Songs, Dances, and Ceremonies 157 



Then the leader puts down the stand. The skull is set 

 on it, and the tray on the ground before. The rest sit in a 

 half circle in front. 



The leader then kneels down and addresses the skull 

 thus: "Dog! In the days of our fathers you were the one 

 who dragged the lodge poles from camp to camp. Without 

 you, we could have had no comfortable place in which to 

 sleep. So I will dance and sing in your honor to-night." 



He puts a feather in the dog's head, then dances his best 

 dance, while the rest sing, "Yap-yap, Yap-yap, Yap-yap, 

 Yow-w-w-o" in imitation of a dog barking on a rising scale, 

 finishing with a long howl. 



The leader has now danced to the other end of the half- 

 circle and sits down. 



The next comes and addresses the skull: "Dog! In 

 times of war you were the one who guarded the camp at 

 night. No one could surprise us when you were on watch. 

 Nothing could make you betray us. So I will dance and 

 sing in your honor to-night!" 



He adds a feather and dances his best, while the rest 

 "Yap" the dog chorus. Then he sits at the opposite end 

 of the circle. 



The next comes and says, perhaps "Dog! In the days 

 of our fathers, you were the one who could follow the 

 wounded deer. You made the hunting a success. So I 

 will dance and sing in your honor to-night." He adds a 

 feather or a candy, and dances. (Yap, yap, as before.) 



The next says: "Dog! When I was a httle pappoose, I 

 wandered from the village and fell in the river. No one 

 saw me. I should have been drowned, but you Jumped in 

 and pulled me out. So I will dance and sing in your honor 

 to-night." He adds his contribution and dances. 



The next says, "Dog! You were the one who cleaned 

 up the camp, so we were not troubled with flies." 



