May, 1905. The Cheyenne — Dorsey. 135 



Securing the Sods. 



It was now time for the priests to go after certain pieces of sod 

 to be used in the construction of the altar. Sage-Woman, the wife 

 of the Chief Priest, who had been the constant companion of the 

 Lodge-maker's wife since they had taken up their position in the 

 Sun Dance lodge, erected a small curtain in front of the bed and cos- 

 tumed the Lodge-maker's wife as on the preceding day. When she 

 emerged from behind the curtain it was seen that her face, hands, and 

 body were painted red, and that she wore her buffalo robe and belt. 



Fig. 62. Priests leaving the lodge for the sods. 



Sage-Woman selected from the poles which had been brought that 

 morning for the shelter over the priests a short tipi pole and cut it 

 about the length of the so-called earth-peg, inserted in the willow 

 bundle in the fork of the center-pole on the preceding day. The 

 point of this she sharpened after the manner of a digging stick. This 

 she gave to the Lodge-maker's wife, who started out of the Sun Dance 

 lodge toward the east, followed first by Sage-Woman carrying an 

 axe and then by all the Sun Dance priests. (See PI. XLIIL and Fig. 62.) 

 They went to the east of the lodge and halted at a distance of about 

 a hundred feet, where the priests formed in a simi-circle facing the 

 west, the two women sitting in the center of the half-circle. Big- 

 Baby with an axe cleared the grass and weeds from a rectangular 

 piece of earth about two feet square. The digging stick was handed 

 to the Chief Priest, who touched his finger to the ground, to his tongue, 

 took a bite of root, spat five times toward the stick, and handed it to 

 the Lodge-maker's wife. She and Sage-Woman now had their hands 

 prepared by the Chief Priest. (See PI. XL IV.) Sage-Woman took 

 the two hands of the Lodge-maker's wife and caused them to make 



