initial commit of ebook 35952HEADmain

11 files changed, 8282 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/35952-8.txt b/35952-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e54bab1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2716 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by Clark Wissler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
+
+Author: Clark Wissler
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35952]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
+OF
+THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
+OF NATURAL HISTORY
+
+VOL. XVI, PART III
+
+THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS
+
+BY
+
+CLARK WISSLER
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NEW YORK
+PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
+1918
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS.
+
+BY CLARK WISSLER.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The Blackfoot tribes, particularly the Piegan, have been more
+extensively studied than most other Plains Indians. The writer began a
+systematic investigation of their culture in 1903. At that time, the
+only works treating them seriously were those of the younger Henry,
+Maximilian, and Grinnell. There were some good fragmentary articles by
+McLean and Hale. Yet, since we began work on this problem, a number of
+excellent books have appeared. First, the long-forgotten journals of
+Mathew Cocking and Anthony Hendry who went to the Blackfoot country in
+1754 were printed. Then followed McClintock's delightful book, "The Old
+North Trail" and later, Curtis's highly illustrated account of the
+Piegan. Linguistic studies had been undertaken by Tims, but later,
+Michelson, Uhlenbeck, and Josselin de Jong brought out studies of the
+language and some aspects of social organization. Of more popular books,
+the only one to be considered here is Schultz's, "My Life as an Indian,"
+which, though in the form of fiction, is full of true pictures of
+Blackfoot life and thought. One unfortunate thing about all this
+subsequent activity is that it centered on the Piegan and as the
+writer's work was largely with that division before these publications
+appeared, there was no chance to rectify this asymmetry.
+
+The publication of this study of the sun dance has been long delayed in
+the hope that circumstances would permit a more intensive study of the
+ceremony among the Canadian divisions. But the time for making such a
+study has really passed, since those natives who had the knowledge
+essential to an accurate exposition of the sun dance are now dead. It
+seems advisable, therefore, to publish the data as they stand.
+
+The writer saw the Piegan ceremony twice, so that this study is based
+both upon objective observation and discussion with the native
+authorities on the subject. Later, Mr. Duvall checked over the data and
+conclusions with these and other informants. A large series of
+photographs was taken, but the important phases of the ceremony are so
+well shown in the published works of McClintock and Curtis that a
+repetition here is unnecessary.
+
+                                                       CLARK WISSLER.
+
+May, 1918.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                   PAGE.
+
+  PREFACE                                                            225
+
+  THE SUN DANCE                                                      229
+
+  PREPARATION PERIOD                                                 229
+
+  PROGRAM BY DAYS                                                    230
+    First Day                                                        230
+    Second Day                                                       230
+    Third Day                                                        230
+    Fourth Day                                                       230
+    Fifth Day                                                        230
+    Sixth Day                                                        231
+    Seventh Day                                                      231
+    Eighth Day                                                       231
+
+  THE VOW                                                            231
+
+  CEREMONY OF THE TONGUES                                            234
+
+  THE MEDICINE WOMAN                                                 240
+
+  THE PROCESSION TO THE DANCING LODGE                                248
+    The Offering of Cloth                                            249
+
+  THE HUNDRED-WILLOW SWEATHOUSE                                      250
+
+  THE DANCING LODGE                                                  252
+
+  CUTTING THE THONGS                                                 254
+
+  RAISING THE SUN POLE                                               256
+
+  THE WEATHER DANCERS                                                258
+
+  DANCING                                                            260
+
+  SOCIETY DANCES                                                     262
+
+  THE TORTURE CEREMONY                                               262
+
+  SUN DANCE SONGS                                                    267
+
+  THE SUN DANCE CAMP                                                 268
+
+  MYTHOLOGICAL NOTES                                                 268
+
+  THE BLOOD AND NORTH BLACKFOOT                                      270
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+TEXT FIGURES.
+
+  1. The Offering of Human Flesh. Drawn from a native sketch         266
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE.
+
+
+In our earlier paper upon the bundles of the Blackfoot, we have
+concerned ourselves with ceremonial functions in which the ownership and
+chief responsibility, in theory, rested in a single individual. We come
+now to an affair initiated, it is true, by the owner of the natoas
+bundle, but yet a composite of other rituals and functions, each of
+which has a definite place in a program carried out by the whole tribal
+organization. The only trace of a similar tribal participation is in the
+now almost extinct tobacco-planting ceremonies conducted by the beaver
+owners; but here there was no complex of other unrelated ceremonies and
+functions. In short, the sun dance was for the Blackfoot a true tribal
+festival, or demonstration of ceremonial functions, in which practically
+every important ritual owner and organization had a place. Nevertheless,
+there were certain rituals peculiar to it which gave it its character.
+
+Since the plan of this section is to give an ethnological presentation
+of the Blackfoot sun dance, rather than a logically unfolding
+description of the ceremony as seen at a specified time, we shall
+present the general program now and take up later a somewhat analytical
+detailed discussion of the various phases of the ceremony. By this
+method, we shall be able to concentrate our attention upon a single
+ceremonial concept without the distraction arising from contemporaneous
+and intrusive procedures based upon other concepts, for as we shall see,
+this sun dance is a true composite. The following schedule is not given
+as the one observed by the writer, but as the one regarded as proper and
+believed to have been followed before the various divisions of the
+Blackfoot were under the complete domination of the Canadian and United
+States governments.
+
+
+
+
+PREPARATION PERIOD.
+
+
+After making a vow to purchase a sun dance bundle, the woman and her
+husband make the necessary arrangements and perform the prescribed
+rites. This is an indefinite period. At the approach of summer, the
+invitation tobacco is sent to all the bands and the camp circle is
+formed.
+
+
+
+
+PROGRAM BY DAYS.
+
+
+_First Day._ The program opens with moving camp to a site previously
+selected. On the morning of this day, the medicine woman begins to fast,
+which may be taken as the real beginning of the ceremony. If the
+ceremony of "cutting the tongues" has not been previously performed or
+completed, it is now in order. In any event, the father and any male
+assistants he may choose to invite, spend a part of the day in "praying
+and singing over the tongues." A society brings in willows and a
+hundred-willow sweathouse is built.
+
+
+_Second Day._ In the morning, the camp moves again to a site still
+nearer that proposed for the sun dance. A few green boughs of cottonwood
+are kept around the base of the medicine woman's tipi as a sign of its
+sanctity. A sweathouse is made, as on the previous day. "Praying and
+singing over the tongues" continues during the day and evening.
+
+
+_Third Day._ The same as the second day.
+
+
+_Fourth Day._ The camp moves again; this time to the site of the sun
+dance. In the afternoon, the fourth and last hundred-willow sweathouse
+is built and used. The singing continues during the evening in the
+medicine woman's tipi.
+
+
+_Fifth Day._ This is an active day.[1] The various bands cut and drag in
+the poles and green cottonwood boughs to be used in constructing the
+dancing lodge. The center, or sun pole, is selected and brought in with
+the ceremonies pertaining thereto. During the day, the holes for the
+posts are dug and the sides of the dancing lodge put in place and
+prepared for the raising at sunset. A wind-break is erected at the west
+side, facing the forked end of the sun pole. Later in the day, some
+medicinemen take up their stations here to receive offerings to the sun
+and place them on the pole. In the forenoon, the ceremony connected with
+the opening of the natoas bundle begins in the medicine woman's tipi.
+This is completed by the middle of the afternoon when there is a
+procession from the tipi to the wind-break facing the sun pole. The
+thongs for the poles are cut. While these are taking place, some food is
+distributed among the poor people. Those women, who, during the past
+season, promised "to come forward to the tongues" now fulfil their vows
+by public declarations addressed to the setting sun. The pole raisers
+then approach from the four quarters, erecting first the sun pole and
+then the rafters, with as much speed as possible. The medicine woman
+then returns to her tipi and the father with his male companions goes
+into a sweathouse.
+
+
+_Sixth Day._ In the morning, a booth is erected in the dancing lodge for
+the medicinemen, or weather dancers. Later in the day, they approach,
+with processions made up of their respective bands, and take their
+places in the booth. At various times during the day, they dance to the
+sun. People also come up to be painted and prayed for. As a rule, the
+medicine-pipes are brought out for these men to bless and smoke. During
+the afternoon, the "digging dance" occurs, when the fireplace is made
+and the fire kindled.
+
+
+_Seventh Day._ People still come to be painted or prayed for by the
+medicinemen. Later in the day, the dancing of the societies begins.
+
+
+_Eighth Day._ The dancing may continue on this day; otherwise, camp is
+broken and the bands go their several ways. The dancing may continue
+several days, there being no definite time for closing the ceremony.
+Indeed, to the Blackfoot mind, the really vital part of the ceremony
+closes on the evening of the fifth day. The dancing of the societies is
+free to take its course as the various organizations see fit. In former
+times, however, it was customary to break camp any time between the
+seventh and tenth days.
+
+According to our information, the four camps of the medicine woman was
+the rule in olden times and a hundred-willow sweathouse was made at each
+camp. In recent times, but two moves seem to have been made; the first
+day marking the move from the regular home camp to the temporary one
+where the second day is also spent. But one of the hundred-willow
+sweathouses is now made--the one on the third day. Also, where formerly
+they used the ordinary type of sweathouse, at the close of the fourth
+day, the men now return to the hundred-willow sweathouse. The time then
+was "when the service berries are ripe", perhaps August, instead of
+Fourth-of-July week, as in recent years.[2] Even the fast is much
+abbreviated, usually but of two days' duration.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [1] As in many other cases, there is a difference of opinion as to
+  what was, or is, the correct schedule. Some maintain that the timber
+  and sun pole are brought in on the fourth day and the fifth day given
+  over to the erection of the dancing lodge only. This is, however, a
+  matter of no great moment.
+
+  [2] See Grinnell, George Bird, _Blackfoot Lodge Tales_ (New York,
+  1903), 264, for program.
+
+
+
+
+THE VOW.
+
+
+The most important functionary in the Blackfoot sun dance is a woman,
+known among the whites as the medicine woman, and upon a clear
+comprehension of her functions and antecedents depends our understanding
+of the ceremony itself. Accordingly, we shall proceed with as complete
+an exposition of her office as the information at hand allows. In the
+first place, a sun dance cannot occur unless some woman qualifies for
+the office. On the other hand, it was almost inconceivable that there
+should be a summer in which such a qualification would not be made. This
+attitude of our informants implies that public opinion had sufficient
+force to call out volunteers against their own wills. There was a
+feeling that an annual sun dance was, from a religious and ethical point
+of view, necessary to the general welfare, for which some individual
+ought to sacrifice personal comfort and property to the extent required
+by custom. As we shall see later, this was no small price to pay for a
+doubtful honor. This feeling was sure to express itself in the subtle
+ways peculiar to Indian society, if need be, to the direct suggestion of
+a candidate who in turn felt impelled to come forward as if prompted
+entirely from within.
+
+As a rule, however, the woman qualifies by a vow. Oftimes, when a member
+of the family is dangerously ill, one of the women goes out of the tipi
+and raising her eyes to the sun calls upon it that health may be
+restored to the ailing one. In such an appeal she offers to make gifts
+to the sun, usually specifying that she will sacrifice a piece of cloth,
+a dress, a robe, an ax, etc., which are after a time, provided the sick
+one improves, hung in trees or deposited upon a hill. Such appeals are
+still made with great frequency. It is believed that unless the woman
+has been industrious, truthful, and above all, true to her marriage
+vows, her appeal will not be answered. Sometimes, when the woman
+addresses the sun she promises to be the medicine woman at the next sun
+dance. She herself may be ill and promise such a sacrifice in case she
+receives help. Again, she may, out of gratitude for the satisfactory way
+in which her prayers have been answered, announce her intention to take
+this step. In such a case, a formal announcement is made to the sun. In
+company with a man, usually a medicineman experienced in the ceremonies,
+she steps out into the camp, where they face the sun whom the man
+addresses, explaining that as this woman asked for help in time of need
+and that inasmuch as it was granted, she in turn promises to be the
+medicine woman at the first opportunity. Some such formal announcement
+is made in every case where the prayers have been answered. By this
+formality, the vow receives public registry.
+
+As indicated above, the prayers are not always granted. In such cases,
+the promises are not only not binding, but to proceed with the sun
+dance, or to take a secondary part in it, would be to the detriment of
+all concerned. The fault is said to lie in the woman's life and that
+only the wrath of the sun would be invoked by her participation in the
+ceremonies.
+
+It may be asked if a man can make such a vow. He may and does often call
+upon the sun, promising gifts of property or even scalps and may
+promise to furnish the material support for a wife, mother, sister, or
+in fact any woman who will come forward to perform the ceremony. Thus, a
+Blood chief once told us that he had been very ill all winter; that he
+had tried all kinds of doctors without relief, until he was stripped of
+all his property. At last, he recovered and then made a vow that with
+the help of his wife he would give the sun dance. This he did, but, as
+he expressed it, "with great difficulty because he was then poor and did
+not receive adequate help from his relatives."
+
+Again, it must be noted that women who do not feel equal to the
+responsibility of the medicine woman's office, make a vow to announce
+publicly their virginity or faithfulness to their marriage vows, as the
+case may be, though for an unmarried woman to make such a pledge is the
+exception. This is spoken of as "the going forward to the tongues," the
+full meaning of which will appear later. The manner and occasion of
+making this vow are in most respects similar to the preceding. At a
+certain stage of the sun dance proceedings, all the women who made such
+a promise to the sun, come forward and make their statements subject to
+the challenge of any man present. This bears some resemblance to the
+virginity tests of the Dakota, but applies more particularly to married
+women and marital virtue than otherwise.
+
+Naturally, the number of women making promises of this kind was much
+greater than for the more important ceremony. Thus, we have a custom of
+calling upon the sun in time of need which is an almost universal
+practice, a more restricted form of such appeal peculiar to women in so
+far that sexual morality is a necessary qualification, the more specific
+vow of "going forward to the tongues", and the exceptional vow to
+perform the medicine woman's functions at the sun dance, a fair
+illustration of the way in which most complex folk ceremonies are
+supported by a pyramid of less and less differentiated practices.
+
+In passing, it should be noted that when the vow is made to perform the
+medicine woman's functions, it is literally an obligation to purchase a
+natoas bundle, or if already the owner of a bundle, to perform its
+ritual.[3] A woman may own more than one of these bundles at a time;
+indeed, we have heard of a woman purchasing new ones at several
+successive sun dances. This purchase is a fundamental feature in all
+bundle ceremonies to which the sun dance bundle offers no exception.
+
+On the other hand, the vow means more than the mere purchase of a
+bundle. We are told that the requirement as to virtue holds strictly for
+the vow and the tongue ceremony. A woman can buy a natoas in the
+ordinary sense and have it transferred with the ritual even though
+she has not been true to her husband. We are reminded that
+Scabby-round-robe's wife[4] was not true to her former husband and that
+when her husband received a beaver bundle there went with it a natoas
+and accessories; but that while she could use them by virtue of her
+relation to a beaver bundle, she was not competent to make a vow and
+initiate a sun dance.[5] This is consistent with the tradition that the
+natoas was once bought from a beaver bundle by a woman who gave the sun
+dance for that year and used instead of a wreath of juniper as in former
+ceremonies. It also throws some light on the relation of the natoas to
+the beaver and the sun dance rituals.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [3] This series, volume 7, 215.
+
+  [4] This series, vol. 2, 83.
+
+  [5] For example, we were told that some few years ago the widow of
+  Spotted-eagle took the part of the medicine woman and borrowed a
+  natoas from the mother of Curly-bear. Recently (1911), the latter
+  died. Then the former claimed the natoas on the grounds that she had
+  paid full value for it at the time and that she had now the most right
+  to it. Curly-bear consented. Then, after an interval, this woman
+  transferred it to the wife of ---- who made no vow to give the sun
+  dance, for it was generally known that the reputation of the new owner
+  permanently disqualified her for the function of medicine woman.
+
+
+
+
+CEREMONY OF THE TONGUES.
+
+
+While it is obvious from the preceding, that the medicine woman takes
+her vow at no fixed period in the year, the order of procedure is such
+that as a rule, she must have taken her vow not later than the spring of
+the year in which the sun dance occurs. There is no absolute prohibition
+to qualifying at a later time, as is often the case at present when the
+consent of the Indian Agent must be obtained before the ceremony is
+permitted, but the normal order seems to be as just stated. Any way, in
+the spring, the medicine woman calls upon her relatives for buffalo
+tongues (in recent years, those of cattle). These are then saved as
+requested. In passing, it may be noted that in all ceremonies, the
+persons upon whom the burden of responsibility falls have not only an
+inherent right to call upon their blood relatives, but these in turn are
+under obligations to respond. The number of tongues required is
+uncertain, some informants claiming that there should be an even
+hundred, others, that four to five full parfleches was the standard.
+Naturally, in recent years, the number has been much less. These tongues
+are to be sliced, parboiled, and dried like meat. The slices, however,
+must be perfect, without holes, and come from the interior of the
+tongue.
+
+The slicing of these tongues appears to have been the first ceremony of
+the cycle. It is conducted by a man, usually the father, who formally
+announced the woman's vow and who conducts all the ceremonies in which
+the medicine woman takes part. There is no stipulation that the same
+man must direct all parts of the ceremony, but, by custom, this office
+is performed annually by the same man so long as he is physically
+capable. To this ceremony are called the medicine woman, the women who
+have promised to "go forward to take the tongues", and sometimes those
+having previously performed these functions.
+
+The manner of formally registering the vow and of collecting the tongues
+is stated as follows:--
+
+Now the woman who made the vow calls on a man and woman who have been
+through the medicine lodge ceremony to announce it. The man and woman
+come to her tipi and paint her clothes and face and those of the
+relative for whom the vow was made with red paint. Prayers are offered
+for them and a few songs sung. After this, the four stand in front of
+the tipi and the man announces the vow. He says, "Sun, she is going to
+make a sun lodge for you. I think you and those who are above can hear
+what is said." Then they move in turn to the south, west, and north side
+of the tipi, repeating the same words at each stop and finally enter the
+tipi.
+
+In the spring of the year, when the people run buffalo, the woman has
+her tipi a little towards the front or center. It may be that she is
+only with one of the bands, while the rest are camped elsewhere. Her
+tipi stands alone a little to the west of the others. The people are
+then notified that the tongues are to be given to the woman. Her husband
+mounts his horse and sets out, taking a pipe and tobacco, but no weapons
+with him. When he finds a man butchering, he sits down on a robe, fills
+his pipe, prays for those present, and smokes with them. The butcher
+cuts out the tongue, wipes it off with sagegrass, and places it near the
+man, who has spread some buffalo dung with sagegrass on top of it in a
+row before him. The tongues are placed on the sage and dung. The man
+then takes the tongues and rides to where the next man is butchering and
+goes through the same procedure. After he has gathered up all the
+tongues he takes them home. Each time buffalo are killed the man rides
+out to gather in tongues until he has accumulated a hundred.
+
+The tongues having been collected, an important ceremony follows with
+their boiling and slicing. An experienced man and woman are invited to
+direct; these are spoken of as the father and the mother. Also, all the
+women having made a vow "to go forward to the tongues" are invited. In
+addition, a number of women and men familiar with the ceremonies are
+called. The woman making the vow (the daughter) and her husband (the
+son) sit at the back of the fire; next to the former, sits the mother
+and then the other women; next to the latter, sits the father and then
+the men in order. The men sit on the north side and the women on the
+south. At the proper moment, the mother brings in the tongues, passing
+around to the south side, and lays them in rows on a half rawhide back
+of the fire. All the women having made vows are now called upon to slice
+the tongues. Their husbands must be present.
+
+The tongues are slit open and the women are invited to slice and boil
+them. When all the guests are present, one of the tongues is taken and
+painted black on one edge and red on the other, and given to the woman
+who made the vow. The rest of the tongues are handed to the women for
+skinning and slicing; if there were more tongues than women, each was
+given more than one to slice. After all the women have the tongues, the
+woman with the painted tongue makes a confession, saying, "Sun, I have
+been true to my husband ever since I have been with him and all my life.
+Help me, for what I say is true. I will skin this tongue without cutting
+a hole in it or cutting my fingers."
+
+The next woman also makes a confession, and so on. After all have
+confessed, they commence to skin the tongues. As the first woman takes
+up the knife, the song runs: "A sharp thing I have taken; it is
+powerful." The knife is painted, one half red, the other black. Should
+any of the women cut a hole in the tongue skin or cut their fingers, it
+is a sign that they must have lied and they are ordered from the tipi.
+At the outset, each woman carefully examines her tongue to see if the
+skin is perfect. Should a hole be found, the tongue is passed to the
+director who marks it with black paint. After the tongues are all
+skinned and sliced, they are passed back to the woman who distributed
+them and placed in a wooden bowl. The skins of the tongues are tied in
+bunches with sinew so that they can tell to which woman the skins
+belong.
+
+The skins are to be boiled by two women. Two sticks are given to one
+woman and one to the other. All this time singing is going on. The woman
+who has the two sticks paints them black, while the woman who has the
+other, paints it red. The three sticks are tied together at one end and
+are used as a tripod for hanging the kettle in which the skins of the
+tongues are to be boiled. The legs of the tripod, the wooden kettle
+hook, and all other sticks are painted half in red and half in black.
+Also, the kettle is marked with four vertical bands of black and four of
+red. The four blunt sticks for stirring the pot are painted in pairs,
+red and black. A red and black painted stick is slipped through the
+bail, passed around to the north of the tipi, and handed to the two
+women. During all these movements there is praying and singing. The
+women each take hold of one end of the stick and go for water.
+
+They make four pauses on this journey, each time praying to the sun and
+asserting their marital rectitude and recounting such occasions as they
+have been improperly approached by a man. All this time, the father and
+his assistants sing in the tipi. One of the women takes a cup, makes
+four movements with it and dips the water. At this moment the song
+runs:--
+
+    "The water that I see.
+    Water is sacred."
+
+On the return, the women make four pauses as before. When the pail is
+finally within the tipi, incense is burned between the fireplace and the
+door and the pail held in the smudge. The father takes up the board upon
+which some of the tongues lie and while holding it up in one hand,
+shakes the cup about in the water, meanwhile making a noise like the
+buffalo, finally striking the pail a blow with the cup. Here the song
+runs:--
+
+    "Buffalo will drink."
+
+This may be taken as marking one stage of the ceremony. The boiling of
+the tongue is now in order. When all is ready, the father starts the
+songs in the next series. The two women hook the kettle on the tripods
+and while the kettle is heated, there are other songs and incense burned
+and the song runs:--
+
+    "Where I (buffalo speaking) sit is sacred."
+
+While the water boils, the director takes up a tongue, holds it above
+the kettle, lowers it slowly, making a noise as if something were
+drinking. After this, the women place the tongues in the kettle and
+proceed with the boiling. Here or elsewhere, songs accompany the
+ceremonial acts. The pot must not boil over.
+
+When the tongues have cooked, the two women rise and stand by the fire
+as the songs begin. At the proper moment, they remove the kettle and
+place it on the spot where the smudge was made. First, they take out the
+painted tongues and then the others. The father takes up a small piece,
+singing:--
+
+    "Old Man (sun), he wants pemmican.
+    He wants to eat.
+
+    Old Woman (moon), she wants back fat.
+    She wants to eat.
+
+    Morningstar, he wants broth.
+    He wants to eat."
+
+Then the painted tongue is passed to the daughter. Now, each of the
+women tears off a bit of the tongue skin and all hold up the pieces and
+pray. After the prayers, the pieces are placed in the earth and the
+tongues are hung up to dry. First, the rope is taken up and a song sung.
