The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-10-12

Ill.," The dance Is an easy, swinging
affair. the movement being similar to
that OF n chicken that hops about
with badly frozen feet This dance
continued for an hour or more, after
which a number of squaws injected
themselves into the ring and gave a
dance peculiar TO the women of the
Sioux tribe. Like all other Indian
dances, this one was accompanied by
singing and the beating OF wheezy
drums 1t is apparent that time and
harmony don't count for much with In
| dians when they dance, noise being the
| principal accompaniment. The women
were beautifully painted, red being the
| prevailing color. though there were
| many bright stripes of black artisti-
| cally daubed across their cheeks, lips
and foreheads.
Mrs. Hits-the- -EaEle-in- the Clouds
was the belle of the ball and won fire.
quent and uproarious applause. Her
| step was as light as that of young
| fawn, while her costume was strikirgly
| fetching. She wore a dress of red
| blanket, cut decollete at both top and
| bottom. over this she wore muskrat
skin trimmed with red flannel Her jew
| els consisted of elks' teeth and bear
| claws.
| Miss Runs Like the Deer was attired
| in dainty suit of yellow calico, reach
ing to her knees, a girdle of brass en-
| circling her waist. She encased her
feet in slippers of buckskin, hair side
In, the tops worked in porcupine quilts,
| dyed red and blue. Her pantalettes
were of blue blanket, cut bias, and
trimmed down the sides with white
braid.
Although quite fleshy. Mrs. Knows
| No-Fear danced as lightly as though
she was made OF feathers, notwith.
standing the fact that she tips the
scales at POS pounds. Her costume was
rich in the extreme. 1t was of yellow
| squaw cloth, kind of flannel, and was
| profusely decorated with clam shells
and pieces and strips of otter fur. She
wore her hair down her back, with 9
crown of hawk feathers, dyed crimson
encircling her head.
Miss Rides the Wind from the Black
foot agency, tried to outshine hel
friends and some of the spectators
thought that she did. She wore beau
tiful robe of buckskir, tanned a bright
yellow and hand-painted. 1t was GOV
cred with figures representing huntins
|
ground. Her black hair was gathered
in the back and held in place by striI
of red braid. which hung nearly to tn,
ground. She carried a turkey wing fo
fan.
There were many other striking cos
tunes which were greatly admired, es
pecially by the white women who stooC
around the ropes.
INDIANS PRESENT.
Representatives of the folowin,
tribes took part in this ceremonial: BaC
River and Sac du Flambeau Chippe
was, Rosebud Lower Brule, Cheyenne
Sisseton, Flandreau, Standing Rocl
and Crow Creek Sioux, Sacs and Foxe
sinaboines, Omahas, Winnebagoes
Blackfeet, Arapahoes, Jicarrilla Apach
es, NeZ Perces, Comanches, Wichitas
, Bannocks, Pueblos, Osages, IroQuoi
and Poncas. Members of other tribe
are arriving daily. Frequent exhibi
tions of blanket making, canoe max
ing. etc. and of all kinds of Indial
, sports and dances will be given unit
from Iowa, Foxes from Mississippi, AS
the close of the Exposition.
The conception of the Indian Con
gress, like that of the Trans Mississippi
, Exposition, originated with The Oman
/ Bee, whose editor with the aid of Ser
; ators Allen and Thurston, Congressma
, Mercer and other representatives c
the Trans Mississippi states, succeede
in enlisting the active interest of tn
, Indian Bureau and Secretary of til
Interior Bliss in the project and in pre-
2 curing a congressional appropriate
: to defray it's expenses. Had it not bee
for the delay in the passage of tn
! Indian appropriation bill. caused by til
pressure of war measures, the India
, congress would have been installed 6
a the opening of the Exposition.
The Indian Congress does not cor
q template merely an encampment
. tribal Indians, housed in native inhal
a itations and carrying on various nt
:. tive festivals but also periodic India
. festivals, participated in not only b
, the Indians in attendance but by at
| ditional members brought from II
= larger reservations for these special OF
casions, These Indian festivals, illu:
, trating the religious and social rites
, the American Indian, will be not alor
!, interesting as a show feature, but il
= | Structive from the educational an
!, scientific standpoint, affording studen
of ethnology and sociology an oppo
, tunity never before presented and nevt
. likely to be again within their reach.