The squaws dance around the scalps in concentric circles, in groups of
from four to twelve together, pressing their shoulders against each
other, and at every stroke of the drum raising themselves to their
utmost height, hopping and sliding a short distance to the left,
singing all the time with the medicine men. They keep time perfectly. In
the centre, the scalps are attached to a pole stuck in the ground, or
else carried on the shoulders of some of the squaws. The scalp is
stretched on a hoop, and the pole to which it is attached is several
feet long. It is also covered with vermilion or red earth, and
ornamented with feathers, ribbons, beads, and other trinkets, and
usually a pair of scissors or a comb. After dancing for a few minutes,
the squaws stop to rest. During this interval one of the squaws, who has
had a son, husband, or brother killed by a warrior of the tribe from
which the scalp she holds was taken, will relate the particulars of his
death, and wind up by saying, "Whose scalp have I now on my shoulders?"
At this moment there is a general shout, and the dance again commences.
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