The Spartans of the West 23 



Grandmother: let me live long; hold me good and strong. 

 WTien I go to war, give me many ponies and let me count 

 many "coups." In peace, let not anger enter my heart.'" 

 (P. 309.) 



But the best account of the Indian's belief and mode of 

 worship is given to us by Dr. Charles A. Eastman, himself 

 a Sioux Indian; he has written of the things that were his 

 daily life in youth. He says: 



"When food is taken, the woman murmurs a 'grace' as she 

 lowers the kettle, an act so softly and unobtrusively performed 

 that one who does not know the custom usually fails to catch 

 the whisper: 'Spirit partake!' As her husband receives the 

 bowl or plate, he likewise murmurs his invocation to the spirit. 

 When he becomes an old man, he loves to make a notable 

 effort to prove his gratitude. He cuts off the choicest 

 morsel of the meat and casts it into the fire — the purest and 

 most ethereal element." ("Soul of the Indian," 191 1, 

 pp. 47-48.) 



"The first hambeday, or religious retreat, marked an epoch in 

 the life of the youth, which may be compared to that of con- 

 firmation or conversion in Christian experience. Having first 

 prepared himself by means of the purifying vapor bath, and cast 

 off, as far as possible, all human or fleshly influences, the young 

 man sought out the noblest height, the most commanding sum- 

 mit in all the surrounding region. Knowing that God sets no 

 value upon material things, he took with him no offerings or 

 sacrifices, other than symbolic objects, such as paints and 

 tobacco. Wishing to appear before Him in all humility, he 

 wore no clothing save his moccasins and breech-clout. At the 

 solemn hour of sunrise or sunset, he took up his position, over- 

 looking the glories of earth, and facing the 'Great Mystery,' 

 and there he remained, naked, erect, silent, and motionless, 

 exposed to the elements and forces of His arming, for a night 

 and a day to two days and nights, but rarely longer. Sometimes 

 he would chant a hymn without words, or offer the ceremonial 

 ' filled pipe. ' In this holy trance or ecstasy the Indian mystic 

 found his highest happiness, and the motive power of his exis- 

 tence." ("Soul of the Indian," Eastman, pp. 7-8.) 



