Again, the tree, compacted of many parts, suggested how the tribe could be made to stand and become strong.
So it came to pass that as the ancient people looked about and thought on what they saw, they gradually formulated ceremonies and adopted symbols in order to express what they came to believe.

All their rites, their vocations, their pleasures were born, practiced and enjoyed under the arching skies, and were permeated, as by a vital spirit, with an unquestioning consciousness of oneness with nature.
We shall not be false to any great truths that have been revealed to us concerning the world in which we live, if we listen to the olden voice, an unseen heritage of our bounteous land, as it sings of man's unity with nature.

May they who join in these dances and games catch their vital spirit and learn to feel at home with the winds, the clouds, the fields and the woods.
SONG AND DANCE AMONG THE INDIANS THE SONG While studying Indian life and thought through the sharing, as far as possible, of native conditions, I discovered Indian music.

In the loneliness that naturally belonged to my circumstances this discovery was like finding a flower hidden in a tangle hard to penetrate.

I had heard Indians "singing," but the noise of the drum, the singers' stress of voice, so overlaid the little song that its very existence was not even suspected.
Circumstances at length arose, incident to my convalescence after a long illness, when, to give me pleasure, my Indian friends came and sang softly to me, without the drum.