The Gift Dance

by R. D., Special Correspondent


The Winnebagoes in Wisconsin — The Wa-Shi-Dah, or Gift-Dance, at Ah-Oo-Cho-Kah's, Near The Tunnel.


(2a) “THE TUNNEL,” Wis., Aug. 3 — Last week, the Indians moved from west of The Tunnel up to “Artichoker‘s,” as it is usually called, more correctly Ah-Oo-Cho-Kah’s, or Blue Wing’s. The coming and going of the Indians is somewhat like the flight of the birds; it has an individuality and at the same time a simultaneousness. They come in groups of twos and threes and larger parties, straggling along for several weeks. Some go by rail, a few by wagons, the poorer ones on foot, but the most of them travel on their ponies, for ponies are the principal part of an Indian's wealth. These pony groups are quite striking. The patches of bright color attract one’s eye; the tinkling of bells announces their near approach, and soon a strange cavalcade of “beasties” file in nearer view. The small, shaggy, vicious-looking ponies are loaded with boxes and bundles and blankets and bags until almost concealed. Bestriding one of them is the head of the family, blanketed, leggined, moccasined and hatless; in line is his squaw, shorter, harsher featured, scorning bonnet, her long black hair sometimes hanging to her heels, profuse in beads and ornaments. Behind will be, perhaps, a younger squaw with a papoose on her back, a chubby, little, dusky youngster, stuck up alone on top of a small variety pyramid and holding fast his precious chubby little black pup, pack-ponies with berry-boxes balanced on either side, several colts, and all accompanied by the little young bucks who stride on before or bring up the rear. Such would be the turn-out of a well-to-do Indian berry-picker.

   Having received word that “the dance” was to be held the following day, “the elder” and I followed the line of march seven miles with our ponies and buck-board.

   Ah-Oo-Cho-Kah is an old Indian, well-known and respected through all these parts. He is sedate of countenance and usually wears a long black alpaca coat which gives him much the appearance of a venerable priest. He is the head of a large family and, with a prudent foresight, became years ago a citizen and the possessor of a homestead of 80 acres near the water mill on which he lives in a board and log house. On his farm is a flourishing-looking young orchard and ten acres in crops, cared for by a neighboring white farmer. He and a few other intelligent Indians similarly prudent have been the rallying posts around which the Winnebagoes have gathered and thereby held a foothold, legal and actual, in Wisconsin, the land of their fathers, in spite of all, the efforts to clear them out of the state. But I shall not now enter upon a long story and a vexing question. Perhaps — the red, white and blue. It is “Sherman’s grave” and the flag was placed there by the boys in blue on Decoration day. Sherman was a scout who accompanied his great name-sake, General Sherman, in the storms around Atlanta, on the march to the sea, in the grand review down the avenue, April, 1865. He fought for the union — Sherman was Winnebago.

   “It takes a good many kinds of people to fill up the world,” said the elder as we sat by the side of the square enclosure where the wa-shi-dah, the Winnebago Gift-Dance was in progress. “Who would imagine such a scene scarce ten hours’ ride from Chicago,” he continued. But where, thought I, shall we draw that strangely varying iso-cultured line we call civilization?

   Within the sun-tent in the middle of the enclosure sat fifty dusky Indian braves, comfortably we hope, on their haunches, stowed around the square like the “wall-flowers” at the sea-side hotel. They sat in silent meditations. A drum sounds with a monotonous thumping, a sing-song wail is heard and the dancers come on the boards, two and two, bowing low then moving up and down, their feet keeping a peculiar step, with a slow motion, wild but almost solemn,—then with a few whoops and louder chaunt, circling with the same slow bowing motion around the center-pole; with no abandon to the many whirls of the giddy dance, no fury of the mad war-path they continue five minutes or more and then retire to their places. This band of dancers is eight or ten in number; all young looking Indian bucks, stripped to the waist, decked out with what seems to be the full dress rather undress-suit, for a fancy Indian ball. Their straight, black hair was decked with feathers and streaming ribbons of many colors, their ears were hung with pendant bobs, their faces stained with red, yellow and blue paint, their arms circled with bracelets, their legs with bells, their bodies strung with beads. They wore breech-clouts, finely worked and beaded, fancy leggings and moccasins of equal style, and several carried great eagle-wing fans.

