he proceedings are sensational in the extreme.

Of the ghost dance and its serious import, readers of the daily papers
are familiar. Of the war dances of the different tribes a great deal has
also been written, and altogether the dance lore of the American Indian
is replete with singular incongruities and picturesque anomalies.
Dancing with the Indian is often a religious exercise. It involves
hardship at times, and occasionally the participants even mutilate
themselves in their enthusiasm. Some of the tribes of the Southwest
dance, as we shall see later, with venomous snakes in their hands,
allowing themselves to be bitten, and relying on the power of the
priests to save them from evil consequences.

The Indians gamble as if by instinct. On one occasion the writer was
visiting a frontier town just after its settlement. Indians were present
in very large numbers, and in a variety of ways they got hold of a good
deal of money. The newcomers from the Eastern States were absolutely
unprepared for the necessary privations of frontier life. Hence they
were willing to purchase necessary articles at almost any price, while
they were easily deluded into buying all sorts of articles for which
they had no possible need. The Indians, who are supposed to be
civilized, took full advantage of the situation, and brought into town
everything that was of a salable character, frequently obtaining three
or four times the local cash value.

With the money thus obtained they gambled desperately. One Indian, who
boasted of the terrible name of "Cross-Eye," brought in two ponies to
sell. One of them was an exceptionally ancient-looking animal, which had
long since outlived its usefulness, and which, under ordinary local
conditions, could certainly have been purchased for $4.00 or $5.00. A
friendly Indian met Mr. "Cross-Eye", and a conversation ensued as to the
value of the pony and the probable price that it would realize. The two
men soon got angry on the subject, and finally the owner of the pony bet
his animal's critic the pony against $20.00 that it would realize at
least the last-named sum.

With this extra stimulus for driving a good bargain, the man offered his
pony to a number of white men, and finally found one who needed an
animal at once, and who was willing to pay $20.00 for the antiquated
quadruped. "Cross-Eye" made a number of guttural noises indicative of
his delight, and promptly collected the second $20.00.

He had thus