Post by kingsleybray on Jan 20, 2009 11:30:27 GMT -5
I just found online a very interesting eyewitness account of the Oglala Sun Dance held at Red Cloud Agency in late July 1874. We get a description of an Omaha Dance in the agency compound, a list of chiefs present, an account of a visit to Red Cloud's tipi, and an interesting visit to the Sun Dance arbor - apparently during the war dances held on Day 3 of the ceremony (according to the JR Walker version of the ceremony). This was July 28, with the climactic day of piercings to be held on the following day. A pity that the visitors didn't stay.
The source: EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
IN AN AMBULANCE.
BY
LAURA WINTHKOP JOHNSON.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
1889.
Copyright, 1889, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Viewable online at www.archive.org/stream/eighthundredmile00johnrich/eighthundredmile00johnrich_djvu.txt
[p. 57] "The next day we drove over to the
agency, eager to see the Indian dance
that had been promised us. The place
consists of several government and pri-
vate buildings surrounded by a stockade.
When we arrived a large number of In-
dians were already there, mostly squaws
and children, mounted on ponies and
dressed in their gayest blankets and
embroideries. Their ponies are very
pretty, small, gracefully-formed horses,
not clumsy as we had expected. The
mantles of the squaws were of deer-
skin, but covered entirely with beads,
58 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
the groundwork of deep sky-blue ones,
with gay stiff figures in brilliant colors.
They were gracefully cut, somewhat like
a " dolman," and had a rich, gorgeous
effect in the crowd. Most of them wore
necklaces of "thaqua" the quill-like
white shell which is brought from the
Pacific, and serves them for small change
and heavy ear-rings of the same shells
a quarter of a yard long. Their ears
were slit from top to bottom to hold
these great ear-rings ; sometimes they
wore two pairs, with heavy mother-of-
pearl shells at the end of each. The
necklaces covered the whole chest, like
a bib or a breastplate. The parting of
their long black hair was painted red,
and their cheeks daubed with red, yel-
low, and blue. Most of them had flat
faces and flat noses ; very few were in
IN AN AMBULANCE. 59
the least good-looking. Hundreds were
waiting outside the gates, among them
some half-breed boys.
Soon the braves began to come in.
With a glass we could see great numbers
of them winding out of the hills from
their hidden camps, well mounted and
flashing with bright arms and gay trap-
pings. It was a strange, wonderful
scene of motion and color, with the
gray, unchangeable desert and the pale
walls of the buttes for a background.
The men came crowding, tearing in at
a great pace, and soon we could see the
dancing-party dashing along in all their
feathers and war-paint, an inconceivably
wild, savage cavalcade. On they rushed,
beating a great drum in solemn cadence,
shouting, blowing fifes, and firing their
pieces into the air. There was as much
60 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
noise as on a Fourth of July. We had
to stand back to let them pass, for there
was a scene of the wildest confusion as
they all, horse and foot, rushed pell-mell
into the stockade, followed closely by the
squaws and children on their spirited
ponies. It was a piece of real savage
life. Following after them, we went up
into the second story of the agent's
house, where we could look down upon
the barbaric crowd. The squaws made
a brilliant circle all round the inside of
the enclosure, gay as a terrace of flowers.
About fifteen men squatted round the
big drum, which must have been five or
six feet in diameter, and began a weird
song, interspersed with grunts and yells.
It had a measured cadence, but not a
semblance of music. Meanwhile the
braves who were to join in the dance
IN AN AMBULANCE. Ql
formed themselves into two circles of
about thirty men each, and the rest sat
upon their horses, looking imperturbable.
The principal chiefs did not join in the
dance, and two or three came up into
the room where we were.
The dresses of the dancers were varied
and splendid. Most of them wore the
usual trousers or Indian leggings of
blue cloth, cut off below the hips, with
another cloth for the loins, and those
that had no trousers had their legs
painted. Embroidered blankets of blue
or red cloth, moccasins, belts, tobacco-
pouches, and cases for scalping-knives,
all beaded, with glittering arms and
tomahawks, hung about them every-
where, but the chief piece of finery was
the war-bonnet, and a tremendous show
it made. A turban of fur or scarlet
62 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
cloth went round the head, adorned
with tall eagles' feathers in a crown,
such as we see upon the wooden figures
before cigar-shops, and from this hung
down a long piece of scarlet cloth about
a quarter of a yard wide, and long
enough to trail on the ground a yard
or two behind. This was ornamented
with a fringe of eagles' feathers on each
edge, like the backbone of a fish, and
as it waved about nothing could be more
superb. The savage dandies were evi-
dently proud of their appearance, and to
say that they were " got up regardless of
expense" was simply a fact, for their
wardrobes must have cost considerable
sums, half a dozen ponies at least.