+The woman who made the vow, rises and ties one end of the rope to the
+tipi pole on the north side and the other end to the tipi pole on the
+south side, a little to the west of the fireplace. All the tongues, both
+painted and unpainted, are hung on this rope.
+
+During all these ceremonies there is no regular smudge. The smudges are
+made with sweetgrass on the grass near the rear of the tipi. The tongues
+are left to hang for two days before they are taken down to be cooked.
+When the tongues have been hung, all return to their homes, the women
+taking the tongue skins with them for their relatives to eat, as they
+are considered to be blessed and supposed to bring good luck.
+
+After two days, all meet again in the same tipi. The two women who went
+for the water place the tripods over the fire and while songs are sung,
+the pot is passed to them with the red painted sticks. The two women,
+each holding one end of the stick, go for water, praying on the way.
+When they return to the tipi a smudge, over which they hold the bucket
+of water, is made between the door and the fireplace. Then the bucket is
+placed beside the smudge. While the others sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises and first takes the painted tongue and then the others from
+where they were hung. They are then placed on a buffalo hide and the
+woman returns to her place. Four women sit down near the tongues; each
+one takes a tongue, one of which is the painted one. Kneeling and
+swaying their bodies in time with the songs, they sing the buffalo
+songs. The painted tongue is placed in the kettle first and a song is
+sung: "When buffalo go to drink; it is powerful. Where buffalo sit is
+powerful (natojiwa)." Then the rest of the tongues are placed in the pot
+which is hooked on the tripod over the fire. Songs are sung and four
+sticks, about the length of the forearm, for stirring the tongues, are
+placed where the tongues were first placed. One of the cooks takes a
+pair of the sticks and stirs the tongues with them. When removing the
+tongues from the kettle they are held between two of these sticks.
+
+Another song, called the song of rest is sung, and all rest for a time
+and smoke. When the tongues are cooled, another song is sung, the two
+cooks rise, and taking the pot, place it over the smudge place near the
+door. To the singing of songs, the painted tongue first, and then the
+others, are taken out and placed on half a rawhide. The soup is poured
+into wooden bowls and distributed among those present. No tin cups must
+be used in drinking this soup. While all sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises and first takes the painted tongue and then all the others
+and hangs them up as before. This ends the ceremony.
+
+Two days later, the same participants are called together to the same
+tipi and the woman rises and takes first the painted tongue and then the
+others from where they were hung. A parfleche is brought and a buffalo
+song sung: "Buffalo I take. Where I sit is powerful." The painted tongue
+and then the others are placed on the parfleche. Wild peppermint is put
+in with the tongues, the parfleches are tied up and placed at the rear
+of the tipi. Sometimes tongues are dried in front of the tipi on a stage
+made by setting up two travois with a lodge pole tied between them.
+
+The man and woman who lead the ceremony must not have any metal about
+them. Brass rings, earrings, and all such trinkets must be taken off.
+Nor must there be any knives in the vicinity. Even the knives with which
+the tongues are cut are taken out. No one must spit in front of him, but
+always close to the wall under the beds. If they do, it will rain. No
+water is brought into the medicine lodge and when water is brought, it
+is covered. The only time when it is permitted to eat or drink is before
+sunrise and after sunset. They must be given food by the instructors.
+The prayers in this ceremony are prayers for good luck for everyone in
+the camp.
+
+This closes the preliminaries to the ceremonies leading to the sun dance
+and may be designated as the cutting of the tongues. As in most other
+cases, there seems to have been considerable variation in this
+procedure, both as to time and order. Certainly, for a number of years,
+it has been much abbreviated. As implied in the program, this ceremony
+may be performed on the first day. The gathering of tongues was
+dependent upon circumstances and after the days of the great buffalo
+drives was a matter of gradual accumulation. Thus, it was explained that
+by necessity, the "cutting" was often repeated, though naturally with
+less ceremony.
+
+The parfleches containing tongues are kept in the medicine woman's tipi
+where they are "prayed and sung over" during the first and second days
+of the program. The underlying thought seems to be that they are
+consecrated to the sun.
+
+In the procession of the fourth day, the parfleches are carried behind
+the medicine woman by her attendants. In former years, these were the
+women who had promised "to go forward to the tongues." They are present
+at the ceremony in the medicine woman's tipi and may be said to be in
+attendance during the entire fasting period. At the time indicated in
+the program, the parfleches are opened and the women in turn step out
+with some of the dried tongue, face the west, and each holding up a
+piece, address the sun then nearing the horizon. They declare their
+innocence of adultery, as at the time of making the vow and cutting the
+tongues. They also pray for themselves and their relatives after which
+they distribute dried tongue among them. Finally, there is a general
+distribution of tongues among the people.
+
+However, there is another aspect of their appearance at this point. The
+Blackfoot assume that many women have at one or more periods of their
+lives been invited by a man to commit the offence and that often the
+occasion is one of great temptation or calls for great presence of mind
+and will power. Now, when addressing the sun, if so approached, the
+woman narrates the circumstances, naming the men committing the offence,
+and recounts the manner of her refusal. In naming the offender, they
+usually say, "I suppose he hears what I say." These women are also
+subject to challenge of their having committed adultery. It will be seen
+from this that the part they take in the ceremony is an ordeal for which
+most women have little liking and one which they will not undertake
+lightly. The Blackfoot, themselves, regard it as one of the most solemn
+occasions in the ceremony. So far as we could learn, no one now living
+was ever present when one of these women was challenged, but the naming
+of men who were guilty of improper advances was not unusual.
+
+A retrospect of the concept of the tongues indicates that the entire
+ceremony, or their association with the medicine woman and those who are
+sexually pure, gives them a potency that may be acquired by eating. They
+seem most closely associated with sexual purity since they are less
+primary in the function of the medicine woman than in case of those who
+"go forward," the former being required to possess many virtues, the
+latter but one. While the medicine woman fasts and keeps to her tipi,
+the others do not.
+
+
+
+
+THE MEDICINE WOMAN.
+
+
+We shall now give our attention to the medicine woman. As previously
+stated, she is in most respects the central figure in the whole
+ceremony, around whom centers its more serious and solemn aspects. On
+the fifth day, an elaborate ritual is demonstrated in her tipi,
+culminating in the procession to the dancing lodge. To this ritual
+belongs a medicine bundle with accessories, known as the natoas, though
+the name is primarily that of the headdress which the bundle contains.
+This bundle is transferred in the ritualistic way to the medicine woman
+by the ceremony and thus becomes hers to care for and guard until used
+again at another sun dance ceremony. The ritual and the bundle have been
+discussed in detail in Volume 7 of this series. In addition to the
+contents of the bundle, there must be a special robe of elkskin, a dress
+of the same material, and wristlets of strong elk teeth. A new travois
+must be provided for moving the medicine woman outfit. Sometimes she
+herself rides on it. This travois is made by the past medicine woman,
+her attendant in the ceremonies.
+
+As previously stated, the natoas ritual in the sun dance has for its
+mythical basis the Elk-woman and the Woman-who-married-a-star, though
+Scar-face, Cuts-wood, Otter-woman, and Scabby-round-robe are said to
+have made minor contributions. Versions of these myths may be consulted
+in Volume 2, part 1 of this series. The Woman-who-married-a-star is
+credited with bringing down the digging-stick and the turnip, together
+with the songs pertaining thereto (p. 61), also a wreath of juniper
+formerly worn in place of the natoas and the eagle feather worn by the
+man.
+
+It is also interesting to note that the Crane-woman who transfers the
+ritualistic attributes of these objects makes a formal declaration of
+her marital virtue. In the case of Elk-woman, we have again the incident
+of the Crane and the digging-stick where it is implied that the latter
+symbolizes the bill of the former. We are informed that many animals
+were present at this transfer, each contributing something to the
+regalia. We also find it suggested that the bunches of feathers on the
+natoas represent the horns of the elk, the elk robe and elk teeth
+wristlets further symbolizing that animal. In one version of this myth
+is the antagonistic implication that Elk-woman was not quite up to the
+standard of marital virtue. In the Cuts-wood myth the "going forward to
+the tongues" is accounted for. Scabby-round-robe is credited with adding
+the necklace and the arrow point to the natoas and Otter-woman with the
+wild cat-tail.
+
+The following statement of an informant has a bearing upon this point:--
+
+    The natoas is said to have come from the Elk. It was first owned by
+    beaver bundle men, but it was the custom for the medicine woman in
+    the sun dance to borrow it for her ceremony. This continued for a
+    time, but ultimately the medicine woman bought it and kept it in a
+    bundle of her own. The feathers on the front of the natoas are said
+    to represent the horns of Elk and the plumes at the sides, the leafy
+    top of the large turnip. This is the same turnip which the woman who
+    went to the sky land is supposed to have dug up. The digging-stick
+    which accompanies the natoas also represents the stick with which
+    she did this digging. Some of the songs in the natoas ritual speak
+    of little children running about and this refers to the ball-like
+    image on the front of the natoas, for this image is stuffed with
+    tobacco seeds, which, as you know, are often spoken of as children,
+    or dwarfs (p. 201). The broad band upon which the natoas is mounted
+    is said to represent the lizard. All these things, it is said, were
+    added to the natoas, one at a time, by some of the beaver men. So it
+    came about that we have the natoas as it is.
+
+    Now, as to the story about the Elk giving the Natoas the robe and
+    the wristlets used with it. The objection is sometimes made that
+    this first woman who ran away from her husband to join the Elk was
+    not a true woman and that the facts are therefore inconsistent with
+    the ideal of the natoas ritual. Yet, some of our people claim that
+    the woman was true and that though she went away with the Elk it was
+    merely for the sake of receiving the ritual and that this is evident
+    because in the story it tells how she was able to hook down trees by
+    her magical powers and it is not conceivable that she could do this
+    if she had not been a true woman.
+
+The ceremonial transfer of the sun dance bundle really begins with the
+fasting of the medicine woman on the first day. Neither she nor her
+husband are supposed to eat or drink while the sun is visible, and then
+but sparingly. On the evening before, they are put to bed by the father
+and mother. The mother places the daughter on the south side of the fire
+and the father the son on the north side. They must remain in the same
+position until morning. Before the sun rises the father and mother go to
+the medicine woman's tipi, stand by the door and sing. They sing as they
+formally enter, the father raising up the son; the mother, the daughter.
+The man is taken out by the father and the daughter by the mother for
+the morning toilet. When they return a small amount of food is fed to
+the son and daughter, after which the father and mother take a little
+food and drink. This must be before sunrise. During the day the son and
+especially the daughter must sit quietly in their places with bowed
+heads and eyes cast down. She wears a buffalo robe, hair side in,
+painted red, covering her head as well as her body. Her hair is not
+braided, but hangs down freely except for a horizontal band around the
+head. The hair may be allowed to conceal the entire face.
+
+The daughter must do nothing for herself. If she wishes to speak it must
+be in almost a whisper in the ear of the mother or other attendant, who
+in turn will announce the import, if necessary. A fire is kept burning
+in the middle of the tipi, the ears are closely drawn around the smoke
+hole, the door closed, and the tipi cover securely staked down at the
+edges. Though this keeps the temperature high, the medicine woman cannot
+use a fan, but may use the skin of a muskrat to wipe the perspiration
+from her face and hands.
+
+During the fasting period no noise must be made in the tipi. All the
+attendants must avoid unnecessary conversation and speak in a very
+subdued tone; utensils must not be rattled or struck together. Visitors
+may enter, but respectfully and quietly. No noises should be made in the
+vicinity of the medicine tipi and boisterous acts abstained from in all
+parts of the camp circle. If water is brought in the vessel must be
+covered. No one should spit in the tipi nor do the other things
+forbidden at the ceremony of the tongues.
+
+Throughout the whole period there is a male attendant. He keeps the fire
+alive during the night and until camp is moved. He can only start the
+fire with an ember from some other tipi, striking fire in the tipi being
+strictly prohibited. Pipes can only be lighted from the fire by this
+attendant with service berry sticks. A blaze must be avoided as much as
+possible. The attendant cuts the tobacco and fills the pipe and when
+burnt out he must empty the ashes into a small hole in the ground near
+his seat. Everyone is expected to sit quietly, leaving the moving to
+him. He remains on duty during the night also.
+
+Formerly, the tipi of the medicine woman was moved three times, four
+different camps resulting, the last being at its position in the circle
+for the sun dance. As a considerable journey was often necessary to
+reach the sun dance site these camps might be far apart. Theoretically,
+the camp is pitched late in the afternoon of each day. At the sun dance
+a special sweathouse ceremony takes place. This will be discussed later.
+After this the evening and greater part of the night are spent by those
+in attendance at the medicine woman's tipi in rehearsing the songs and
+instructing the son and daughter.
+
+Like everything else, moving the camp of the medicine woman is a formal
+matter. The travois is made, painted red, and reserved for the special
+use of the medicine woman. When the time for breaking camp in the
+medicine woman's band arrives, she and her husband are led out and
+seated upon a robe at the west or rear of their tipi, facing in the
+direction to move. The parfleche of tongues and other paraphernalia are
+brought out by the attending women and put down beside the couple. The
+mother directs the attending women in taking down the tipi and hitching
+the horse to the travois. The parfleche of tongues is packed on the
+travois. When all is ready, the woman and man are led to their horses
+and assisted to mount, the woman riding the horse to the travois. The
+father and the son go ahead in single file, next the mother and the
+daughter, or medicine woman. They pause four times, as songs are sung.
+After they get some distance out, they stop and wait for the camp, now
+moving for the first time. This procession of four always leads, the two
+men side by side and behind them the two women likewise. At noon, when
+they stop for lunch, the two are again seated on a robe, the travois
+unhooked and laid down before them. Then follows the camp some distance
+behind. The old men form a circle and smoke near the pair.
+
+At this time the father orders one of the men's societies to go forward
+and mark out a camp site. When this spot is reached, tipis are pitched
+and when everything is in place the medicine woman and her husband are
+taken inside.
+
+On the morning of each day a society is given instructions to make the
+sweathouse at the camping place, a man to get the creeping juniper and
+another to cut out the smudge place. As the sweathouse procedure is a
+distinct ceremony, it will be treated under another head.
+
+The following account of the evening ceremonies in the medicine woman's
+tipi was given by Red-plume:--
+
+    In the evening, after sunset, the first sweathouse is made. All
+    those who took part in the ceremony before and a few other old men
+    are invited. The man who fills the pipes and tends to the smoking
+    during the ceremony remains on duty during the whole sun dance
+    ceremony. Four-bears is told to tell the mosquito society to sing
+    that night in their own tipi which is inside of the circle. This
+    society is to sing the sun dance songs, the weather-makers dancing
+    songs, the rest of the people remaining quiet through the night. In
+    the medicine lodge they sing until a little before day-break.
+
+    The smudge place in the medicine lodge on the first day and for the
+    first sweathouse is a square marked in the soft earth with a
+    crescent in the middle of it. It is not painted. Under the crescent
+    is a dot where the smudge is made.
+
+    When all the guests are assembled in the tipi the ceremony for the
+    evening begins. Food is given to all; the medicine woman and her
+    husband have their meat cut up for them. While a song is sung a
+    piece of meat is held over the smudge, four passes made with it, and
+    then fed to the man and woman. The same thing is done with water.
+    After this they may help themselves to the food. After the meal is
+    over the singing begins. The sweetgrass is taken up and a song sung:
+    "Old man, takes spring grass. Old woman comes in with her body."
+    Another man takes the smudge stick and places a live coal on the
+    smudge place. The singer holds the grass over head and then brings
+    it down on the coal. This song is for the morningstar: "Morningstar
+    says let us have a sweathouse." Seven songs are sung for the sun and
+    moon which are spoken of as the old man and old woman. These with
+    the seven sung for the morningstar make fourteen sung thus far.
+
+    Since the men have been in the sweathouse where the paint has all
+    washed off, five songs are sung to re-paint the man and woman. As
+    the man sings, he takes some red earth paint with a ball of fat
+    which he rolls in the palms of his hands. The song is: "Old man says
+    red face I take." He makes a streak crosswise on the man's forehead,
+    vertically on his cheeks, and across the chin. The entire face is
+    then covered with the same red paint. The robe is then taken from
+    the man's shoulders. He sings another song as he takes up the
+    sagegrass and brushes one side of the man's head, his arm, and then
+    his body. At the same time, the woman is painted on the other side
+    of the tipi. Another song is sung and he takes the paint, rubs it in
+    his hands, and sings: "This man I am making his body holy,
+    powerful." The same words are sung for the woman. The man's body and
+    robe are then painted.
+
+    When the tongues were first taken in to be sliced, two round buffalo
+    dungs together with a ball of sweetgrass were given to the man and
+    woman. They keep these to wipe the paint from their hands. A song is
+    sung for the dung. The two men and the two women hold their hands
+    over the dung. They make four motions with the closed fists and then
+    touch the ground to the southeast, southwest, northwest, and
+    northeast of the dung. The words in this song are: "This may help me
+    to live long, and help me through life." There is also part of a
+    buffalo dung. The smudge stick is taken up, with the song: "Timber I
+    am looking for? Timber I have found and taken." The two men and the
+    two women all grasp the forked stick. They sing as they take up the
+    dung with it and gradually move it up the stick until it rests on
+    the fork. Then it is held over the fire. Someone knocks the dung
+    into the fire and it is covered with ashes. The song is: "Powerful,
+    I start. Powerful where I sit." To throw the dung off into the fire
+    is a sign that enemies will be conquered.
+
+    Four songs are now sung for the muskrat skin used to wipe the faces
+    of the man and woman: "Man says, my medicine, I am looking for. I
+    have found it." The skin is taken up. Two songs are sung for the
+    parfleche with tongues in it. It is taken up very slowly and the
+    singing continues during all the movements made with it. It is held
+    over the smudge and placed to one side, the cords untied, and the
+    tongues taken out and distributed to all who are now in the tipi.
+    The two medicinemen and women also eat. The song when first taking
+    up the parfleche is: "Buffalo I am powerfully starting. It is
+    powerful where I sit." When undoing the cords the words are:
+    "Buffalo I take some." When the first tongue is taken out, a little
+    piece is held up by everyone, prayers are said, the small pieces are
+    placed on the ground, and they begin to eat them.
+
+    Seven songs for the eagle tail feather with which the sun is
+    supposed to have brushed off the scar from Scar-face's face and is
+    supposed to be the feather brought down from the sun by Scar-face
+    follow: "Old man says, hand me a feather." The feather is passed to
+    the man. Another song follows: "Old man says he wants a hundred
+    feathers. Old woman wants different kinds of feathers." Seven more
+    songs are sung, the words of some of them are: "This man says that
+    above have seen me. It is powerful. The ground I see is powerful.
+    Old man, says, white buffalo robe I want. Old woman, says, Elk I
+    want. Old man says, don't fool me. Old woman says, don't fool me."
+    The meaning of this is to be sure and give them what they ask for,
+    that is, offerings made at the sun dance to the sun, moon, etc.
+
+    Seven songs are sung before they take up the rattles and the rawhide
+    and five songs for the raven. At this time, the man takes hold of
+    one of the rattles by the ball part touching it to the ground, while
+    he holds the end of the handle straight up. The raven songs are:
+    "Raven says, buffalo I am looking for; buffalo I take. The wind is
+    our medicine. The brush is our home. Buffalo I take." The man pecks
+    the rattle handle with one finger on both sides and crows. Then they
+    begin to beat the rattles on the rawhide and shake them in a circle
+    once.
+
+    Now seven songs are sung for the smudge which is made of a species
+    of fungus that grows on a kind of willow. The songs: "Old man says,
+    all right, may my lodge be put up. Old woman says, all right may my
+    lodge be put up or built." These words mean that the sun and moon
+    are speaking and want the sun dance lodge built without any
+    accidents.
+
+    The next songs are for the natoas bundle which is not opened. The
+    songs: "Old man comes in, he says, I am looking for my bonnet. I
+    have found it. It hears me. It is medicine." The old woman sings and
+    uses the same words in her songs. There are six of these bonnet
+    songs. The songs for the badger skin follow: "The man above hears
+    me; he is powerful. The ground is my home; it is powerful." There
+    are four songs for the badger. The badger skin and other things are
+    not handled, the songs about them are simply sung. The songs for the
+    natoas are: "Old man says I am looking for my bonnet. I have found
+    it: it is powerful." The woman then sings a song with the same
+    words, which is followed by a song about the stone arrow points on
+    the natoas. There is a song for everything which makes up the bonnet
+    which is as follows: the leather band, the blue paint on the band,
+    the stuffed weasel skin tied crosswise on the bonnet, the weasel
+    tails hanging from the bonnet, two feathers in front, and two
+    behind, two plumes on each side of the bonnet, a flint arrow point,
+    a buffalo calf tail, a snipe, and a small doll the head of which is
+    stuffed with tobacco seed. The song for the doll on the bonnet is:
+    "Children are running about. They are running from us. They are
+    running towards us. They are boys. They are powerful." The man says,
+    "Give me the child," and makes the movement of reception. Another
+    song is sung: "Child is crying," and the man imitates the crying of
+    a child. The song for the little birds is: "Bird says water is my
+    medicine; it is powerful," for the calf tail: "Man says calf tail I
+    want," and for the arrow point: "Sharp points are on both sides."
+    Then follows the song for the leather band which represents the
+    lizard: "Yonder man, I am angry and mad at you." This song of the
+    lizard refers to the prairie dog chief. The blue paint on the band
+    represents water and the song for it is: "The blue waters are our
+    medicine." The song for the feathers is: "Feathers I want." Another
+    song for the plume on the feathers: "Red I want." This closes the
+    evening ceremony. The man and woman are put to bed and all go home.
+
+    This is the ceremony after the first sweathouse is made. Three more
+    moves of the entire camp and three more sweathouses must be made.
+    The fourth move and sweathouse is where the sun dance takes place.
+    Nowadays, only one sweathouse is made for the sun dance.
+
+It seems that the final camp is marked out by a society laying rocks
+around its bounds, according to which the arriving bands find their
+proper places.
+
+At the fourth camp and on the fourth day, the natoas bundle is opened,
+or its formal ritual demonstrated. Early in the day another tipi is
+pitched before the medicine tipi and the covers are joined, thus
+enlarging the space and providing for a few spectators. A few men and
+women are invited to assist in the ceremony: the men use the rattles and
+with the women aid in the singing. The father and other men sit on the
+north side of the tipi, the former next the medicine woman's husband;
+and the other women sit on the south side, the mother next to the
+medicine woman. She directs the medicine woman and the singing of the
+other women. The ceremony opens at about ten A. M. with the first series
+of songs in the ritual. Three men hold a rattle in each hand, beating
+them upon the rawhide by a vigorous downward forward stroke, the seventh
+rattle is used by the father.
+
+The ritual of the natoas will be found in Volume 7, pp. 215-220.
+Normally, this ceremony transfers the natoas to the daughter. She may,
+however, waive the right, in which case the bundle returns to the former
+owner. Yet, she seems to enjoy all the privileges accorded to one having
+been an owner.
+
+Theoretically, no one can perform a transfer ceremony without having
+first owned the bundle in question. In case of the natoas, even now, a
+beaver owner is regarded as competent to conduct the proceeding, though
+he may never have gone through the ritual with his wife. This is
+consistent with the tradition that formerly the natoas was a part of the
+beaver bundle.[6] Yet, the conditions here are slightly different from
+those for other bundles in that the father must provide or is charged
+with the responsibility to see that a natoas is provided. Following the
+vow, either he or the son makes formal application to the owner of a
+natoas by the usual presentation of a pipe.[7]
+
+When the daughter begins her fasting, the father has the natoas brought
+to her tipi. As a rule, the father's wife owns a natoas. Some informants
+claim that even should the daughter own a natoas, the father must
+provide another. On the other hand, the daughter can select the eligible
+natoas. In any case, the father furnishes the daughter with a dress and
+an elk robe for which he must be paid liberally.[8]
+
+In conclusion, it may be remarked that anyone can make up a natoas, if
+he has a dream so directing him; also, if he owned a natoas that was
+lost or otherwise destroyed; if he gave it away, without receiving
+payment; or if it was buried with someone. Having owned a natoas and
+transferred it, he cannot duplicate it; should the new owner lose it, he
+may, if called upon, replace it; likewise, if buried, the surviving
+husband or wife could call upon him. In all such cases fees are given.
