The Red Cloud chief., 1892-12-09
Yhe SIOUX ~suM.pANoE.

0as - ths Mess CsFso1s Custens a. .
Wssiihs hAAaa gsihs.
Lisutsnsat Hchwstks contributes 70
ths Csasury . curious custom OF the
0ioax. From this article We quote the,
ALLOWING; when oil hsd assembled
end The medioine-men had set the date
for The bceiAaing Of she great dance
dedicated 70 the sun, the '~sun.pole' was
selected. A handsome young pine or ar,
forty or hfty feet high, With the straight
oct and most uniformly tapering trunk
that could DO found within . reasonable
distance, was chosen. The selection Is
always made by some old woman, gem
orally the Oldest M In the camp, II.
there 10 any way Of determining. who
leads . number OF Daidens gayly
dressed In tho beautiful beaded buck.
skin gowns they ear on state occa-
sions; the part Of the msidens Is to strip
the tree Of It's limbs - high ss possible
without Telling It Wee TO the girl who
claims TO be maiden and Joins the pro-
cession the old squsw forms, against
whose claims any reputable warrior or
squaw may publicly proclaim. Her pun
ishment 10 swift and sure. and her deg
radiation more cruel than interesting.
Tho selection of the tree Is the only
special feature Of the frat days celebra.
tion. After 1t has been stripped Of Its
brsnohes nearly TO tho top, the brush.
wood and trees for . considerable dis.
tsnoe about IL arc removed, and IL Is
left standing for the ceremony Of tho
second day.
Long before sunrise the eager par
Elephants in the next great step wero
preparing themselves for the ordeal;i
and . quarter Of an hour before the sun
ross above the broken hills Of white
clay . long line Of naked young warri.
ors. in gorgeous war-paint and feathers,
with rides, bows and arrows, and war.
lanoes In hand, faced the east and
the sun.pole. which was from avo to
six hundred yards away. Ordinarily
this group OF warriors numbers from.
atty to possibly two hundred men. AM
interpreter near me estimated the Incl
beheld q from . thousand to twelve
hundred strong. Not far away, on .
high hill overlooking the barbario
scene, WAS N old warrior, Q medicine.
man Of tho tribe, I think, whose solemn
duty 1t was to announce BY . shout that
could be heard BY every one OF the ex-
pectsnt throng the exact moment when
the tip Of the morning sun appeared
above the eastern hills. Perfect Quiet
rested upon tho line Of young warriors
and upon the great throng Of savage
spectators that blacked the green hills
overlooking the arena. Suddenly the
old WARRIOR, who had been kneeling on
one knee, with his extended palm shad-
Ing his sorsggy eyebrows, arose to his
full height, and In . slow, digniae0
msnner waved his blsaketed arm above
his head. The few warriors who were
still unmounted now jumped hurriedly
upon their ponies; the broken, waverinH
line rapidly took on . moro regular sp-
pearance; and then the old man, wnd
had gathered himself for the great Il,
fort, hurled forth . yell that could bS
heard to the uttermost limits OF the
great throng. The morning sun had
sent 1s commands to its warriors one
earth to charge.
THE shout from the hill was re-
echoed by the thousand men in the val
Icy; 1t 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 Il tho
ponies dropped out and tho
weaker ones were crushed to the a
Nearer and nearer they came, the long
line becoming massed until it was but Q
surging crowd OF plunging horses and
yelling, g~esticulating riders. When tho
leading warriors had reached q point
within . hundred yards Of the sun.polo
Q sharp report Of rifles sounded along
the line, and . moment later the rush.
Ing mass was . sheet Of flame, and the
rattle-shots was like the rapid beat oil
drum resembling among tho hills,
Every shot, every arrow and every lance
directed at the pole, and bark and
were flying from It's sides like
shavings from the rotary bit Of q planer.
When every bullet had been discharged
md every arrow and lance had been
epsled the riders crowded around tho
pole n shouted as only excited savsges
ian Shout
HAD 1t fallen in this onslaught snotk.
pole would have been chosen and IN.
'ther morning devoted 10 this perform
'nce. Though this seldom happens,
xas thought that the numerous assault
'nts OF this pole might bring II 70 the
Irouud. They did not, however, ~
though It looked like o ragged scare
with chips and bark hanging from.
to mutilated sides
THAT such o vast, tumultuous thronet
'oud escape accident in all that Wild
'hargtng, firing of shots, hurline Of
ances and arrows and great exsttsnsut
would be bordering on O miracle, and No
miracle happened. One of the great I,
was trampled upon in the
'harge and died late that evening, and
mother Indian was shot. The bruises,
prains and cute that might have been
poken of in lesser affairs were here n
'ot'ced' and nothing wvs heard Of them"
Wanted to 10 Their Nsoks.
The most comical mishap that ever
'efell q fire engine occurred recently