   As the dancers sit, some Indian comes foreward and begins a speech, and he does not do discredit to their reputation for natural oratory; impassive faces grew approving, and wwe could not mistake the Indians “good, good!” encore and the jolly “ha-ha’s” that greeted the talk. By and by, the speaker brings in a string of beads, a blanket, cloth, buckskin, money, or a pony, as the case may be, and, after more talk, gives it to the chosen one. Then the recipient takes the floor and makes a speech, sometimes evidently comical. We have to confess our ignorance in this matter, but we sometimes smiled at this thought: what if they have been rehearsing the great after-dinner talks of the Iroquois and Tammany sachems in the big wigwams in Chicago and New York.

   After this, there was an intermission, and many of the Indians took a stroll in the bushes around. We took in the scene. Some 200 Winnebagoes were camped about in huts and wigwams. The non-participants halted and looked approvingly on. Almost all were arranged in fancy attire, ribbons, sashes, extra-fine (2b) leggings, ornamental shells and bright, burnished metal plates, the latter worn on the breast or face. I had witnessed this sun dance before, but this was evidently a more swell affair, judging by the dress.

   The wa-shi-dah is a gift dance, and seems to be held sometimes to assist the poorer members of the tribes and to correspond to a church donation party or to a charity ball; then again it is sometimes more like a parting “send-off” to friends going away to a distance, especially when the visitors from Nebraska are to return to the reservation, and in this case is responded to by a return dance. It is an “all-day” dance, continuing night and day for one or two days. The squaws take no part but sit or lie in tents opening upon the central sun-tent and so enjoy a box view of the performance.

   With the dancing comes feasting and drinking. Near the tents was a fire with sundry pots simmering over, indicating an Indian stew of some sort. We noticed that the favorite stroll of the dancers at the intervals was to the bushes, but did not at first take the cue. ”I shouldn’t wonder,” said the Indian trader who had come out just to see his old Indian friends, ”if some fellow had a barrel of whiskey hid up there in the bushes. They’re beginning to get pretty full, and to-night they’ll whoop it up like blazes. I shall get away before long, for I’d rather be out of the way when they’re just goin’ it.”

   Yes, some fellow always has a barrel of fire-water around and “Poor Lo” often suffers thereby, as he can sadly tell, even in the good state of Wisconsin.

   The drum and the sing-song wail resume. The wildest, fullest, barest of the bucks executes a shindy and leads in his pony; the other dancers come bowing in and they circle around as before, with variations by the pony. The leader, after a short talk, offers his pony, but he is “heap too full,” as the Indians say, and he can, only by persistence, find one to accept, for his condition and action occasion decided dissatisfaction with the better Indians. The pot has boiled, and the squaws have laid the table,—a blanket covered with a white cloth,—on the ground. It is set with large dishes of meat, plates piled with huge chunks of bread, and big cups of coffee,—no sugar, no milk, no butter,—but still an outlook of crockery and cookery that no hungry man would despise. The dinner call did not need repetition, and the good spirit was not troubled with a long grace. The braves encircled the cloth, seated on their haunches, or standing two or three deep.

   “I've seen ‘em,” said the Indian trader, “clean out a beef and a half in twenty minutes.” In ten minutes their faces shone and their fingers found a napkin of nature’s providing, in the bountiful locks on their heads. Then the squaws had their turn, and the dogs looked out for some bits.

   To the bushes! So goes the wa-shi-dah dance, and talk and give and eat and drink. They are generous, often lavish in their gifts. Ouns-Spinkaw, or Good Bear, the one who controls the present dance has given two ponies, and an Indian last year summed up his gifts as: “a pony, twenty dollars in money, beads and a role of buckskin,”—perhaps, seventy-five dollars for friends and charity.

   The drum sounds, the wail resumes. It grows monotonous. Let the ponies step along.


Commentary

"Wa-Shi-Dah" — this word, wašíra, means merely "the dance."

"Gift-Dance" — this is known as the Herušga. Here it is well worth reprinting in its entirety what Paul Radin has to say about this dance:2

The Herucka is a social dance and is frequently given when visitors from other tribes are present, presents being given on this occasion. Men and women take part in it and are generally dressed in their best clothes. A few customs that were noticed at a performance in 1908 might be mentioned here.

If a man drops anything during the dance he himself may not pick it up. Only a warrior who has been wounded has the right to do so. The object dropped is returned to the owner, who, however, must always give it to his sister or niece.