Standing in a circle, they danced, shout-
ing and singing. It was a slow meas-
ured step, but no more like dancing than
IN AN AMBULANCE. @3
their singing was like singing. Another
gorgeous circle was formed on the other
side of the stockade, and both parties
kept up this weird dance with great
gravity. One young fellow laughed,
twisted about, and conducted himself a
little like a harlequin. All held the
hands upon the haunches and bent for-
ward. This was called an Omaha dance.
After a while all stopped dancing, and
one of the squad of chiefs rode into the
circle and began to relate his experi-
ence, while at every pause the emphasis
was given by a strange roll of the drum.
He was telling some savage exploit, the
interpreter said, against the Pawnees.
The crowd applauded with wild grunts
and savage cries. Then the circle rose
and danced again, then another chief
spoke, and so on, some on foot and some
64 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
on horseback, till one whom we had
selected as the most grotesque horror of
the whole came into the circle. He
-was painted all over a greenish rhubarb
color, like a stagnant pool ; his chin was
blue, his face was streaked with red.
He wore a very short shirt of deerskin
with a very deep fringe of black horse-
hair. Though sans culotte, his legs were
painted with red and blue hands on
the rhubarb ground; all over his horse
were these red and blue hands and red
stripes, and the beast had a red mane
and tail. This villain, who had a most
appropriate name, unmentionable to ears
polite, completed his charms with a great
pair of blue goggles. The red stripes
upon his horse signified how many
horses he had taken ; the red hands, the
jmmber of prisoners.
IN AN AMBULANCE. Qfr
The names of these fellows, as trans-
lated for us by the interpreter, were odd
enough. Besides the great chiefs, Eed
Cloud and Spotted Tail, there were Red
Dog, Red Leaf, Red Horse, Little Wound,
White Crane Walking, Man Afraid of
(Losing) his Horses, Crow that don't
like Water, Man who Sings in the Long
Grass, Turkey Legs, Lone Horn, Sitting
Bull, Spider, Yellow Bear, Blue Horse,
Two Strike, White Crow, Long John,
Friday, Face, Hand, Man that Sleeps
under the Water, Man that Looks the
Sun Blind, Wish, Three Bears, Blue
Tomahawk, White Thunder, etc., etc.
These Indians were Sioux of the wildest
kind, about as savage as any there are.
Our lives were in their hands, and they
were well mounted and well armed.
Still, we were safe enough so near the
6*
QQ EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
camp, for they are very prudent and
never attack unless they are five to one.
Besides, they have rations given them
every ten days by government, and they
don't quarrel much with their bread and
butter. In fact, they are paupers, and
we are all taxed to support them and
the army, which is more than necessary
as a police to keep them in order. When
the dance was half over about twenty
soldiers came into the gate and produced
quite a panic among the squaws and
children, who shrieked with terror and
rushed towards the larger gate. The
braves did not think it the correct thing
to show any fear.
One might live a thousand years at
the East and never see anything so
wonderful as this dance; it is impos-
sible to give a true idea of its life and
IN AN AMBULANCE. 67
color. It was the real thing, not a
theatrical or Cooperesque imitation. All
was new to us, and we were probably as
new and strange to most of our enter-
tainers. Many crowded round us with
evident curiosity, desiring to shake
hands with us and to say " How ?
Kola?" (friend). Those who could
speak a few words of English plied us
with questions as to our ages, the rela-
tionships that existed between us, whose
squaws the ladies were, and whose were
the little blond-haired children. Cer-
tain articles of finery seemed to be
greatly valued among them, such as red,
white, and blue umbrellas, like those
used as signs in our cities ; patchwork
and Marseilles quilts ; orange shirts and
green dresses ; pink and pearl shells ;
little bells ; small mirrors ; and beads
68 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
about four inches long made of fine
pipe-clay. These beads cost a dollar and
a half each, and are made especially for
them in one place in Massachusetts.
They wear them in rows of twenty or
thirty on the breast, making quite an
expensive necklace.
The dance lasted, perhaps, two hours.
After all were tired presents were
brought and laid upon the ground, con-
sisting of hard-tack, calico, etc. All
through the dance the wind was blow-
ing the dust about in clouds, and the
Indians held their blankets and fans
of eagles' feathers to their eyes. Sev-
eral wore blue goggles, we knew not
whether for use or beauty.