+When one transfers a medicine bundle and has been paid for it, he has no
+more right to it and cannot duplicate it on his own motion. Should one
+sell the bundle without the ceremony of transfer, the ritual remains
+with him and he can again make up the bundle; should one make the
+transfer and fail to receive the pay, or waive the pay, he can make it
+up again. The relatives of one buried with a bundle can call upon a
+former owner to make it up, after which it must be formally transferred
+to one of them. Men were sometimes killed on the warpath and their
+bundles lost; such were replaced as noted above. In every case these
+must be true duplicates; it is only a dream that authorizes new
+creations, or variations, however slight.
+
+An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the idealized qualities of this
+woman's function by the following narrative:--
+
+Once while a medicine woman was sleeping in the sacred tipi during the
+fasting, a nephew of her husband stole in and made improper advances.
+Being a good and true woman, like all others who give the sun dance,
+she spurned him. Next day she told her husband the whole story. He was
+very angry. He was not satisfied with the confession she made, but
+suspected that she must have given the young man some encouragement. So
+when all the medicinemen and women had come into the tipi to rehearse
+the songs as usual, he made a statement of these suspicions and as he
+had two wives, he proposed to have them change places.
+
+The medicinemen pleaded for the first wife because they believed her
+innocent, but the husband was obdurate. So the second wife was called in
+to take the place. Then the first wife said, "It was I who saved this
+man's life when he was ill. I made the vow to give the sun dance and he
+got well. I have suffered much in fasting, all for him. Now he disgraces
+me before all the people. But I will put my virtue to a test. If I am
+true, I have already acquired power."
+
+She filled a pipe, went outside and standing now on the east side of the
+tipi, then on the south, the west, and the north, she addressed the sun.
+The day was clear, but soon after the woman entered the tipi, thunder
+was heard. A storm came down with hail and blew over many tipis. But in
+spite of these proofs, her husband was obdurate and the second wife went
+on with the ceremony.
+
+Not long after the sun dance this same man became ill again. Finally, as
+a last resort, he called upon the first wife to save him again. This
+woman told him to call upon the other woman as he seemed to have so much
+faith in her. So he died and was properly punished for so unjustly
+treating his faithful wife.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [6] In former times, the natoas and the medicine woman's costume were
+  owned by a beaver man. When a woman gave a sun dance she gave a horse
+  for their use. She just borrowed them. Later on, a beaver man
+  transferred them, whence they became a separate bundle.--Tom Kiyo.
+
+  [7] Should the woman already own a natoas and the transferrer (father)
+  own one; the woman must say which bundle shall be used. She can use
+  her own, borrow, or purchase of the transferrer.--Curly-bear.
+
+  [8] A Piegan informant comments as follows: The woman can either buy
+  or borrow a natoas. In the olden times she often borrowed because the
+  natoas, the dress, the elk tooth wristlets, and the robe were owned by
+  a beaver man's wife. After a time, however, these were transferred to
+  a medicine woman and were thus separated from the beaver bundle.
+
+
+
+
+THE PROCESSION TO THE DANCING LODGE.
+
+
+In our account of the natoas ritual we told how the father, son, etc.,
+emerge from their tipi. The file is headed by the father, followed by
+the son, next the mother, then the medicine woman followed by women
+bearing the tongues. The father and the son are muffled in blankets
+(robes); the latter walks with bowed head, leaning heavily on a staff
+and bearing over his head a wild rhubarb stalk.[9] The medicine woman
+wears the natoas on her head, an elkskin (often buckskin) dress and an
+elkskin robe, with the digging-stick on her back. For a staff, she uses
+one of the smudge sticks. The women in her rear bear parfleches
+containing the tongues, together with blankets and other ordinary
+objects. Two or three old men act as conductors, or flankers, keeping
+the way clear of spectators, etc. The procession moves slowly and by
+stages. The four principal personages in it keep their eyes upon the
+ground. The course is southward past the entrance (east side) to the
+dancing lodge, around the south side, the rear of the shelter and
+entering from the north side. Here the medicine woman remains until the
+dancing lodge is raised at sunset, when she returns to her tipi and
+breaks her fast with berry soup. The father and the son go to a
+sweathouse after which their responsibilities also end. During the
+continuance of the ceremonies in the sun lodge, the medicine woman cares
+for the natoas bundle, now her property, until transferred to another,
+but is otherwise free to do as she likes. She usually remains quietly at
+home receiving guests and resting.
+
+The part of the medicine woman is truly a sacrifice. She and her husband
+must pay liberally everyone called upon for ceremonial service directly
+connected with the tongues and the natoas ritual. They must also pay a
+considerable amount of property for the natoas itself. To give the
+ceremony means the sacrifice of all personal property. On the other
+hand, there is compensation, aside from fulfilling the vow. Her
+relatives are very proud of her since she is so virtuous. She is highly
+respected by her husband and family. In a measure those who "take the
+tongues" are also respected. The medicine woman may act as the mother in
+a future sun dance for which she will receive presents and she may
+eventually realize something by transferring the natoas to another.
+Should anything go wrong during the ceremony, the weather be
+unfavorable, etc., people will look with suspicion upon her and say she
+must have lied in her confession to the sun. Should she become ill or
+have deaths in the family, the same charge will be made.
+
+
+_The Offerings of Cloth._ After the procession headed by the father and
+he is in position at the west side of the dancing lodge, offerings of
+cloth and clothing are brought up by the people. A man making such an
+offering hands the father a filled pipe and the cloth. The father holds
+the pipe and offers prayers for the giver and lights and passes the pipe
+to other old men sitting around. The cloth he lays in a pile. Then he
+paints the giver: first the face is smeared over with red, then black
+spots are daubed on the cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin, four in all. A
+black circle is marked around each wrist. Women bringing offerings and
+pipes go to the mother who prays for them and paints their faces red
+with a black spot on the nose and a black circle around the face. There
+is also a black circle around each wrist.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [9] Scar-face is said to have made a whistle (flageolet) of such a
+  stalk. The pith of the growing plant is sometimes eaten for food.
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNDRED-WILLOW SWEATHOUSE.
+
+
+As stated before, a sweathouse of special form is constructed on the
+third day. This is said to have originated with Scar-face, it being the
+house into which he was taken by the sun. About the middle of the day a
+society is sent out for the willows. These were usually those of the
+younger men; the pigeons and mosquitoes. There is a belief, however,
+that in former times only warriors could be sent upon this errand. These
+persons are mounted and return in procession, singing and circling the
+medicine woman's tipi in the direction of the sun, and deposit their
+willows at the west side of the camp circle. They must not drink water
+while on this duty.
+
+An older society is called to build the sweathouse. They must not drink
+water while engaged in this operation and receive some of the tongues
+after the ceremonies of the fourth day. Formerly, these men must have
+had a coup to their credit as a qualification and some informants claim
+that the sum total for the society should have totalled at least one
+hundred, the number of willows. The work begins some time before sunset
+by which time the sweathouse should be completed.
+
+The willows are stuck into the ground in an oval and their tops bent
+over and interlocked over the top. The ends point toward the east and
+the west, an opening or door being provided at each. The willows are
+then painted, one side red and the other black. Next, a hole is dug in
+the center of the structure for the heated stones. In the meantime, a
+small heap of stones mixed with firewood has been placed some distance
+to the east. A buffalo skull is painted with red spots on one side and
+black on the other. Sagegrass is thrust into the nose and eye-sockets.
+Robes are then thrown over the willows and all is ready for the
+procession from the medicine woman's tipi.
+
+The procession from the medicine woman's tipi consists of the father and
+another man experienced in ceremonial affairs, the husband, the mother
+and the medicine woman. They approach slowly and by stages, passing
+around the south side of the sweathouse to the north and then to the
+east or entrance. All keep their eyes on the ground. The husband walks
+with a heavy staff; the medicine woman carries the natoas bundle with a
+smudge stick.
+
+The men enter the sweathouse, while the two women go to the west side
+and sit down facing the east. The medicine woman is on the north side
+with the bundle before her. After the men have entered, the fire is
+lighted and some of the attendants (builders of the sweathouse) lift the
+buffalo skull to the top of the sweathouse where it faces the east.
+Prayers and the usual sweathouse procedure now follow while the stones
+and a pail of water are passed in by an attendant. The covers are then
+drawn down and the vapor bath taken.
+
+After the ceremony the procession returns to the medicine woman's tipi.
+The cover is removed from the sweathouse and the buffalo skull placed on
+top where it remains.
+
+Should there be more than one medicine woman, another sweathouse is made
+on the east side of the camp circle and the others grouped around them
+equally.
+
+Since after the sweathouse ceremony there is formal singing in the tipi
+until far into the night, it may be said that during the four days of
+the fast the ceremonies begin with the sweathouse at sundown, while on
+the fifth day the ceremony begins in the morning and ends at sundown.
+
+To this generalized statement the following account from a Piegan may be
+added:--
+
+    Now, when the first sweathouse is to be made, orders are given in
+    the morning to one of the societies to get the willows to make the
+    hundred-willow sweathouse. Another man is to get the creeping
+    juniper to use in the smudge place in the medicine lodge, and still
+    another is to cut out the smudge place. The moves are short. The
+    people all move camp, as before, and the society goes on ahead and
+    stakes out the camping ground. When the tipis are pitched at the new
+    camping ground, the society comes in with the willows and the rocks
+    for the sweathouse. They circle once around to the right of the
+    lodges and stop outside of the circle, west of the medicine lodge.
+    They must neither eat nor drink while building the sweathouse. They
+    gather wood from among the tipis until they have enough to heat the
+    rocks. Robes for covering the sweathouse are borrowed from the
+    people of the camp. One man goes to the medicine lodge and digs out
+    the smudge place.
+
+    When the sweathouse is ready for the medicinemen, four of the men
+    who helped in the construction go and inform the men and women. They
+    carry the parfleche with the tongues in it on a robe, each man
+    holding a corner. The two medicinemen take the lead, the two women
+    follow, then come the four men with the parfleche. Four stops are
+    made before they reach the sweathouse. The instructor leads, and is
+    followed in single file by the other man, and the two women walking
+    very slowly and singing. They march once around the sweathouse in
+    the direction of the sun. The other old men who are to join them and
+    the two medicinemen go in while the two women remain seated on a
+    robe just west of it with the parfleche beside them. A smudge is
+    made with sweetgrass, and a crescent-shaped place marked out between
+    the square hole and the rear of the sweathouse and live coals are
+    placed on the dot in front of the crescent. A song is sung while the
+    smudge stick is taken up and a man goes after the coal for the
+    smudge. The sweetgrass is placed on the live coal and the two songs
+    for the smudge are sung: "Spring grass I take. Where I sit is
+    powerful." A pipe is handed in and the pipe bowl and stem painted
+    red. The man holds the pipe over the smudge and prays for the one
+    who gave it to him and then passes it to the last man to his right
+    who lights it and all smoke it. When the pipe is all burnt out, the
+    man who blessed it, takes it, and with a red-painted stick loosens
+    the ashes and empties some of them on the southeast corner of the
+    square hole in the sweathouse, then on the northwest corner, on the
+    northeast, and finally in the center.
+
+    After this the buffalo skull is brought in and the songs of the
+    buffalo sung while the same man paints it with black and red dots,
+    the left half black and the right half in red. Grass is stuffed into
+    the eyes and nose of the skull which is passed out through the west
+    of the sweathouse and placed on the earth taken out of the hole in
+    the sweathouse. An extra buffalo horn wrapped with swamp grass is
+    brought in and given to the man who paints it red and sings while
+    doing so: "Chiefs of other tribes I want to hook." He throws the
+    horn out and all the men of this society who remain near the
+    sweathouse try to catch it. The one who captures it is considered
+    lucky and he is supposed to capture a gun in the next battle he
+    witnesses.
+
+    The men in the sweathouse all undress and as they pass their robes
+    and moccasins out through the west of the sweathouse and the door,
+    the buffalo songs are sung. The two medicinemen only wear a robe and
+    moccasins when they go into the sweathouse. While singing, the
+    forked stick is taken up and one of the outsiders goes for the
+    heated stones, stopping four times before he brings them in. One of
+    the men who is inside takes the stone with two straight sticks and
+    places it on the southeast corner of the hole, the same is done with
+    four more stones which are placed on the southwest, the northwest,
+    the northeast corner and the fifth is placed in the bottom of the
+    hole at the center. When a sixth stone is placed in the hole, they
+    are all rolled to the bottom of the hole. Water and a horn spoon or
+    wooden bowl is brought in.
+
+    A little water is thrown on the stones to wash them, the curtains
+    are lowered, and prayers to the sun, moon, and stars, and earth
+    begin. In groups of four, sixteen medicine lodge songs are sung. The
+    curtains are raised and four more songs are sung; the sweathouse is
+    opened and four songs are sung, until the sixteen have been
+    completed. The two medicinemen go out through the west of the
+    sweathouse while the rest go through the door. The men dress, and
+    the parfleche containing the tongues is opened and the tongues given
+    to the members of the society who made the sweathouse. The
+    medicinemen and women do not eat. After all are provided with the
+    tongues a piece is broken off each and while all hold the pieces up
+    a prayer is said and the piece of tongue placed on the ground. Then
+    they all begin to eat. After this the robes are all returned to
+    their owners, the buffalo skull placed on top of the frame of the
+    sweathouse with the nose pointed towards the east and the
+    medicinemen and women return in single file while four men follow
+    behind carrying the empty parfleche. The men who belong to the
+    society may now eat and drink as they wish.
+
+
+
+
+THE DANCING LODGE.
+
+
+The dancing lodge may be said to take its origin on the fourth day, by
+which time the medicine woman has her tipi in place near its site and
+the camp circle has been formed. In construction, nine forked tree
+trunks about nine feet in height are set in a circle. Across their tops,
+except the eastern face, are laid stringers about fifteen feet long of
+the same material.[10] In the center, is another forked tree trunk much
+higher than the other (this we shall call the sun pole) connected with
+each of the stringers by a rafter. Green boughs are placed thickly
+against the outside of the lodge. On the inside, at the rear, is a booth
+screened and roofed with boughs. The material is cottonwood. That other
+woods were occasionally used, is attested by the fact that a locality is
+known as "the place of sweet pine dancing lodge."
+
+Some informants claim that in former years each band was required to
+furnish two rafters, a post, a rail, and their proportionate amount of
+boughs. Two rafters were used instead of one as now, each band
+furnishing the section opposite their place in the circle. The
+contradiction between the number of bands and the size of the dancing
+lodge seems not to have troubled our informants. Now, the young men go
+out during the early part of the fourth day to cut the poles and boughs.
+This is done without ceremony. A crier usually rides around the camp
+circle reminding the various bands of their duty. Formerly, the young
+women went out on horseback to drag in the poles and brush. On this
+occasion, they dressed in the best costumes and used the finest horse
+trappings obtainable. The men cut the poles and brush, hitching them to
+the drag ropes with their own hands. As the procession galloped toward
+the camp circle, the men rode behind, shooting and yelling. In recent
+years, the men bring the material in on wagons without demonstration.
+
+Men of some prominence are selected to dig the holes for the posts. The
+posts are erected and the stringers put in place, excepting one on the
+west side nearly opposite the entrance. The rafters are leaned against
+the stringers, ready to be pushed in place and the green boughs piled up
+at convenient places near by.
+
+The cutting of the sun pole is attended with some ceremony. Some
+informants claim that formerly this was to be carried out by the
+medicine woman's band; others that one of the men's societies was called
+upon for this service. In any event, they go out as a war party and
+locate a suitable tree. A man with a war record, preferably one having
+struck an enemy with an ax, comes forward, takes an ax, paints the blade
+as he recounts some event in which he killed an enemy, and then strikes
+the tree. Four such deeds must be told before the tree can be felled.
+Then one or two men cut the tree as the others stand around. As the tree
+begins to fall all give the war cry and shoot at its top, then rush up,
+and tearing off branches, wave them in the air as if they were trophies
+from an enemy. Indeed, the whole proceeding, from start to finish, is a
+mimic attack on an enemy.
+
+The pole is cut to approximate form and taken to the site of the dancing
+lodge. One end is placed on a travois (in recent times on a wagon),
+while the riders assist with their ropes, their horses massed around the
+travois horse.
+
+The hole for the sun pole is dug without ceremony by relatives of the
+medicine woman. When it is in place, they tie a bundle of green boughs
+in the fork,[11] making everything ready for the raising in the evening.
+The sun pole now lies on the ground with the butt over the hole and the
+forked end supported by a piece of timber. The fork points to the west.
+It seems that formerly the pole was painted. Just below the fork it was
+circled by two black bands and two red ones beneath these.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [10] Obviously, this would make the dancing lodge very large. In reply
+  to this objection it was said that they were large; that it was
+  necessary to select as a site places where very long rafter poles
+  could be cut; that formerly societies and others performed evolutions
+  within on horseback. The late Little-plume is credited with having
+  introduced the present custom of reciting deeds, requiring horses,
+  outside the dancing lodge. It may be of interest to note that the
+  Arapaho also made very large sun dance shelters.
+
+  In 1908 Mr. Duvall measured the dancing lodge. The sun pole stood
+  sixteen feet from the ground to the fork. The posts were eight feet
+  and approximately sixteen feet apart. The diameter of the whole was
+  fifty-two feet. The fireplace was east of the sun pole six feet and
+  was four feet by two feet and five inches deep. The booth for
+  medicinemen was five feet eight inches wide by seven feet six inches
+  deep. The two holes were about a foot forward from the sod walls,
+  eight inches across and six inches deep. The man who has been marking
+  out the site for the lodge during the last few years, begins by
+  selecting the place for the sun pole and stepping off seven paces as
+  the radius.
+
+  [11] The bundle of boughs is neither spoken of as the thunderbird's
+  nest nor given a name of any kind; though some old men seemed to know
+  that other tribes so designated it. We made diligent inquiry on this
+  point and feel that the above statement is correct. Reference to
+  published photographs will show that the brush is merely gathered into
+  a bundle and not made into the form of a nest as in case of the Crow.
+
+
+
+
+CUTTING THE THONGS.
+
+
+A fresh cowskin (formerly two buffalo hides) is provided that thongs may
+be cut for binding the rafters to the stringers and the objects placed
+on the sun pole. There seems to have been no hunting ceremony for
+providing this hide and there is now no symbolic hunting. After the
+medicine woman is in the shelter, the ceremony of cutting the thongs
+takes place. If no one volunteers, men are "caught." The men who cut the
+thongs last year may do the "catching" or engage representatives to do
+it. Formerly, this function was exercised by old warriors who had
+captured enemies alive. The "catchers" go quietly about the camp looking
+for eligibles. While pretending to pass one by without notice, they
+suddenly lay hold of him. The victim may pull back, but is not allowed
+to resort to other means of resistance. He is then led up to the hides
+near the front of the medicine woman's shelter. In former times, four
+such men were brought up for the ceremony. They must have coups to their
+records, otherwise they would not have been selected. In the ceremony of
+1904 we observed an attempt to "catch" a man on horseback, but the
+struggles of the horse enabled him to escape. In former times, the
+friends of the interested party would have gathered around the rear and
+sides of the horse forcing him forward in the lead of the "catcher".
+This whole catching procedure is said to symbolize the capture of an
+enemy.
+
+In order to understand the ceremony that now takes place, it is
+necessary to know that the right to cut the thong is to the Blackfoot a
+medicine to be transferred for gifts of property as in case of other
+medicines. The men who did the cutting in the previous year are to
+"sell", or transfer, this year. It is they who do the "catching", either
+in person or by deputy. Should no one be brought forward, those who
+performed the rite on the previous year must again serve. As soon as a
+man is caught, his relatives are notified; they come out with all kinds
+of property to support him in the transfer. The initiate is brought into
+the presence of the present owner of the right, his hands and face are
+painted, accompanied by ritualistic prayers. While this proceeds, an old
+man (usually a relative) stands somewhat apart and shouts out praise for
+the initiate. However, this may be done by a woman, if no man comes
+forward. A horse and other property is then given to the former owner of
+the right, whence it ceases to be his. The deputy "catcher", if there is
+one, then receives a small present or two from the former owner.
+
+The cutting of the thong then takes place. The new owner of the right,
+standing up by the hide, shouts out his coups. He holds the knife in his
+hand and while pointing in different directions with it, he tells of a
+war deed. At the end of each tale he makes a pass with the knife as if
+to cut the hide. After four deeds are told, he cuts the hide. For
+example, he may say, "At such a place I captured a horse which gives me
+the right to cut this, etc." If there are other men with the right, they
+follow in turn. After this, the thongs are cut with the assistance of
+other men and distributed at the places where they will be needed. A
+thong with the tail attached is used to bind the bunch of boughs to the
+sun pole, the tail hanging down.
+
+While this ceremony is going on, gifts of flour, beef, etc., made by
+white people are distributed among the old poor people. This is regarded
+as a recent intrusion.
+
+The following extract from an unpublished version of the Scar-face myth
+accounts for the thong-cutting ceremony:--
+
+    Her husband could tell by her eyes that she had been crying and he
+    said, "I told you not to dig up that turnip, but nevertheless you
+    have done so. Since you are lonesome and wish to return to your
+    people, I will take you back." Then Morningstar went out and killed
+    some buffalo. After he had skinned all of them he cut the hides into
+    long strands, fastened them together, and tied the woman and her
+    child to one end and let her down from the sky to where her people
+    were.
+
+    Before she reached the earth, a little sore-eyed boy was lying on
+    his back, looking up at the sky and saw a very small object coming
+    down. The boy told the men who were playing the wheel gambling game
+    what he saw, but they laughed at him and threw dirt in his eyes and
+    said, "You must see the gum on your eyelids or lashes." As the
+    falling object came closer others noticed it and when it came among
+    the group they knew that it was the woman who was missing from the
+    camp. They untied the rawhide strand and noticed that some of the
+    buffalo tails were on the ends of the long rope which lay piled up
+    high before them.
+
+    This woman came down with her digging-stick. As she was not a wicked
+    woman and only lived with Morningstar as her husband, she gave her
+    digging-stick to the medicine lodge woman and the natoas was named
+    for the turnip she dug up. When the sun dance was held, this woman
+    told them always to cut up a rawhide into strands and tie the posts
+    with them. Also that the center post and the birch on it must be
+    tied with them. The tail of the hide is to hang down from the center
+    post. These rawhide strands are a representation of the rawhide rope
+    with which this woman was let down to the earth. Later, the moose
+    hoofs are tied to this digging-stick. The plumes on the natoas are
+    to represent the leaf of the large turnip this woman dug up while in
+    the sky.
+
+
+
+
+RAISING THE SUN POLE.
+
+
+While the hide is being cut, all the woman who made vows to take some of
+the tongues come forward to the parfleche placed near the medicinemen
+and women. Each woman takes one of the tongues and stands with the
+person for whom her vow was made and makes a confession to the sun in a
+loud voice, so all may hear. Then she prays to the sun for the
+beneficiary. After all the women have taken their tongues, some of the
+men tie the cloth offerings to the ends of the poles and a bunch of
+birch is tied between the forks of the center pole.
