60                             HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
For, moving in his fearful might,
Abroad the GoD-begotten strode. Afar, on yonder faint blue mound, In the horizon's utmost bound, At the first stride his foot he set;
The jarring world confessed the shock. Stranger! the track of Thunder yet
Remains upon the living rock.
" The second step, he gained the sand On far Superior's storm-beat strand: Then with his shout the concave rung, As up to heaven the giant sprung
On high, beside his sire to dwell; But still, of all the spots on earth, He loves the woods that gave him birth.— Such is the tale our fathers tell."
After an individual has dreamed in relation to the sun, there are sacred ceremonies. Two persons are the participants, who assume a peculiar attitude. Almost naked, holding a small whistle in their mouths, they look towards the sun, and dance with a strange and awkward step. One of their interpreters remarks, " The nearest and best comparison I can make of them when worshipping, is a frog held up by the middle with its legs half drawn up."
During the continuance of the ceremony, which may last two or three days, the parties fast.
When a Dahkotah is troubled in spirit, and desires to be delivered from real or imaginary danger, he will select a stone that is round and portable, and, placing it in a spot free from grass and underbrush, he will streak it with red paint, and, offering to it some feathers, he will pray to it for help. The stone, after the ceremony is over, does not appear to be regarded with veneration. If visitors request them, they can be obtained.