We remained four days at Ked Cloud,
where the officers and traders did every-
thing they could to make it pleasant for
IN AN AMBULANCE. QQ
us. Our stay was prolonged by waiting
for the Sun Dance, a sort of movable
summer festival, which was expected to
begin at any moment. The weather
was cool, the situation of our little camp
pretty and pleasant. One of our amuse-
ments was to visit the trader's store, in-
spect the odd collection of Indian goods,
and make purchases for gifts. We
bought gay calicoes, cloth, mirrors, bells,
umbrellas, paint, and shells. Returning
one day to camp we met old Red Cloud
and his family in their own carriage, a
large carry-all or ambulance. He had
been to call upon us with some of his
squaws and children. He alighted and
greeted us good-humoredly, shook hands
all round, and said "How? Kola?" to
each. He is a big, middle-aged Indian,
with rather a good face, and was dressed
70 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
in a blue flannel shirt and trousers,
blue blanket, and black felt hat with
an eagle's feather. He is of larger,
heavier build than most of the Indians,
who do not appear very tall or muscular,
especially the young ones. They are
wiry and agile, but it is probable a
white man of active habits would be
more than a match for an Indian. Cap-
tain S told us that he had a hand-
to-hand tussle with one of them soon
after the war, when he was still weak-
ened by long confinement in Southern
prisons. Having dropped his pistol in
falling down hill, an Indian rushed out
at him, but he managed to hold the
savage and prevent his using his knife
till a soldier came up to help him.
The first ball ever given at Camp
Robinson was in our honor, and a very
IN AN AMBULANCE. 71
bright little party it was. As no build-
ing of any kind existed in camp, and
the weather was dry and fine, a large
space of ground was covered with can-
vas pegged down, and that was our ball-
room. The bower of pine branches
made an excellent supper-room, the
tents of course were our dressing-rooms,
and the orchestra consisted of two fid-
dles. What though they gave but a
weak, uncertain sound in the vast spaces
of the desert ? What though the figures
were of a kind unknown before ? What
if some splendid Chinese lanterns made
of newspapers were our grandest illu-
mination ? We had the full moon pour-
ing her yellow light over us, and who
has not seen the moonlight of the desert
knows not what that planet can do.
Our supper consisted of " sang-
72 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
widges," biscuits, and a salad composed
of something mysterious and horrible,
"big medicine" probably, as this was
Indian land. But was there not plenty
of coffee, claret-cup, and champagne?
The temperature was perfect, the traders
and their wives honored us with their
presence, and the ball at Red Cloud was
a grand success.
At last the Sun Dance was announced.
The great medicine pole was erected,
crowds of Indians were arriving, and
we went to their camp on the morning
of July 28 to see the show. The camp
was a large one, covering a great space,
with hundreds of tepees or tents and
thousands of Sioux. Great herds of
ponies of every color were feeding out-
side. The Indians were said to be un-
armed, and our officers were requested
IN AN AMBULANCE. 73
to be so. Of course all had pistols, and
we saw plenty of bows, knives, and
tomahawks in the camp, and muskets
too, loaded only with powder perhaps,
but there was a great popping of that.
The soldiers were not allowed to be
present at the dance. The camp was
a new and singular scene, with its vast
number of tall conical tents arranged
in an irregular circle, its gayly-dressed
crowds, its savage life and motion. Each
tent had its soup-kettle, where the little,
plump, smooth-skinned dogs of a pecu-
liar breed, which they raise for the
table, were supposed to be boiling, and
each had its medicine pole crowned with
a bundle of gay rags and red and blue
streamers. Inside the bundle was some-
thing sacred, supposed to be the entrails
of animals, a sort of charm or fetich to
74 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
preserve from evil. Some of us had a
fancy to taste the dog soup, which smelt
quite savory, but none was offered us.
Our first visit was to the tepee of old
Ked Cloud, for of course we must re-
turn his call. It was large and high,
twenty feet in diameter at least, conical,
and shaped like a Sibley tent. Around
the inside edge was arranged the family
wardrobe, neatly folded and laid away
in handsomely-painted bags of dressed
skins, which are their Saratoga trunks.
Next these we sat, upon beautiful blank-
ets and skins spread on the ground.
There were twenty or thirty of our
party, men, women, and children, and
nearer the door six or eight chiefs with
several squaws and an interpreter.
There were Ked Cloud, Eed Leaf, Ked
Dog, Sitting Bull, and Spotted Tail.
IN AN AMBULANCE. 75
All were handsomely dressed except
Spotted Tail, a fat, villanous-looking
old fellow in a dirty brown calico shirt
and a shabby blanket. On inquiring
the reason we were told he was in
mourning. Yet he had no crape, jet
beads, or mourning jewelry, not even
a black-edged pocket-handkerchief!
