March, 1905. The Cheyenne — Dorsey. 7 



them now. They come out of the lodge in file, and walk slowly 

 to the Arrow-Keeper's tipi, or the home of the sacred arrows. This 

 tipi always stands out in front of the right wing of the circle. 

 These four men walk slowly toward it and wail on the way. When 

 they reach the Keeper's tipi they halt, and then move four times 

 forwards and backwards, and the fourth time they go into the tipi. 

 The Keeper of the arrows lives in this tipi, and is there when they 

 enter. They sit down and he prays for them, and turns the four 

 medicine-arrows over to these four men. These medicine-arrows 

 are wrapped in red fox skin, tanned with the hair on. The tanned 

 side is turned out, while the hair side is on the inside, next to the 

 arrows. After they receive this bundle these four men come out of 

 the tipi, the leader coming first with the bundle on his left arm, the 

 fox head pointing up. When the four men get outside in front of 

 the Arrow-Keeper's tipi, they stand in file. The leader prays before 

 starting back. Then he proceeds to the sacred lodge, with the other 

 three walking behind him very slowly, and they all wail on the way 

 back. See Plate I. They halt four times on the way. They always 

 enter the sacred lodge from the right' side. As soon as the great 

 medicine-arrows are taken into the lodge the warriors assemble at the 

 back of the sacred lodge. There they decide what society shall 

 keep order that day and that night. No one but the medicine-men 

 are allowed inside of the lodge after the arrows are taken in. When 

 the medicine-men have started to prepare the altar and open the 

 sacred arrows, they notify the warriors, who then start out by twos, 

 with sticks and clubs in their hands. They go through the whole 

 camp, and allow no one to play or make any kind of loud noise. 

 They establish warrior's order. They go by pairs at a distance 

 about one hundred yards apart. They keep on walking until sun- 

 down. Then another set of warriors relieves them for the whole 

 night. In this way they keep order day and night. While these 

 warriors are walking their beat and keeping order, food is served to 

 them three times a day back of the sacred lodge. Some are eating, 

 while others are out on their rounds. No women are allowed outside 

 of the tipis as long as the warriors are out, only men who have to get 

 water or wood are allowed to be out. 



If the medicine-men who are inside of the sacred lodge find that 

 the feathers of the medicine-arrows are in need of repair, they renew 

 them or repair them, but they never renew the wooden shafts of the 

 arrows. The medicine-men claim that the original arrows are not 

 of wood, or else they would not have lasted so long. Others say 

 they must be of wood, for the real Prophet would not have prophesied 



