20 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IV. 



one brought in by Watdngaa, attached to a slender stick; women 

 friends also brought food. Stepping in front of Hdwkan and facing 

 west, he lifted his right hand upward and prayed, whereupon he passed 

 the pipe and calico to Hawkan. The pipe was placed in front of the 

 skull in the same position occupied by the pipe of Watdngaa, while the 

 calico was placed just at the south of the bundle of wrappings of 

 the Wheel. 



After the usual offering of food, the partaking of the feast, and 

 the smoking of the pipe, the lighting of which at this time was done 

 by H6cheni, Nishnat^yana, holding his child in his arms, sat south of 

 the skull and the movements of the Wheel were made over him, now, 

 however, by Hawkan. His place was then taken by his wife, and 

 similar movements were made over her. 



Hawkan then untied the two pieces of calico from the two sticks 

 and held them together at arms' length in his two hands. The Wheel 

 had in the mean time been placed in position upon its support. 

 Watangaa and his wife and Nishnat^yana, with his wife and child, 

 now formed in line behind the Wheel and the calicoes were passed in 

 front of them by Hdwkan, each grasping with his or her right hand 

 the upper edge of the calicoes. They then in unison held the calicoes 

 over the Wheel, and each uttered a prayer in a low voice. They now 

 placed the calicoes upon and around the Wheel — hence the expression, 

 ''wrapping the Wheel, " 



MIRACULOUS MOVEMENTS OF THE WH^EL. 



In connection with the veneration of the Arapaho for this Wheel 

 the following two short tales, obtained from Watanah (Black-Horse), 

 will prove interesting: 



"At one time a man had by right (of inheritance) this Sun Dance 

 Wheel. He was taken sick and died. The people were still on the 

 hunt when this man died. When the camp broke up to change its 

 location, the people tied this big Wheel to a tipi pole and staked it in 

 the ground over the grave. 



"A party of young men happened to pass by the grave; they saw 

 the pole still standing, but the Wheel was gone. They went to the 

 pole, and below it, on the ground, were bunches of blue beads and four 

 bunches of eagle feathers, all lying in the shape of the Wheel. The 

 stick representing the snake was gone. This stick had crawled out of 

 its attachments of feathers and beads and left them on the ground in 

 their proper positions, the same as you would see the scales left on the 

 ground by a snake. This stick does not represent a poisonous reptile. 



