At the foot of the pole
stand two boys and two girls.
The two boys represent war: they are painted red, and hold war-clubs in
their hands. The girls have their faces painted with blue clay: they
represent peace.
On one side of the circle a kind of booth is erected, and about twenty
feet from it a wigwam. There are four entrances to this circle.
When all the arrangements for the dance are concluded, the man who
gives the dance emerges from his wigwam dressed up as hideously as
possible, crawling on all fours towards the booth. He must sing four
tunes before reaching it.
In the meantime the medicine men, who are seated in the wigwam, beat
time on the drum, and the young men and squaws keep time to the music by
first hopping on one foot, and then on the other--moving around inside
the ring as fast as they can. This is continued for about five minutes,
until the music stops. After resting a few moments, the second tune
commences, and lasts the same length of time, then the third, and the
fourth; the Indian meanwhile making his way towards the booth. At the
end of each tune, a whoop is raised by the men dancers.
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