150 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[bull. 61 



fat, and having lighted the pipe, offered it to such of his friends as 

 felt themselves worthy to smoke it. No one who knew himself to be 

 unworthy ever dared to touch the Sun-dance pipe. 



Among the Indians here dealt 

 with camp had to be broken 

 b(>fore the evening of the sec- 

 ond day. The sacred pole and 

 its offerings, the red-painted 

 buffalo skidl, and the bits of 

 white eagle down remained on 

 the prairie. As the last man 

 left the camping ground, he 

 looked back and saw them in 

 their places. Then he left them 

 with Wakai]'tai)ka and the si- 

 lent prairie. 



After the people reached their 

 homos the hojs of the tribe be- 

 gan a cliildish enactment of the 

 Sun dance, which continued at 

 intervals during the entire sum- 

 mer. Boys whose fathers or 

 grandfathers had taken part in 

 the ceremony were given pref- 

 erence m the assigning of parts. 

 Mr. Robert P. Higheagle, the 

 interpreter, stated that he well 

 remembered the gravity with 

 wliich the grandson of an In- 

 tercessor imitated the actions of 

 that official. A fine was exacted 

 from any boy who failed to do 

 his part in the proper manner, or 

 who showed disrespect toward 

 the performance. Whistles in 

 imitation of Sun-dance whistles 

 were made of reeds (see fig. 

 23), the plumy blossom repre- 

 senting the eagle down, and 

 long red and green grasses be- 

 ins: wound around the reed in 



imitation of the porcupine-quiU decoration. 



Through the summer woods the boys sought for wild grapes and 



berries with which to color their bodies and their decorations. 



Fig. 23. Reed whistle used in boys' Sun dance. 