+
+The preceding ceremony comes to a close as the sun gets very low. About
+time for the sun to set, a procession of pole raisers starts from each
+of the four quarters of the camp circle. Tipi poles are tied near the
+small ends in pairs, each pair carried by two men. The four parties
+advance in unison by four stages and at each pause sing a special song.
+In the last move, they rush upon the sun pole and raise it in place. In
+the meantime, the father and son go and stand on the center pole while
+their wives stand to the west. The men make wing movements with their
+arms toward the east. According to some informants, the medicine woman
+may make hooking motions at the pole, to symbolize the mythical
+Elk-woman.
+
+Four men are called upon to assist the father and son. As the latter
+stand upon the pole, they encircle and screen them with their blankets
+and join the father in singing. The songs call for good luck in erecting
+the dancing lodge. The son does not sing. Four songs are sung. At the
+end of each the father blows a whistle while someone shakes the pole.
+The last time they jump off the pole. The son drops his blanket (some
+say the father also, some add moccasins) painted black as a sun
+offering. Another blanket is handed him at once.
+
+As soon as the men leave the pole the advancing raisers rush in, raise
+the center pole, put on the rafters, tie them with the rawhide strands
+and place brush all around to form the wind-break. This is accompanied
+by much shouting, but without shooting.
+
+While the sun pole is being raised the daughter and mother stand
+watching it. They pray and make movements with the corners of their
+robes as though steering the rising pole. As it sways from side to side,
+they gesture as if righting it.
+
+As soon as the pole is set, the natoas, robe, and moccasins are taken
+off the daughter by the mother. She may call on someone to do this and
+pay a gun or a horse for the service. The mother and other attendants
+then lead the daughter to her tipi where she resumes her ordinary
+routine.
+
+The father and son go to a sweathouse where all the paint is washed off.
+This is not the hundred-willow sweathouse and is the fifth sweathouse,
+if it were counted. The two men go in and some sagegrass being handed to
+the father, he takes off the feathers tied to the son's hair, the hair
+necklace, and whistle. After the first opening of the sweathouse he
+takes the sagegrass and wipes off the black paint on the son and hands
+out through the west side of the sweathouse the necklace, whistle, and
+feathers which are to be taken home. At the same time, the two women are
+in the ceremonial lodge, the mother caring for the daughter.
+
+When the men have completed the sweathouse ceremony they go to the
+medicine woman's tipi. The father and his wife wrap up the natoas and
+place it in the badger skin. After this is done, they no longer have to
+eat sparingly. This ends the ceremony of the medicine woman.
+
+Early the next day she and her husband must obtain the cottonwood brush
+with which the booth for the weather dancers is made. Another man digs
+out the place in the booth, making it the same as the smudge place in
+the medicine woman's tipi, with the sod on three sides and creeping
+juniper on top of it. The fireplace is dug out to the west of the center
+post and is made as in the medicine woman's tipi. When going for and
+returning the brush, the woman rides one horse and leads the one
+dragging her travois. While when the other brush was brought in there
+was much shooting and shouting, there are now no demonstrations of any
+kind, but absolute silence.
+
+
+
+
+THE WEATHER DANCERS.
+
+
+Early on the fifth day, a booth is built inside the dancing lodge
+opposite the entrance. A slight excavation about six feet square is made
+over which is erected a shelter of green cottonwood boughs, open on the
+side facing the sun pole. Before the middle of the day, a procession of
+one or more men supposed to have power over the weather, attended by
+drummers, proceeds by stages from the medicine woman's tipi to this
+booth. They pause four times and dance, facing alternately the east and
+the west. They hold whistles of bone in their mouths, which are sounded
+in unison with the dancing. The procession is of two transverse lines,
+the dancers, in front, the drummers and singers behind. A great deal of
+dancing is done between the entrance to the dancing lodge and the booth.
+At intervals during the day they stand before the booth and dance to the
+east and west: the drummers are now stationed on the south side of the
+booth where women also assemble for the singing. The dancing is chiefly
+an up and down movement produced by flexing the knees, the eyes are
+directed toward the sun and wing-like movements of the hands are made in
+the same direction. The dancers wear breechcloth and moccasins and
+usually a robe around the waist. Their faces and bodies are painted
+according to their own medicines and medicine objects worn on their
+heads.
+
+It is stated that there is but one weather dancer, but others may join
+under certain conditions. In practice this seems to amount to there
+being a director or leader in the dance, at least such was the case in
+1903 and 1904. In 1904 the two assistant dancers went to the medicine
+woman's tipi to paint themselves and began their procession from there,
+while the leader approached in a similar manner from his own tipi, the
+two forming one procession before the east side of the dancing lodge was
+reached. The leading dancer wore a special ceremonial robe, headdress,
+and several medicine objects, which have been described in Volume 7 (pp.
+98-99).
+
+These objects and their medicine functions may be regarded as esoteric
+in so far as they are not absolutely essential to the office of leading
+dancer. Yet, this same individual seems to have performed this function
+for a number of years. Clark mentions strings of feathers tied to the
+finger of this dancer.[12]
+
+In 1904 there were two assistant dancers. Both wore headdresses
+somewhat like that of their leader. One was fully dressed with a
+blanket around his waist; the other was nude to the belt. The latter was
+painted chiefly in red with a circle in blue on the back and one on the
+breast. The former had a pair of horizontal lines on each cheek, those
+on the right, black, on the left, red.
+
+It is said that formerly these dancers were nude, except for the
+breechcloth and moccasins. The entire body was painted. There seemed to
+have been no fixed painting, but the sun, moon, and stars were usually
+represented. Around the head, they wore a wreath of juniper and bands of
+sagegrass around the neck, wrists, and ankles.
+
+The weather dancers are not permitted to eat or drink during the day.
+Formerly, they remained in the booth continuously until the evening of
+the fourth day of their dancing; in recent years, they spend the night
+at home and return to the booth in the morning.
+
+The functions of these dancers are not clearly understood. They seem to
+be held responsible for the weather: i. e., upon them falls the duty of
+preventing rain from interfering with the dancing. Whether they do this
+because they happen to have independent shamanistic powers or whether it
+is a mere function of their temporary office in the ceremony, cannot be
+determined. Other medicinemen often attempt to control the weather
+during the days preceding the formal entry into the booth as well as
+during the later days. In 1903 (Piegan) there was a contest between a
+number of rival medicinemen some of whom conjured for rain, others for
+fair weather: strange to say, clouds would threaten and then pass away
+during these days, which coincidence was interpreted as proof of evenly
+matched powers. Several times one of the partisans of fair weather came
+out near the site of the dancing lodge and danced to the sun, holding up
+a small pipe and occasionally shouting. He wore no regalia and danced in
+a different manner from that observed among the weather dancers at the
+booth. However, the man who led the weather dancers for many years until
+his death in 1908, was famous for his control over the weather. Once, it
+is told, he became enraged at the power making the weather bad, shouting
+out "Now, you go ahead, if you want to. I have great power and can stop
+you when I will."
+
+In former times, the dreams of the weather dancers while sleeping in the
+booth were considered of special supernatural significance, since, it is
+said, they were _en rapport_ with the sun. This _rapport_ may account
+for what seems to be one of their chief functions--blessing the people.
+During the days they are in the booth, individuals come to them "to be
+prayed for." They come up and stand before the booth. The dancer takes
+black paint and paints their faces. Then he prays to the sun for their
+welfare. During this part of the ceremony the recipient faces the sun.
+Again, the medicine-pipes and other ritualistic objects are brought up
+for the dancer to present to the sun. The pipes he holds up with the
+stems towards the sun, whom he addresses at some length, offering him a
+smoke, making requests, etc., after which he smokes the pipe. All the
+persons present are then permitted to put their lips to the pipe from
+which they are supposed to derive great benefits. The dancer also
+receives offerings made to the sun. A young man may fill a pipe and
+approach with his offerings. The dancer takes the pipe, smokes, prays,
+paints the man's face, and makes the offering. A woman or child may do
+this; or a whole family. Formerly, a great deal of old clothing was
+offered at this time, a custom still practised by the Blood. Also
+children's moccasins and clothing were offered in this way. As they grew
+out of them they were given to the sun to promote well-being. In last
+analysis, it seems that while these dancers are spoken of as weather
+priests, they are rather sun priests, since through them appeals to the
+sun are made. It should be noted that they are regarded as independent
+of and in no way associated with the medicine woman ceremonies or the
+erection of the dancing lodge, but upon entrance to the booth, the
+leading weather dancer is said to become the chief and director of all
+succeeding ceremonies. The length of the ceremony depends entirely upon
+him and formerly continued as long as he kept his place.
+
+Like other rites this one was bought and sold, but it was usual to
+continue in ownership many years. Anyone could make a vow to dance with
+the weather dancer and join him in his ceremonies, but such vows were
+usually made by former owners of the rite. When one makes a vow to
+purchase the rite, its owner must sell, however reluctant he may be. The
+transfer must be in the sun dance. It is said that two men once
+alternately sold to each other for many years so that both could appear
+in every sun dance.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [12] Clark, W. P., _The Indian Sign Language_ (Philadelphia, 1885),
+  72.
+
+
+
+
+DANCING.
+
+
+The first ceremony of this character is named the cutting-out dance (to
+cut out a hole in a robe). It seems to have been performed by a society
+and occurs early on the fifth day. About four or six old men dance in
+line with a rawhide which they hold in front of them, singing and
+beating time on the rawhide with rattles similar to those of the beaver
+men. The society now divides into two parties, one placing itself north
+of the center pole, and the other party standing in line south of the
+center pole. The two parties dance back and forward in front of the pole
+shooting at it. The old men on the west side of the center pole dance
+in their places. The rawhide held in front of them, hangs down like an
+apron. They beat time on it, holding the rawhide in one hand, and the
+rattles in the other. An old man counts deeds and marks out with a knife
+the fireplace and the booth for the weather dancers. These are dug while
+the dancing and shooting take place.[13]
+
+The hole, or fire pit, is dug between the sun pole and the entrance to
+the dancing lodge. It is about three feet by two and "two hands" deep. A
+warrior is then called to start the fire. Warriors now come forward in
+turn to count their coups. In this a man took a piece of firewood and
+holding it up, called out in a loud voice how he once struck a Sioux, a
+Snake, etc., then placed it in the fire. When he had recounted all he
+gave way to the next. Stories are told of men having enough coups to
+make a fire large enough to threaten the destruction of the dancing
+lodge. We were able to confirm the statement of Clark[14] that the
+height of the flame as determined by a buffalo tail hanging down was the
+criterion for determining a great warrior. One informant states as
+follows:--
+
+There is always a cow tail hanging down from the center post. In olden
+times this was a buffalo tail, to the end of which a blackened plume was
+tied. This hangs down over the fireplace which was used at night to
+furnish light for the proceedings. The assembled people were entertained
+by narratives of warriors as they came forward to narrate their deeds;
+each threw a stick on the fire for each deed counted and he whose fire
+blazed high enough to reach the tail was considered a great warrior. It
+was a great honor when a man could tell enough war deeds to scorch the
+tail. All this time there was singing (the cheering songs) and drumming,
+while berry soup was served to all. The persons taking part are
+designated as those "who are about to make the fire." In recent years,
+this ceremony has been performed in a very perfunctory manner.
+
+After the ceremony, the fire was fed in the ordinary way and kept going
+during the greater part of the succeeding days. The origin of this dance
+is often ascribed to Scar-face.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [13] It will be recalled that in the sun dance of the Dakota type (p.
+  110) there is a ceremonial shooting at the sun pole. Here the shooting
+  takes place in a perfunctory way, while the pole is dragged to the sun
+  dance site. Yet, McQuesten claims to have witnessed the driving of
+  evil power from the sun lodge at a Blood ceremony in 1912. ("The Sun
+  Dance of the Blackfeet" _Rod and Gun in Canada_, March 1912.) As this
+  is not noted in older accounts and we failed to get information as to
+  it, we suspect it to be due to foreign influences, or perhaps the
+  author's own interpretation.
+
+  [14] Clark, _ibid._, 72.
+
+
+
+
+SOCIETY DANCES.
+
+
+In former times, the succeeding days were apportioned to the men's
+societies (the ikunukats) in the order of their rank, beginning at the
+lowest.[15] There seems to have been no fixed allotment of time to each,
+only the order of succession being adhered to. The ceremonies were
+determined chiefly by the respective society rituals, though the
+recounting of deeds in war was given great prominence. As a rule, each
+society closed its ceremonies by offering parts of its regalia, etc., to
+the sun, a custom still observed by the Blood (See vol. 11, this series,
+fig. 19, p. 411). After the highest society had completed its function,
+the leading men of the tribe held a kind of a war dance in which coups
+were recounted. In this dance, again, rattles were beaten upon a
+rawhide. The organizations or persons having charge of the day's
+ceremonies must furnish the feast and all necessaries. The medicine
+woman and her husband usually repair to the dancing lodge each day. The
+man usually takes his pipe and tobacco and furnishes the smoking for the
+guests who sit around. His wife wears the buckskin dress and elk robe,
+but not the natoas. They sit on the north or right side of the booth and
+merely are spectators. This closes the ceremonies and camp is broken.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [15] This series, Vol. 11, 365-474.
+
+
+
+
+THE TORTURE CEREMONY.
+
+
+The torture feature, especially prominent in the ceremonies of the
+Mandan, Hidatsa, and Dakota, was formerly given a place among the
+dancing lodge ceremonies of the Blackfoot. The information we have seems
+to indicate that this ceremony had not become thoroughly adjusted to its
+place in this series at the time of its prohibition by the United States
+and Canadian governments. The claim is made by some of the Piegan that
+it was borrowed from the Arapaho and was not looked upon with much
+favor. As one man expressed it, "None of those taking the cutting lived
+to reach old age." It was said that a few Blackfoot warriors once
+visited the Arapaho at the time of their sun dance where they were put
+through the cutting ceremony. According to the Blackfoot mode of
+thought, this means that the medicine rites (and rights) were
+transferred to them. When they returned, they induced others to take the
+cutting, to whom, of course, the rites were transferred. Whether this
+historical statement is accurate or mythical, we have no means of
+knowing, but we are inclined to give it some weight as evidence. It
+seems, however, that warriors took the cutting because of a vow, similar
+to that of the medicine woman. Sometimes a man dreamed that the sun
+required it of him. The giving of property and the conditions of the
+transfer were the same as for "cutting the thong," though we have no
+information that "catching" was permitted. Such may, however, have been
+tolerated.
+
+The men taking the cutting were nude to the belt. Sage was tied around
+the wrists and ankles. The hair hung down, held in place by a wreath of
+cedar (some informants say sage). They were painted white. Rows of spots
+in blue extended down the sides of the face, over the shoulders and down
+the arms. Wavy lines of the same color were also drawn down the arms. A
+circle representing the sun, was made on the breast, also upon the chin
+and probably on the back opposite the one over the heart. On the
+forehead was another circle representing the moon. Other informants say
+a crescent moon in black was used instead of these circles.
+
+According to one informant, vows were made to purchase this ceremony
+when ill or in great danger. If the promise brought results, the vow was
+fulfilled at the next dance. The supplicant calls upon one having
+purchased the rite. They enter the booth of the weather dancers, a
+blanket is held up to shut out the gaze of the others. The transferrer
+then paints the purchaser. He cuts a hole through the skin of the right
+shoulder, over the scapula, and a hole over each breast. A small
+sharpened stick is thrust through each. A shield is hung on the back.
+Long cords were fastened to those on the breast, the ends of which were
+tied fast, high up to the center pole. The purchaser goes up to the
+pole, embraces it, and cries for a time. Then he backs off, and dancing,
+throws his weight on the ropes. The transferrer jerks the shield from
+his shoulders and if necessary, assists him in tearing loose. At once,
+the purchaser goes out into the hills and sleeps in different places to
+receive power.
+
+It is said that all who take this ceremony die in a few years, because
+it is equivalent to giving one's self to the sun. Hence, the sun takes
+them for his own.
+
+The cutting was similar to that described by Catlin and other writers as
+observed elsewhere. Some informants say the dancers held whistles in
+their mouths and gazed at the sun as they danced. When all the thongs
+were torn out, some of the lacerated flesh was cut off as an offering to
+the sun.
+
+McLean reports the following observations upon this ceremony at a Blood
+sun dance:--
+
+    ... The chief attraction to the pale-face is what has been
+    ignorantly termed "making braves." I desired very much to see this
+    ceremony _once_, that I might know the facts from personal
+    observation, and draw my own conclusions after conversing with the
+    Indians.
+
+    Two young men having their whole bodies painted, wearing the
+    loin-cloth only, and with wreaths of leaves around their heads,
+    ankles and wrists, stepped into the center of the lodge. A blanket
+    and a pillow were laid on the ground, and one of the young men
+    stretched himself upon them. As he lay, an old man came forward and
+    stood over him and then in an earnest speech told the people of the
+    brave deeds, and noble heart of the young man. In the enumeration of
+    his virtues and noble deeds, after each separate statement the
+    musicians beat applause. When the aged orator ceased, the young man
+    arose, placed his hands upon the old man's shoulders, and drew them
+    downward, as a sign of gratitude for the favorable things said about
+    him. He lay down, and four men held him while a fifth made the
+    incisions in his breast and back. Two places were marked in each
+    breast denoting the position and width of each incision. This being
+    done, the wooden skewers being in readiness, a double edged knife
+    was held in the hand, the point touching the flesh, a small piece of
+    wood was placed on the under side to receive the point of the knife
+    when it had gone through, and the flesh was drawn out the desired
+    length for the knife to pierce. A quick pressure and the incision
+    was made, the piece of wood was removed, and the skewer inserted
+    from the under-side as the knife was being taken out. When the
+    skewer was properly inserted, it was beaten down with the palm of
+    the hand of the operator, that it might remain firmly in its place.
+    This being done to each breast, with a single skewer for each,
+    strong enough to tear away the flesh, and long enough to hold the
+    lariats fastened to the top of the sacred pole, a double incision
+    was made on the back of the left shoulder, to the skewer of which
+    was fastened an Indian drum. The work being pronounced good by the
+    persons engaged in the operation, the young man arose, and one of
+    the operators fastened the lariats giving them two or three jerks to
+    bring them into position.
+
+    The young man went up to the sacred pole, and while his countenance
+    was exceedingly pale, and his frame trembling with emotion, threw
+    his arms around it, and prayed earnestly for strength to pass
+    successfully through the trying ordeal. His prayer ended he moved
+    backward until the flesh was fully extended, and placing a small
+    bone whistle in his mouth, he blew continuously upon it a series of
+    short sharp sounds, while he threw himself backward, and danced
+    until the flesh gave way and he fell. Previous to his tearing
+    himself free from the lariats, he seized the drum with both hands
+    and with a sudden pull tore the flesh on his back, dashing the drum
+    to the ground amid the applause of the people. As he lay on the
+    ground, the operators examined his wounds, cut off the flesh that
+    was hanging loosely, and the ceremony was at an end. In former years
+    the head of a buffalo was fastened by a rope on the back of the
+    person undergoing the feat of self-immolation, but now a drum is
+    used for that purpose.
+
+    From two to five persons undergo this torture every Sun-Dance. Its
+    object is military and religious. It admits the young man into the
+    noble band of warriors, whereby he gains the esteem of his fellows,
+    and opens up the path to fortune and fame. But it is chiefly a
+    religious rite. In a time of sickness, or danger, or in starting
+    upon some dangerous expedition, the young man prays to Natos for
+    help, and promises to give himself to Natos if his prayers are
+    answered. Upon his return, when the Annual Sun-Dance is held, he
+    fulfills his vow, gives himself to his god, and thus performs a
+    twofold duty. Of course the applause of the people and the
+    exhibition of courage are important factors in this rite, but its
+    chief feature is a religious one. Instead of being a time of
+    feasting and pleasure, the Sun-Dance is a military and religious
+    festival, in connection with which there are occasions for joy, and
+    the feast enhances the pleasure.[16]
+
+It may be well to note that the offering of bits of flesh to the sun was
+a general practice not necessarily associated with the sun dance. Many
+comparatively young men now living (1904) bear numerous scars testifying
+to such offerings. When in perilous situations a finger would sometimes
+be struck off with a call upon the sun for help. Among the Blood, such
+sacrifice of a finger by women as well as men was common at the sun
+dance.[17] These facts concerning the more general practice of
+mutilating the body to win the approval of the sun suggest that if the
+cutting ceremony is intrusive, it either found on hand a series of
+analogous customs or brought with it a concept that afterwards gave
+birth to them. It may be observed that the form of costume and dance is
+strikingly like that employed by the present weather dancers.
+
+Since there seems to be no good published data on the sacrificing of
+skin and fingers we append the narrative of Split-ears:--
+
+    Sometimes, when warriors are on an expedition and come in sight of
+    the enemy they will sit in a circle while the leader, or the oldest
+    member of the party, offers prayers that they may succeed in their
+    undertaking. Then they proceed to offer bits of their own skin to
+    the sun. The one who prayed sits down by one of the party, takes up
+    a needle or bodkin and a knife, thrusts the former under a small
+    section of skin and raising it, cuts off a small slice with a knife.
+    This leaves a circular wound a quarter of an inch or less in
+    diameter. It is understood that the operator pulls the skin up with
+    the needle and slices off a small section underneath that
+    instrument. He then takes up some black paint and dips the bit of
+    skin into it. Then he holds it up to the sun and prays for the
+    success of his victim. The bit of skin is then placed upon a piece
+    of cloth and another is removed from the victim in the same manner
+    and so the operator goes to each of the party in turn, each time
+    removing a piece of skin, dipping it in black paint, and holding it
+    up in a prayer to the sun. While each person is expected to give two
+    pieces, they are not limited to the maximum number, some men giving
+    four and some still more. The bits of skin thus collected are tied
+    up in one corner of the cloth which is mounted upon a stick wrapped
+    with wild sage, the whole being fastened in a tree or set up on the
+    top of a high hill as the sun's offering. This sacrifice is always
+    spoken of as feeding the sun with flesh from one's own body. The
+    cloth is fastened to the stick in the form of a flag or banner so
+    that it waves in the wind with the flesh offerings tied in one
+    corner. This sacrifice is considered one of the greatest a man can
+    make.
+
+    Now, as I have said, some men only give two small pieces of skin,
+    while others give a great many more, but as they do this each time
+    they go on an expedition, it so happens that a man who made many war
+    expeditions has many small scars on his arms and legs. Thus, we can
+    still tell those of our old men who went upon the warpath many times
+    in their youth. We can tell by the scars made from feeding the sun
+    their own flesh. But, again, it so happens that men while at home
+    may have dreams in which they are commanded to feed the sun. Now it
+    is believed that unless a man heeds such a command, he is certain to
+    be visited by misfortune or even death, so he always makes haste to
+    comply with the command. After such a dream he makes a sweathouse
+    and invites in an old man who prays and makes the offering. The
+    procedure here is the same as previously described and the offering
+    is made into a banner and placed in a tree or upon a hill. Then
+    again, the men who are at home in the camp but who have relatives in
+    a war party may so wish for the safety of these that they themselves
+    offer bits of skin in their behalf. Thus, you see, there are many
+    times when people will offer bits of skin, so that it was not
+    uncommon for a man to have one hundred or more scars upon his body.
+    These are generally arranged in rows up and down the arms, down the
+    legs, down the breasts and the back. I have even heard of cases
+    where a man is said to have offered one hundred pieces of skin at
+    one time. This, however, was unusual.
+
+    [Illustration: Fig. 1. The Offering of Human Flesh. The bits of
+    flesh are tied in the corner of the banner. Drawn from a native
+    sketch.]
