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Show i YOUNG IDE BUCKS. ; JPea Pictnra of the Indians' Wild Fantastic Fantas-tic Dress and Ejd Child Adornments. .! MESSIAH CRAZE GHOST DA1TCE. i A Salt Lake Lady Describes the Squaw's Instinct for Beads and Fine Feathers. If, living right among the Indians I and seeing them every day, you find things that amuse you, isn't it fair to suppose that junt those things will in terest peoplo who havo never been as-t as-t gooialcd with them? When I first canio to Fort Washakie, rny only experience with Indians had i beon with the forlorn-iooking speci- 1 mens of Utes who used to come about I asking for "sug, sug"' and here I ex- I pectcd to find the genuine American in I his original picturesqueness. I But it was summer, and at that sea- I son the savages' idea of beauty in dress I, becomes subservient to his desire for gory in all the minutest detail. The dancers were seated in a large circle, and consisted of about fifty of the young bucks of the tribe, and a few ! young boys. 'J hey were all squatted in a circlo with either blankets or canvas can-vas sheets wrapped around them await- i ing the signal to dance, so wo couldn't see their dancing clothes, but were greatly interested in their ornaments. Feathers and quills stuck all over their heads, the mag pie feather being the most popular. I have been told that Indians will frequently pay two dollars for a single eagle feather, as they prize it so highly, and a turkey tail feather is almost as valuable. Their long hair braided and fastened full of all tho queer thitigs they could tie in and hundreds of bangles on their arms and legs. It was only when the torn torn commenced to sound, and the blankets fell back from their shoulders that you realized with a little frightened gasp, that hero was a handful of "whites" in the midst of 200 or more savages. Yes Indeed they looked savage. Their entire bodies being covered with chalk figures. Some had crescents ami stars drawn on the trunks of tho body and others had lines crossing around their legs, while their faces were made hideously hid-eously ugly with red and blue decorations. decora-tions. Many wore strings of sleigh bells about tho bodies, and all wore long aprons in front and behind that looked like the ends of the war bonnets, being made of feathers and buckskin fringes. I comfort, and you see him in as nearly i the nudo state as he is allowed to as- gume, after tho Indian agencies are es- tabliahed in the country, t When it is warm weather he wears linen leggings that reach to tho knees f and are fastened around tho waist by I! strings, and a loose shirt which meets the leggings that is, if the wind doesn't blow and with moccasins and ft long jl piece of linen about a quarter of a yard wide, which falls both in front and be ll hind almost to the ground. Ho then m has the placid feeling of having satis- N tied the desire for modest attire. Even I beads and ornaments are too warm to a wear, and slight decoration of red chalk 1 seem to be about as much as the savage I can wear for adornment during the I summer season. I As the weather grew colder and frosts came and brought out the bright I, tints of the leaves, it seemed a signal j for richer and warmer tones in dress. fj Then as yon saw him in the distance, I wrapped in his brilliant wool blanket, !' racing towards you on his sturdy little pony, his hair stiffoncd with grease into fantastic shapes with broad marks of red paint on his face and neck, chains : of beads, tiny looking glasses and elk I I teeth about his throat, wide brass bracelets and chains jangling upon his i arms, fur leggings with buckskin i! fringes and handsome beaded mocca- I sins, then only do you realize the claim 1 ha has upon our imagination, and that he is the representative of the last bit of savagery of America. VYou frequently see the young dude bucks sporting beautifully beaded ? saddlebags, stirrups and bridles, but y - such work is getting more rare each ' year, as the trader's store offers more tempting articles than the squaws can ' make, hence what was onco their rcgu- )ar work Is now a pastime. f. The trader's store is their great- con- umsiuo me circle oi dancers, sat inn chiefs and "old men" of the tribe, and still outsido sat the homely old squaws with their big and little pappooses. OH at a little distance was a smaller group, made up of twelve hearty looking look-ing bucks, too fat to dance. I suppose, who were seated around an immense torn torn, an iron tub with a drumhead stretched over it. Just behind them and in a cozy little ring, were some sixteen six-teen or more, pretty young girl soprano singers. When the iuen were tired of beating on the torn tout tho girls would chimo in with them and sing a few phrases. Just ahout this time we were getting very cold, for although we had on our winter wraps, we were still cold, it being be-ing a dull sort of day with no sunshine. The musicians passed the pipe among themselves each taking a long pull. A heavy roll sounded on the torn torn, and all tho dancers got up briskly, evidently evident-ly glad of a chance to warm their chilled frames. D During tho entire dance a queer little jigging step was kept up, and no matter how wild tho gesturing of tho arms, this step was never forgotten for a moment. mo-ment. They made a low, murmuring sound as they moved around tho circle, and frequently put in gestures that were really graceful, with their arms. The drumming on the torn torn became more vigorous, and the dancers added fresh energy to their figures, bending and weaving their bodies and making gestures heavenward, as if they were either imploring aid or vengeance. They would close up to the center of the circle where on a frame of stakes lay a queer looking bundle wrapped in doer skins. We were told it was the sacred pipe, and some said it was meant for