798 THE GHOST-DANCE RELIGION [bth.aki.U 



The people came back here anil they got the people loyal to the government, and 

 those not favor of the whites held a council. The agent's soldiers were sent after 

 them and brought Good Thunder and two others to the agency and they were con- 

 fined to the prison. They were asked by the agent and Captain Sword whether they 

 saw the Son of God and whether they hold councils over their return from visit, but 

 Good Thunder refused to say "yes.'' They were confined in the prison for two days, 

 and upon their promising not to hold councils about their visit they were released. 

 They went back to the people and told them about their trouble with the agent. 

 Then they disperse without a council. 



In the following spring the people at Pine Ridge agency began to gather at the 

 White Clay creek for councils. Just at this time Kicking Bear, from Cheyenne River 

 agency, went on a visit to the Arapaho and said that the Arapaho there have ghost 

 dancing. He said that people partaking in dance would get crazy and die, then the 

 messiah is seen and all the ghosts. When they die they see strange things, they see 

 their relatives who died long before. They saw these things when they died in 

 ghost dance and came to life again. The person dancing becomes dizzy and finally 

 drop dead, and the first thing they saw is an eagle comes to them and carried them 

 to where the messiah is with his ghosts. The man said this: 



The persons in the ghost dancing are all joined hands. A man stands and then a 

 woman, so in that way forming a very large circle. They dance around in the circle 

 in a continuous time until some of them become so tired and overtired that they 

 became crazy and finally drop as though dead, with foams in mouth all wet by 

 perspiration. All the men and women made holy shirts and dresses they wear in 

 dance. The persons dropped in dance would all lie in great dust the dancing make. 

 They paint the white muslins they made holy shirts and dresses out of with blue 

 across the back, and alongside of this is a line of yellow paint. They also paint in 

 the front part of the shirts and dresses. A picture of an eagle is made on the back 

 of all the shirts and dresses. On the shoulders and on the sleeves they tied eagle 

 feathers. They said that the bullets will not go through these shirts and dresses, so 

 they all have these dresses for war. Their enemies weapon will not go through 

 these dresses. The ghost dancers all have to wear eagle feather on head. With this 

 feather any man would be made crazy if fan with this feather. In the ghost dance no 

 person is allow to wear anything made of any metal, except the guns made of metal 

 is carry by some of the dancers. When they come from ghosts or after recovery from 

 craziness, they brought meat from the ghosts or from the supposed messiah. They 

 also brought water, tire, and wind with which to kill all the whites or Indians who 

 will help the chief of the whites. They made sweat house and made holes in the 

 middle of the sweat house where they say the water will come out of these holes. 

 Before they begin to dance they all raise their hands toward the northwest and 

 cry in supplication to the messiah and then begin the dance with the song, ••-(/<■ 

 misunkala ceya omani-ye," etc. 



SELWYN'S INTERVIEW WITH KUWAPI 



On November 21, 1890, it was reported to Agent E. W. Foster, in 

 charge of Yankton agency, South Dakota, that an Indian named 

 Kuwapi, from Rosebud agency, was on the reservation teaching the 

 doctrine and ceremony of the Ghost dance. He at once had the man 

 arrested by a force in charge of William T. Selwyn, a full-blood Yank- 

 ton Sioux, who had received a fair education under the patronage 

 of a gentleman in Philadelphia, and who had for several years been 

 employed in various capacities at different Sioux agencies. Selwyn 

 had recently come from Pine Ridge, where he had learned and reported 

 to Agent Gallagher something of the religious excitement among the 



