As the victorious Kiowa warriors approached their home camp after this double pursuit and encounter, they imitated the cry of a wolf, to let their friends know that they had killed some of the Pawnee—designated as "Wolf-people" in the Kiowa language and in the sign language of the plains—and their friends at once formed the circle and began the dance to receive them, as indicated in the figure. The dance performed on this occasion is a peculiar one, with a particularly pleasing song accompaniment.
The scalp dance is called ´daldá-`gúăn, literally "hair-kill dance." Should one of the war party have been killed, all the others go into mourning (dóát) and do not rejoice or paint themselves as they return, even though bringing back a scalp. In this case they hold no dance, but sacrifice the scalp to the sun by "throwing it away" on some hillside. If, on the contrary, they have taken one or more scalps without the loss of one of their own party, they return to camp in full war dress, including their war-bonnets, and with faces painted black, to show that they have killed an enemy. They enter the camp running, to imitate a charge, firing their guns and discharging arrows, to show how they had met and struck the foe; if they approached in silence, they might be mistaken for enemies. Their friends run out to meet them, shouting "Ĭmkágyä´gya!" ("They are coming in triumph!"), and at once commence preparations for the dance. The entry is generally made in the morning, or perhaps just after noon, in order to give plenty of time to prepare for the dance; should they reach the camp late in the evening, the entry is postponed until the next morning. The warriors take the women up behind them on their horses and ride around the circle singing, while the scalps, stretched over hoops and painted red on the inside, are carried at the ends of poles about 6 feet long by other women in the dance; at night a fire is built in the center of the circle. As the interpreter said, in his quaint English, "Everybody very happy time like picnic." No men excepting those of the returned war party engage in the dance, but all the women take part. The dance may continue every afternoon and night for a month, after which the scalp is usually "thrown away" in some unfrequented spot by fastening it to the branch of a tree, or to the end of a pole planted on the hillside, with a prayer offering it to the sun. This act of sacrifice was called pä´ñgun, a word signifying "to give by throwing away."
Fig. 105—Winter 1849—50—Dance over slain Pawnee.
An instance of the employment of buffalo chips among the Crows in ceremonial dances of a warlike character is noted by an officer concerned in the Dakota campaign of 1876. Several officers and men had left camp for a short hunting trip—
Fig. 106—Summer 1850—Chinaberry sun dance.
They were sighted by the Crow scouts at some distance below and mistaken for Sioux, whereupon the latter made a tragical rush for our camp to give the alarm. As they appeared in view across the valley running in single file at a lively speed, occasionally deviating from a direct line to describe a small circle indicating that they had seen an enemy, quite an excitement was aroused in the camp. The soldiers gathered in throngs, while the Crows formed in line, shoulder to shoulder, behind a pile of buffalo chips placed for the purpose and stood there swaying their bodies and singing while the scouts approached. As the leader of the scouts came up he paused to kick over the pile of buffalo chips, which was equivalent to a solemn pledge to tell the truth, then sat down surrounded by his fellow Crows, and after resting a minute or two, told what he had seen (Montana, 1.)
SUMMER 1850
Ä´`gótä K`ádó, "Chinaberry sun dance," so called because held near a thicket of these trees on Beaver creek (P'o P'a) or upper North Canadian river, a short distance above the junction of Wolf creek at Fort Supply, Oklahoma. In the figure the tree above the medicine lodge represents the chinaberry tree with its leaves and berries. No other event is recorded in connection with this summer.