1 884-] ^fi account of tJie War Custovis of the Osagcs. 121 



feathers {F"). The standards are held with the feathers facing the 

 west. The rest of the men sit around the tent. Then E selects 

 all the young men who are to sit with the party as warriors, and 

 the adult kettle-bearers, who prepare food for them. Of these 

 latter there are from ten to twenty, no fixed number, and they 

 have a separate camp. Next E selects about six youths who are 

 fast runners, to act as kettle-bearers who give water to the war- 

 riors. The man who cooked for the mourner at the first, and 

 made the small lodge for him, is the leader of the kettle-bearers 

 on his side. 



A man of the Sun-carrier gens is requested to make the drum 

 for the party. He is furnished with the requisite implements, and 

 gets a piece of calico as his pay. In the meantime the Hafika 

 standard-bearers are doing similar things, but in a different order. 

 In the Hafika tent (/>) the man with the seven feather standard 

 (/j sits on the right of the other, who has that with six feathers 

 {K). No. 3 (Z) is on the right of /, and No. 4 (i/) is on the left of 

 K. The adult kettle-bearers and the kettle-bearers who give 

 water are chosen by the holder of the principal standard (/). A 

 Sun-carrier man is hired to make the drum. 



Then follows a dance around the village, while tjie two Sun- 

 carrier men are making the drums. Prior to this dance the men 

 of each party try to get ready and rise to their feet before the 

 others. The mourners, lieutenants and heralds keep at a short 

 distance from the singers and dancers. At each tent (/i and B) a 

 standard is raised. In modern times this is the U. S. flag. ^ 



The principal kettle-bearer on each side carries one of the flags, 

 and he is followed by the rest, including the kettle-bearers or ser- 

 v^ants of both kinds. (See Fig. 5.) After the two parties pass 

 each other, they walk in silence for about fifty yards, when the 

 drums are sounded for another dance. (These drums are prob- 

 ably those which were used at the war tent C, as the new drums 

 are not yet finished.) The dance is accompanied by a war song. 

 Then they go silently as before ; and so on till they arrive at the 

 rear of the village. They sing and dance as they pass each other 

 the second time; and so on till they return to the tents at the west. 

 Then they have a dance, in which they tell what they expect to do 

 when they meet the enemy. This must not be confounded with 

 the bravery dance, which takes place afterward, according to Red 

 Corn. 



