue coat, and Heaven alone
knows what other absurdities, rode
| around. Boosting of deeds he never per-
formed, While a white cur made him all
the more ridiculous by chasing him and
yelping at his horses tail
And then CINE the grand spectacle.
The vast plain was forgotten, and the
great campus within the circle OF tents
| was TRANSFORMED int, theat-r. The
scene was setting OF white and red
tents that threw their clear-cut out
lines against matchless blue sky
The audience was composed Of four
white men and the Indian boys, who
were flung about BY the startled horses
they were holding for MS. The players
were the gorgeous cayalrymen Of ma
ture, circling before their women and
old men and children. themselves
plumed lilxeS uuheartl.of tropical bff1s,
tas 4 Z !as11
\ was The Honys Var DANCES d th6 III
| parture for Bnttie. The 1cft:nq 81
4 fierce; not like the contltact Of mimic
| stage, but performed with the de6per<
ate zcst Of men who hope Tor disti3ds
| ton in wsr, and may NOT riile about 4.
It had the earnestnessof chaI lensed
man who trie the foiis with a tutor
It was impressiyc Inspiring, at times
| wildly exciting.
There were three-score young men in
the brilliant cavalcade They rode
horses that were as wild as themselves.
Their evolutions were srude, but mag
nifcent. Now they dashed past ms in
single file, and next they came helter-
skclter, like cattle stampeding For
awhile they rode around and around,
J! AZ on race. course, but at times they
deserted the Enclosure, parted into
small bands, and were hidden behind
the curtains o. their own dust, present
/ " to reappoar with d mad rush, yelling
like maniacs firing their pieces, and
brandishiny their arms and their finery
wildly on high. Tho orchestra was
| composed of seven tomtoms that had
been dried taut before camp FIRE.
| The old men and the CHI efs sat in a
semi-circle. behind the drummers on the
i ground.
All the tribal heirloems were in the
display, the cherished gcwgaws, trink-
cts, arms apparel and fnery> they had
1 saved from the fate of which they will
not admit they are themselves the c.
| Tins. ! never saw an old-time picture
of type of savage red man or of an
extravaganza of their costuming that
was not revived in this spectacle. 1t
was as IL the plates in my old school
1 books and novels and tales of adventure
| were all animated and passing. before
me. The traditional Indian with the
Indian plumes from crown to heels was
there; so was lie with the buffalo horns
growing ont OF his skull; so were the
| idyllic braves in yellow bucksk n
fringed at every point The shin
ing bodies of men. bare naked,
and frescoed like q Bowery bar
room, were not lacking; neither
were those who wore masses of SPLEEN
did embroidery with colored beads But
there were as many peculiar costumes
which never had seen picture And
not any two men or any two horses
| were alike. As barber po.es ara COW
cred with paint, so were many of these
choice steeds of the nation. Some were
spotted all over with daubs of viii e,
and some with every color obtainable.
| Some were bran ed fifty times with the
white hand, the symbol of peace, but
others bore the red hand and the white
hand in alternate prints. There were
| horses painted with III, figures of
horses and@ef@serpents and-of@ foxes.
| To some saddles were. affixed colored
blankets or cloths that fell upon the
| ground or dashed the air. according as
| the horse cantered or raced One horse
was hung all round wi h great, soft,
woody tails of some white material.
Sleigh-bells were upon several.
Only half dozen men wore hats
mainly cowboy hats decked with feath-
ers. Many carried rifles, which they
used with one hand Others brought
out bows and arrows, lances decked
with feathers or ribbons, poles hung
with colored cloths, great shields bril-
liantly painted and fringed. Every
visible inch OF each warrior was paint
ell, the naked ones being ringed,
streaked and striped from head to foot,
! would have to catalogue the possess
sions of the whole nation to tell all that
they wore between the brass rings in
| their hair and the cartridge belts at
their waists, and thus down to their
| beautiful moccasins.
Two strange features further distin-
| guished their pageant. One was the APP
pearance of two negro minstrels upon
one horse. Both had blaclxened their
| faces and hands; both wore old stove
! pipe hats and queer long-tailed white
mems coats, One wore huge false
white mustache. and the other carried
a coal-scuttle. The women and chill
dren roared with laughter at the sight.
! The two comedians got down from their
| horses, and began to make grimaces,
and to pose this way and that, very
comically. Such performance had
never been seen on the reservation be-
fore. No one there could explain where
| the men had seen negro minstrels. The
other unexpected feature required time
for development. At first we noticed
/ that two little Indian b ,ys kept getting
| in the way of the riders AS we were
not able to find any fixed place Of safe
ty from the excited horsemen, we mar
veled that these children were permit
ted to risk their necls. Suddenly a
hideously painted naked man on horse
back chased the little boys. leaving the
i cavalcade, and circlipg around the chill