THE MEDICINE DANCE. 281 



If the dance progresses to the end of the appropriate 

 time (from one to three days, or until all the dancers have 

 fallen at least once) without a resulting death, the priest 

 proclaims ' good medicine.' The dance ceases, the dancers 

 are feted and caressed, the medicine lodge is taken down. 

 Happiness and congratulation are expressed in every face. 

 The chiefs and warriors, assured of the power and pro- 

 tection of the good god, meet in council to decide 

 upon the programme for the year, which, after ' good 

 medicine,' is always war. 



But it may happen that one or more bodies are brought 

 from the dance which neither paint nor water will revive. 

 There is no need to announce ' bad medicine,' for no sooner 

 is death assured than the whole camp becomes a pandemo- 

 nium. The howls of the men mingle with the shrieks and 

 wails of the women. The dance is broken up. Horses are 

 killed for the use of the dead in the Happy Hunting 

 Grounds. Their widows inflict ghastly wounds on their 

 arms and breasts. The whole camp is a turmoil of con- 

 sternation and mourning. As soon as the last rites for 

 the dead are completed, the bands separate, and each in 

 its own way seeks to escape or avert the wrath of the 

 bad god. 



The power of endurance developed during these 

 dances is simply wonderful. I am assured by persons 

 who claim to know that it is not unusual for some of the 

 warriors to continue the dance for three days and nights 

 without a moment's intermission or particle of nourish- 

 ment. No warrior is ever required to make the medicine 

 dance the second time. 



The last few years, which have been so full of troubles 

 in the Christian world, have not spared the religion of the 

 Indian. More frequent intercourse with the whites has 

 lessened the power of superstitious belief, and in many of 

 the plains tribes the medicine dance is getting into dis- 

 repute. The Cheyennes and Kiowas, however, either 



