May, 1903. The Arapaho Sun Dance — Dorsey. 125 



the painting of the Offerings-lodge. Straight-Old-Man, or Straight- 

 Pipe, had died, and had left some good legends and traditions for 

 the tribe; but the original painting was criticised by Fire-Wood. 

 Finally, after long dispute over the painting, Fire-Wood won, giving 

 the reason that the right hand was the protective element of man, that 

 a man strikes with his right hand, shoots with his right fingers, etc. ; 

 therefore, whenever the tribe overpowers its foe in war, there is a 

 victory in which the black paint is used. When a man gets to be quite 

 old, he wears the black paint together with the red, to show that he 

 has passed many hardships and has become victorious in that sense; 

 that the left hand, being the gentle part of man, and receiving things 

 when given, was the right and proper side for red paint. Red paint 

 meant good will and a weapon against plagues; therefore the painting 

 was changed to be like this: that red was worn on the north or left 

 side and black on the south or right side, and painters began to paint 

 at the southeast corner and continued to the northeast corner, or in 

 other words, in a sunwise circuit. Since that time, when Fire-Wood 

 altered the painting, it has been kept as he arranged it." 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRESENTS. 



The priests and those who were to fast and dance in the cere- 

 mony now formed in line inside the lodge, while Hawkan uttered the 

 following prayer: 



hawkan's prayer. 



"The Father, Man- Above, has promised his blessings and pros- 

 perity. We now feel thankful for this lodge, and pray that the Man- 

 Above will keep these dancers in the straight path, will increase our 

 population, cause us to live in peace." 



All those who had assisted prominently at any time during the 

 ceremony, formed in a large semicircle on the southeast side of the 

 lodge, whereupon, Debithe, acting as grandfather of the Lodge- 

 Maker, distributed presents in return for the assistance of the workers 

 in aiding him to erect the lodge. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRESENTS, 1902. 



After the completion of the altar came the time of the payment of 

 the priests for the work which had been done in the Rabbit-tipi and 

 in connection with the erection of the Offerings-lodge and of the altar. 



It has already been related how the Lodge-Maker, Niwaat, and 

 his associate made the round of the camp-circle collecting goods with 

 which to compensate the priests for their labors in preparing the lodge 