A little conversation took place
through the interpreter ; a speech was
requested from Red Cloud, but he
bowed, smiled, looked foolish, and de-
clined. None of the other chiefs would
speak. We were getting rather bored
when some one proposed that we should
sing. A motley company, representing
East, West, North, and South, Union
soldiers, Mosby's ex-guerillas, belles and
babies, we all joined in the "Lord's
songs in that strange land/' and sang
76 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
"Tramp! tramp!" "John Brown/' the
"Star-Spangled Banner/' "Sweet Home/ 5
and everything else we could think of.
It was not easy to tell whether those im-
passible savages liked the music or not,
but they smiled and looked pleased, and
a crowd came round the outside of the
tent to listen. It is not likely that any
part-singing had ever been heard in
that camp before.
After presenting our gifts we paid a
short visit to Bed Dog in his tepee, and
then proceeded to the great medicine
booth, where the Sun Dance was to take
place. This was a very large circular
wigwam, with an open space in the
middle, the rude germ of an amphi-
theatre. In the centre was a tall medi-
cine pole with gay streamers and its
usual queer, mysterious bundle. Crowds
IN AN AMBULANCE. 77
on foot and on horseback were gathered
within and without and were pouring
in pell-mell, so that we did not see
how we were going to get in, till Red
Cloud, coming up, knocked them to the
right and left and took us to our "re-
served seats," that is to say, gave us
standing-room close by the big deafen-
ing drum. Room it could not be called,
for we were constantly elbowed by the
greasy crowd. An old crier called
Linen Foot kept calling something in
a loud, sing-song tone. Braves were
rushing in, mounted and on foot, shout-
ing, firing off their pieces, and making
a diabolical noise; like demons too they
looked, with little clothing and painted
in the most grotesque manner. Some
had green faces, red breasts,, and horned
buffaloes' heads on top of their own;
7*
78 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
some had one blue leg and one yellow
one, red foreheads, and green chins ;
others of the favorite rhubarb color
were touched up " tastily" with red and
yellow ochre. No horrible combination
of colors could be thought of that was
not there, and with their splendid war-
bonnets, furs, and embroideries the ef-
fect was like a circular bed of gaudy
flowers. Behind us the big drum was
making a fiendish din, and the singing,
shrieking, and yelling went on without
end, while one creature with head cov-
ered whether man or woman we could
not tell was howling a requiem for the
dead.
They danced, not in circles, but in
rows up and down, with the usual step
and chant. Sometimes they would call
out "Hi! hi! hi!" as the savages of
IN AN AMBULANCE. 79
New York do. When one party was
tired they would stand aside and others
would come in, or a circle of mounted
Indians would ride round the pole.
Some of these were very brilliant chiefs,
and among them Sitting Bull who
came proudly in on a beautiful Ameri-
can blood-horse (a black), with shining
arms and trappings of gorgeous colors,
and his war-bonnet of feathers trailing
on the ground was an apparition never
to be forgotten. One young man on
foot, who was painted all over yellow
ochre, with imitation wounds upon his
breast and body, was so handsome,
statuesque, and graceful that it was im-
possible to* believe he could be a full-
blooded Indian. His profile was fault-
less, but his full face, a little flattened,
showed Indian blood. Many half-breeds
80 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
live among the savages and follow their
customs, and this man was probably one
of them. A parchment figure of a man
about eight or ten inches long, a sort of
"paper doll," painted and with a little
scalp-lock on its head, lay near the pole,
and the Indians stamped on it as they
passed and struck it viciously with the
butts of their muskets. We were told
that it was an emblem of their enemies,
and that at first it was put at the top
of the pole and shot down with arrows.
It was, however, white.
It is the custom for these Indians to
give presents to one another at this
dance. One squaw rushed forward with
a shawl and threw it at the feet of one
of the braves, and another squaw ran
in and took it away. The chiefs be-
stowed sticks quite freely upon the
IN AN AMBULANCE. gj
braves, and every one who had a stick
could choose a pony for himself. It is
said that when a chief goes into mourn-
ing he gives away a large number of
his horses and then makes war to steal
some more. The vendetta is a custom
among the Indians, with this difference,
that if they cannot slay the offender,
they kill some one else, red or white.
The manes of the dead must be ap-
peased by slaughter.
After looking on for a couple of
hours in the stifling heat and choking
dust at this strange scene we left the
dance, which was still going on, having
laid our gifts at the foot of the medi-
cine pole. This first day was a sort of
dance of consecration : the real cere-
monies were to come off next day, when
the braves torture themselves to see
82 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
which can endure the most, and the hair
of the children is cut and their ears
slit on arriving at a certain age. It is
not likely that we could have borne to
see much of this, but we wished some
of us to have a glimpse of the horror.
