January i, 1920] 



NATURE 



437 



see them. His reply was very emphatic : "Das ist ja 

 gapz unmoglich ! " I gathered from liis further con- 

 versation that he belonged to the Intelligence Bureau 

 of the Austrian Foreign Office,. and that his work con- 

 sisted in reading such journals. 1 envied him, but 

 could not suppress my feelings of astonishment at 

 his reading such " ganz geheimen Dokumente " in a 

 public restaurant. 



It may be mentioned in conclusion that Germany 

 was much more liberal than Austria about the cir- 

 culation of Entente publications. At least until the 

 later months of the war, it was possible to go into 

 any of the larger cajes of the German cities and 

 enjoy a cup of cofifee-substitute over a copy of the 

 Times, Le Temps, Secolo, and various other news- 

 papers of the .\llied countries. 



Robert W. Lawson. 



The University, Sheffield, December 17. 



Royal Meteorological Society's Phonological Returns. 



With 1920 the phenological returns complete the 

 thirty years, which period is a recognised critical 

 epoch in meteorological records. 



In consequence of the war, our observing stations 

 fell to no in 1918, against the high-water mark of 

 132 in 1914. We are most anxious now to recover 

 lost ground, and would in this respect like to make 

 1920 preparatory to the years to follow. 



A reasonable total would include at least 220 

 stations, an average of twenty onlv for the eleven 

 Meteorological Office districts. .At present we are 

 short of this in all but .South-east England and the 

 Midlands. The six districts forming Scotland, Ireland, 

 and North-east England average onlv 35 each. Wales 

 has two stations only, both in the south-west. 



The observations asked for refer to the blooming of 

 thirteen common flowers and the appearances of six 

 birds and six insects. Other migrant records and notes 

 are also invited, but these are of secondarv import- 

 ance. 



A copy of the observing form and of a recent report 

 will be sent with pleasure^ (the reports so far as they 

 are available) to any readers of Nature who would be 

 interested to help. 



We especially suggest the value for all interested in 

 Nature-study and regional survey classes. 



Inquiries should be addressed to one of us, or to 

 the .Assistant .Secretary, Royal .Meteorological Societv, 

 70 Victoria .Street, .S.W.i. 



H. B. Adames, 



33 Holcombe Road, 



Ilford, Essex. 

 J. Edml-nd Cl.\rk, 



"Asgarth," Purlev, 



Surrev. 



Einstein's Theory and a Mao Analogue. 



I AM grateful to the Director-General of the 

 Ordnance Survey for directing my attention to an 

 inaccuracy in my article in Nature of December 11, 

 p. 375. It was there stated that it is not possible 

 to strain a map of the earth's surface so that all 

 great circles become straight lines. 



This is clearly contrary to the known fact of the 

 central projection. As a matter of fact, the sphere 

 is one of the limited class of surfaces for which it is 

 possible to strain all geodesies into straight lines. 

 For an arbitrary surface this is not • true. The 

 difference between the properties of the sphere and 

 of the general surface gives a fair indication of 

 the geometrical notions at the back of Fiinstein's 

 theory. E. Cvs\i\r,]t.\y., 



NO. 2618, VOL. 104] 



THE SUN DANCE OF THE TETON 

 SIOUX. 

 A S man advances in the scale of culture he loses 

 ■^* his dependence on Nature. The dweller in 

 a modern city relies chiefly on artificial means for 

 his pleasure and comfort, but the American Indian 

 realised that his whole success depended on his 

 co-operation with natural forces. He studied his 

 surroundings and evolved a system of reasoning 

 by which he attempted to explain them. A 

 thoughtful Sioux Indian said to the writer : 

 "When we see the changes of day and night, the 

 sun, moon, and stars in the sky, and the changing 

 seasons upon the earth, with their ripening fruits, 

 anyone must realise that it is the work of someone 

 more powerful than man. Greatest of all is the 

 sun, without which we could not live. The birds 

 and the beasts, the trees and the rocks, are the 

 work of some great power." ' Having recognised 

 a creative power with the sun as its most im- 

 portant manifestation, it was a natural step in 

 native logic to regard the sun with a reverence 

 that is best expressed by the word "worship." 



While the worship of the sun, in various forms, 

 was widespread among the Indians of North 

 .America, the sun dance was a ceremony the 

 observance of which was limited to certain plains 

 tribes. The sun dance among the Snntee Sioux 

 differed in some respects from that of the Teton 

 Sioux, which is herewith presented, but the Under- 

 lying idea is the same. The sun dance was "the 

 first and only religion of the Sioux," and even at 

 the present time it is considered too sacred a 

 subject for ordinary conversation. At the opening 

 of the writer's study a member of the tribe said : 

 " If we were to talk of the sun dance there should 

 be at least twelve persons present, so that no 

 disrespect would be shown, and no young people 

 should be allowed to come from curiosity."' 



The purpose of the sun dance was the public 

 offering to Wakaij'taijka (Great Mystery) of what 

 was strongest in the nature and training of the 

 Indian — namely, his ability to endure physical 

 pain. He did this in fulfilment of a vow made in 

 time of great anxiety or danger, usually when on 

 the warpath. The time of the sun dance was the 

 full moon of midsummer, "when all Nature and 

 even man is rejoicing." Into this joy and beauty, 

 as though to give a greater contrast, the Indian 

 projected his personal suffering. For a month 

 before the sun dance it was customary for the 

 medicine men to "pray for fair weather," singing 

 their songs of magic power, burning sweet grass, 

 and offering their pipes to the sky, the earth, and 

 the cardinal points as they made their petitions. 

 It is said that the oldest men cannot remember 

 the falling of rain during a sun dance. 



From long distances the people came and made 

 their camp in a great circle. 'The dance enclosure 

 was in the centre of this circle, and was about 

 50 ft. in diameter. Around it was erected a shelter 



1 '* Teton Sioux Mu^ic." By Frances Den<more. Bulletin 6t, Bureau of 

 American FthnooRV, Smithsonian Instituiion, Washington, P.C, p. 96. 

 Other direct quotation*, as well as the facts herein presented, are from the 

 same worlc. '1 he Bureau of .\merican Kihnolopy has kindly given per- 

 mission to reproduce the illustrations used in this article. 



