96 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Ibdll. ei 



will fill his pipe and hand it to the other, who will light it and offer it to tne sky and the 

 earth. Then they will smoke together, and after smoking they will be ready to talk of 

 holy things. 



The cutting of the bodies in fulfillment of a Sun dance vow is different from the cut- 

 ting of the flesh when people are in sorrow. A man's body is his own, and when he 

 gives his body or his flesh he is giving the only thing which really belongs to him. We 

 know that all the creatures on the earth were placed here by Wakaij'taijka. Thus, 

 if a man says he will give a horse to Wakaij^taijka, he is only giving to Wakaij^taqka 

 that which already belongs to him. I might give tobacco or other articles in the Sun 

 dance, but if I gave these and kept back the best no one would believe that I was in 

 earnest. I must give something that I really value to show that my whole being goes 

 with the lesser gifts; therefore I promise to give my body. 



A child believes that only the action of some one who is unfriendly can cause 

 pain, but in the Sun dance we acknowledge first the goodness of Wakaij^taijka, and 

 then we suffer pain because of what he has done for us. To this day I have never 

 joined a Christian Church. The old belief wliich I have always held is still with me. 



When a inan does a piece of work which is admired by all we say that it is wonderful ; 

 but when we see the changes of day and night, the sun, moon, and stars in the sky, 

 and the changing seasons upon the earth, with their ripening fruits, anyone must 

 realize that it is the work of some one more powerful than man. Greatest of all is the 

 sun, without which we could not live. The birds and the beasts, the trees and the 

 rocks, are the work of some great power. Sometimes men say that they can under- 

 stand the meaning of the songs of birds. I can believe this is true. They say that 

 they can understand the call and cry of the animals, and I can believe this also is 

 true, for these creatures and man are alike the work of a great power. We often 

 wish for tilings to come, as the rain or the snow. They do not always come when 

 we wish, but they are sure to come in time, for they are under the control of a power 

 that is greater than man . 



It is right that men should repent when they make or fulfill a vow to Wakag^tagka. 

 No matter how good a man may appear to others, there are always things he has done 

 for which he ought to be sorry, and he will feel better if he repents of them. Men 

 often weep in the Sun dance and cry aloud. They are asking something of Wakag^- 

 taqka, and are like children who wish to show their sorrow, and who also know that a 

 request is more readily granted to a cliild who cries. ^ (See p. 185. ) 



We talk to Wakag^taijka and are sure that he hears us, and yet it is hard to explain 

 what we believe about this. It is the general belief of the Indians that after a man 

 dies his spirit is somewhere on the earth or in the sky, we do not know exactly where, 

 but we are sure that his spirit still lives. Sometimes people have agreed together 

 that if it were found possible for spirits to speak to men, they would make themselves 

 known to their friends after they died, but they never came to speak to us again, 

 unless, perhaps, in our sleeping dreams. So it is with Wakaij'taijka. We believe that 

 he is everywhere, yet he is to us as the spirits of our friends, whose voices we can not 

 hear. (See p. 85.) 



My first Sun-dance vow was made when I was 24 years of age. I was alone and far 

 from the camp when I saw an Arikaree approaching on horseback, leading a horse. I 

 knew that my life was in danger, so I said, " Wakaij^tagka, if you will let me kill this 

 man and capture his horse with this lariat, I will give you my flesh at the next Sun 

 dance." 



I was successful, and when I reached home I told my friends that I had conquered 

 by the help of Wakag^tagka and had made a Sun-dance vow. It happened that I 

 was the first who had done this after the Sun dance of that summer, so my friends said 

 that I should be the Leader of the Dancers at the next ceremony. (See p. 102.) In 



1 See Dorsey, James Owen, A Study of Siouan Cults, in Eleventh Rep. Bur. Ethn., p. 435, 1894. 



