Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-31
FAKE GREEN CORN DANCE.
4 Show That Would Have Been 9
Credit to BQrnunl.

4 Show That Would Have Been a
Credit to BRrnum.
From the Syracuse Standard
Ever since the days Of Hiawatha and the
time when his beloved Minnehaha was Sent
out at night to bless the fields of maize
the Five Nations have held the festival Of
the green corn as the most holy and happy
of the year. AS can be imagined, thefi
disgust at the fact that the pale faces
would come in idle curiosity. and with evf.
dent amusement look on the religious dance
of the ancient Mingoes.' was deep enough
to bring lie Reynard SpbtiT from the bot
tom of Cooper's gorge, beyond the Lac du
Sainte Sacrament. But, for all that, every
year, when the harvest moon did come. the
Yengeese would gather at the council hall
of the Onondagas to see the show. At last
a scheme WIS hit upon which seems to sat
isfy all concerned Some two weeks before
the date of the annual celebration of the
festival fake dance Is arranged. The at
fair is widely advertised as the old original
Spectators come from far and near, and the
council hall of the descendants Of the rulers
of half this continent is crowded. Every
guest is welcome, for all who go inside
must purchase tickets and every horse
that is left outside needs some one to hold
it. What IA harvest Is brought to the red
men. What lot of firewater those dimes
and quarters will bay!
The whole population of the reservation
was gathered in and about the council
house at an early hour in the morning.
Dan La Forte. the head of the nation, was
standing around with his hands in his
pockets, not saying word, but directing
everything. By noon the crowd began to
come, and soon as there was a reason
able number of paid admissions inside Of
the big hall the dancing began. Three or
four old men performed the accompani-
ment, using Indian drums and rattleS as
their instruments of torture. The song
and dance artists, decked in war paint and
feathers took their place in a cleared
space In the middle of the floor, and the
excitement began.
Round and round they went with steps
more weird than the witches of Macbeth,
chanting, as they moved some uncanny
dirge. With liberal application of imag-
nation one might place the scene on the
shores of Horizon and fancy that in the
depths Of the forests primeval about the
campfire the noble red man was worship
ing the Great Spirit and thanking the
Deity for the priceless gift of the maize.
To the materialist of the living present the
performance was an amusing farce. The
war paint and those best s1.49 shoes, the
waving plume sewed with cotton thread
to a clothing company's advertising cap
the valiant braves outside the door Of the
shanty all looking for a job holding some
ones horse, all in all, it would be hard
strain on the most vivid of imaginations
to think OF Uncas as among this motley
CROWD.
Till ) o'clock in the afternoon the jig was
kept up, and then, when every one seemed
to have had enough of the show, the crowd
adjourned to the neighboring common,
where, after the hat had been passed
around several times to make an induce
ment, the young men of the tribe gave an
exhibition game of lacrosse. This wound
up the days gayety, except that, it is said,
a number of the braves Were sent outside
of the reservation to procure some whisky
with which to celebrate the financial sue
cess of the days work. The date of the
real corn dance, the Indians say, has not
yet been fixed.