+
+    Sometimes, instead of offering skin, the warrior would offer a
+    finger. Thus, if beset by very great danger on the warpath a man may
+    make a vow to the sun stating that if brought home safely he will
+    sacrifice a finger. This sacrifice can be made at any time; either
+    when on the warpath or when at home in camp or at the sun dance. In
+    such cases, the finger is offered to the sun in the precise manner
+    as the pieces of skin described above.
+
+    There are, however, occasions upon which fingers are cut off that
+    are not offerings to the sun. Thus, people who are in mourning
+    sometimes sacrifice a finger. In those cases it is usual to call
+    upon some old woman who is skilled in the amputation. She cuts off
+    the finger, usually reciting a kind of ritual, but it is not offered
+    to the sun. It is simply thrown away. Then again babies' fingers are
+    sometimes cut off to give the child good luck. Thus, if a woman lost
+    many children she would call upon an old woman to make the sacrifice
+    for her newly born. In this case, the tip end of a finger is cut off
+    and wrapped up in a piece of meat which the mother is required to
+    swallow. This is supposed to insure the child's living to maturity.
+    It had no connection with the sun.
+
+    I have told you how men are called upon to cut off pieces of skin
+    and how certain old women were selected to amputate fingers. You
+    should also know that in olden times there were some women and men
+    who might be called upon to cut open dead persons for various
+    reasons. Sometimes they did this on their own account in order to
+    get information as to the cause of death.
+
+These accounts show for one thing that the cutting ceremony in the sun
+dance is but one of a type of blood and flesh offerings made to the sun,
+in fulfillment of a vow. The sacrifice of a finger is more frequent and
+less specialized, though frequently done at the sun dance. Then comes
+the very frequent offering of bits of skin, a sacrifice common in war
+raids at all times. The offering of bits of skin in the precise manner
+described here is found elsewhere in the Plains. The writer has observed
+men so scarred among several divisions of the Dakota. The method of
+removing the skin was here the same as followed by the Blackfoot. The
+thrusting in of the awl has a curious similarity to the cutting and
+skewering in the sun dance; one may even be pardoned for wondering if it
+did not so arise.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [16] McLean, John, "The Blackfoot Sun Dance" (_Proceedings of the
+  Canadian Institute_, third series, vol. 6, Toronto, 1888), 235-237.
+
+  [17] McLean, as an eye-witness to such a sacrifice, gives the
+  following:--
+
+  "As I stood outside the lodge, a young Indian friend of mine, went to
+  an old medicine-woman and presented his sacrifice to Natos. During the
+  year he had gone on a horse-stealing expedition and as is customary on
+  such occasions had prayed to Natos for protection and success,
+  offering himself to his god if his prayers were answered. He had been
+  successful and he now presented himself as a sacrifice. The old woman
+  took his hand held it toward the Sun and prayed, then laying a finger
+  on a block of wood she severed it with one blow from a knife and
+  deer's horn scraper. She held the portion of the finger cut off toward
+  the Sun and dedicated that to him as the young man's sacrifice." (p.
+  235.)
+
+
+
+
+SUN DANCE SONGS.
+
+
+Two songs have a special place in the ceremony. They are sung by the men
+as they ride into camp with the willows for the hundred-willow
+sweathouse. They are sung again when the procession of pole raisers
+moves up to raise the sun pole. Formerly, they were sung by any
+considerable body of the tribe approaching the camp of strange Indians.
+Likewise, when they approached a post to open trade.[18]
+
+Red-plume, a Piegan, has a smudge stick on which are notches said to
+represent the number of different songs used in the ceremonies of the
+medicine woman. There are 413 which is said to be the full number of
+songs. These, as has been stated in Volume 7, are in reality a part of
+the beaver bundle ritual.
+
+The singing at the dancing ceremonies after the sun lodge has been
+erected is usually confined to the songs of various societies concerned.
+There are, however, a few with characteristic airs that are regarded as
+peculiarly appropriate to the occasion, regardless of who may be
+dancing.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [18] For musical notation see McClintock, Walter, _The Old North
+  Trail, or Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfoot Indians_
+  (London, 1910), 311.
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE CAMP.
+
+
+In a previous paper, we called attention to the belief that the camp
+circle was formed expressly for the sun dance. Our informants say that
+formerly the circle was formed by the assemblage of the bands some time
+before the medicine woman began her fast. In winter, the tribes
+scattered out, usually two to five bands in a camp, often many miles
+apart. At the approach of summer, the husband of a woman having made a
+vow to give the sun dance sends a man to look up the camps and invite
+them to join his band. He carries tobacco and presents some to each head
+man with the invitation. As the head men receive the invitation, they
+order their bands to move, forming the circle at the medicine woman's
+camp. Once formed, the circle is not broken until after the sun dance, a
+period estimated at from two to four months. The whole body may move
+about and even make long journeys aside from the four ceremonial moves
+required while the medicine woman is fasting. After the sun dance, they
+split up into parties for the fall hunt and finally went into winter
+quarters. The import of our former statement is thus apparent. The
+suggestion is that the camp circle is intimately associated with the sun
+dance. At least, one point is clear, the camp circle is initiated by the
+woman who starts the sun dance and even so is one of the preparatory
+steps.
+
+As previously stated in Volume 7 of this series, there is much
+uncertainty as to the order of bands in the circle. We doubt if it ever
+was absolutely fixed beyond change at the will of those in charge of the
+sun dance proceedings.
+
+
+
+
+MYTHOLOGICAL NOTES.
+
+
+The way that several distinct myths are used to account for different
+features of the sun dance might be taken as a suggestion that the
+ceremony grew up among the Blackfoot. We suspect, however, that we have
+here an example of pattern phenomena. Those familiar with the detailed
+study of rituals in Volume 7 will recall that tradition recognized the
+obvious fact that rituals were not produced all at once, but grew by
+accretions. This is so marked in the mythical accounts of ritual origin
+that we may suspect its appearance in the mythology of the sun dance. On
+page 241 we have enumerated the myths accounting for important features
+of the ceremony. Among these are not included the parts taken by
+societies or the cutting sacrifices, they, as we have stated, not being
+regarded as integral parts of the sun dance.
+
+For the sake of completeness we offer some extracts from an unpublished
+version of the Scar-face myth:--
+
+We will take up this narrative at the point where Scar Face has killed
+the cranes and reported with their scalps. We are told that had not Scar
+Face killed these birds, they would always have killed people, but that
+since he overpowered them they now fear people and have done so ever
+since.
+
+    Now, the Sun, the Moon, Scar Face, and Morningstar had a scalp dance
+    while the Sun and Moon sang the praise songs in honor of Scar Face.
+    The Sun addressed Scar Face: "When your people kill enemies they
+    should scalp them and then give a scalp dance. Whenever anyone
+    counts coup or recounts his war experiences, the praise songs should
+    be sung." We have followed this custom ever since. Whenever anyone
+    related his war deeds, some old men or old woman sang the praise
+    songs, repeating the narrator's name during the singing.
+
+    The Sun was pleased with Scar Face. He directed Morningstar and Scar
+    Face to build four sweathouses, standing side by side, with their
+    entrances facing east. When they were completed, the Sun,
+    Morningstar, and Scar Face entered one of them, the Moon remaining
+    outside to close the door. After the Sun had worked over Scar Face,
+    he ordered the moon to open the door and they went into the next
+    sweathouse, again choosing the moon to be the door attendant. Now,
+    the Sun asked the Moon to point out her son. The Moon designated
+    Morningstar. They moved into the third sweathouse where the Sun had
+    Morningstar and Scar Face exchange seats. Again, the Moon was asked
+    to pick out her son. Though she noticed that the scar on the young
+    man's face had disappeared, she pointed to her own son. They
+    proceeded to the fourth sweathouse. Again, the Sun had the two men
+    exchange places. The Moon looked in and pointing to Scar Face said,
+    "This is Morningstar." The Sun replied, "You have mistaken him for
+    Morningstar, the other is our son." Ever since that time, Scar Face
+    has always been called Mistaken Morningstar.
+
+    Then the Sun gave Scar Face a buckskin suit decorated with porcupine
+    quills. On the breast and back of the shirt were quill-worked
+    rosettes representing the sun; the side seams of the leggings and
+    sleeves were covered with strips of quillwork three or four inches
+    wide. In addition, the sleeves and leggings bore hair fringes
+    representing the scalps of cranes killed by Scar Face. The Sun also
+    gave Scar Face a bow with a lock of hair fastened to one end, a
+    whistle made of a hollow reed, a bladder, and the robe worn by Scar
+    Face. To represent the scalping, the Sun painted the upper part
+    black. The whistle and the bladder were to be used on the woman who
+    had refused Scar Face. The bow too, is a reminder of the killing of
+    the cranes and is still used in the sun dance lodge. The Sun gave
+    Scar Face a circle of creeping juniper which the women that build
+    the lodge (the sun dance or medicine lodge) are to wear on their
+    heads.
+
+    The Sun told Scar Face of the sun dance, the lodge, and the
+    sweathouse, and added, "When you return to your people and wish to
+    make an offering to me, you must first build a sweathouse and there
+    make your offerings. Then I will hear your prayers and accept them.
+    You may also make offerings to me in the sun dance lodge." He
+    covered Scar Face's face with the "seventh" or red paint, drew a
+    black circle around his face and a black dot on the bridge of his
+    nose, and a streak of black around each wrist. He said to Scar Face,
+    "This is the way the people must paint when they make offerings to
+    me in the sun dance lodge. For the victory or scalp dance they must
+    paint their faces black." The Sun also gave him a necklace, in the
+    center of which were strung two small shells and a pendent lock of
+    hair, flanked on either side by four beads. This is the necklace
+    worn by the husband of the woman owning the natoas. The Sun's lodge
+    was made of white buffalo robes and some the color of beaver skins.
+    The door of the Sun's lodge faced the east. For this reason, tipis
+    were always turned so the doors faced east. Now Scar Face decided to
+    return to the place where Spider waited.
+
+    The narrative then proceeds in the usual way, except that the hero
+    calls all the men of the camp to take revenge on the young woman
+    after which he by magic turns her into a cripple.
+
+
+
+
+THE BLOOD AND NORTH BLACKFOOT.
+
+
+The writer has upon two occasions seen the ground where a Blood sun
+dance had been held. The dancing lodge, the sweathouse, etc., were still
+standing and all these were just as noted among the Piegan. The Blood
+lodge was a little larger, but the Piegan said that it was formerly so
+with them, they now having very poor timber to work with. We have in
+addition two brief published accounts of eyewitnesses.[19] The chief
+difference we could detect was in the secondary dances of the society
+where the Horns and the Matoki[20] took a very prominent part. As there
+are now no such organizations among the Piegan, this gives merely an
+outward appearance of difference.
+
+The Northern Piegan, as may be expected, also had the same form. As to
+the North Blackfoot, we have only the statement of other Indians that
+the sun dance was the same. The Sarsi[21] also had the very same form
+and we may suspect the Kutenai as well. At least, my Piegan informants
+asserted that the Kutenai had the sun dance from them. The problem here,
+however, must rest until we have more data, though Hale is of the
+opinion that the Blackfoot gradually displaced the Kutenai and took over
+many Plains traits from them.[22]
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [19] McLean, _ibid._, 231-237; McQuesten, _ibid._, 1169-1177.
+
+  [20] This series, volume 11, 410-418, 430-435.
+
+  [21] Goddard, Pliny Earle, "Sarsi Texts" (_University of California
+  Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology_, vol. 11, no. 3,
+  Berkeley, 1915), 192-195.
+
+  [22] Hale, H., "On the North-Western Tribes of Canada" (_Report,
+  Fifty-seventh Meeting, British Association for the Advancement of
+  Sciences_, 173-200, London, 1888), 198.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by 
+Clark Wissler
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35952-8.txt or 35952-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/9/5/35952/
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/35952-8.zip b/35952-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..694b1e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-8.zip
diff --git a/35952-h.zip b/35952-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddfeafc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-h.zip
diff --git a/35952-h/35952-h.htm b/35952-h/35952-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfddd5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-h/35952-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,2834 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" lang="de" xml:lang="de" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Anthropological Papers, by Clark Wissler
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    p.h1 {text-align: center;
+          font-size: 2em;
+          margin-top: 3em;
+         }
+
+    h1,h2,h3 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+        }
+    h1,h2  {padding-top: 5em;}
+    h2  {line-height: 1.5em;
+         padding-bottom: 2em;
+         font-variant: small-caps;}
+    h3     {display: run-in;
+            font-style: italic;
+            font-size: 1em;
+            font-weight: bold;
+           }
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%;
+               margin-right: 10%;}
+
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+                /*visibility: hidden;*/
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 3%;
+                font-size: 10px;
+                font-weight: normal;
+                font-variant: normal;
+                font-style: normal;
+                letter-spacing: normal;
+                text-indent: 0em;
+                text-align: right;
+                } /* page numbers */
+
+    .titlepage   {text-align: center;
+                  line-height: 2em;
+                  margin-top: 3em;
+                 }
+
+    hr { margin-top: 2em;
+         margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+         width: 45%;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+    .clear    {clear: both;}
+    .i        {font-style: italic;}
+    .right    {text-align: right;}
+    .b        {font-weight: bold;}
+    .big      {font-size: 1.5em;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;
+               text-align: center;
+               clear: both;}
+
+    .pad      {padding-top: 2em;
+               padding-bottom: 2em;}
+
+    .figcenter   {margin: auto;
+                  text-align: center;
+                  clear: both;}
+
+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;
+                       padding-left: 5%;
+                       padding-right: 5%;
+                       padding-top: 2em;
+                       margin-top: 4em;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%;
+                       margin-right: 10%;
+                       font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute;
+                       right: 84%;
+                       text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: .25em;
+                       font-size: .8em;
+                       text-decoration: none;}
+
+    .poem             {margin-left:10%;
+                       margin-right:10%;
+                       text-align: left;}
+    .poem br          {display: none;}
+    .poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+    .poem span.i0     {display: block;
+                       margin-left: 0em;
+                       padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+
+    ul                {list-style-type: none;}
+    ul.first li       {font-variant: small-caps;}
+    ul.second li      {font-variant: normal;}
+    .ralign           {position: absolute;
+                      right: 15%}
+    div.toc           {margin-left: 15%}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by Clark Wissler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
+
+Author: Clark Wissler
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35952]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+<p class="titlepage big">ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS<br />
+OF<br />
+THE AMERICAN MUSEUM<br />
+OF NATURAL HISTORY</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage smcap">Vol. XVI, Part III</p>
+
+<h1>THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS</h1>
+
+<p class="titlepage">BY<br />
+CLARK WISSLER</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/publisher.png" width="150" height="151" alt="The American Museum of Natural History" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="titlepage">NEW YORK<br />
+PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES<br />
+1918
+</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="h1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS.</p>
+
+<p class="smcap titlepage">By Clark Wissler.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span><a name="Preface" id="Preface"></a>Preface.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Blackfoot tribes, particularly the Piegan, have been more
+extensively studied than most other Plains Indians. The writer began a
+systematic investigation of their culture in 1903. At that time, the
+only works treating them seriously were those of the younger Henry,
+Maximilian, and Grinnell. There were some good fragmentary articles by
+McLean and Hale. Yet, since we began work on this problem, a number of
+excellent books have appeared. First, the long-forgotten journals of
+Mathew Cocking and Anthony Hendry who went to the Blackfoot country in
+1754 were printed. Then followed McClintock's delightful book, "The Old
+North Trail" and later, Curtis's highly illustrated account of the
+Piegan. Linguistic studies had been undertaken by Tims, but later,
+Michelson, Uhlenbeck, and Josselin de Jong brought out studies of the
+language and some aspects of social organization. Of more popular books,
+the only one to be considered here is Schultz's, "My Life as an Indian,"
+which, though in the form of fiction, is full of true pictures of
+Blackfoot life and thought. One unfortunate thing about all this
+subsequent activity is that it centered on the Piegan and as the
+writer's work was largely with that division before these publications
+appeared, there was no chance to rectify this asymmetry.</p>
+
+<p>The publication of this study of the sun dance has been long delayed in
+the hope that circumstances would permit a more intensive study of the
+ceremony among the Canadian divisions. But the time for making such a
+study has really passed, since those natives who had the knowledge
+essential to an accurate exposition of the sun dance are now dead. It
+seems advisable, therefore, to publish the data as they stand.</p>
+
+<p>The writer saw the Piegan ceremony twice, so that this study is based
+both upon objective observation and discussion with the native
+authorities on the subject. Later, Mr. Duvall checked over the data and
+conclusions with these and other informants. A large series of
+photographs was taken, but the important phases of the ceremony are so
+well shown in the published works of McClintock and Curtis that a
+repetition here is unnecessary.</p>
+
+<p class="smcap right">Clark Wissler.</p>
+
+<p>May, 1918.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="toc">
+<ul class="first">
+<li>&nbsp;<span class="ralign smcap">Page.</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Preface">Preface</a> <span class="ralign">225</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Sun_Dance">The Sun Dance</a> <span class="ralign">229</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Preparation_Period">Preparation Period</a> <span class="ralign">229</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Program_by_Days">Program by Days</a> <span class="ralign">230</span>
+  <ul class="second">
+<li><a href="#First_Day">First Day</a> <span class="ralign">230</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Second_Day">Second Day</a> <span class="ralign">230</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Third_Day">Third Day</a> <span class="ralign">230</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Fourth_Day">Fourth Day</a> <span class="ralign">230</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Fifth_Day">Fifth Day</a> <span class="ralign">230</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Sixth_Day">Sixth Day</a> <span class="ralign">231</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Seventh_Day">Seventh Day</a> <span class="ralign">231</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Eighth_Day">Eighth Day</a>  <span class="ralign">231</span></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Vow">The Vow</a> <span class="ralign">231</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Ceremony_of_the_Tongues">Ceremony of the Tongues</a> <span class="ralign">234</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Medicine_Woman">The Medicine Woman</a> <span class="ralign">240</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Procession_to_the_Dancing_Lodge">The Procession to the Dancing Lodge</a> <span class="ralign">248</span>
+  <ul class="second">
+<li><a href="#Offerings_of_Cloth">The Offerings of Cloth</a> <span class="ralign">249</span></li>
+  </ul></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Hundred-Willow_Sweathouse">The Hundred-Willow Sweathouse</a> <span class="ralign">250</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Dancing_Lodge">The Dancing Lodge</a> <span class="ralign">252</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Cutting_the_Thongs">Cutting the Thongs</a> <span class="ralign">254</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Raising_the_Sun_Pole">Raising the Sun Pole</a> <span class="ralign">256</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Weather_Dancers">The Weather Dancers</a> <span class="ralign">258</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Dancing">Dancing</a> <span class="ralign">260</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Society_Dances">Society Dances</a> <span class="ralign">262</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Torture_Ceremony">The Torture Ceremony</a> <span class="ralign">262</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Sun_Dance_Songs">Sun Dance Songs</a> <span class="ralign">267</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Sun_Dance_Camp">The Sun Dance Camp</a> <span class="ralign">268</span></li>
+<li><a href="#Mythological_Notes">Mythological Notes</a> <span class="ralign">268</span></li>
+<li><a href="#The_Blood_and_North_Blackfoot">The Blood and North Blackfoot</a> <span class="ralign">270</span></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+
+<p class="smcap center">Text Figures.</p>
+
+<div class="toc">
+<ul class="second">
+<li><a href="#fig1">1. The Offering of Human Flesh. Drawn from a native sketch</a> <span class="ralign">266</span></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span><a name="The_Sun_Dance" id="The_Sun_Dance"></a><span class="smcap">The Sun Dance.</span></h2>
+
+
+<p>In our earlier paper upon the bundles of the Blackfoot, we have
+concerned ourselves with ceremonial functions in which the ownership and
+chief responsibility, in theory, rested in a single individual. We come
+now to an affair initiated, it is true, by the owner of the natoas
+bundle, but yet a composite of other rituals and functions, each of
+which has a definite place in a program carried out by the whole tribal
+organization. The only trace of a similar tribal participation is in the
+now almost extinct tobacco-planting ceremonies conducted by the beaver
+owners; but here there was no complex of other unrelated ceremonies and
+functions. In short, the sun dance was for the Blackfoot a true tribal
+festival, or demonstration of ceremonial functions, in which practically
+every important ritual owner and organization had a place. Nevertheless,
+there were certain rituals peculiar to it which gave it its character.</p>
+
+<p>Since the plan of this section is to give an ethnological presentation
+of the Blackfoot sun dance, rather than a logically unfolding
+description of the ceremony as seen at a specified time, we shall
+present the general program now and take up later a somewhat analytical
+detailed discussion of the various phases of the ceremony. By this
+method, we shall be able to concentrate our attention upon a single
+ceremonial concept without the distraction arising from contemporaneous
+and intrusive procedures based upon other concepts, for as we shall see,
+this sun dance is a true composite. The following schedule is not given
+as the one observed by the writer, but as the one regarded as proper and
+believed to have been followed before the various divisions of the
+Blackfoot were under the complete domination of the Canadian and United
+States governments.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Preparation_Period" id="Preparation_Period"></a>Preparation Period.</h2>
+
+
+<p>After making a vow to purchase a sun dance bundle, the woman and her
+husband make the necessary arrangements and perform the prescribed
+rites. This is an indefinite period. At the approach of summer, the
+invitation tobacco is sent to all the bands and the camp circle is
+formed.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span><a name="Program_by_Days" id="Program_by_Days"></a>Program by Days.</h2>
+
+
+<h3><a name="First_Day" id="First_Day"></a>First Day.</h3>
+<p>The program opens with moving camp to a site previously
+selected. On the morning of this day, the medicine woman begins to fast,
+which may be taken as the real beginning of the ceremony. If the
+ceremony of "cutting the tongues" has not been previously performed or
+completed, it is now in order. In any event, the father and any male
+assistants he may choose to invite, spend a part of the day in "praying
+and singing over the tongues." A society brings in willows and a
+hundred-willow sweathouse is built.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Second_Day" id="Second_Day"></a>Second Day.</h3>
+<p>In the morning, the camp moves again to a site still
+nearer that proposed for the sun dance. A few green boughs of cottonwood
+are kept around the base of the medicine woman's tipi as a sign of its
+sanctity. A sweathouse is made, as on the previous day. "Praying and
+singing over the tongues" continues during the day and evening.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Third_Day" id="Third_Day"></a>Third Day.</h3>
+<p>The same as the second day.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Fourth_Day" id="Fourth_Day"></a>Fourth Day.</h3>
+<p>The camp moves again; this time to the site of the sun
+dance. In the afternoon, the fourth and last hundred-willow sweathouse
+is built and used. The singing continues during the evening in the
+medicine woman's tipi.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Fifth_Day" id="Fifth_Day"></a>Fifth Day.</h3>
+<p>This is an active day.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The various bands cut and drag in
+the poles and green cottonwood boughs to be used in constructing the
+dancing lodge. The center, or sun pole, is selected and brought in with
+the ceremonies pertaining thereto. During the day, the holes for the
+posts are dug and the sides of the dancing lodge put in place and
+prepared for the raising at sunset. A wind-break is erected at the west
+side, facing the forked end of the sun pole. Later in the day, some
+medicinemen take up their stations here to receive offerings to the sun
+and place them on the pole. In the forenoon, the ceremony connected with
+the opening of the natoas bundle begins in the medicine woman's tipi.
