606 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY 



cess which they could not otherwise have ventured to count upon. In this grotesque and 

 amusing mode each dancer imitates with his hands alternately the habits of the bear 

 when running and when sitting up upon its feet, its paws suspended from its breast. 



IOWAY SCALP DANCE. 



The frightful Scalp dance* was then announced. All parties, the modest squaws 

 (of whom they had four with them) as well as the men, were arranging their dresses and 

 implements to take part in it. The drums struck up and the splendid Roman Nose led 

 off, waving his two scalps on the point of a lance until he was once around the circle, 

 when they were placed in the hands of a squaw to carry, whilst he wielded his toma- 

 hawk and scalping knife and showed the manner in which his unfortunate enemies had 

 fallen before him. This was probably the first time that the Scalp dance, in its original 

 and classic form, was ever seen in the city of London, and embellished by the presence 

 of real and genuine scalps. 



This exciting scene, with its associations, had like to have been too much for the nerves 

 and tastes of London people; but having evidently assembled here for the pleasure of 

 receiving shocks and trying their nerves, they soon seemed reconciled, and all looked on 

 with amazement and pleasure, whilst they were sure for once in their lives, at least, that 

 they were drawing information from its true and native source. This dance was long 

 and tedious, but when it was finished, it was followed by a deafening round of applause, 

 not of approbation of the shocking and disgusting custom, but of the earnest and sim- 

 ple manner in which these ignorant and thoughtless people were endeavoring to instruct 

 and to amuse the enlightened world by a strict and emphatic illustration of one of the 

 barbarous, but valued, modes of their country. 



The subject and mode of scalping, and of thus celebrating their victories, so little un- 

 derstood in the enlightened world, afforded me an interesting theme for remarks at this 

 time; and when the Indians were again seated and taking a smoke, I took the occa- 

 sion of this complete illustration to explain it in all its parts and meanings, for which, 

 when I had done, I received five times as much applause as I deserved for doing it. 



PIPE OF PEACE OR CALUMET DANCE. 



TJie Pipe of Peace (or calumet) dancelf was the next announced ; and was danced with 

 great spirit, and gained them much applause. At the close of this, their favorite dance, 

 it became peculiarly the privilege of the War Chief to make his boast, as the dance is 

 given only at the conclusion of a treaty of peace between hostile tribes, and at which 



* This barbarous and exciting scene is the Indian mode of celebrating a victory, and is given fif- 

 teen nights in succession, when a war party returns from battle having taken scalps from the heads 

 of their enemies. Taking the scalp is practiced by all the American tribes, and by them all very 

 much in the same way, by cutting off a patch of the skin from a victim's head when killed in bat- 

 tle ; and this piece of skin, with the hair on it, is the scalp, which is taken and preserved solely for 

 a trophy, as the proof positive that its possessor has killed an enemy in battle, and this because 

 they have no books of history or public records to refer to for the account of the battles of military 

 men. The scalp dance is generally danced by torchlight, at a late hour in the night ; and, in all 

 tribes, the women take a conspicuous part in it, by dancing in the circle with the men, holding up 

 the scalps just brought from battle, attached to the top of a pole, or the handle of a lance. 



A scalp, to be a genuine one, must have been taken from the head of an enemy, and that enemy 

 dead. The living are sometimes scalped, but whenever it occurs, it is on a field of battle amongst 

 the wounded, and supposed to be dead, who sometimes survive, but with the signal disgrace of 

 having lost a patch of the skin and hair from the top of their heads. 



■fThc pipe of peace (or calumet) is a sacred pipe, so held by all the American tribes, and kept in 

 possession of the chiefs, to be smoked only at times of peace-making. When the terms of a treaty 

 have been agreed upon, this sacred pipe, the stem of which is ornamented with eagles' quills, is 

 brought forward, and the solemn pledge to keep the peace is passed through the sacred stem by 

 each chief and warrior drawing the smoke once through it. After this ceremony is over, the war- 

 riors of the two tribes unite in the dance, with the pipe of peace held in the left hand, and a s/ie- 

 she-quoi (or rattle) in the right. 