It was decided, however, that our de-
parture from Red Cloud could be no
longer delayed, and what we had al-
ready seen must suffice."
The source: EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
IN AN AMBULANCE.
BY
LAURA WINTHKOP JOHNSON.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
1889.
Copyright, 1889, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Viewable online at www.archive.org/stream/eighthundredmile00johnrich/eighthundredmile00johnrich_djvu.txt
[p. 57] "The next day we drove over to the
agency, eager to see the Indian dance
that had been promised us. The place
consists of several government and pri-
vate buildings surrounded by a stockade.
When we arrived a large number of In-
dians were already there, mostly squaws
and children, mounted on ponies and
dressed in their gayest blankets and
embroideries. Their ponies are very
pretty, small, gracefully-formed horses,
not clumsy as we had expected. The
mantles of the squaws were of deer-
skin, but covered entirely with beads,
58 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
the groundwork of deep sky-blue ones,
with gay stiff figures in brilliant colors.
They were gracefully cut, somewhat like
a " dolman," and had a rich, gorgeous
effect in the crowd. Most of them wore
necklaces of "thaqua" the quill-like
white shell which is brought from the
Pacific, and serves them for small change
and heavy ear-rings of the same shells
a quarter of a yard long. Their ears
were slit from top to bottom to hold
these great ear-rings ; sometimes they
wore two pairs, with heavy mother-of-
pearl shells at the end of each. The
necklaces covered the whole chest, like
a bib or a breastplate. The parting of
their long black hair was painted red,
and their cheeks daubed with red, yel-
low, and blue. Most of them had flat
faces and flat noses ; very few were in
IN AN AMBULANCE. 59
the least good-looking. Hundreds were
waiting outside the gates, among them
some half-breed boys.
Soon the braves began to come in.
With a glass we could see great numbers
of them winding out of the hills from
their hidden camps, well mounted and
flashing with bright arms and gay trap-
pings. It was a strange, wonderful
scene of motion and color, with the
gray, unchangeable desert and the pale
walls of the buttes for a background.
The men came crowding, tearing in at
a great pace, and soon we could see the
dancing-party dashing along in all their
feathers and war-paint, an inconceivably
wild, savage cavalcade. On they rushed,
beating a great drum in solemn cadence,
shouting, blowing fifes, and firing their
pieces into the air. There was as much
60 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
noise as on a Fourth of July. We had
to stand back to let them pass, for there
was a scene of the wildest confusion as
they all, horse and foot, rushed pell-mell
into the stockade, followed closely by the
squaws and children on their spirited
ponies. It was a piece of real savage
life. Following after them, we went up
into the second story of the agent's
house, where we could look down upon
the barbaric crowd. The squaws made
a brilliant circle all round the inside of
the enclosure, gay as a terrace of flowers.
About fifteen men squatted round the
big drum, which must have been five or
six feet in diameter, and began a weird
song, interspersed with grunts and yells.
It had a measured cadence, but not a
semblance of music. Meanwhile the
braves who were to join in the dance
IN AN AMBULANCE. Ql
formed themselves into two circles of
about thirty men each, and the rest sat
upon their horses, looking imperturbable.
The principal chiefs did not join in the
dance, and two or three came up into
the room where we were.
The dresses of the dancers were varied
and splendid. Most of them wore the
usual trousers or Indian leggings of
blue cloth, cut off below the hips, with
another cloth for the loins, and those
that had no trousers had their legs
painted. Embroidered blankets of blue
or red cloth, moccasins, belts, tobacco-
pouches, and cases for scalping-knives,
all beaded, with glittering arms and
tomahawks, hung about them every-
where, but the chief piece of finery was
the war-bonnet, and a tremendous show
it made. A turban of fur or scarlet
62 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
cloth went round the head, adorned
with tall eagles' feathers in a crown,
such as we see upon the wooden figures
before cigar-shops, and from this hung
down a long piece of scarlet cloth about
a quarter of a yard wide, and long
enough to trail on the ground a yard
or two behind. This was ornamented
with a fringe of eagles' feathers on each
edge, like the backbone of a fish, and
as it waved about nothing could be more
superb. The savage dandies were evi-
dently proud of their appearance, and to
say that they were " got up regardless of
expense" was simply a fact, for their
wardrobes must have cost considerable
sums, half a dozen ponies at least.
Standing in a circle, they danced, shout-
ing and singing. It was a slow meas-
ured step, but no more like dancing than
IN AN AMBULANCE. @3
their singing was like singing. Another
gorgeous circle was formed on the other
side of the stockade, and both parties
kept up this weird dance with great
gravity. One young fellow laughed,
twisted about, and conducted himself a
little like a harlequin. All held the
hands upon the haunches and bent for-
ward. This was called an Omaha dance.
