178 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



also blown high in the air, goes to the good spirit. The ashes they 

 are very particular to throw to the fire, and this is ill luck to the 

 bad spirit. The pipe (the Indian's idol and shrine) is to the Paw- 

 nee what the Bible is to the white man, and goes hand in hand 

 with all the principal dances." 



The facts of this paragraph are gleaned from the interesting 

 reports made by Miss Alice C. Fletcher upon her studies of vari- 

 ous Indian tribes : At the Uncpapa festival of the white buffalo, a 

 priest must be present to fill the pipe, a ceremony performed with 

 a ritual of words, and it is believed that should the person saying 

 it make a mistake, or omit a word, he would incur death from the 

 sacrilege. Relating the details of this festival for publication, the 

 narrators seated themselves toward the sunrise, lighted the pipe, 

 bowed to the earth, and passed it, uttering a prayer. In the Elk 

 mystery or festival of the Ogallala Sioux the pipe is introduced, 

 together with little bunches of tobacco rolled in cloth. It figures 

 also in the ghost-lodge ceremony of the same Indians. The pipe 

 dance of the Omahas is an elaborate ceremony which can not here 

 be adequately described. It is sometimes exchanged between dif- 

 ferent gentes of the same tribe, but generally between two tribes. 

 The two " pipes " peculiar to this dance are not pipes at all, but 

 only stems, the pipe-bowls being replaced by the heads of ducks. 

 The stems are hollowed carefully, however, and smoking is some- 

 times simulated, in which cases the symbolism is as binding as 

 when the fumes are present. The perforation of the stems is made 

 quite large, to prevent clogging, which is regarded as a great ca- 

 lamity. Among the Pawnees, if a stoppage occurs in smoking a 

 peace pipe, the bearer loses his life. Only a man who has proved 

 himself valiant in battle, or wise in council, or who has given 

 away horses, can make one of these pipes. The pipes are wrapped 

 in the skin of a wild cat, and the bearing of this roll is a special 

 office. This ceremony, which is accompanied by an elaborate 

 ritual comprising a number of songs, handed down with their 

 archaic words through many generations, was one of the means 

 in ancient times by which possessions were accumulated and ex- 

 changed, and honors counted and received. It seems to symbolize 

 fellowship or kinship. The same dance, with a few minor points 

 of difference, is common to the Omaha, Ponca, Otoe, Pawnee, and 

 Sioux tribes. In their journeys to and fro the dance parties are 

 regarded as peacemakers by all who meet them, because of the 

 presence of the pipes. Should a war party come in sight, the 

 warriors would make a wide detour to avoid the group, even 

 though it belonged to the tribe about to be attacked. 



The investigations of the Rev. J. Owen Dorsey among the 

 Omahas also reveal many survivals of ancient ceremonies which 

 illustrate the sacred characteristics pertaining to the pipe. This 