+This is completed by the middle of the afternoon when there is a
+procession from the tipi to the wind-break facing the sun pole. The
+thongs for the poles are cut. While these are taking place, some food is
+distributed among the poor people. Those women, who, during the past
+season, promised "to come forward to the tongues" now fulfil their vows
+by public declarations addressed to the setting sun. The pole raisers
+then approach from the four quarters, erecting <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>first the sun pole and
+then the rafters, with as much speed as possible. The medicine woman
+then returns to her tipi and the father with his male companions goes
+into a sweathouse.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Sixth_Day" id="Sixth_Day"></a>Sixth Day.</h3>
+<p>In the morning, a booth is erected in the dancing lodge for
+the medicinemen, or weather dancers. Later in the day, they approach,
+with processions made up of their respective bands, and take their
+places in the booth. At various times during the day, they dance to the
+sun. People also come up to be painted and prayed for. As a rule, the
+medicine-pipes are brought out for these men to bless and smoke. During
+the afternoon, the "digging dance" occurs, when the fireplace is made
+and the fire kindled.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Seventh_Day" id="Seventh_Day"></a>Seventh Day.</h3> <p>People still come to be painted or prayed for by the
+medicinemen. Later in the day, the dancing of the societies begins.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Eighth_Day" id="Eighth_Day"></a>Eighth Day.</h3>
+<p>The dancing may continue on this day; otherwise, camp is
+broken and the bands go their several ways. The dancing may continue
+several days, there being no definite time for closing the ceremony.
+Indeed, to the Blackfoot mind, the really vital part of the ceremony
+closes on the evening of the fifth day. The dancing of the societies is
+free to take its course as the various organizations see fit. In former
+times, however, it was customary to break camp any time between the
+seventh and tenth days.</p>
+
+<p>According to our information, the four camps of the medicine woman was
+the rule in olden times and a hundred-willow sweathouse was made at each
+camp. In recent times, but two moves seem to have been made; the first
+day marking the move from the regular home camp to the temporary one
+where the second day is also spent. But one of the hundred-willow
+sweathouses is now made&mdash;the one on the third day. Also, where formerly
+they used the ordinary type of sweathouse, at the close of the fourth
+day, the men now return to the hundred-willow sweathouse. The time then
+was "when the service berries are ripe", perhaps August, instead of
+Fourth-of-July week, as in recent years.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Even the fast is much
+abbreviated, usually but of two days' duration.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Vow" id="The_Vow"></a>The Vow.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The most important functionary in the Blackfoot sun dance is a woman,
+known among the whites as the medicine woman, and upon a clear
+comprehension of her functions and antecedents depends our understanding
+of the ceremony itself. Accordingly, we shall proceed with as complete
+an exposition <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>of her office as the information at hand allows. In the
+first place, a sun dance cannot occur unless some woman qualifies for
+the office. On the other hand, it was almost inconceivable that there
+should be a summer in which such a qualification would not be made. This
+attitude of our informants implies that public opinion had sufficient
+force to call out volunteers against their own wills. There was a
+feeling that an annual sun dance was, from a religious and ethical point
+of view, necessary to the general welfare, for which some individual
+ought to sacrifice personal comfort and property to the extent required
+by custom. As we shall see later, this was no small price to pay for a
+doubtful honor. This feeling was sure to express itself in the subtle
+ways peculiar to Indian society, if need be, to the direct suggestion of
+a candidate who in turn felt impelled to come forward as if prompted
+entirely from within.</p>
+
+<p>As a rule, however, the woman qualifies by a vow. Oftimes, when a member
+of the family is dangerously ill, one of the women goes out of the tipi
+and raising her eyes to the sun calls upon it that health may be
+restored to the ailing one. In such an appeal she offers to make gifts
+to the sun, usually specifying that she will sacrifice a piece of cloth,
+a dress, a robe, an ax, etc., which are after a time, provided the sick
+one improves, hung in trees or deposited upon a hill. Such appeals are
+still made with great frequency. It is believed that unless the woman
+has been industrious, truthful, and above all, true to her marriage
+vows, her appeal will not be answered. Sometimes, when the woman
+addresses the sun she promises to be the medicine woman at the next sun
+dance. She herself may be ill and promise such a sacrifice in case she
+receives help. Again, she may, out of gratitude for the satisfactory way
+in which her prayers have been answered, announce her intention to take
+this step. In such a case, a formal announcement is made to the sun. In
+company with a man, usually a medicineman experienced in the ceremonies,
+she steps out into the camp, where they face the sun whom the man
+addresses, explaining that as this woman asked for help in time of need
+and that inasmuch as it was granted, she in turn promises to be the
+medicine woman at the first opportunity. Some such formal announcement
+is made in every case where the prayers have been answered. By this
+formality, the vow receives public registry.</p>
+
+<p>As indicated above, the prayers are not always granted. In such cases,
+the promises are not only not binding, but to proceed with the sun
+dance, or to take a secondary part in it, would be to the detriment of
+all concerned. The fault is said to lie in the woman's life and that
+only the wrath of the sun would be invoked by her participation in the
+ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>It may be asked if a man can make such a vow. He may and does often call
+upon the sun, promising gifts of property or even scalps and may
+promise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> to furnish the material support for a wife, mother, sister, or
+in fact any woman who will come forward to perform the ceremony. Thus, a
+Blood chief once told us that he had been very ill all winter; that he
+had tried all kinds of doctors without relief, until he was stripped of
+all his property. At last, he recovered and then made a vow that with
+the help of his wife he would give the sun dance. This he did, but, as
+he expressed it, "with great difficulty because he was then poor and did
+not receive adequate help from his relatives."</p>
+
+<p>Again, it must be noted that women who do not feel equal to the
+responsibility of the medicine woman's office, make a vow to announce
+publicly their virginity or faithfulness to their marriage vows, as the
+case may be, though for an unmarried woman to make such a pledge is the
+exception. This is spoken of as "the going forward to the tongues," the
+full meaning of which will appear later. The manner and occasion of
+making this vow are in most respects similar to the preceding. At a
+certain stage of the sun dance proceedings, all the women who made such
+a promise to the sun, come forward and make their statements subject to
+the challenge of any man present. This bears some resemblance to the
+virginity tests of the Dakota, but applies more particularly to married
+women and marital virtue than otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally, the number of women making promises of this kind was much
+greater than for the more important ceremony. Thus, we have a custom of
+calling upon the sun in time of need which is an almost universal
+practice, a more restricted form of such appeal peculiar to women in so
+far that sexual morality is a necessary qualification, the more specific
+vow of "going forward to the tongues", and the exceptional vow to
+perform the medicine woman's functions at the sun dance, a fair
+illustration of the way in which most complex folk ceremonies are
+supported by a pyramid of less and less differentiated practices.</p>
+
+<p>In passing, it should be noted that when the vow is made to perform the
+medicine woman's functions, it is literally an obligation to purchase a
+natoas bundle, or if already the owner of a bundle, to perform its
+ritual.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> A woman may own more than one of these bundles at a time;
+indeed, we have heard of a woman purchasing new ones at several
+successive sun dances. This purchase is a fundamental feature in all
+bundle ceremonies to which the sun dance bundle offers no exception.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, the vow means more than the mere purchase of a
+bundle. We are told that the requirement as to virtue holds strictly for
+the vow and the tongue ceremony. A woman can buy a natoas in the
+ordinary <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>sense and have it transferred with the ritual even though
+she has not been true to her husband. We are reminded that
+Scabby-round-robe's wife<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> was not true to her former husband and that
+when her husband received a beaver bundle there went with it a natoas
+and accessories; but that while she could use them by virtue of her
+relation to a beaver bundle, she was not competent to make a vow and
+initiate a sun dance.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> This is consistent with the tradition that the
+natoas was once bought from a beaver bundle by a woman who gave the sun
+dance for that year and used instead of a wreath of juniper as in former
+ceremonies. It also throws some light on the relation of the natoas to
+the beaver and the sun dance rituals.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Ceremony_of_the_Tongues" id="Ceremony_of_the_Tongues"></a>Ceremony of the Tongues.</h2>
+
+
+<p>While it is obvious from the preceding, that the medicine woman takes
+her vow at no fixed period in the year, the order of procedure is such
+that as a rule, she must have taken her vow not later than the spring of
+the year in which the sun dance occurs. There is no absolute prohibition
+to qualifying at a later time, as is often the case at present when the
+consent of the Indian Agent must be obtained before the ceremony is
+permitted, but the normal order seems to be as just stated. Any way, in
+the spring, the medicine woman calls upon her relatives for buffalo
+tongues (in recent years, those of cattle). These are then saved as
+requested. In passing, it may be noted that in all ceremonies, the
+persons upon whom the burden of responsibility falls have not only an
+inherent right to call upon their blood relatives, but these in turn are
+under obligations to respond. The number of tongues required is
+uncertain, some informants claiming that there should be an even
+hundred, others, that four to five full parfleches was the standard.
+Naturally, in recent years, the number has been much less. These tongues
+are to be sliced, parboiled, and dried like meat. The slices, however,
+must be perfect, without holes, and come from the interior of the
+tongue.</p>
+
+<p>The slicing of these tongues appears to have been the first ceremony of
+the cycle. It is conducted by a man, usually the father, who formally
+announced the woman's vow and who conducts all the ceremonies in which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>the medicine woman takes part. There is no stipulation that the same
+man must direct all parts of the ceremony, but, by custom, this office
+is performed annually by the same man so long as he is physically
+capable. To this ceremony are called the medicine woman, the women who
+have promised to "go forward to take the tongues", and sometimes those
+having previously performed these functions.</p>
+
+<p>The manner of formally registering the vow and of collecting the tongues
+is stated as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Now the woman who made the vow calls on a man and woman who have been
+through the medicine lodge ceremony to announce it. The man and woman
+come to her tipi and paint her clothes and face and those of the
+relative for whom the vow was made with red paint. Prayers are offered
+for them and a few songs sung. After this, the four stand in front of
+the tipi and the man announces the vow. He says, "Sun, she is going to
+make a sun lodge for you. I think you and those who are above can hear
+what is said." Then they move in turn to the south, west, and north side
+of the tipi, repeating the same words at each stop and finally enter the
+tipi.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of the year, when the people run buffalo, the woman has
+her tipi a little towards the front or center. It may be that she is
+only with one of the bands, while the rest are camped elsewhere. Her
+tipi stands alone a little to the west of the others. The people are
+then notified that the tongues are to be given to the woman. Her husband
+mounts his horse and sets out, taking a pipe and tobacco, but no weapons
+with him. When he finds a man butchering, he sits down on a robe, fills
+his pipe, prays for those present, and smokes with them. The butcher
+cuts out the tongue, wipes it off with sagegrass, and places it near the
+man, who has spread some buffalo dung with sagegrass on top of it in a
+row before him. The tongues are placed on the sage and dung. The man
+then takes the tongues and rides to where the next man is butchering and
+goes through the same procedure. After he has gathered up all the
+tongues he takes them home. Each time buffalo are killed the man rides
+out to gather in tongues until he has accumulated a hundred.</p>
+
+<p>The tongues having been collected, an important ceremony follows with
+their boiling and slicing. An experienced man and woman are invited to
+direct; these are spoken of as the father and the mother. Also, all the
+women having made a vow "to go forward to the tongues" are invited. In
+addition, a number of women and men familiar with the ceremonies are
+called. The woman making the vow (the daughter) and her husband (the
+son) sit at the back of the fire; next to the former, sits the mother
+and then the other women; next to the latter, sits the father and then
+the men in order.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> The men sit on the north side and the women on the
+south. At the proper moment, the mother brings in the tongues, passing
+around to the south side, and lays them in rows on a half rawhide back
+of the fire. All the women having made vows are now called upon to slice
+the tongues. Their husbands must be present.</p>
+
+<p>The tongues are slit open and the women are invited to slice and boil
+them. When all the guests are present, one of the tongues is taken and
+painted black on one edge and red on the other, and given to the woman
+who made the vow. The rest of the tongues are handed to the women for
+skinning and slicing; if there were more tongues than women, each was
+given more than one to slice. After all the women have the tongues, the
+woman with the painted tongue makes a confession, saying, "Sun, I have
+been true to my husband ever since I have been with him and all my life.
+Help me, for what I say is true. I will skin this tongue without cutting
+a hole in it or cutting my fingers."</p>
+
+<p>The next woman also makes a confession, and so on. After all have
+confessed, they commence to skin the tongues. As the first woman takes
+up the knife, the song runs: "A sharp thing I have taken; it is
+powerful." The knife is painted, one half red, the other black. Should
+any of the women cut a hole in the tongue skin or cut their fingers, it
+is a sign that they must have lied and they are ordered from the tipi.
+At the outset, each woman carefully examines her tongue to see if the
+skin is perfect. Should a hole be found, the tongue is passed to the
+director who marks it with black paint. After the tongues are all
+skinned and sliced, they are passed back to the woman who distributed
+them and placed in a wooden bowl. The skins of the tongues are tied in
+bunches with sinew so that they can tell to which woman the skins
+belong.</p>
+
+<p>The skins are to be boiled by two women. Two sticks are given to one
+woman and one to the other. All this time singing is going on. The woman
+who has the two sticks paints them black, while the woman who has the
+other, paints it red. The three sticks are tied together at one end and
+are used as a tripod for hanging the kettle in which the skins of the
+tongues are to be boiled. The legs of the tripod, the wooden kettle
+hook, and all other sticks are painted half in red and half in black.
+Also, the kettle is marked with four vertical bands of black and four of
+red. The four blunt sticks for stirring the pot are painted in pairs,
+red and black. A red and black painted stick is slipped through the
+bail, passed around to the north of the tipi, and handed to the two
+women. During all these movements there is praying and singing. The
+women each take hold of one end of the stick and go for water.</p>
+
+<p>They make four pauses on this journey, each time praying to the sun and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>
+asserting their marital rectitude and recounting such occasions as they
+have been improperly approached by a man. All this time, the father and
+his assistants sing in the tipi. One of the women takes a cup, makes
+four movements with it and dips the water. At this moment the song
+runs:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The water that I see.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Water is sacred."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the return, the women make four pauses as before. When the pail is
+finally within the tipi, incense is burned between the fireplace and the
+door and the pail held in the smudge. The father takes up the board upon
+which some of the tongues lie and while holding it up in one hand,
+shakes the cup about in the water, meanwhile making a noise like the
+buffalo, finally striking the pail a blow with the cup. Here the song
+runs:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Buffalo will drink."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This may be taken as marking one stage of the ceremony. The boiling of
+the tongue is now in order. When all is ready, the father starts the
+songs in the next series. The two women hook the kettle on the tripods
+and while the kettle is heated, there are other songs and incense burned
+and the song runs:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Where I (buffalo speaking) sit is sacred."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>While the water boils, the director takes up a tongue, holds it above
+the kettle, lowers it slowly, making a noise as if something were
+drinking. After this, the women place the tongues in the kettle and
+proceed with the boiling. Here or elsewhere, songs accompany the
+ceremonial acts. The pot must not boil over.</p>
+
+<p>When the tongues have cooked, the two women rise and stand by the fire
+as the songs begin. At the proper moment, they remove the kettle and
+place it on the spot where the smudge was made. First, they take out the
+painted tongues and then the others. The father takes up a small piece,
+singing:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Old Man (sun), he wants pemmican.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He wants to eat.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Old Woman (moon), she wants back fat.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She wants to eat.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Morningstar, he wants broth.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He wants to eat."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Then the painted tongue is passed to the daughter. Now, each of the
+women tears off a bit of the tongue skin and all hold up the pieces and
+pray. After the prayers, the pieces are placed in the earth and the
+tongues are hung up to dry. First, the rope is taken up and a song sung.
+The woman who made the vow, rises and ties one end of the rope to the
+tipi pole on the north side and the other end to the tipi pole on the
+south side, a little to the west of the fireplace. All the tongues, both
+painted and unpainted, are hung on this rope.</p>
+
+<p>During all these ceremonies there is no regular smudge. The smudges are
+made with sweetgrass on the grass near the rear of the tipi. The tongues
+are left to hang for two days before they are taken down to be cooked.
+When the tongues have been hung, all return to their homes, the women
+taking the tongue skins with them for their relatives to eat, as they
+are considered to be blessed and supposed to bring good luck.</p>
+
+<p>After two days, all meet again in the same tipi. The two women who went
+for the water place the tripods over the fire and while songs are sung,
+the pot is passed to them with the red painted sticks. The two women,
+each holding one end of the stick, go for water, praying on the way.
+When they return to the tipi a smudge, over which they hold the bucket
+of water, is made between the door and the fireplace. Then the bucket is
+placed beside the smudge. While the others sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises and first takes the painted tongue and then the others from
+where they were hung. They are then placed on a buffalo hide and the
+woman returns to her place. Four women sit down near the tongues; each
+one takes a tongue, one of which is the painted one. Kneeling and
+swaying their bodies in time with the songs, they sing the buffalo
+songs. The painted tongue is placed in the kettle first and a song is
+sung: "When buffalo go to drink; it is powerful. Where buffalo sit is
+powerful (natojiwa)." Then the rest of the tongues are placed in the pot
+which is hooked on the tripod over the fire. Songs are sung and four
+sticks, about the length of the forearm, for stirring the tongues, are
+placed where the tongues were first placed. One of the cooks takes a
+pair of the sticks and stirs the tongues with them. When removing the
+tongues from the kettle they are held between two of these sticks.</p>
+
+<p>Another song, called the song of rest is sung, and all rest for a time
+and smoke. When the tongues are cooled, another song is sung, the two
+cooks rise, and taking the pot, place it over the smudge place near the
+door. To the singing of songs, the painted tongue first, and then the
+others, are taken out and placed on half a rawhide. The soup is poured
+into wooden bowls and distributed among those present. No tin cups must
+be used in drinking this soup. While all sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> and first takes the painted tongue and then all the others
+and hangs them up as before. This ends the ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, the same participants are called together to the same
+tipi and the woman rises and takes first the painted tongue and then the
+others from where they were hung. A parfleche is brought and a buffalo
+song sung: "Buffalo I take. Where I sit is powerful." The painted tongue
+and then the others are placed on the parfleche. Wild peppermint is put
+in with the tongues, the parfleches are tied up and placed at the rear
+of the tipi. Sometimes tongues are dried in front of the tipi on a stage
+made by setting up two travois with a lodge pole tied between them.</p>
+
+<p>The man and woman who lead the ceremony must not have any metal about
+them. Brass rings, earrings, and all such trinkets must be taken off.
+Nor must there be any knives in the vicinity. Even the knives with which
+the tongues are cut are taken out. No one must spit in front of him, but
+always close to the wall under the beds. If they do, it will rain. No
+water is brought into the medicine lodge and when water is brought, it
+is covered. The only time when it is permitted to eat or drink is before
+sunrise and after sunset. They must be given food by the instructors.
+The prayers in this ceremony are prayers for good luck for everyone in
+the camp.</p>
+
+<p>This closes the preliminaries to the ceremonies leading to the sun dance
+and may be designated as the cutting of the tongues. As in most other
+cases, there seems to have been considerable variation in this
+procedure, both as to time and order. Certainly, for a number of years,
+it has been much abbreviated. As implied in the program, this ceremony
+may be performed on the first day. The gathering of tongues was
+dependent upon circumstances and after the days of the great buffalo
+drives was a matter of gradual accumulation. Thus, it was explained that
+by necessity, the "cutting" was often repeated, though naturally with
+less ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>The parfleches containing tongues are kept in the medicine woman's tipi
+where they are "prayed and sung over" during the first and second days
+of the program. The underlying thought seems to be that they are
+consecrated to the sun.</p>
+
+<p>In the procession of the fourth day, the parfleches are carried behind
+the medicine woman by her attendants. In former years, these were the
+women who had promised "to go forward to the tongues." They are present
+at the ceremony in the medicine woman's tipi and may be said to be in
+attendance during the entire fasting period. At the time indicated in
+the program, the parfleches are opened and the women in turn step out
+with some of the dried tongue, face the west, and each holding up a
+piece, address the sun then nearing the horizon. They declare their
+innocence of adultery, as at the time of making the vow and cutting the
+tongues. They also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> pray for themselves and their relatives after which
+they distribute dried tongue among them. Finally, there is a general
+distribution of tongues among the people.</p>
+
+<p>However, there is another aspect of their appearance at this point. The
+Blackfoot assume that many women have at one or more periods of their
+lives been invited by a man to commit the offence and that often the
+occasion is one of great temptation or calls for great presence of mind
+and will power. Now, when addressing the sun, if so approached, the
+woman narrates the circumstances, naming the men committing the offence,
+and recounts the manner of her refusal. In naming the offender, they
+usually say, "I suppose he hears what I say." These women are also
+subject to challenge of their having committed adultery. It will be seen
+from this that the part they take in the ceremony is an ordeal for which
+most women have little liking and one which they will not undertake
+lightly. The Blackfoot, themselves, regard it as one of the most solemn
+occasions in the ceremony. So far as we could learn, no one now living
+was ever present when one of these women was challenged, but the naming
+of men who were guilty of improper advances was not unusual.</p>
+
+<p>A retrospect of the concept of the tongues indicates that the entire
+ceremony, or their association with the medicine woman and those who are
+sexually pure, gives them a potency that may be acquired by eating. They
+seem most closely associated with sexual purity since they are less
+primary in the function of the medicine woman than in case of those who
+"go forward," the former being required to possess many virtues, the
+latter but one. While the medicine woman fasts and keeps to her tipi,
+the others do not.</p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Medicine_Woman" id="The_Medicine_Woman"></a>The Medicine Woman.</h2>
+
+
+<p>We shall now give our attention to the medicine woman. As previously
+stated, she is in most respects the central figure in the whole
+ceremony, around whom centers its more serious and solemn aspects. On
+the fifth day, an elaborate ritual is demonstrated in her tipi,
+culminating in the procession to the dancing lodge. To this ritual
+belongs a medicine bundle with accessories, known as the natoas, though
+the name is primarily that of the headdress which the bundle contains.