After a while all stopped dancing, and
one of the squad of chiefs rode into the
circle and began to relate his experi-
ence, while at every pause the emphasis
was given by a strange roll of the drum.
He was telling some savage exploit, the
interpreter said, against the Pawnees.
The crowd applauded with wild grunts
and savage cries. Then the circle rose
and danced again, then another chief
spoke, and so on, some on foot and some
64 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
on horseback, till one whom we had
selected as the most grotesque horror of
the whole came into the circle. He
-was painted all over a greenish rhubarb
color, like a stagnant pool ; his chin was
blue, his face was streaked with red.
He wore a very short shirt of deerskin
with a very deep fringe of black horse-
hair. Though sans culotte, his legs were
painted with red and blue hands on
the rhubarb ground; all over his horse
were these red and blue hands and red
stripes, and the beast had a red mane
and tail. This villain, who had a most
appropriate name, unmentionable to ears
polite, completed his charms with a great
pair of blue goggles. The red stripes
upon his horse signified how many
horses he had taken ; the red hands, the
jmmber of prisoners.
IN AN AMBULANCE. Qfr
The names of these fellows, as trans-
lated for us by the interpreter, were odd
enough. Besides the great chiefs, Eed
Cloud and Spotted Tail, there were Red
Dog, Red Leaf, Red Horse, Little Wound,
White Crane Walking, Man Afraid of
(Losing) his Horses, Crow that don't
like Water, Man who Sings in the Long
Grass, Turkey Legs, Lone Horn, Sitting
Bull, Spider, Yellow Bear, Blue Horse,
Two Strike, White Crow, Long John,
Friday, Face, Hand, Man that Sleeps
under the Water, Man that Looks the
Sun Blind, Wish, Three Bears, Blue
Tomahawk, White Thunder, etc., etc.
These Indians were Sioux of the wildest
kind, about as savage as any there are.
Our lives were in their hands, and they
were well mounted and well armed.
Still, we were safe enough so near the
6*
QQ EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
camp, for they are very prudent and
never attack unless they are five to one.
Besides, they have rations given them
every ten days by government, and they
don't quarrel much with their bread and
butter. In fact, they are paupers, and
we are all taxed to support them and
the army, which is more than necessary
as a police to keep them in order. When
the dance was half over about twenty
soldiers came into the gate and produced
quite a panic among the squaws and
children, who shrieked with terror and
rushed towards the larger gate. The
braves did not think it the correct thing
to show any fear.
One might live a thousand years at
the East and never see anything so
wonderful as this dance; it is impos-
sible to give a true idea of its life and
IN AN AMBULANCE. 67
color. It was the real thing, not a
theatrical or Cooperesque imitation. All
was new to us, and we were probably as
new and strange to most of our enter-
tainers. Many crowded round us with
evident curiosity, desiring to shake
hands with us and to say " How ?
Kola?" (friend). Those who could
speak a few words of English plied us
with questions as to our ages, the rela-
tionships that existed between us, whose
squaws the ladies were, and whose were
the little blond-haired children. Cer-
tain articles of finery seemed to be
greatly valued among them, such as red,
white, and blue umbrellas, like those
used as signs in our cities ; patchwork
and Marseilles quilts ; orange shirts and
green dresses ; pink and pearl shells ;
little bells ; small mirrors ; and beads
68 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
about four inches long made of fine
pipe-clay. These beads cost a dollar and
a half each, and are made especially for
them in one place in Massachusetts.
They wear them in rows of twenty or
thirty on the breast, making quite an
expensive necklace.
The dance lasted, perhaps, two hours.
After all were tired presents were
brought and laid upon the ground, con-
sisting of hard-tack, calico, etc. All
through the dance the wind was blow-
ing the dust about in clouds, and the
Indians held their blankets and fans
of eagles' feathers to their eyes. Sev-
eral wore blue goggles, we knew not
whether for use or beauty.
We remained four days at Ked Cloud,
where the officers and traders did every-
thing they could to make it pleasant for
IN AN AMBULANCE. QQ
us. Our stay was prolonged by waiting
for the Sun Dance, a sort of movable
summer festival, which was expected to
begin at any moment. The weather
was cool, the situation of our little camp
pretty and pleasant. One of our amuse-
ments was to visit the trader's store, in-
spect the odd collection of Indian goods,
and make purchases for gifts. We
bought gay calicoes, cloth, mirrors, bells,
umbrellas, paint, and shells. Returning
one day to camp we met old Red Cloud
and his family in their own carriage, a
large carry-all or ambulance. He had
been to call upon us with some of his
squaws and children. He alighted and
greeted us good-humoredly, shook hands
all round, and said "How? Kola?" to
each. He is a big, middle-aged Indian,
with rather a good face, and was dressed
70 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
in a blue flannel shirt and trousers,
blue blanket, and black felt hat with
an eagle's feather. He is of larger,
heavier build than most of the Indians,
who do not appear very tall or muscular,
especially the young ones. They are
wiry and agile, but it is probable a
white man of active habits would be
more than a match for an Indian. Cap-
tain S told us that he had a hand-
to-hand tussle with one of them soon
after the war, when he was still weak-
ened by long confinement in Southern
prisons. Having dropped his pistol in
falling down hill, an Indian rushed out
at him, but he managed to hold the
savage and prevent his using his knife
till a soldier came up to help him.