a wolf, ' but I don't, think liny one really knows what it was ot what it was lor. It was really impressive when they Would all face the center of the circlo and advance with uplifted arms, making their sounds louder as they went up and softer as they retreated. re-treated. This they did threo times, and then they started on their monotonous circle trot, but varied it by going faster, turnincr suddenly and rroine in oonosite directions. The lender seemed to bo getting weary and faint but tho whole dance seined to bo acted instead of being genuine gen-uine in its intensity. Tho others pressed him forward; some would whirl about and throw up their hands as if they were giddy, and the rest would hold him up. One fell forward on the ground, face downward, arms outstretched. out-stretched. He wished to appear dead, and for a few mom ints lay immovable; but soon he was not able to control his shivering muscles, and his legs and arms chattered like teeth. Then we saw a hue exhibition of will, for he stopped the quivering for fully two minutes, and then it got the better of him. None of the dancers gregating place, and the women will stand for hours leaning with both el j bows on the counters, gazing at the gay f hued calicoes, and making no attempt I to buy until their curiosity has been fully satisfied. An instinct of shopping essentially feminine. The bucks occupy all the chairs and Beats in the vicinity of tho store, even sitting on the floor. Here they smoke and brood in silence, unless one of them discovers something to make a joke about, in the white man or woman who may happen to be, in tho store. A low rumble of chuckling follows the witticism, witti-cism, and then they all take a fresh draw on their pipes. To see these inert slobs of humanity squatted around on tho boxes and ji benches you would hardly think them capable of even a thought of activity, much less preparing for it. i The daily papers say that the Mes- I siah craze started at Bry agency.among j our northern Arapahoes. The only evi- denee that the residents had of it was i aj dance that followed tho visit of Red Cloud, who was here in Septem- l ber. j In reading a description of the Ghost dance, I feel sure that we saw a portion I of it here, danced with moderation, but j not in frenzy. J We had heard for several days that j there was to be a dance, but where or j what kind of a dance, or on what day 1 it would take place, wo could not find j out. It's a little trick the Indians I practice in all their movements secrecy, even in their horse races, which i occur every two weeks, half a mile f from tho military post. They won't 1 tell you when they aro to begin, so you I sit and wait and get so impatient, whilo the Indians among themselves hold the I most lengthhy conHabs as to who shall race first and what tho stakes shall be, and various other details. It reminds you of the Driving Park races of Salt 1 Lake. Iaid the slightest attention to him and after staying there fully iifteen minutes he got up and walked ti his seat wrapping himself up in his blanket which must have given a grateful sensation sen-sation to his icy cold Slosh. Another loft 'the dance and seemed overcome with grief, his shoulders gave great heaves and his hreath came out in sobs. He i a illy deceived nio.for I supposed sup-posed he had hurt himself some way. 1 think he discovered my pity, for when he righted himself he looked up at me with such a roguish look, as much as to say, "I took you in that time." As they had been dancing since morning, this, part of the dance did not last much longer, but closed with a mad and furious fur-ious chase about tho circle. 1 do not wish to see Indians any nearer the war path than I saw them that day, mid as we climbed into the ambulance to come back to the garrison, 1 felt really glad to got away from them, even though I knew that the only sentiment they held toward us was of gratified vanity, to think we had corns so far to see them dance. We left them listening to one of the chiefs, who passed behind them outside the circle, making a very eloquent speech, if gestures and loud talking talk-ing are part of Indian eloquence. elo-quence. There was, apparantly, much apathy among the listeners, i'or they Eaid more attention to the large Hour iscuits that the souaws were busily passing around than they did to tho speaker. lie may have been telling them of the Messiah, and if he was he was not making mak-ing very much of an impression, and unless the Arrapahoes developed more, interest in tho subject than they did that day, we shall not expect to see them go' on the war path. One young Arrapahoe. when asked what he thought of the Pine Kidgo scare, said in evident disgust, "Arrapahoe no tight had enough Sioux all crazy." He was not far from right events show. j Eisabktii Pa rkek, j At last we heard definitely that the J dance was to be held all day on Sunday I and three days afterward at a place on ! tho Wind river called "Nine mile i crossing." We made tip a party from the post, and at 1 o'clock in the afternoon started off to go to the place, which was nine k miles from Fort Washakie. We had an ! ambulance full of people, a two seated government buckboard. and several on ' horseback. , j Never having seen anything of tho j kind, I was afriid we were going to I miss something, but the others assured t me that 1 would see all I cared to seo 1 during tho hour that wo would bo ! thorn. ' . After a rather rough ride ? we came to the place and thought wo must havo been misinforiu- ' ed for not a sign os them could we see. ! ' One of us discovered the white top of a j I teepe across the river, and sure enough ; . trier fording the stream we came upon tlmost two hundred Indians and quite i village of wig warns. As we came up. they seemed to tie laving an interval of rest, so we hart a ideudid opportunity to see their tog- |
