May, 1903. The Arapaho Sun Dance — Dorsey. 15 



lodge of the owner or Keeper, who at the present time is Yahiise. It 

 is his duty to preserve the Wheel inviolably sacred, protecting it from 

 all harm and violence. The Wheel under certain circumstances may 

 be unwrapped from time to time by the Keeper. This is usually done 

 at the instance of some individual who has made a vow, that if the 

 Man-Above will grant him his desire in some particular respect, he 

 will "wrap the Wheel." These vows made to this Wheel differ in no 

 essential respect from those made for fasting in the Sun Dance cere- 

 mony. Many prefer to make the vow, however, to the Wheel, as the 

 Wheel may be wrapped at any time of the year, and as it involves no 

 personal suffering on the part of the one making the vow. 



At the time of the ceremony of wrapping the Wheel the large 

 bundle is brought inside the tipi, where after appropriate performances 

 and songs, the bundle is opened, exposing the Wheel, when prayers 

 and supplications are addressed to it. Before the Wheel is wrapped, 

 a new envelope must be provided, which is placed next to the Wheel. 

 This new wrapper must be furnished by the one making the vow, 

 hence the term, "wrap the Wheel." In keeping of the Keeper of the 

 sacred bundle containing the Wheel, but having no intrinsic relation 

 with the Wheel itself, is a belt, already mentioned, and which was to 

 be required during the Sun Dance ceremony. This belt, though held 

 in high veneration, is not as sacred as the Wheel, and hence may be 

 mislaid or destroyed. Hence the suggestion made by Hdwkan to one 

 of the men of the Star society, as related in the, previous section, to 

 inquire into this matter and see if the belt was in proper condition. 

 Opportunity was afforded for this inquiry on the night following the 

 night just described, when the Wheel was unwrapped by an Arapaho 

 named Pawnee, whose wife had been sick, at which time he had 

 pledged himself to wrap the Wheel. This ceremony was performed 

 on this night in the lodge of Pawnee, whq had furnished the cloth for 

 the wrapping of the Wheel and the food for the feast accompanying 

 the ceremony. It was then found that the belt was gone, and one of 

 the head men of the Star society was detailed to provide another. 



WRAPPING THE WHEEL. 



During the 1902 performance, opportunity, not heretofore offered, 

 was given for observing the method of "wrapping the Wheel," a 

 description of which may not be out of place at this point. This 

 ceremony was performed no less than four times after the erection of 

 the Rabbit-tipi. 



On the evening previous, the Wheel, along with other sacred para- 