The first ball ever given at Camp
Robinson was in our honor, and a very
IN AN AMBULANCE. 71
bright little party it was. As no build-
ing of any kind existed in camp, and
the weather was dry and fine, a large
space of ground was covered with can-
vas pegged down, and that was our ball-
room. The bower of pine branches
made an excellent supper-room, the
tents of course were our dressing-rooms,
and the orchestra consisted of two fid-
dles. What though they gave but a
weak, uncertain sound in the vast spaces
of the desert ? What though the figures
were of a kind unknown before ? What
if some splendid Chinese lanterns made
of newspapers were our grandest illu-
mination ? We had the full moon pour-
ing her yellow light over us, and who
has not seen the moonlight of the desert
knows not what that planet can do.
Our supper consisted of " sang-
72 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
widges," biscuits, and a salad composed
of something mysterious and horrible,
"big medicine" probably, as this was
Indian land. But was there not plenty
of coffee, claret-cup, and champagne?
The temperature was perfect, the traders
and their wives honored us with their
presence, and the ball at Red Cloud was
a grand success.
At last the Sun Dance was announced.
The great medicine pole was erected,
crowds of Indians were arriving, and
we went to their camp on the morning
of July 28 to see the show. The camp
was a large one, covering a great space,
with hundreds of tepees or tents and
thousands of Sioux. Great herds of
ponies of every color were feeding out-
side. The Indians were said to be un-
armed, and our officers were requested
IN AN AMBULANCE. 73
to be so. Of course all had pistols, and
we saw plenty of bows, knives, and
tomahawks in the camp, and muskets
too, loaded only with powder perhaps,
but there was a great popping of that.
The soldiers were not allowed to be
present at the dance. The camp was
a new and singular scene, with its vast
number of tall conical tents arranged
in an irregular circle, its gayly-dressed
crowds, its savage life and motion. Each
tent had its soup-kettle, where the little,
plump, smooth-skinned dogs of a pecu-
liar breed, which they raise for the
table, were supposed to be boiling, and
each had its medicine pole crowned with
a bundle of gay rags and red and blue
streamers. Inside the bundle was some-
thing sacred, supposed to be the entrails
of animals, a sort of charm or fetich to
74 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
preserve from evil. Some of us had a
fancy to taste the dog soup, which smelt
quite savory, but none was offered us.
Our first visit was to the tepee of old
Ked Cloud, for of course we must re-
turn his call. It was large and high,
twenty feet in diameter at least, conical,
and shaped like a Sibley tent. Around
the inside edge was arranged the family
wardrobe, neatly folded and laid away
in handsomely-painted bags of dressed
skins, which are their Saratoga trunks.
Next these we sat, upon beautiful blank-
ets and skins spread on the ground.
There were twenty or thirty of our
party, men, women, and children, and
nearer the door six or eight chiefs with
several squaws and an interpreter.
There were Ked Cloud, Eed Leaf, Ked
Dog, Sitting Bull, and Spotted Tail.
IN AN AMBULANCE. 75
All were handsomely dressed except
Spotted Tail, a fat, villanous-looking
old fellow in a dirty brown calico shirt
and a shabby blanket. On inquiring
the reason we were told he was in
mourning. Yet he had no crape, jet
beads, or mourning jewelry, not even
a black-edged pocket-handkerchief!
A little conversation took place
through the interpreter ; a speech was
requested from Red Cloud, but he
bowed, smiled, looked foolish, and de-
clined. None of the other chiefs would
speak. We were getting rather bored
when some one proposed that we should
sing. A motley company, representing
East, West, North, and South, Union
soldiers, Mosby's ex-guerillas, belles and
babies, we all joined in the "Lord's
songs in that strange land/' and sang
76 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
"Tramp! tramp!" "John Brown/' the
"Star-Spangled Banner/' "Sweet Home/ 5
and everything else we could think of.