+This bundle is transferred in the ritualistic way to the medicine woman
+by the ceremony and thus becomes hers to care for and guard until used
+again at another sun dance ceremony. The ritual and the bundle have been
+discussed in detail in Volume 7 of this series. In addition to the
+contents of the bundle, there must be a special robe of elkskin, a dress
+of the same material, and wristlets of strong elk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> teeth. A new travois
+must be provided for moving the medicine woman outfit. Sometimes she
+herself rides on it. This travois is made by the past medicine woman,
+her attendant in the ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>As previously stated, the natoas ritual in the sun dance has for its
+mythical basis the Elk-woman and the Woman-who-married-a-star, though
+Scar-face, Cuts-wood, Otter-woman, and Scabby-round-robe are said to
+have made minor contributions. Versions of these myths may be consulted
+in Volume 2, part 1 of this series. The Woman-who-married-a-star is
+credited with bringing down the digging-stick and the turnip, together
+with the songs pertaining thereto (p. 61), also a wreath of juniper
+formerly worn in place of the natoas and the eagle feather worn by the
+man.</p>
+
+<p>It is also interesting to note that the Crane-woman who transfers the
+ritualistic attributes of these objects makes a formal declaration of
+her marital virtue. In the case of Elk-woman, we have again the incident
+of the Crane and the digging-stick where it is implied that the latter
+symbolizes the bill of the former. We are informed that many animals
+were present at this transfer, each contributing something to the
+regalia. We also find it suggested that the bunches of feathers on the
+natoas represent the horns of the elk, the elk robe and elk teeth
+wristlets further symbolizing that animal. In one version of this myth
+is the antagonistic implication that Elk-woman was not quite up to the
+standard of marital virtue. In the Cuts-wood myth the "going forward to
+the tongues" is accounted for. Scabby-round-robe is credited with adding
+the necklace and the arrow point to the natoas and Otter-woman with the
+wild cat-tail.</p>
+
+<p>The following statement of an informant has a bearing upon this point:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The natoas is said to have come from the Elk. It was first owned by
+beaver bundle men, but it was the custom for the medicine woman in
+the sun dance to borrow it for her ceremony. This continued for a
+time, but ultimately the medicine woman bought it and kept it in a
+bundle of her own. The feathers on the front of the natoas are said
+to represent the horns of Elk and the plumes at the sides, the leafy
+top of the large turnip. This is the same turnip which the woman who
+went to the sky land is supposed to have dug up. The digging-stick
+which accompanies the natoas also represents the stick with which
+she did this digging. Some of the songs in the natoas ritual speak
+of little children running about and this refers to the ball-like
+image on the front of the natoas, for this image is stuffed with
+tobacco seeds, which, as you know, are often spoken of as children,
+or dwarfs (p. 201). The broad band upon which the natoas is mounted
+is said to represent the lizard. All these things, it is said, were
+added to the natoas, one at a time, by some of the beaver men. So it
+came about that we have the natoas as it is.</p>
+
+<p>Now, as to the story about the Elk giving the Natoas the robe and
+the wristlets used with it. The objection is sometimes made that
+this first woman who ran away from her husband to join the Elk was
+not a true woman and that the facts are therefore inconsistent with
+the ideal of the natoas ritual. Yet, some of our people claim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> that
+the woman was true and that though she went away with the Elk it was
+merely for the sake of receiving the ritual and that this is evident
+because in the story it tells how she was able to hook down trees by
+her magical powers and it is not conceivable that she could do this
+if she had not been a true woman.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The ceremonial transfer of the sun dance bundle really begins with the
+fasting of the medicine woman on the first day. Neither she nor her
+husband are supposed to eat or drink while the sun is visible, and then
+but sparingly. On the evening before, they are put to bed by the father
+and mother. The mother places the daughter on the south side of the fire
+and the father the son on the north side. They must remain in the same
+position until morning. Before the sun rises the father and mother go to
+the medicine woman's tipi, stand by the door and sing. They sing as they
+formally enter, the father raising up the son; the mother, the daughter.
+The man is taken out by the father and the daughter by the mother for
+the morning toilet. When they return a small amount of food is fed to
+the son and daughter, after which the father and mother take a little
+food and drink. This must be before sunrise. During the day the son and
+especially the daughter must sit quietly in their places with bowed
+heads and eyes cast down. She wears a buffalo robe, hair side in,
+painted red, covering her head as well as her body. Her hair is not
+braided, but hangs down freely except for a horizontal band around the
+head. The hair may be allowed to conceal the entire face.</p>
+
+<p>The daughter must do nothing for herself. If she wishes to speak it must
+be in almost a whisper in the ear of the mother or other attendant, who
+in turn will announce the import, if necessary. A fire is kept burning
+in the middle of the tipi, the ears are closely drawn around the smoke
+hole, the door closed, and the tipi cover securely staked down at the
+edges. Though this keeps the temperature high, the medicine woman cannot
+use a fan, but may use the skin of a muskrat to wipe the perspiration
+from her face and hands.</p>
+
+<p>During the fasting period no noise must be made in the tipi. All the
+attendants must avoid unnecessary conversation and speak in a very
+subdued tone; utensils must not be rattled or struck together. Visitors
+may enter, but respectfully and quietly. No noises should be made in the
+vicinity of the medicine tipi and boisterous acts abstained from in all
+parts of the camp circle. If water is brought in the vessel must be
+covered. No one should spit in the tipi nor do the other things
+forbidden at the ceremony of the tongues.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the whole period there is a male attendant. He keeps the fire
+alive during the night and until camp is moved. He can only start the
+fire with an ember from some other tipi, striking fire in the tipi being
+strictly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> prohibited. Pipes can only be lighted from the fire by this
+attendant with service berry sticks. A blaze must be avoided as much as
+possible. The attendant cuts the tobacco and fills the pipe and when
+burnt out he must empty the ashes into a small hole in the ground near
+his seat. Everyone is expected to sit quietly, leaving the moving to
+him. He remains on duty during the night also.</p>
+
+<p>Formerly, the tipi of the medicine woman was moved three times, four
+different camps resulting, the last being at its position in the circle
+for the sun dance. As a considerable journey was often necessary to
+reach the sun dance site these camps might be far apart. Theoretically,
+the camp is pitched late in the afternoon of each day. At the sun dance
+a special sweathouse ceremony takes place. This will be discussed later.
+After this the evening and greater part of the night are spent by those
+in attendance at the medicine woman's tipi in rehearsing the songs and
+instructing the son and daughter.</p>
+
+<p>Like everything else, moving the camp of the medicine woman is a formal
+matter. The travois is made, painted red, and reserved for the special
+use of the medicine woman. When the time for breaking camp in the
+medicine woman's band arrives, she and her husband are led out and
+seated upon a robe at the west or rear of their tipi, facing in the
+direction to move. The parfleche of tongues and other paraphernalia are
+brought out by the attending women and put down beside the couple. The
+mother directs the attending women in taking down the tipi and hitching
+the horse to the travois. The parfleche of tongues is packed on the
+travois. When all is ready, the woman and man are led to their horses
+and assisted to mount, the woman riding the horse to the travois. The
+father and the son go ahead in single file, next the mother and the
+daughter, or medicine woman. They pause four times, as songs are sung.
+After they get some distance out, they stop and wait for the camp, now
+moving for the first time. This procession of four always leads, the two
+men side by side and behind them the two women likewise. At noon, when
+they stop for lunch, the two are again seated on a robe, the travois
+unhooked and laid down before them. Then follows the camp some distance
+behind. The old men form a circle and smoke near the pair.</p>
+
+<p>At this time the father orders one of the men's societies to go forward
+and mark out a camp site. When this spot is reached, tipis are pitched
+and when everything is in place the medicine woman and her husband are
+taken inside.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of each day a society is given instructions to make the
+sweathouse at the camping place, a man to get the creeping juniper and
+another to cut out the smudge place. As the sweathouse procedure is a
+distinct ceremony, it will be treated under another head.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The following account of the evening ceremonies in the medicine woman's
+tipi was given by Red-plume:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>In the evening, after sunset, the first sweathouse is made. All
+those who took part in the ceremony before and a few other old men
+are invited. The man who fills the pipes and tends to the smoking
+during the ceremony remains on duty during the whole sun dance
+ceremony. Four-bears is told to tell the mosquito society to sing
+that night in their own tipi which is inside of the circle. This
+society is to sing the sun dance songs, the weather-makers dancing
+songs, the rest of the people remaining quiet through the night. In
+the medicine lodge they sing until a little before day-break.</p>
+
+<p>The smudge place in the medicine lodge on the first day and for the
+first sweathouse is a square marked in the soft earth with a
+crescent in the middle of it. It is not painted. Under the crescent
+is a dot where the smudge is made.</p>
+
+<p>When all the guests are assembled in the tipi the ceremony for the
+evening begins. Food is given to all; the medicine woman and her
+husband have their meat cut up for them. While a song is sung a
+piece of meat is held over the smudge, four passes made with it, and
+then fed to the man and woman. The same thing is done with water.
+After this they may help themselves to the food. After the meal is
+over the singing begins. The sweetgrass is taken up and a song sung:
+"Old man, takes spring grass. Old woman comes in with her body."
+Another man takes the smudge stick and places a live coal on the
+smudge place. The singer holds the grass over head and then brings
+it down on the coal. This song is for the morningstar: "Morningstar
+says let us have a sweathouse." Seven songs are sung for the sun and
+moon which are spoken of as the old man and old woman. These with
+the seven sung for the morningstar make fourteen sung thus far.</p>
+
+<p>Since the men have been in the sweathouse where the paint has all
+washed off, five songs are sung to re-paint the man and woman. As
+the man sings, he takes some red earth paint with a ball of fat
+which he rolls in the palms of his hands. The song is: "Old man says
+red face I take." He makes a streak crosswise on the man's forehead,
+vertically on his cheeks, and across the chin. The entire face is
+then covered with the same red paint. The robe is then taken from
+the man's shoulders. He sings another song as he takes up the
+sagegrass and brushes one side of the man's head, his arm, and then
+his body. At the same time, the woman is painted on the other side
+of the tipi. Another song is sung and he takes the paint, rubs it in
+his hands, and sings: "This man I am making his body holy,
+powerful." The same words are sung for the woman. The man's body and
+robe are then painted.</p>
+
+<p>When the tongues were first taken in to be sliced, two round buffalo
+dungs together with a ball of sweetgrass were given to the man and
+woman. They keep these to wipe the paint from their hands. A song is
+sung for the dung. The two men and the two women hold their hands
+over the dung. They make four motions with the closed fists and then
+touch the ground to the southeast, southwest, northwest, and
+northeast of the dung. The words in this song are: "This may help me
+to live long, and help me through life." There is also part of a
+buffalo dung. The smudge stick is taken up, with the song: "Timber I
+am looking for? Timber I have found and taken." The two men and the
+two women all grasp the forked stick. They sing as they take up the
+dung with it and gradually move it up the stick until it rests on
+the fork. Then it is held over the fire. Someone knocks the dung
+into the fire and it is covered with ashes. The song is: "Powerful,
+I start. Powerful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> where I sit." To throw the dung off into the fire
+is a sign that enemies will be conquered.</p>
+
+<p>Four songs are now sung for the muskrat skin used to wipe the faces
+of the man and woman: "Man says, my medicine, I am looking for. I
+have found it." The skin is taken up. Two songs are sung for the
+parfleche with tongues in it. It is taken up very slowly and the
+singing continues during all the movements made with it. It is held
+over the smudge and placed to one side, the cords untied, and the
+tongues taken out and distributed to all who are now in the tipi.
+The two medicinemen and women also eat. The song when first taking
+up the parfleche is: "Buffalo I am powerfully starting. It is
+powerful where I sit." When undoing the cords the words are:
+"Buffalo I take some." When the first tongue is taken out, a little
+piece is held up by everyone, prayers are said, the small pieces are
+placed on the ground, and they begin to eat them.</p>
+
+<p>Seven songs for the eagle tail feather with which the sun is
+supposed to have brushed off the scar from Scar-face's face and is
+supposed to be the feather brought down from the sun by Scar-face
+follow: "Old man says, hand me a feather." The feather is passed to
+the man. Another song follows: "Old man says he wants a hundred
+feathers. Old woman wants different kinds of feathers." Seven more
+songs are sung, the words of some of them are: "This man says that
+above have seen me. It is powerful. The ground I see is powerful.
+Old man, says, white buffalo robe I want. Old woman, says, Elk I
+want. Old man says, don't fool me. Old woman says, don't fool me."
+The meaning of this is to be sure and give them what they ask for,
+that is, offerings made at the sun dance to the sun, moon, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Seven songs are sung before they take up the rattles and the rawhide
+and five songs for the raven. At this time, the man takes hold of
+one of the rattles by the ball part touching it to the ground, while
+he holds the end of the handle straight up. The raven songs are:
+"Raven says, buffalo I am looking for; buffalo I take. The wind is
+our medicine. The brush is our home. Buffalo I take." The man pecks
+the rattle handle with one finger on both sides and crows. Then they
+begin to beat the rattles on the rawhide and shake them in a circle
+once.</p>
+
+<p>Now seven songs are sung for the smudge which is made of a species
+of fungus that grows on a kind of willow. The songs: "Old man says,
+all right, may my lodge be put up. Old woman says, all right may my
+lodge be put up or built." These words mean that the sun and moon
+are speaking and want the sun dance lodge built without any
+accidents.</p>
+
+<p>The next songs are for the natoas bundle which is not opened. The
+songs: "Old man comes in, he says, I am looking for my bonnet. I
+have found it. It hears me. It is medicine." The old woman sings and
+uses the same words in her songs. There are six of these bonnet
+songs. The songs for the badger skin follow: "The man above hears
+me; he is powerful. The ground is my home; it is powerful." There
+are four songs for the badger. The badger skin and other things are
+not handled, the songs about them are simply sung. The songs for the
+natoas are: "Old man says I am looking for my bonnet. I have found
+it: it is powerful." The woman then sings a song with the same
+words, which is followed by a song about the stone arrow points on
+the natoas. There is a song for everything which makes up the bonnet
+which is as follows: the leather band, the blue paint on the band,
+the stuffed weasel skin tied crosswise on the bonnet, the weasel
+tails hanging from the bonnet, two feathers in front, and two
+behind, two plumes on each side of the bonnet, a flint arrow point,
+a buffalo calf tail, a snipe, and a small doll the head of which is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
+stuffed with tobacco seed. The song for the doll on the bonnet is:
+"Children are running about. They are running from us. They are
+running towards us. They are boys. They are powerful." The man says,
+"Give me the child," and makes the movement of reception. Another
+song is sung: "Child is crying," and the man imitates the crying of
+a child. The song for the little birds is: "Bird says water is my
+medicine; it is powerful," for the calf tail: "Man says calf tail I
+want," and for the arrow point: "Sharp points are on both sides."
+Then follows the song for the leather band which represents the
+lizard: "Yonder man, I am angry and mad at you." This song of the
+lizard refers to the prairie dog chief. The blue paint on the band
+represents water and the song for it is: "The blue waters are our
+medicine." The song for the feathers is: "Feathers I want." Another
+song for the plume on the feathers: "Red I want." This closes the
+evening ceremony. The man and woman are put to bed and all go home.</p>
+
+<p>This is the ceremony after the first sweathouse is made. Three more
+moves of the entire camp and three more sweathouses must be made.
+The fourth move and sweathouse is where the sun dance takes place.
+Nowadays, only one sweathouse is made for the sun dance.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>It seems that the final camp is marked out by a society laying rocks
+around its bounds, according to which the arriving bands find their
+proper places.</p>
+
+<p>At the fourth camp and on the fourth day, the natoas bundle is opened,
+or its formal ritual demonstrated. Early in the day another tipi is
+pitched before the medicine tipi and the covers are joined, thus
+enlarging the space and providing for a few spectators. A few men and
+women are invited to assist in the ceremony: the men use the rattles and
+with the women aid in the singing. The father and other men sit on the
+north side of the tipi, the former next the medicine woman's husband;
+and the other women sit on the south side, the mother next to the
+medicine woman. She directs the medicine woman and the singing of the
+other women. The ceremony opens at about ten <span class="smcap">A. M.</span> with the first series
+of songs in the ritual. Three men hold a rattle in each hand, beating
+them upon the rawhide by a vigorous downward forward stroke, the seventh
+rattle is used by the father.</p>
+
+<p>The ritual of the natoas will be found in Volume 7, pp. 215-220.
+Normally, this ceremony transfers the natoas to the daughter. She may,
+however, waive the right, in which case the bundle returns to the former
+owner. Yet, she seems to enjoy all the privileges accorded to one having
+been an owner.</p>
+
+<p>Theoretically, no one can perform a transfer ceremony without having
+first owned the bundle in question. In case of the natoas, even now, a
+beaver owner is regarded as competent to conduct the proceeding, though
+he may never have gone through the ritual with his wife. This is
+consistent with the tradition that formerly the natoas was a part of the
+beaver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> bundle.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Yet, the conditions here are slightly different from
+those for other bundles in that the father must provide or is charged
+with the responsibility to see that a natoas is provided. Following the
+vow, either he or the son makes formal application to the owner of a
+natoas by the usual presentation of a pipe.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>When the daughter begins her fasting, the father has the natoas brought
+to her tipi. As a rule, the father's wife owns a natoas. Some informants
+claim that even should the daughter own a natoas, the father must
+provide another. On the other hand, the daughter can select the eligible
+natoas. In any case, the father furnishes the daughter with a dress and
+an elk robe for which he must be paid liberally.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<p>In conclusion, it may be remarked that anyone can make up a natoas, if
+he has a dream so directing him; also, if he owned a natoas that was
+lost or otherwise destroyed; if he gave it away, without receiving
+payment; or if it was buried with someone. Having owned a natoas and
+transferred it, he cannot duplicate it; should the new owner lose it, he
+may, if called upon, replace it; likewise, if buried, the surviving
+husband or wife could call upon him. In all such cases fees are given.
+When one transfers a medicine bundle and has been paid for it, he has no
+more right to it and cannot duplicate it on his own motion. Should one
+sell the bundle without the ceremony of transfer, the ritual remains
+with him and he can again make up the bundle; should one make the
+transfer and fail to receive the pay, or waive the pay, he can make it
+up again. The relatives of one buried with a bundle can call upon a
+former owner to make it up, after which it must be formally transferred
+to one of them. Men were sometimes killed on the warpath and their
+bundles lost; such were replaced as noted above. In every case these
+must be true duplicates; it is only a dream that authorizes new
+creations, or variations, however slight.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the idealized qualities of this
+woman's function by the following narrative:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Once while a medicine woman was sleeping in the sacred tipi during the
+fasting, a nephew of her husband stole in and made improper advances.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>Being a good and true woman, like all others who give the sun dance,
+she spurned him. Next day she told her husband the whole story. He was
+very angry. He was not satisfied with the confession she made, but
+suspected that she must have given the young man some encouragement. So
+when all the medicinemen and women had come into the tipi to rehearse
+the songs as usual, he made a statement of these suspicions and as he
+had two wives, he proposed to have them change places.</p>
+
+<p>The medicinemen pleaded for the first wife because they believed her
+innocent, but the husband was obdurate. So the second wife was called in
+to take the place. Then the first wife said, "It was I who saved this
+man's life when he was ill. I made the vow to give the sun dance and he
+got well. I have suffered much in fasting, all for him. Now he disgraces
+me before all the people. But I will put my virtue to a test. If I am
+true, I have already acquired power."</p>
+
+<p>She filled a pipe, went outside and standing now on the east side of the
+tipi, then on the south, the west, and the north, she addressed the sun.
+The day was clear, but soon after the woman entered the tipi, thunder
+was heard. A storm came down with hail and blew over many tipis. But in
+spite of these proofs, her husband was obdurate and the second wife went
+on with the ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after the sun dance this same man became ill again. Finally, as
+a last resort, he called upon the first wife to save him again. This
+woman told him to call upon the other woman as he seemed to have so much
+faith in her. So he died and was properly punished for so unjustly
+treating his faithful wife.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Procession_to_the_Dancing_Lodge" id="The_Procession_to_the_Dancing_Lodge"></a>The Procession to the Dancing Lodge.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In our account of the natoas ritual we told how the father, son, etc.,
+emerge from their tipi. The file is headed by the father, followed by
+the son, next the mother, then the medicine woman followed by women
+bearing the tongues. The father and the son are muffled in blankets
+(robes); the latter walks with bowed head, leaning heavily on a staff
+and bearing over his head a wild rhubarb stalk.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> The medicine woman
+wears the natoas on her head, an elkskin (often buckskin) dress and an
+elkskin robe, with the digging-stick on her back. For a staff, she uses
+one of the smudge sticks. The women in her rear bear parfleches
+containing the tongues, together with blankets and other ordinary
+objects. Two or three old men act as <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>conductors, or flankers, keeping
+the way clear of spectators, etc. The procession moves slowly and by
+stages. The four principal personages in it keep their eyes upon the
+ground. The course is southward past the entrance (east side) to the
+dancing lodge, around the south side, the rear of the shelter and
+entering from the north side. Here the medicine woman remains until the
+dancing lodge is raised at sunset, when she returns to her tipi and
+breaks her fast with berry soup. The father and the son go to a
+sweathouse after which their responsibilities also end. During the
+continuance of the ceremonies in the sun lodge, the medicine woman cares
+for the natoas bundle, now her property, until transferred to another,
+but is otherwise free to do as she likes. She usually remains quietly at
+home receiving guests and resting.</p>
+
+<p>The part of the medicine woman is truly a sacrifice. She and her husband
+must pay liberally everyone called upon for ceremonial service directly
+connected with the tongues and the natoas ritual. They must also pay a
+considerable amount of property for the natoas itself. To give the
+ceremony means the sacrifice of all personal property. On the other
+hand, there is compensation, aside from fulfilling the vow. Her
+relatives are very proud of her since she is so virtuous. She is highly
+respected by her husband and family. In a measure those who "take the
+tongues" are also respected. The medicine woman may act as the mother in
+a future sun dance for which she will receive presents and she may
+eventually realize something by transferring the natoas to another.
+Should anything go wrong during the ceremony, the weather be
+unfavorable, etc., people will look with suspicion upon her and say she
+must have lied in her confession to the sun. Should she become ill or
+have deaths in the family, the same charge will be made.</p>
+
+
+<h3><a name="Offerings_of_Cloth" id="Offerings_of_Cloth"></a>The Offerings of Cloth.</h3> <p>After the procession headed by the father and
+he is in position at the west side of the dancing lodge, offerings of
+cloth and clothing are brought up by the people. A man making such an
+offering hands the father a filled pipe and the cloth. The father holds
+the pipe and offers prayers for the giver and lights and passes the pipe
+to other old men sitting around. The cloth he lays in a pile. Then he
+paints the giver: first the face is smeared over with red, then black
+spots are daubed on the cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin, four in all. A
+black circle is marked around each wrist. Women bringing offerings and
+pipes go to the mother who prays for them and paints their faces red
+with a black spot on the nose and a black circle around the face. There
+is also a black circle around each wrist.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Hundred-Willow_Sweathouse" id="The_Hundred-Willow_Sweathouse"></a>The Hundred-Willow Sweathouse.</h2>
+
+
+<p>As stated before, a sweathouse of special form is constructed on the
+third day. This is said to have originated with Scar-face, it being the
+house into which he was taken by the sun. About the middle of the day a
+society is sent out for the willows. These were usually those of the
+younger men; the pigeons and mosquitoes. There is a belief, however,
+that in former times only warriors could be sent upon this errand. These
+persons are mounted and return in procession, singing and circling the
+medicine woman's tipi in the direction of the sun, and deposit their
+willows at the west side of the camp circle. They must not drink water
+while on this duty.</p>
+
+<p>An older society is called to build the sweathouse. They must not drink
+water while engaged in this operation and receive some of the tongues
+after the ceremonies of the fourth day. Formerly, these men must have
+had a coup to their credit as a qualification and some informants claim
+that the sum total for the society should have totalled at least one
+hundred, the number of willows. The work begins some time before sunset
+by which time the sweathouse should be completed.</p>
+
+<p>The willows are stuck into the ground in an oval and their tops bent
+over and interlocked over the top. The ends point toward the east and
+the west, an opening or door being provided at each. The willows are
+then painted, one side red and the other black. Next, a hole is dug in
+the center of the structure for the heated stones. In the meantime, a
+small heap of stones mixed with firewood has been placed some distance
+to the east. A buffalo skull is painted with red spots on one side and
+black on the other. Sagegrass is thrust into the nose and eye-sockets.
+Robes are then thrown over the willows and all is ready for the
+procession from the medicine woman's tipi.</p>
+
+<p>The procession from the medicine woman's tipi consists of the father and
+another man experienced in ceremonial affairs, the husband, the mother
+and the medicine woman. They approach slowly and by stages, passing
+around the south side of the sweathouse to the north and then to the
+east or entrance. All keep their eyes on the ground. The husband walks
+with a heavy staff; the medicine woman carries the natoas bundle with a
+smudge stick.</p>
+
+<p>The men enter the sweathouse, while the two women go to the west side
+and sit down facing the east. The medicine woman is on the north side
+with the bundle before her. After the men have entered, the fire is
+lighted and some of the attendants (builders of the sweathouse) lift the
+buffalo skull to the top of the sweathouse where it faces the east.
+Prayers and the usual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> sweathouse procedure now follow while the stones
+and a pail of water are passed in by an attendant. The covers are then
+drawn down and the vapor bath taken.</p>
+
+<p>After the ceremony the procession returns to the medicine woman's tipi.
