8 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IV. 



a vow it is said that "hathahiithassehawu" (he selects of the Offer- 

 ings-lodge), the ceremony itself being known as "hassehawu" (of the 

 Offerings-lodge). 



STORY OF THIHAUCHHAWKAN'S VOW. 



The occasion for the actual Sun Dance under consideration in the 

 following pages was a vow made by a man named Thihauchhawkan, a 

 man of about forty years of age, and, as related to me by one of his 

 friends, was as follows: In the autumn of 1900, for reasons which I 

 was not able to learn, the mind of Thihduchhawkan became unsettled, 

 and he attempted to commit suicide. On being asked why he wished 

 to commit suicide he gave no reason; nor has it ever been known by 

 the tribe why he desired to take this step, inasmuch as his married 

 life and his relations with the tribe were believed to be pleasant. 



After his mind had returned to a more normal condition, he 

 informed his friends that some evil spirit, the exact nature of which 

 he did not know, whether man or animal, was troubling him, from 

 time to time, when he would wander away from home. When Thihiuch- 

 hdwkan finally became conscious of his lamentable condition, he made 

 a vow that he would "select the Offerings-lodge." The time of this 

 vow was during a reunion of a small band of Arapaho at Red Hills, 

 in October. First, he only spoke of his desire to make the vow, but 

 did not wish to assume such an important step without due consider- 

 ation. It should also be noted that some time previous to this meet- 

 ing at Red Hills, Thihduchhawkan had made a secret prayer, and 

 Man-Above had told him that if he made the lodge he would be well. 

 At this time he also saw, in a vision, the lodge itself. He also at that 

 time prayed openly: "All chiefs, head men, people of the Arapaho 

 nation — I pray you have mercy on me, that hereafter I shall prosper, 

 that my tipi will last, that my wife, children, and friends will live long, 

 that I will have plenty of food, clothes, and friends." 



The news of this open appeal to the Arapaho people naturally had 

 the etfect of placing them in sympathy with him, and many offered 

 secret prayers that he might recover. The consequence was that at 

 the Red Hills reunion they were prepared for his statement that he 

 had finally made up his mind as to his duty, and that he had made a 

 pledge to perform the ceremony. 



It appears that at times, the mind of Thihduchhdwkan was much 

 affected, while at other times he had no mental suffering, but so often 

 were these recurring periods of mental depression that he had finally 

 realized that he could not get out of his trouble without pledging the 