It was not easy to tell whether those im-
passible savages liked the music or not,
but they smiled and looked pleased, and
a crowd came round the outside of the
tent to listen. It is not likely that any
part-singing had ever been heard in
that camp before.
After presenting our gifts we paid a
short visit to Bed Dog in his tepee, and
then proceeded to the great medicine
booth, where the Sun Dance was to take
place. This was a very large circular
wigwam, with an open space in the
middle, the rude germ of an amphi-
theatre. In the centre was a tall medi-
cine pole with gay streamers and its
usual queer, mysterious bundle. Crowds
IN AN AMBULANCE. 77
on foot and on horseback were gathered
within and without and were pouring
in pell-mell, so that we did not see
how we were going to get in, till Red
Cloud, coming up, knocked them to the
right and left and took us to our "re-
served seats," that is to say, gave us
standing-room close by the big deafen-
ing drum. Room it could not be called,
for we were constantly elbowed by the
greasy crowd. An old crier called
Linen Foot kept calling something in
a loud, sing-song tone. Braves were
rushing in, mounted and on foot, shout-
ing, firing off their pieces, and making
a diabolical noise; like demons too they
looked, with little clothing and painted
in the most grotesque manner. Some
had green faces, red breasts,, and horned
buffaloes' heads on top of their own;
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78 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
some had one blue leg and one yellow
one, red foreheads, and green chins ;
others of the favorite rhubarb color
were touched up " tastily" with red and
yellow ochre. No horrible combination
of colors could be thought of that was
not there, and with their splendid war-
bonnets, furs, and embroideries the ef-
fect was like a circular bed of gaudy
flowers. Behind us the big drum was
making a fiendish din, and the singing,
shrieking, and yelling went on without
end, while one creature with head cov-
ered whether man or woman we could
not tell was howling a requiem for the
dead.
They danced, not in circles, but in
rows up and down, with the usual step
and chant. Sometimes they would call
out "Hi! hi! hi!" as the savages of
IN AN AMBULANCE. 79
New York do. When one party was
tired they would stand aside and others
would come in, or a circle of mounted
Indians would ride round the pole.
Some of these were very brilliant chiefs,
and among them Sitting Bull who
came proudly in on a beautiful Ameri-
can blood-horse (a black), with shining
arms and trappings of gorgeous colors,
and his war-bonnet of feathers trailing
on the ground was an apparition never
to be forgotten. One young man on
foot, who was painted all over yellow
ochre, with imitation wounds upon his
breast and body, was so handsome,
statuesque, and graceful that it was im-
possible to* believe he could be a full-
blooded Indian. His profile was fault-
less, but his full face, a little flattened,
showed Indian blood. Many half-breeds
80 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
live among the savages and follow their
customs, and this man was probably one
of them. A parchment figure of a man
about eight or ten inches long, a sort of
"paper doll," painted and with a little
scalp-lock on its head, lay near the pole,
and the Indians stamped on it as they
passed and struck it viciously with the
butts of their muskets. We were told
that it was an emblem of their enemies,
and that at first it was put at the top
of the pole and shot down with arrows.
It was, however, white.
It is the custom for these Indians to
give presents to one another at this
dance. One squaw rushed forward with
a shawl and threw it at the feet of one
of the braves, and another squaw ran
in and took it away. The chiefs be-
stowed sticks quite freely upon the
IN AN AMBULANCE. gj
braves, and every one who had a stick
could choose a pony for himself. It is
said that when a chief goes into mourn-
ing he gives away a large number of
his horses and then makes war to steal
some more. The vendetta is a custom
among the Indians, with this difference,
that if they cannot slay the offender,
they kill some one else, red or white.
The manes of the dead must be ap-
peased by slaughter.
After looking on for a couple of
hours in the stifling heat and choking
dust at this strange scene we left the
dance, which was still going on, having
laid our gifts at the foot of the medi-
cine pole. This first day was a sort of
dance of consecration : the real cere-
monies were to come off next day, when
the braves torture themselves to see
82 EIGHT HUNDRED MILES
which can endure the most, and the hair
of the children is cut and their ears
slit on arriving at a certain age. It is
not likely that we could have borne to
see much of this, but we wished some
of us to have a glimpse of the horror.
It was decided, however, that our de-
parture from Red Cloud could be no
longer delayed, and what we had al-
ready seen must suffice."
, but "thaqua" sounds quite similar to the Chinese term 甲壳 "jiake" (in the Wade-Giles transcription "tchia-k'e"), which means "crust, carapace" and in a broader meaning, "shell". It's not impossible altogether that term somehow arrived in the XIX century US - Chinese, or rather its linguistic variant Cantonese was one of the main components of the lingua franca used in the trading ports of the Pacific area in that same period.