988 THE GHOST-DANCE RELIGION [eth.axx.14 



said that the position of leader of the Hichaa' quthi was a dangerous 

 honor, but the honor was in proportion to the very danger, and there 

 were always candidates for a vacancy. It was one of those offices- 

 where the holder sometimes died but never resigned. The other 

 members of the order carried sticks carved at one end in the rude 

 semblance of a horse head and pointed at the other. In desperate 

 encounters they were expected to plant these sticks in the ground in 

 line in front of the body of warriors and to light beside then) to the 

 death unless a retreat should be ordered by the chief in command. 



The fourth order was called Bitahi'nena or Spear men, and their 

 dance, was called Bitaha'wit. This order came originally from the Ohey- 

 enue. Their duties and peculiar insignia of office were about the same 

 among all the tribes. They performed police duty in camp, when 

 traveling, and on the hunt, and were expected to see that the orders of 

 the chief were obeyed by the tribe. For instance, if any person violated 

 the tribal code or failed to attend a general dame or council, a party of 

 Bitahi'nena was sent to kill his dogs, destroy his tipi, or in extreme 

 cases to shoot his ponies. On hunting expeditions it was their business 

 to keep the party together and see that no one killed a buffalo until 

 the proper ceremonies had been performed and the order was given by 

 the chief. They were regarded as the representatives of the law and 

 were never resisted in performing their duty or inflicting punishments. 

 In war they were desperate wnrriors, equaling or surpassing even the 

 HicMa 1 quthi. Of the leaders of the order, two carried a sort of shep- 

 herd's crook called nn'sa-icha'tha, having a lance point at its lower end; 

 two others carried lances wrapped around with otter skin; four carried 

 lances painted black; one carried a club shaped like a baseball bat, 

 and one carried a rattle made of the scrotum of a buffalo and orna- 

 mented with its hair. In battle, if the enemy took shelter behind 

 defenses, it was this man's duty to lead the charge, throw his rattle 

 among the enemy, and then follow it himself. 



The fifth order was called Aha'kan&na or Crazy men. They were men 

 more than 50 years of age, and were not expected to go to war, but 

 must have graduated from all the lower orders. Their duties were 

 religious and ceremonial, and their insignia consisted of a bow and 

 a bundle of blunt arrows. Their dance was the AhaTca'wH or crazy 

 dance, which well deserved the name. It will be described in another 

 place. 



The sixth was the order of the Wfhf'hiiir'na or Dog men. Their 

 dance was called Hiiliiirn'iru'. They hail four principal leaders and 

 two lesser leaders. The four principal leaders were the generals and 

 directors of the battle. Each carried a rattle and wore about his neck 

 a buckskin strap (two being yellow, the other two black) which hung 

 down to his feet. On approaching the enemy, they were obliged to go 

 forward, shaking their rattles and chanting the war song, until some 

 other warriors of the party took the rattles out of their hands. When 

 forming for the attack, they dismounted, and, driving their lances into 



