280 



Then they approached again only to make a retrograde movement as 

 before. This they did several times in succession. Then they approached 

 and strutted around the little spot that th3 girl occupied, the clown going 

 through every grimace known to his fraternity. After encircling the 

 patient once, they pranced for a moment while "grandma" sprinkled the 

 sacred meal upon them, l)lowing her breatli in blessing on each one as she 

 sprinkled him. This completed scene one of this act and the men of the 

 gods cantered off into the darkness to go Hirough their religious incanta- 

 tions to drive away the evil spirits, "sick." 



The ghost dancers returned and formed in column facing the west, the 

 sick one being changed on her blanket so that she faced them. They 

 danced up to her feet and then retrograded in a backward movement to 

 the spot where they had first formed the column, gobbling and strutting 

 and waving their arms in imitation of a flying turkey. This they repeated 

 seven times. Then the formost dancer, as he made pose after pose often 

 imitating the actions of a mother quail when protecting her brood, left 

 the column and danced to the feet of thr> dying girl, lie reached her 

 presence, strutted around her, laid the crossed wands on her, blew his 

 breath on them, danced backwards for about twelve feet with medicine 

 wands still crossed, parted tlie wands by a sweeping vigorous movement 

 of the hands in opposite directions, thus sending the evil spirits not into 

 the swine, but to the four winds. He retiu'ued to the patient, placed the 

 wands on her breast, then danced backwards and scattered the evil ones 

 as before. He then placed the crossed wands upon her head, and lastly 

 upon her back, each time performing as above described. His work being 

 completed, he galloped off into obscurity to appear in the next scene. 



The other medicine dancers in succession went through practically the 

 same performance as the first "Cheden" did. Then the clown came. 

 His performing, in addition to his tumbling and rolling around in the dirt, 

 was about the same as that of those who preceded him, except that he 

 did not strut and gobble like a turkey. His acting completed part one of 

 this scene. 



There were three other parts to this scene all of which were similar 

 to the one just described with the exception that the position taken by the 

 actors was different. In part two the sick one faced the southwest, the 

 dancing column the northeast; in part three she faced the northwest, the 

 column the southeast; and in part four she faced the northeast, the 



