The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-10-11
6 GREEN CORN DANCE.


..d.rss Give show that would HAv'
ohs''- Bsen Credit to Barnum.
s;rce tho days OF Hiawaths
IN The time when his beloved Mime
" y. was sent out at night to bless
". adds Of maize, the five nations
y bsld the festival Of the green
p'.' a. The most holy and happy OF
~ ssar As can be imagined, their
W .,st At the fact that the pale faces
~ VA come in idle curiosity, and
~ .v,dent amusement look on the
.i,s,ous dance of the ancient Min
- was deep enough to bring LIE
v .S subtil from the bottom OF
'soner's gorge, beyond the Lac du
s. %p sacrament. But. for all that.
IN ssry wear, when the harvest moon
IA a. come, the Yengeese would
..th.r at the council hall Of the
S.ondapas to see the show. At last .
.hsme was hit upon which seems to
.tisly all concerned. Some two weeks
.iore the date Of the annual celebra-
IN # the festival a fake dance is ar
.noed The affair is widely adver-
;ssS as the old and original. Specta-
u come from far and near, and the
Ionnc,l hall of the descendants of the
[ulers Of half this continent Is crowd
\ Every guest is welcome, for all
n 90 inside must purchase tickets,
a every horse that is left outside
Ie.ds some one to hold it. What a
k.yest is brought to the red men.
Vhst lot Of frewater those dimes
bid quarters will buy!
The whole population Of the reserva-
Ion was gathered in and about the
|ouncil house at an early hour in the
b@ning. Dan La Forte, the head Of
IN nation, was standing around with
Il hands in his pockets, not saying
Lord, but directing everything. By
loon the crowd began to come. and as
I'm as there was q reasonable num-
|.r paid admissions inside Of the big
All the dancing began. Three or four
Ia men performed the accompani-
Bent, using Indian drums and rattles
1 their instruments of torture. The
bug and dance artists, decked in war
|sint and feathers, took their place In
cleared space in the middle of the
|oor, and the excitement began.
|ound and round they went, with
sps more weird than the witches Of
Ihcbeth, chanting as they moved
pme uncanny dirge. With a liberal |
pplication OF Imagination one might
lace the scene on the shores of Hor-
on and fancy that in the depths of
be forests primeval about the camp
re the noble red man was worshiping
DO Great Spirit and thanking the
|eity for the priceless gift of the
lsize. To the materalist Of the living
resent the performances was an anus
lg farce. The war paint and those
st one dollar and forty-nine cents
hoes the waving plume sewed with
,tton thread to a clothing company's
ivertising cap, the valiant braves
ltside the door Of the shanty all look
x for job holding some ones horse,
! in oil, it would be hard strain on
. most vivid of imaginations to
link Of Uncas as among the motley
ovid.
Til five o'clock in the afternoon the
was kept up,and then, when every
= seemed to have had enough of the
oW adjourned to the neighboring
mmon, where, after the hat had been
ssed around several times to make
Indictment, the young men of the
oe gave an exhibition game OF la
use This wound up the days
yely, except that, 1t is said, a num-
Of the braves were sent outside of
reservation to procure some whisky
70 which to celebrate the financial
cess OF the days work. The date
'ne real green corn dance, the In
as say, has not yet been fixed.
'acuse Standard.