ower, and sprang into the circle,
and with wild _abandon_ engaged in the dance. Madly and recklessly he
danced to the monotonous drummings of the wicked old conjurers and
medicine-men, who had been fearful that they were about to lose their
grip upon him. A wild frenzy seemed to have entered into him, and so he
danced on and on until even his hardened, stalwart frame could stand it
no longer, and suddenly he fell upon the ground in a state of
unconsciousness, and had to be carried away to a little wigwam, where on
a bed of spruce branches he was left to recover consciousness when he
might.

Such occurrences among the Indians in their wild state when celebrating
some of their religious ceremonies, such as this devil worship or their
sun or ghost dances, were not at all uncommon. Wrought up to a state of
frenzy, some of these devotees ceased not their wild dancings day or
night, sometimes for three days continuously; and then when utterly
exhausted fell into a deathly swoon, which often continued for many
hours. In this sad plight was poor Oowikapun.

For hours he remained more like a corpse than a living being, in a state
of absolute unconsciousness, and without an apparent movement of either
muscle or limb. After a time the mind began to act, and strange and
distorted dreams and visions flitted through his disordered mind and
troubled him. At first all was confusion and discord. Then there came
to him something more like a vision than a dream, and so vividly was it
impressed upon him that it was never forgotten.

Here it is as told me years after. Oowikapun dreamed that he was one of
a large company of his people who were on a long journey, which all had
to take. It led them over high mountains and trackless plains, along
swift rivers and across stormy lakes, through great forests, where
fierce wild beasts were ever ready to spring upon them, and where
quaking bogs were in the way to swallow up those who were for a moment
off their guard. The company was constantly diminishing as they
journeyed on, for the dangers were so many that death in various forms
was constantly cutting them off. The survivors, full of sadness, and
hurried on by some irresistible impulse, could not stop long in the way.
All they could do was to give those who had fallen a hasty burial and
then join in the onward march.

Darker and darker became the sky, and worse and worse seemed the way;
still they were impelled on and on. They h