The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-29

charge of the Pole called the seven prin>
| cipal chiefs of the tribe to the saoTed
| tent. These chiefs, ceremonially clad III
! buffalo robes, sat together in the closed
| tent which contained the Pole and smok>
| ed the pipe which was preserved in the
sacred pack They ate food, In crouch
| ing attitude to initiate the posture OF
| the buffalo, but if 4 morsel dropped to
| the ground it was pushed to the fire in
| accordance with the saying, mo man
must take anything ella med by the Pole. e
| Each chief took a reed from a bundle
| and named some man Of valor from his
| tribe The reeds were then given to q
herald who notified the men chosen.
| These in turn brought together poles, one
| from each tent in the tribe, to be useo
| in building a semi circular communal
! lodge which included sort of stage set
| ting for the sacred tent
| The Sacred Poe itself was brought out
from the tent and set up leaning to-
| wards the center of the tribal encamp-
ment. The pipe from the sacred pack
was handed about in a gathering of dig
nitaries which had come together in the
| communal lodge and the seven principal
! chiefs, again drawing cards, named the
heads of families who were not depend
| ent upon relatives for support. These
men, whose names We're shouted out by
the herald, were designated to send, by
the hands of their children, contribu
ton to the ceremonial consisting of the
fattest pieces of buffalo meat, invariably
a special cut called the Te-zhu. If any
one refused to render this offering he
might expect to be struck by lightning,
to be wounded in battle, or to lose a leg
because of splinter in his foot, and the
little Indian messengers came with fear
and trembling in their hearts. Three days
We're spent in gathering the meat, which
was laid in parallel rows before the cere-
monial lodge. Sacred songs were sung
at intervals through the day and night.
If an error was made in the order of
these songs the members of the Honga
would weep, and it was necessary for the
herald to wipe away their tears before
the mistake could be condoned On the
fourth day the Song of the Knife was
! chanted, while the keeper of the Pole cut
! off bits of fat from the collected buffalo
meat and placed them in a wooden bowl
| carried by his wife Another song was
| sung while IS fat was kneaded into the
pigment with which the pole was to be
smeared A buffalo chip was then burned
| with the sweet grass and cedar which
were kept in the pack, and the seven
| sacred arrows of the pack were purified
| in the fragrant smoke. The piece of hide
the leather shield previously described
was removed from the Pole and the seven
| arrows were thrust through the basket
! underneath each arrow requiring it's
special song. If an arrow stuck in the
ground there were shouts of joy, since
| this indicated victory in war or success in
hunting.
| Then the buffalo meat was laid aside
| and four eff1gies of grass and hair, repre-
senting the enemies of the tribe, were
| set up before the Pole PITY me, my
| young men; let me once more complete
| my ceremonies droned the herald as a
| signal to the young men to put on their
/ war paint and attack the effigies. When
! the young men dashed up on horseback
| the people massed at either end of the
| lodge shouted, They have come on ac-
casions with so much realism that the
| chief believed for the moment that an
actual hostile attack had been made.
Four times the young men charged, the
! priests meanwhile pretending to defend
| the effigies; and with this mimic battle
| the ceremony ended
| The lege.d told Miss Fletcher relates
| that the ceremonies of the Pole were for
the purpose of holding the people to-
gether. The Pole had been found when.
| a peace council was being held between
| the Cheyennes, the Arickerees, the Paw
| nees and the Omahas. The son of one
! of the Omaha chiefs came running to his
| father saying that he had seen Won
derful tree of fire with thunder birds
lighting in its branches. The father re-
| piled: Not yet, my son, the compact OF
! peace is not made. Again the son came
with the same story and received the
same answer But when the peace council
! broke up the father went before his
/ head people and said: My son has seen
! a wonderful tree. The thunder birds come
| and go upon this tree, making trail OF
| fire that leaves four paths of burnt grass
| toward the four winds. AS the thunder
| birds light upon the tree it bursts into
! fame and the fire mounts to the top;
I still the tree stands burning, but none
| can. see the fire except by night
| Runners were sent out and confirmed
| the story; and in planned attack ar
| rows were shot into the tree and it was
| cut down and brought in triumph back
| to the camp. Songs were sung to 1t
| for four nights, and a tent was made
| for it, and the chiefs shaped it ana
/ bound about it a basketwork of tWlgs
and feathers for body and called 1t a
human being. 1T has no hair. they
cried, and so a scalp was fastened to its
head Then they painted the Pole and
| set it up before the sacred tent, leaning
! upon its staff, and called the people
| together. You see before you mys-
terry" they said. When we are m trou-
| BILE we shall bring our trouble to him.
L
ings and requests. All your prayers must
| be accompanied by gifts. This Pole be-
| longs to all the people, but it shall be
I in the keeping of one family, and the
| leadership shall be with them. Ii any
| one desires to lead he shall make presents
! to the keepers and they shall give him
! authority After that address the peo-
pie prayed to the Pole for courage and
! trophies of war, and their prayers were
answered.
| Researches made by Miss Fletcher and
|, other ethnoIogists show that the Pole
could not have been cut later than 1873.
II is believed to have come originally
from the region of the Red Pipe quarry
in Southwestern South Dakota. The name
given to it, -ghdhe-ghe, means power
to perform a certain ceremony conferrlng
the mark of honor, and emphasized Miss
Fletcher says, a political change in the
method of choosing chiefs. The Sacred
Pole stood for a new idea-democracy.
But either as a political symbol, as an
chronological specimen, or as the memo
rial of the greatness of an important
tribe of American Indians, it's value
and interest are hardly to be surpassed
by any similar object in this country.
Smart Waists.
Some pretty blouses in the wardrobe
of ri