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



Wherever found, the eagle was regarded as sacred among the Indian 

 tribes both east and west, and its feathers were highly prized for orna- 

 mental and "medicine" purposes, and an elaborately detailed ritual of 

 prayer and ceremony was the necessary accompaniment to its capture. 

 Among all the tribes the chief purpose of this ritual was to obtain the 

 help of the gods in inducing' the eagle to approach the hunter, and to 

 turn aside the auger of the eagle spirits at the necessary sacrilege. 

 The feathers most valued were those of the tail and wings. These were 

 used to ornament lances and shields, to wear upon the head, and 

 to decorate the magnificent war bonnets, the finest of which have 

 a pendant or trail of eagle-tail leathers reaching from the warrior's 

 head to the ground when he stands erect. The whistle used in the sun 

 dance and other great ceremonies is made of a bone from the leg or wing 

 of the eagle, and the fans carried by the warriors on parade and used 

 also to sprinkle the holy water in the mescal ceremony of the southern 

 prairie tribes is commonly made of the entire tail or wing of that bird. 

 Hawk leathers arc sometimes used for these various purposes, but are 

 always considered far inferior to those of the eagle. The smaller feath- 

 ers are used upon arrows. Eagle leathers and ponies were formerly the 

 standard of value and the medium of exchange among the prairie tribes, 

 as wampum was with those of the Atlantic coast. The standard varied 

 according to place and season, but in a general way from two to four 

 eagles were rated as equal to a horse. In these days the eagle-feather 

 war bonnets and eagle-tail fans are the most valuable parts of an 

 Indian's outfit and the most difficult to purchase from him. Among the 

 pueblo tribes eagles are sometimes taken from the nest when young 

 and kept in cages and regularly stripped of their best feathers. Among 

 the Caddo, Cherokee, and other tribes of the timbered country in the 

 east they were shot with bow and arrow or with the gun, but always 

 according to certain ritual ceremonies. Among the prairie tribes along 

 the whole extent of the plains they were never shot, but must be cap- 

 tured alive in pitfalls and then strangled or crushed to death, if possi- 

 ble without the shedding of blood. A descripti f the Arapaho 



method will answer with slight modifications for all the prairie tribes. 

 The hunter withdrew with his family away from the main camp to 

 some rough hilly country where the eagles were abundant. Alter some 

 preliminary prayers he went alone to the top of the highest hill and 

 there dug a pit large enough to sit or lie down in, being careful to carry 

 the earth taken out of the hole so far away from the place that it would 

 not attract the notice of the eagle. The pit was roofed over with a 

 covering of light willow twigs, above which were placed earth and grass 

 to give it a natural appearance. The bait was a piece of fresh meat, 

 or, as appears from this song, a piece of tallow stripped from the ribs 

 of the buffalo. This was tied to a rawhide string and laid upon the 

 top of the pit, while the rope was passed down through the roof into 

 the cavity below. A coyote skin, Stuffed and set up erect as in life, was 