It is at times customary for a man to dress himself in rags and beg for food, etc. He generally represents himself as an extremely  poor man and pictures his destitution in a manner best calculated to amuse everyone.

Wagers of horses are very commonly made at this dance.

The dances indulged in are mainly victory dances and the songs known as Herucka songs are always victory songs. Many borrowed songs are sung at this dance.

A large drum is always used, around which sometimes as many as 10 drummers sit. The drum consists of an ordinary tub over which skin has been tightly drawn. It is supported by two carved sticks, to which it is firmly attached, so that the bottom is about a foot from the ground. It is painted in the following manner: Two rather narrow lines of paint across the center of the drum, one blue and the other green. The portion of the drum next to the yellow line is painted blue, and that next to the blue line red. No meanings for the colors were obtained.

Google
The Tunnel

"The Tunnel" — a railroad tunnel just west of Tunnel City. "The Milwaukee Road constructed possibly the first tunnel in Wisconsin—and the first of several near Tunnel City in Monroe County—in 1861. The railroad used this tunnel until 1874, replacing it two years later with another that’s still in use today."1 The original tunnel of 1861 collapsed. The present 1876 tunnel entrance is at coördinates 44.007918, -90.573882.

"Ah-Oo-Cho-Kah" — for ’Āhúcogá, from ’āhú, "wing"; co, denoting a color that spans the spectrum from green to blue; and -ga, a definite article used in personal names.

   
André Ulysses De Salis  
A Black Alpaca  

"alpaca coat" — the use of the fur of this South American animal for clothing appears to have first established itself in England, whence it soon spread to Canada, where the Farr Alpaca Company was the leading producer. That company moved to Massachusetts in 1874, and its business boomed.3 When this article was written in 1883, black alpaca coats were very stylish and popular.

"Decoration day" — a day set aside to memorialize those who fell during the Civil War. The first official Decoration day was held on May 30, 1868. When this article was written in 1883, most veterans of the war were in their 40s, and only about 20 years had past since the Great Rebellion. After many subsequent wars, and the dying off of the Civil War generation, the day became devoted to all those who had died in service to the country. Consequently, Decoration day increasingly came to be called "Memorial Day," and was coded into law as such in 1971.

"Tammany sachems" — this is a reference to notorious white politicians of the day. The Society of St. Tammany, or Columbian Order, was founded in 1786 in New York City as a brotherhood and charitable organization with strong political ties to the liberal parties of the day. It championed nativism and democracy, and in keeping with this motive, their leaders were entitled "sachems." The society became ever more political, and were instrumental in the success of Jefferson's campaign for the presidency. They acquired a meeting house called "Tammany Hall," which in time became synonymous with the Democratic Party of New York City. The society very rapidly became corrupt as its leaders were elected to political offices. In 1836, the Grand Sachem, Martin van Buren, was elected President of the United States. However, the most famous Grand Sachem was “Boss” William M. Tweed who plundered New York City of $200 million. In 1883, when this news article was published, Tammany Hall was still strong and corrupt in New York politics, despite the fact that Boss Tweed had died in prison back in 1878.

"Poor Lo" — this odd expression was a humorous play on words from a poem by Alexander Pope in 1732:4

Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutor'd mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind

Here "lo" means "alas," but was humorously reinterpreted to refer to a particular Indian named "Lo." The expression "Poor Lo," came to be used for Indians generally.

"shindy" — a word meaning, "fracas, uproar." 

"Ouns-Spinkaw" — for Hų̄cpįga, from hų̄c, "bear"; , "good"; and -ga, a definite article used in personal names.

An 1883 $20 Gold Piece

"seventy-five dollars" — calculating by inflation, $75 in 1883 would be worth $2,200 in today's currency. This gives us some sense of the scope of generosity involved in the Hōcąk welfare system.


Notes to the Commentary

1 Doris Green, Wisconsin Underground: A Guide to Caves, Mines, and Tunnels in and Around the Badger State (Black Earth, Wisconsin: Trails Books, 2000) 98.
2 Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe (Washington DC: the 37th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1915-1916) 384.
3 Alpaca Unlimited > Alpaca Fashion in 19th Century America (electronic text), viewed: 1.2.2025.
4 Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Man," in The Complete Works of Alexander Pope, ed. Bliss Perry [Boston; Houghton Mifflin Co., 1903], p. 139.


Source

R. D., Special Correspondent, "An Indian Pow-wow," Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin): Thursday, 9 August 1883, p. 2.