This was for some time the end of the Ghost dance among the Kiowa, for while some few of the tribes were disposed to doubt the honesty or correctness of the report, the majority accepted it as final, and from that time the dance became a mere amusement for children. The other tribes, however—the Caddo, Wichita, and their allies—refused to accept the report, claiming that Ä′piatañ had been hired by white men to lie to the Indians, and that he had never really seen the messiah, as he claimed. Even the Apache, although in close tribal connection with the Kiowa, continued to hold to the doctrine and the dance.
Note.—Since the above was written and while awaiting publication there has been a revival of the Ghost dance among the Kiowa, brought about chiefly through the efforts of Bi′äñk̔i, Pa′tadal, and others of its former priests. After several times dispersing the dancers and threatening them with severe penalties if they persisted, the agent was finally obliged to give permission, on the earnest request of a delegation of chiefs and head men of the tribe, with the result that in September, 1894, the Kiowa publicly revived the ceremony in a great dance on the Washita, which lasted four days and was attended by several thousand Indians from all the surrounding tribes.
PL. CIX
JULIUS BIEN & CO. N.Y.
GHOST DANCE PAINTING ON BUCKSKIN
EXPLANATION OF PLATE CIX.
The original of this picture was drawn in colored inks on buckskin by Yellow Nose, a Ute captive among the Cheyenne, in 1891. It was obtained from him by the author and is now deposited in the National Museum at Washington. Besides being a particularly fine specimen of Indian pictography, it gives an excellent idea of the ghost dance as it was at that time among the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The dancers are in full costume, with paint and feathers. The women of the two tribes are plainly distinguished by the arrangement of their hair, the Cheyenne women having the hair braided at the side, while the Arapaho women wear it hanging loosely. Two of the women carry children on their backs. One of the men carries the bä′qati wheel, another a shinny stick, and a woman holds out the sacred crow, while several wave handkerchiefs which aid in producing the hypnotic effect. In the center are several persons with arms outstretched and rigid, while at one side is seen the medicine-man hypnotizing a subject who stretches out toward him a blue handkerchief. The spotted object on the ground behind the medicine-man is a shawl which has fallen from the shoulders of the woman standing near.
Chapter XV
THE CEREMONY OF THE GHOST DANCE
In chapter xi we have spoken of the Ghost dance as it existed among the Paiute, Shoshoni, Walapai, and Cohonino, west of the mountains. We shall now give a more detailed account of the ceremony and connected ritual among the prairie tribes.