Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-01-14
LIKE MY WIFE TO
Use Pozzons Complexion Powder because il |
improves her looks and is as fragrant as viole,s
ABORIGINAL ASTRONOMY.
Some Indian Notions About the sun, the
Moon and the Stnrs.


"The Indians Of North America hav,
some queer and rather picturesque no.
tions about astronomy" said the Rev. MIR.
J. owen Dorsey to a writer for the Star.
The North star, they declare, is the only
fixed celestial body; it never goes any
where. The Milky Way is the road taken
by the ghosts of the dead once upon
time, tradition says. u warrior OF the Oma-
ha tribe came to life again some days after
he was supposed to have died. He told his
friends that he had had rather dsagree-
Die experience. According to his account,
II appeared that he had reached the Milky
Way, which. of course, was a brilliantly
lighted thoroughiare. But on his journey
thther which occupied four days and
nights, he was wholly in the dark. 1t is
for this reason that the omahas make
nights and days by tbs, grave of any of
their people VINO dies. When they see the
sign that many human beings are, dying.
The 1sagss in con common MOI With n,,l.ianyy My
are gods and goddcsses. They have a ira
dition to the effect that once upon time
the osages possessed neither bodies nor
as the Male Red Bird who furnished them
with souls in the bodies of birds. Thus
they pursued existence for a while, in the
likeness of featheied creatures. In this
guise they first visited the earth There
Bear. He offered to serve them, and they
asked him to visit the various constella-
tions with a petition IN their behalf. Thsy
Black Bear went successively to the sun,
to the moon, TO the morning star to the
the pleiades--to the constellation of the
goose foot, and finally to the Female Red
She it was who granted the request which
the others had refused giving to the
Osages the bodies in which they have since
''The sun is Il god devoutly worshpcd
by most Indians. The ceremony of the
sun dance, as performed by the Sioux and
Ponkas. has often been described. Every
body has heard how the warriors torture
one M Part 3hr v OF the nrpY
ing in attaching himself to the dance pole
by larats passed trough loops of his own
on horseback or otherwise. For three days
and nights they dance, gazing continually
while it is supposed that they swallow
neither food nor water. As II matter or
fact, however, the dance pole Is planted
culent roots grow. These they pluck up
slyly, Ting them and sucking, the juices;
Among the Sioux Indians the buffalo bull
is importantly associated with the sun
dance. oddly enough, In ancient Egypt
the sun god Ra was associated with the
deifed bull called Apis
Among the Sioux and many other tribes
of Indians the power of fire and wind are
associated with destruction of life. ON the
other hand the powers of earth and water
are associated with the protection of life.
Red Is the symbolic color of these powers.
Red, therefore, is associated with war,and
is always conspicuous in the war paint. At
the four corners of the eartn are located
the four winds. Under these corners are
the pillars which uphold the earth The
wind powers are black Their servants are
the four black spirits of night Associated
with them are the black raven and the
wolf which howls at night
"The moon Is goddess. 1t is owing TO
her diablerie that men sometimes become
as women. Among the Indians queer
form Of mania IS frequently developed.
While under its influence men adopt the
WAYS OF women, assume their dress and
voice and practice sewing and other do
mcstic arts such as properly belong to the
genter sex. A part of the discipline is to
been carried to a certain point the faster
experiences halucinatons, which are
termed visions In his first vision the
moon goddess comes to the young man
with bow in h nd and a strap for
carrying a burden held in the other.
TO carry burdens. The youthful warrior
grasps at the bow, but if he is not very
quick, the goddess is apt to substitute the
strap on this account he is subject after
ward to the peculiar mania already de-
sCribed.
"The Indians generally seem TO have no
well defined notion of a hell. They say TO
their children: If you are not brave and
good you will go after you die to liz with
the spirts of bad people Amo L the
oregon Indians and those of many other
tribes 1t Is understood that the spi It's of
Who Never Dies in the southwest. The
old woman is the mother of all. on going
back to her the Indians are reborn into tho
world as infants, \ common notion among
the Indians Is that the world Is shaped like
a cup and this account II Is not pos
sihle for any one to climb out of II and OBJ
tain an entrance into the regions which be-
long TO the gods"