They prayed to the sun, and they thought that with his yellow eye he saw all things, and that when he desired he went under the ground. Riggs states in Tah-koo Wah-kon (p. 69): Although as a divinity, the sun is not represented as a malignant being, yet the worship given him is the most dreadful which the Dakotas offer. Aside from the sun dance, there is another proof of the divine character ascribed to the sun in the oath taken by some of the Dakotas: “As the sun hears me, this is so.” THE SUN DANCE. § 141. Pond[148] gave an account of the sun dance obtained from Riggs, in which occurs the following: “The ceremonies of the sun dance commence in the evening. I have been under the impression that the time of the full moon was selected, but I am now (1867) informed that it is not essential.” Neither Capt. Bourke (§§ 197-210) nor Bushotter speaks of the time of the full moon. In Miss Fletcher’s account of the Oglala sun dance of 1882,[149] she says: “The festival generally occurs in the latter part of June or early in July and lasts about six days. The time is fixed by the budding of the _Artemisia ludoviciana_.” (See §§ 138, 150.) § 142. Lynd writes:[150] The wiwanyag wacipi, or worship of the sun as a divinity, is evidently one of the most radical bases of Dakota religion. It has a subordinate origin in the wihanmnapi, or dreaming, and is intimately connected with the hanmdepi, or vision hunting. This most ancient of all worships, though it is of very frequent occurrence among the Dakotas, does not take place at stated intervals, as among the old nations of the East, nor does the whole tribe participate in the ceremonies. It is performed by one person alone, such of his relatives and friends assisting in the ceremonies as may deem fit or as he may designate. Preparatory to this, as to all the other sacred ceremonies of the Dakotas, are fasting and purification. The dance commences with the rising of the sun and continues for three days, or until such time as the dreaming worshiper shall receive a vision from the spirit or divinity of the sun. He faces the sun constantly, turning as it turns, and keeping up a constant blowing with a wooden whistle. A rude drum is beaten at intervals, to which he keeps time with his feet, raising one after the other, and bending his body towards the sun. Short intervals of rest are given during the dance. The mind of the worshiper is fixed intently upon some great desire that he has, and is, as it were, isolated from the body. In this state the dancer is said to receive revelations from the sun, and to hold direct intercourse with that deity. If the worshiper of this luminary, however, should fail to receive the desired revelation before the close of the ceremonies, then self-sacrifice