OCR Text |
Show Com. -5- '.Vhilo the 23 families of Indians who attended the dance this year and the 12 individuals who took part technically ran over us this year and had the dance in spite of us and our orders, still from an industrial viewpoint the dance was prevented this year. Where ths dance usually lasts a week or ten days and often lasted formerly two weeks, it lasted this year about four dajts.. Ey that I•mean the people were together that long. The dance proper has always lasted two days and three night3 with very slight variations on different occasions. But the croud used to collect and for about two weeks, right in the busy part of ths farming season, the farmers could not find a single Indian at his home. Allaattended the dance. The Indians tell me that many years ago an order came to this reservation to stop the Sun Dance. Major Waugh was Agent at that time, and he told the Indians to change the name of the dance from Sun Dance to_Harvest Dance, and go a-head and dance. They did so, and for a few years the dance was known as a Harvest Dance; but it finally became known as the Sun Bancs again.* This year, about all of the Indians remained on thair farms, most of them at work, right through the Sun Dane*? period. Very few families moved to the grounds as usually was the custom nearly all having listened to the order of the Office. Most of yy the Indians waited for their celebration till the white people celebrated the Fourth and all went to those celebrations. The fact that Marshal Hebeker read his telegrams from the Attorney General instructing him to come and stop the dance to some of the more intelligent Indians will have a good effect in convincing them |