El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-10-31
The WAR DANCE
Uncle Sans Wild Red Chill
dren Perform Curious
Ceremonies.
WITH UNEARTHlY HOWlS

WITH UNEARTHLY HOWLS
The Braves Invoke the War God TO
Their Aida Typical War Dance
OF the Savage Tribes. Now Neary
by Extinct Music That Moves
Even the Savage.
Special correspondence of the HERALD.
OMAHA, Oct. 23.-Today 1 visited
the Ind an exhibit. About four o'clock
| in the afternoon the crowd began to
gather around a large roped enclosure
| at one side of the Indian encampment.
| After q while several Indians entered
| the ring and placed boxes and planks
| 60 as to form seats for fifteen or twenty
people in a hollow square at th-
center, with a bass drum suspended In
the midst of them. Then more In
dams entered one by one, includ-
| ing several squaws, seated themselves
at this mprovised band stand, and be-
| gan beating the drum in slow cadence
with the sticks which each held.
AS the noise grew louder, one old
Indian with a face like a Ratchet and
his blanket drawn up over his ears
began u most uuearthly song. which
consisted of the syllable ay-ay-ay-sy
| repeated over and over to a wild minor
tune. AS a specimen of music it was
decidedly inferior to the usual feline
repertoire, or the bowls of a dyspeptic
dog. The spectators, at least the
more i'll mann cred of them, greete d
the soloist with Cat calls and sarcastic
applause, at which he erinned good
nstured y and raised the key peg or
| two. Theu the other drummers joined
10 the soug, until a wild chorus rent
the suffering Dir.
| Presently several Indians, resplend-
cnt 10 their war paint aud feathers, en-
tered the arena and took their stand in
a line near the musicians. One by one
other braves and squsws Joined them,
the latter sitting on benches. until per-
haps fifty gorgeous warriors were
gathered. The costumes were beyond
the power of men to describe. Most of
the men had their chests and arms
bare, also the legs below the thigh,
and their skins were painted either
bright yellow, or brick red, or bril-
liant blue.
The garments were of various sorts,
according to the tribe, and also the
personal preference OF the wearer'
Some wore both shirts and trousers
with leggings of deerskin. Others
contented themselves with girdle
and apron, with strips OF bright cloths
twisted about them. Nearly every
one had q head-dress Of feathers some
of which reached far down the back.
Many carried strings of seal s at their
belts. Each Indian carried long
spear and q round shield made OF ca 1
or daerskin stretched on a round hoop,
and painted with symbolic designs.
Most of the men wore in ADDITION
strings OF metal ornaments, or in some
cases sleigh bells, which ratified as
they walked.
Tho squaws all wore trousers-not
bloomers, but very frank trousers.
hand 5omely EN- broidered. They had
their hair deliberately done up; and
wore blankets over their shoulders.
Several of them had small round pieces
of looking-glass sewed fast to their
garments, which flushed in the sun
The whole group, when they were ar
ranged in q circle, formed a most start
lug and bizarre spsctacle-the COZ
trast of color being something fear
full; pinks and puppies and blues all in
| the 80 me costume.
| When the music" suddenly ceased,
= big man dressed in d white and red
robe, perhaps medicine man, y
mou tied bench and harapgued the
warriors in some Indian toogue, wav.
ing his stick wildly. He seemed to
be exhorting them to bravery and
daring n the dance that was to fol
low. He concluded with a prolonged
yell.
Then q chief standing within The cir
Gle raised his spear in the air, stepped
forward, the band began to drum and
: TO howl with rcdoubled energy. and
the big Indian pranced alodg, lifting
, his feet and moving his shoulders for
ell the world like a plantation ''darky u
at a cake-w walk. Now he would crouch
low and wave his hands about as If be
were skulking through the woods
, against an unseen foe. Now he would
straig bten up and shake his spear in
defiant fashion. When he had done
his turn another red and yellow saw
age strutted out and pranced along
lust behind him; then another, and
another. until ten or dozen of them
were hopping around and screeching
in a most gratifying and realistic man.
ner.
= The whole number joined in with
tteir encouraging yells, and more and
more Indians entered the ring and
took up the rhy thmic march, until one
could hardly tell which was the be-
ginning of the procession and which
: the end.
After each rest new Indians came in,
until there must have been a couple OF
hundred in the circle; and each re.
newed effort was more vigorous than
the last, until the men seemed to have
every muscle set in their strange prapc O.
ing walk which they call dance.
One old chief carried a cavalry car
bine. and fired this in the air to keeI
up the interest. There was good
deal of monotony in the dance after
the ninth or tenth inning, but still the
band hammered that drum and let loose
their yelps, aud still the braves scalp
ed imaginary enemies, and still the lit
tie Indians capered around among the
legs of their elders. How long the at