982 THE GHOST-DANCE RELIGION [eth.ann.14 



3d. A-HU'HU HAt.lAlsil 11 BA'HU 



A-liu lin hagciii sti ti ba'hu, 



Ha'geni'sti'ti ba'hu. 



Hii'nisti'ti, 



Hii nisti ti. 



Hi'nisa'nfi, 



Hi'nisa'na — 



Ne'a-i'qaha ii. 



Ne'a-i'qaha'ti. 



Translation 



Thu crow is making a road, 

 He is making a road; 

 He has finished it, 



He has finished it. 



His children, 



His children — 



Then he collected them, 



Then he collected them ii. e., on the farther side). 



The crow (ho) is the sacred bird of the Ghost dauce, being revered 

 as the messenger from the spirit world because its color is symbolic 

 of death and the shadow land. The raven, which is practically a larger 

 crow, and which lives in the mountains, but occasionally comes down 

 into the plains, is also held sacred and regarded as a briuger of omens 

 by the prairie tribes, as well as by the Tlinkit and others of the north- 

 west coast and by the Cherokee in the east. The crow is depicted on 

 the shirts, leggings, and moccasins of the Ghost dancers, and its feath- 

 ers are worn on their heads, and whenever it is possible to kill one, the 

 skin is staffed as in life and carried in the dance, as shown in the pic- 

 tureof Black Coyote (plate cv). At one time the dancers in Left Hand's 

 camp had a crow which it was claimed had the power of speech and 

 prophetic utterance, and its hoarse inarticulate cries were interpreted 

 as inspired messages from the spirit world. Unfortunately the bird 

 did not thrive in confinement, and soon took its departure for the 

 laud of spirits, leaving the Arapaho once more dependent on the guid- 

 ance of the trance revelations. The eagle, the magpie, and the sage- 

 hen are also sacred in the Ghost dance, the first being held in venera- 

 tion by Indians, as well as by other peoples throughout the world, 

 while the magpie and the sage-hen are revered for their connection 

 with the country of the messiah and the mythology of his tribe. 



The crow was probably held sacred by all the tribes of the Algon- 

 quian race. Roger Williams, speaking of the New England tribes, 

 says that although the crows sometimes did damage to the corn, yet 

 hardly one Indian in a hundred would lull one, because it was their 

 tradition that this bird had brought them their first grain and vege- 

 tables, carrying a grain of corn in one ear and a bean in the other, 

 from the Held of their great god Cautantouwit in Sowwani'u, the 

 southwest, the, happy spirit world where dwelt the gods and the souls 



