330 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



tniLL. 61 



while the second is a compound word indicating age and experience. 

 One informant said: 



Tlie ^\'hite Ilorso Riders were principally the old warriors. Those older people 

 had a special liking for ])ainting their horses on parades or on the warpath, as by that 

 means they could show that the horse's owner had done some brave deed. They rode 

 white horses for two reasons. They liked the white color, because it was regarded as 

 a genuine color [see pp. 173, 205], and also because a white horse was the only one on 

 which the paint would show well. The usual decoration was a horse's hoofjjrint 

 and a hand, the hand being understood to represent the hand of the enemy. To people 

 wath an understanding the arrangement of these designs told tlie story of the man's 

 brave deeds. (See p. 77, footnote.) 



The parade of the White Horse Riders was greatly admired in 

 the camp. It is said that if the "VMiite Horse Riders came to the 

 tont of a man who had been wounded in war, they fired their guns 

 into the air, whereupon the women of the family cooked a quantity 

 of food and placed it in the middle of the camp circle. The custom 

 was that ''those who had no one to cook for them went and ate 

 this food." 



The songs of the Wliite Horse Riders were favorites among the 

 Sioux, and the words of these songs were often changed. Thus No. 

 225 is a song of this society in which the name Ptesai)'-noi)'pawir) 

 has been substituted for another name. 



No. 123. Song of the White Horse Riders (a) (Catalogue No. 534) 



Sung by Two Shields 



Voice J =66 

 Drum J =66 



Drum-rhythm similar to No. 6 

 -0--0--^-0- -»- -#-.-•- . 





,. ' r f -^1 , 



