moonby] OTHER MESSIAH DELEGATIONS 903 



more than half of the whole body. They were the first of these to take 

 up the dance, and have manifested the greatest interest in it from the 

 time it was introduced among them. 



A number of Caddo first attended the great Ghost dance held by the 

 Cheyenne and Arapaho on the South Canadian in the tall of L890 on 

 the occasion when Sitting Bull came down from the north and inaugu- 

 rated the trances. On returning to their homes they started the Ghost 

 dance, which they kept up, singing the Arapaho songs as they had heard 

 them on the Canadian, until Sitting Bull came down about December, 



1890, to give them further instruction in the doctrine and to '-give the 

 feather" to the seven persons selected to lead the ceremony. From this 

 time the Caddo had songs and trances of their own. the chief priest 

 and hypnotist of the dance being Xishkii'ntu, "Moon Head," or John 

 Wilson. The Caddo and the Delaware usually danced together on 

 Boggy creek. The Wichita and the Kichai, who took the doctrine 

 from the Caddo, usually danced together on Sugar creek about 15 miles 

 from the agency at Anadarko, but manifested less interest in the 

 matter until Sitting Bull came down about the beginning of February, 



1891, and "gave the feather" to the leaders From this time all these 

 tribes went into the dance heart and soul, on some occasions dancing 

 for days and nights together from the middle of the afternoon until the 

 sun was well up in the morning. The usual custom was to continue 

 until about midnight. Cold weather had no deterrent effect, and they 

 kept up the dance in the snow, the trance subjects sometimes lying 

 unconscious in the snow for half an hour at a time. At this time it was 

 confidently expected that the great change would occur in the spring, 

 and as the time drew near the excitement became most intense. The 

 return of the Kiowa delegate, A'piatafi, in the middle of Fel iruary, 1891, 

 with a report adverse to the messiah, produced no effect on the Caddo 

 and their confederates, who refused to put any faith in his statements. 

 claiming that he had not seen the real messiah or else had been bribed 

 by the whites to make a false report. 



About the time that Black Coyote and the others went out to see the 

 messiah in the fall of 1891 the < 'addo and their confederates sent out a 

 delegation for the same purpose. The delegates were Billy Wilson and 

 Squirrel (Caddo), Xashtowi and Lawrie Tatum (Wichita), and Jack 

 Harry (Delaware). Tatum was a schoolboy and acted as interpreter 

 for the party. Like the Arapaho they came back impressed with rev- 

 erence for the messiah, and at once changed the time and method of the 

 dancing, in accordance with his instructions, to periodical dances at 

 intervals of six weeks, continuing for five consecutive days, the dance 

 on the last night being kept up until daylight, when all the participants 

 went down to bathe in the stream and then dispersed to their homes. 

 They were dancing in this fashion when last visited in the fall of 1893. 



The principal leader of the Ghost dance among the Caddo is Nish- 

 ku'ntu. "Moon Head," known to the whites as John Wilson. Although 

 considered a Caddo, and speaking only that language, he is very much 



