ay 
DAKOTA DANCES. 225 
men collect and dance in aring. ‘Their bodies lean forward, and their knees 
are bent accordingly, and thus with a motion up and down, keeping time 
to the drum and the deer-hoof rattle, they dance and sing their almost 
monotonous song, concluding with a shout and the clapping of the mouth 
with the hand. Then some warrior steps out into the middle, and, with 
abundance of gesture, recites some war exploit. This is received with a 
shout, and the dance begins again. Presently, at one of these intervals, 
an old man, sitting outside, makes a speech in praise of the man or the 
people who are expected to make the presents. If the dance is made to a 
trader, he loses no time in sending out tobacco, or powder and lead, or pro- 
visions, or, it may be, all together. If one Indian village is dancing to 
another village, the women hasten to bring their presents of food and cloth- 
ing from the different lodges. Another dance of thanks is made, the pres- 
ents are distributed, and the party breaks up or goes elsewhere. Consider- 
ing that begging dances must be very demoralizing, white men have often 
>) 
been greatly to blame for encouraging them. 
NO-FLIGHT DANCE. 
In the organization of an army and its preparation for effective service 
a large amount of-drill is found necessary. Something very like this, in 
its objects, is resorted to by the Dakota war captain in preparing the young 
men and boys for the warpath. It is called the “No flight dance.” This 
gathers in the young men who have not yet made their mark on the battle 
field, and drills them by the concerted motions of the dance, while, by the 
recital of brave deeds, their hearts are fired and made firm for the day of 
battle. The instructions given are lessons in Indian warfare. 
All this is preparatory to the war prophet’s organizing a party for the 
warpath. But before starting he must propitiate the spirits of evil and 
obtain the help of the gods. This was sought for in a variety of ways, one 
of which was by the ‘*Yumni Wadéipi,” or Circle dance. 
CIRCLE DANCE. 
A preparation for this, and for god-seeking in general, was through 
the purification of the vapor bath or initipi. This finished, the wakan man 
had a tent set for him, joined to which a cirele was made of about forty 
feet in diameter, by setting sticks in the ground and wreathing them with 
willows. Four gateways were left. In the center stood a pole twenty 


'Nape Sni kagapi, literally, They pretend not to flee, 
7105—VoL I1x——15 