+The cover is removed from the sweathouse and the buffalo skull placed on
+top where it remains.</p>
+
+<p>Should there be more than one medicine woman, another sweathouse is made
+on the east side of the camp circle and the others grouped around them
+equally.</p>
+
+<p>Since after the sweathouse ceremony there is formal singing in the tipi
+until far into the night, it may be said that during the four days of
+the fast the ceremonies begin with the sweathouse at sundown, while on
+the fifth day the ceremony begins in the morning and ends at sundown.</p>
+
+<p>To this generalized statement the following account from a Piegan may be
+added:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Now, when the first sweathouse is to be made, orders are given in
+the morning to one of the societies to get the willows to make the
+hundred-willow sweathouse. Another man is to get the creeping
+juniper to use in the smudge place in the medicine lodge, and still
+another is to cut out the smudge place. The moves are short. The
+people all move camp, as before, and the society goes on ahead and
+stakes out the camping ground. When the tipis are pitched at the new
+camping ground, the society comes in with the willows and the rocks
+for the sweathouse. They circle once around to the right of the
+lodges and stop outside of the circle, west of the medicine lodge.
+They must neither eat nor drink while building the sweathouse. They
+gather wood from among the tipis until they have enough to heat the
+rocks. Robes for covering the sweathouse are borrowed from the
+people of the camp. One man goes to the medicine lodge and digs out
+the smudge place.</p>
+
+<p>When the sweathouse is ready for the medicinemen, four of the men
+who helped in the construction go and inform the men and women. They
+carry the parfleche with the tongues in it on a robe, each man
+holding a corner. The two medicinemen take the lead, the two women
+follow, then come the four men with the parfleche. Four stops are
+made before they reach the sweathouse. The instructor leads, and is
+followed in single file by the other man, and the two women walking
+very slowly and singing. They march once around the sweathouse in
+the direction of the sun. The other old men who are to join them and
+the two medicinemen go in while the two women remain seated on a
+robe just west of it with the parfleche beside them. A smudge is
+made with sweetgrass, and a crescent-shaped place marked out between
+the square hole and the rear of the sweathouse and live coals are
+placed on the dot in front of the crescent. A song is sung while the
+smudge stick is taken up and a man goes after the coal for the
+smudge. The sweetgrass is placed on the live coal and the two songs
+for the smudge are sung: "Spring grass I take. Where I sit is
+powerful." A pipe is handed in and the pipe bowl and stem painted
+red. The man holds the pipe over the smudge and prays for the one
+who gave it to him and then passes it to the last man to his right
+who lights it and all smoke it. When the pipe is all burnt out, the
+man who blessed it, takes it, and with a red-painted stick loosens<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
+the ashes and empties some of them on the southeast corner of the
+square hole in the sweathouse, then on the northwest corner, on the
+northeast, and finally in the center.</p>
+
+<p>After this the buffalo skull is brought in and the songs of the
+buffalo sung while the same man paints it with black and red dots,
+the left half black and the right half in red. Grass is stuffed into
+the eyes and nose of the skull which is passed out through the west
+of the sweathouse and placed on the earth taken out of the hole in
+the sweathouse. An extra buffalo horn wrapped with swamp grass is
+brought in and given to the man who paints it red and sings while
+doing so: "Chiefs of other tribes I want to hook." He throws the
+horn out and all the men of this society who remain near the
+sweathouse try to catch it. The one who captures it is considered
+lucky and he is supposed to capture a gun in the next battle he
+witnesses.</p>
+
+<p>The men in the sweathouse all undress and as they pass their robes
+and moccasins out through the west of the sweathouse and the door,
+the buffalo songs are sung. The two medicinemen only wear a robe and
+moccasins when they go into the sweathouse. While singing, the
+forked stick is taken up and one of the outsiders goes for the
+heated stones, stopping four times before he brings them in. One of
+the men who is inside takes the stone with two straight sticks and
+places it on the southeast corner of the hole, the same is done with
+four more stones which are placed on the southwest, the northwest,
+the northeast corner and the fifth is placed in the bottom of the
+hole at the center. When a sixth stone is placed in the hole, they
+are all rolled to the bottom of the hole. Water and a horn spoon or
+wooden bowl is brought in.</p>
+
+<p>A little water is thrown on the stones to wash them, the curtains
+are lowered, and prayers to the sun, moon, and stars, and earth
+begin. In groups of four, sixteen medicine lodge songs are sung. The
+curtains are raised and four more songs are sung; the sweathouse is
+opened and four songs are sung, until the sixteen have been
+completed. The two medicinemen go out through the west of the
+sweathouse while the rest go through the door. The men dress, and
+the parfleche containing the tongues is opened and the tongues given
+to the members of the society who made the sweathouse. The
+medicinemen and women do not eat. After all are provided with the
+tongues a piece is broken off each and while all hold the pieces up
+a prayer is said and the piece of tongue placed on the ground. Then
+they all begin to eat. After this the robes are all returned to
+their owners, the buffalo skull placed on top of the frame of the
+sweathouse with the nose pointed towards the east and the
+medicinemen and women return in single file while four men follow
+behind carrying the empty parfleche. The men who belong to the
+society may now eat and drink as they wish.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Dancing_Lodge" id="The_Dancing_Lodge"></a>The Dancing Lodge.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The dancing lodge may be said to take its origin on the fourth day, by
+which time the medicine woman has her tipi in place near its site and
+the camp circle has been formed. In construction, nine forked tree
+trunks about nine feet in height are set in a circle. Across their tops,
+except the eastern face, are laid stringers about fifteen feet long of
+the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> material.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> In the center, is another forked tree trunk much
+higher than the other (this we shall call the sun pole) connected with
+each of the stringers by a rafter. Green boughs are placed thickly
+against the outside of the lodge. On the inside, at the rear, is a booth
+screened and roofed with boughs. The material is cottonwood. That other
+woods were occasionally used, is attested by the fact that a locality is
+known as "the place of sweet pine dancing lodge."</p>
+
+<p>Some informants claim that in former years each band was required to
+furnish two rafters, a post, a rail, and their proportionate amount of
+boughs. Two rafters were used instead of one as now, each band
+furnishing the section opposite their place in the circle. The
+contradiction between the number of bands and the size of the dancing
+lodge seems not to have troubled our informants. Now, the young men go
+out during the early part of the fourth day to cut the poles and boughs.
+This is done without ceremony. A crier usually rides around the camp
+circle reminding the various bands of their duty. Formerly, the young
+women went out on horseback to drag in the poles and brush. On this
+occasion, they dressed in the best costumes and used the finest horse
+trappings obtainable. The men cut the poles and brush, hitching them to
+the drag ropes with their own hands. As the procession galloped toward
+the camp circle, the men rode behind, shooting and yelling. In recent
+years, the men bring the material in on wagons without demonstration.</p>
+
+<p>Men of some prominence are selected to dig the holes for the posts. The
+posts are erected and the stringers put in place, excepting one on the
+west side nearly opposite the entrance. The rafters are leaned against
+the stringers, ready to be pushed in place and the green boughs piled up
+at convenient places near by.</p>
+
+<p>The cutting of the sun pole is attended with some ceremony. Some
+informants claim that formerly this was to be carried out by the
+medicine woman's band; others that one of the men's societies was called
+upon for <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>this service. In any event, they go out as a war party and
+locate a suitable tree. A man with a war record, preferably one having
+struck an enemy with an ax, comes forward, takes an ax, paints the blade
+as he recounts some event in which he killed an enemy, and then strikes
+the tree. Four such deeds must be told before the tree can be felled.
+Then one or two men cut the tree as the others stand around. As the tree
+begins to fall all give the war cry and shoot at its top, then rush up,
+and tearing off branches, wave them in the air as if they were trophies
+from an enemy. Indeed, the whole proceeding, from start to finish, is a
+mimic attack on an enemy.</p>
+
+<p>The pole is cut to approximate form and taken to the site of the dancing
+lodge. One end is placed on a travois (in recent times on a wagon),
+while the riders assist with their ropes, their horses massed around the
+travois horse.</p>
+
+<p>The hole for the sun pole is dug without ceremony by relatives of the
+medicine woman. When it is in place, they tie a bundle of green boughs
+in the fork,<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> making everything ready for the raising in the evening.
+The sun pole now lies on the ground with the butt over the hole and the
+forked end supported by a piece of timber. The fork points to the west.
+It seems that formerly the pole was painted. Just below the fork it was
+circled by two black bands and two red ones beneath these.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Cutting_the_Thongs" id="Cutting_the_Thongs"></a>Cutting the Thongs.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A fresh cowskin (formerly two buffalo hides) is provided that thongs may
+be cut for binding the rafters to the stringers and the objects placed
+on the sun pole. There seems to have been no hunting ceremony for
+providing this hide and there is now no symbolic hunting. After the
+medicine woman is in the shelter, the ceremony of cutting the thongs
+takes place. If no one volunteers, men are "caught." The men who cut the
+thongs last year may do the "catching" or engage representatives to do
+it. Formerly, this function was exercised by old warriors who had
+captured enemies alive. The "catchers" go quietly about the camp looking
+for eligibles. While pretending to pass one by without notice, they
+suddenly lay hold of him. The victim may pull back, but is not allowed
+to resort to other means <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>of resistance. He is then led up to the hides
+near the front of the medicine woman's shelter. In former times, four
+such men were brought up for the ceremony. They must have coups to their
+records, otherwise they would not have been selected. In the ceremony of
+1904 we observed an attempt to "catch" a man on horseback, but the
+struggles of the horse enabled him to escape. In former times, the
+friends of the interested party would have gathered around the rear and
+sides of the horse forcing him forward in the lead of the "catcher".
+This whole catching procedure is said to symbolize the capture of an
+enemy.</p>
+
+<p>In order to understand the ceremony that now takes place, it is
+necessary to know that the right to cut the thong is to the Blackfoot a
+medicine to be transferred for gifts of property as in case of other
+medicines. The men who did the cutting in the previous year are to
+"sell", or transfer, this year. It is they who do the "catching", either
+in person or by deputy. Should no one be brought forward, those who
+performed the rite on the previous year must again serve. As soon as a
+man is caught, his relatives are notified; they come out with all kinds
+of property to support him in the transfer. The initiate is brought into
+the presence of the present owner of the right, his hands and face are
+painted, accompanied by ritualistic prayers. While this proceeds, an old
+man (usually a relative) stands somewhat apart and shouts out praise for
+the initiate. However, this may be done by a woman, if no man comes
+forward. A horse and other property is then given to the former owner of
+the right, whence it ceases to be his. The deputy "catcher", if there is
+one, then receives a small present or two from the former owner.</p>
+
+<p>The cutting of the thong then takes place. The new owner of the right,
+standing up by the hide, shouts out his coups. He holds the knife in his
+hand and while pointing in different directions with it, he tells of a
+war deed. At the end of each tale he makes a pass with the knife as if
+to cut the hide. After four deeds are told, he cuts the hide. For
+example, he may say, "At such a place I captured a horse which gives me
+the right to cut this, etc." If there are other men with the right, they
+follow in turn. After this, the thongs are cut with the assistance of
+other men and distributed at the places where they will be needed. A
+thong with the tail attached is used to bind the bunch of boughs to the
+sun pole, the tail hanging down.</p>
+
+<p>While this ceremony is going on, gifts of flour, beef, etc., made by
+white people are distributed among the old poor people. This is regarded
+as a recent intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>The following extract from an unpublished version of the Scar-face myth
+accounts for the thong-cutting ceremony:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Her husband could tell by her eyes that she had been crying and he
+said, "I told you not to dig up that turnip, but nevertheless you
+have done so. Since you are lonesome and wish to return to your
+people, I will take you back." Then Morningstar went out and killed
+some buffalo. After he had skinned all of them he cut the hides into
+long strands, fastened them together, and tied the woman and her
+child to one end and let her down from the sky to where her people
+were.</p>
+
+<p>Before she reached the earth, a little sore-eyed boy was lying on
+his back, looking up at the sky and saw a very small object coming
+down. The boy told the men who were playing the wheel gambling game
+what he saw, but they laughed at him and threw dirt in his eyes and
+said, "You must see the gum on your eyelids or lashes." As the
+falling object came closer others noticed it and when it came among
+the group they knew that it was the woman who was missing from the
+camp. They untied the rawhide strand and noticed that some of the
+buffalo tails were on the ends of the long rope which lay piled up
+high before them.</p>
+
+<p>This woman came down with her digging-stick. As she was not a wicked
+woman and only lived with Morningstar as her husband, she gave her
+digging-stick to the medicine lodge woman and the natoas was named
+for the turnip she dug up. When the sun dance was held, this woman
+told them always to cut up a rawhide into strands and tie the posts
+with them. Also that the center post and the birch on it must be
+tied with them. The tail of the hide is to hang down from the center
+post. These rawhide strands are a representation of the rawhide rope
+with which this woman was let down to the earth. Later, the moose
+hoofs are tied to this digging-stick. The plumes on the natoas are
+to represent the leaf of the large turnip this woman dug up while in
+the sky.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Raising_the_Sun_Pole" id="Raising_the_Sun_Pole"></a>Raising the Sun Pole.</h2>
+
+
+<p>While the hide is being cut, all the woman who made vows to take some of
+the tongues come forward to the parfleche placed near the medicinemen
+and women. Each woman takes one of the tongues and stands with the
+person for whom her vow was made and makes a confession to the sun in a
+loud voice, so all may hear. Then she prays to the sun for the
+beneficiary. After all the women have taken their tongues, some of the
+men tie the cloth offerings to the ends of the poles and a bunch of
+birch is tied between the forks of the center pole.</p>
+
+<p>The preceding ceremony comes to a close as the sun gets very low. About
+time for the sun to set, a procession of pole raisers starts from each
+of the four quarters of the camp circle. Tipi poles are tied near the
+small ends in pairs, each pair carried by two men. The four parties
+advance in unison by four stages and at each pause sing a special song.
+In the last move, they rush upon the sun pole and raise it in place. In
+the meantime, the father and son go and stand on the center pole while
+their wives stand to the west. The men make wing movements with their
+arms toward the east. According to some informants, the medicine woman
+may make hooking motions at the pole, to symbolize the mythical
+Elk-woman.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Four men are called upon to assist the father and son. As the latter
+stand upon the pole, they encircle and screen them with their blankets
+and join the father in singing. The songs call for good luck in erecting
+the dancing lodge. The son does not sing. Four songs are sung. At the
+end of each the father blows a whistle while someone shakes the pole.
+The last time they jump off the pole. The son drops his blanket (some
+say the father also, some add moccasins) painted black as a sun
+offering. Another blanket is handed him at once.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the men leave the pole the advancing raisers rush in, raise
+the center pole, put on the rafters, tie them with the rawhide strands
+and place brush all around to form the wind-break. This is accompanied
+by much shouting, but without shooting.</p>
+
+<p>While the sun pole is being raised the daughter and mother stand
+watching it. They pray and make movements with the corners of their
+robes as though steering the rising pole. As it sways from side to side,
+they gesture as if righting it.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the pole is set, the natoas, robe, and moccasins are taken
+off the daughter by the mother. She may call on someone to do this and
+pay a gun or a horse for the service. The mother and other attendants
+then lead the daughter to her tipi where she resumes her ordinary
+routine.</p>
+
+<p>The father and son go to a sweathouse where all the paint is washed off.
+This is not the hundred-willow sweathouse and is the fifth sweathouse,
+if it were counted. The two men go in and some sagegrass being handed to
+the father, he takes off the feathers tied to the son's hair, the hair
+necklace, and whistle. After the first opening of the sweathouse he
+takes the sagegrass and wipes off the black paint on the son and hands
+out through the west side of the sweathouse the necklace, whistle, and
+feathers which are to be taken home. At the same time, the two women are
+in the ceremonial lodge, the mother caring for the daughter.</p>
+
+<p>When the men have completed the sweathouse ceremony they go to the
+medicine woman's tipi. The father and his wife wrap up the natoas and
+place it in the badger skin. After this is done, they no longer have to
+eat sparingly. This ends the ceremony of the medicine woman.</p>
+
+<p>Early the next day she and her husband must obtain the cottonwood brush
+with which the booth for the weather dancers is made. Another man digs
+out the place in the booth, making it the same as the smudge place in
+the medicine woman's tipi, with the sod on three sides and creeping
+juniper on top of it. The fireplace is dug out to the west of the center
+post and is made as in the medicine woman's tipi. When going for and
+returning the brush, the woman rides one horse and leads the one
+dragging<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> her travois. While when the other brush was brought in there
+was much shooting and shouting, there are now no demonstrations of any
+kind, but absolute silence.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Weather_Dancers" id="The_Weather_Dancers"></a><span class="smcap">The Weather Dancers.</span></h2>
+
+
+<p>Early on the fifth day, a booth is built inside the dancing lodge
+opposite the entrance. A slight excavation about six feet square is made
+over which is erected a shelter of green cottonwood boughs, open on the
+side facing the sun pole. Before the middle of the day, a procession of
+one or more men supposed to have power over the weather, attended by
+drummers, proceeds by stages from the medicine woman's tipi to this
+booth. They pause four times and dance, facing alternately the east and
+the west. They hold whistles of bone in their mouths, which are sounded
+in unison with the dancing. The procession is of two transverse lines,
+the dancers, in front, the drummers and singers behind. A great deal of
+dancing is done between the entrance to the dancing lodge and the booth.
+At intervals during the day they stand before the booth and dance to the
+east and west: the drummers are now stationed on the south side of the
+booth where women also assemble for the singing. The dancing is chiefly
+an up and down movement produced by flexing the knees, the eyes are
+directed toward the sun and wing-like movements of the hands are made in
+the same direction. The dancers wear breechcloth and moccasins and
+usually a robe around the waist. Their faces and bodies are painted
+according to their own medicines and medicine objects worn on their
+heads.</p>
+
+<p>It is stated that there is but one weather dancer, but others may join
+under certain conditions. In practice this seems to amount to there
+being a director or leader in the dance, at least such was the case in
+1903 and 1904. In 1904 the two assistant dancers went to the medicine
+woman's tipi to paint themselves and began their procession from there,
+while the leader approached in a similar manner from his own tipi, the
+two forming one procession before the east side of the dancing lodge was
+reached. The leading dancer wore a special ceremonial robe, headdress,
+and several medicine objects, which have been described in Volume 7 (pp.
+98-99).</p>
+
+<p>These objects and their medicine functions may be regarded as esoteric
+in so far as they are not absolutely essential to the office of leading
+dancer. Yet, this same individual seems to have performed this function
+for a number of years. Clark mentions strings of feathers tied to the
+finger of this dancer.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>In 1904 there were two assistant dancers. Both wore headdresses
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>somewhat like that of their leader. One was fully dressed with a
+blanket around his waist; the other was nude to the belt. The latter was
+painted chiefly in red with a circle in blue on the back and one on the
+breast. The former had a pair of horizontal lines on each cheek, those
+on the right, black, on the left, red.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that formerly these dancers were nude, except for the
+breechcloth and moccasins. The entire body was painted. There seemed to
+have been no fixed painting, but the sun, moon, and stars were usually
+represented. Around the head, they wore a wreath of juniper and bands of
+sagegrass around the neck, wrists, and ankles.</p>
+
+<p>The weather dancers are not permitted to eat or drink during the day.
+Formerly, they remained in the booth continuously until the evening of
+the fourth day of their dancing; in recent years, they spend the night
+at home and return to the booth in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>The functions of these dancers are not clearly understood. They seem to
+be held responsible for the weather: i.&nbsp;e., upon them falls the duty of
+preventing rain from interfering with the dancing. Whether they do this
+because they happen to have independent shamanistic powers or whether it
+is a mere function of their temporary office in the ceremony, cannot be
+determined. Other medicinemen often attempt to control the weather
+during the days preceding the formal entry into the booth as well as
+during the later days. In 1903 (Piegan) there was a contest between a
+number of rival medicinemen some of whom conjured for rain, others for
+fair weather: strange to say, clouds would threaten and then pass away
+during these days, which coincidence was interpreted as proof of evenly
+matched powers. Several times one of the partisans of fair weather came
+out near the site of the dancing lodge and danced to the sun, holding up
+a small pipe and occasionally shouting. He wore no regalia and danced in
+a different manner from that observed among the weather dancers at the
+booth. However, the man who led the weather dancers for many years until
+his death in 1908, was famous for his control over the weather. Once, it
+is told, he became enraged at the power making the weather bad, shouting
+out "Now, you go ahead, if you want to. I have great power and can stop
+you when I will."</p>
+
+<p>In former times, the dreams of the weather dancers while sleeping in the
+booth were considered of special supernatural significance, since, it is
+said, they were <i>en rapport</i> with the sun. This <i>rapport</i> may account
+for what seems to be one of their chief functions&mdash;blessing the people.
+During the days they are in the booth, individuals come to them "to be
+prayed for." They come up and stand before the booth. The dancer takes
+black paint and paints their faces. Then he prays to the sun for their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
+welfare. During this part of the ceremony the recipient faces the sun.
+Again, the medicine-pipes and other ritualistic objects are brought up
+for the dancer to present to the sun. The pipes he holds up with the
+stems towards the sun, whom he addresses at some length, offering him a
+smoke, making requests, etc., after which he smokes the pipe. All the
+persons present are then permitted to put their lips to the pipe from
+which they are supposed to derive great benefits. The dancer also
+receives offerings made to the sun. A young man may fill a pipe and
+approach with his offerings. The dancer takes the pipe, smokes, prays,
+paints the man's face, and makes the offering. A woman or child may do
+this; or a whole family. Formerly, a great deal of old clothing was
+offered at this time, a custom still practised by the Blood. Also
+children's moccasins and clothing were offered in this way. As they grew
+out of them they were given to the sun to promote well-being. In last
+analysis, it seems that while these dancers are spoken of as weather
+priests, they are rather sun priests, since through them appeals to the
+sun are made. It should be noted that they are regarded as independent
+of and in no way associated with the medicine woman ceremonies or the
+erection of the dancing lodge, but upon entrance to the booth, the
+leading weather dancer is said to become the chief and director of all
+succeeding ceremonies. The length of the ceremony depends entirely upon
+him and formerly continued as long as he kept his place.</p>
+
+<p>Like other rites this one was bought and sold, but it was usual to
+continue in ownership many years. Anyone could make a vow to dance with
+the weather dancer and join him in his ceremonies, but such vows were
+usually made by former owners of the rite. When one makes a vow to
+purchase the rite, its owner must sell, however reluctant he may be. The
+transfer must be in the sun dance. It is said that two men once
+alternately sold to each other for many years so that both could appear
+in every sun dance.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Dancing" id="Dancing"></a><span class="smcap">Dancing.</span></h2>
+
+
+<p>The first ceremony of this character is named the cutting-out dance (to
+cut out a hole in a robe). It seems to have been performed by a society
+and occurs early on the fifth day. About four or six old men dance in
+line with a rawhide which they hold in front of them, singing and
+beating time on the rawhide with rattles similar to those of the beaver
+men. The society now divides into two parties, one placing itself north
+of the center pole, and the other party standing in line south of the
+center pole. The two parties dance back and forward in front of the pole
+shooting at it. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> old men on the west side of the center pole dance
+in their places. The rawhide held in front of them, hangs down like an
+apron. They beat time on it, holding the rawhide in one hand, and the
+rattles in the other. An old man counts deeds and marks out with a knife
+the fireplace and the booth for the weather dancers. These are dug while
+the dancing and shooting take place.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>The hole, or fire pit, is dug between the sun pole and the entrance to
+the dancing lodge. It is about three feet by two and "two hands" deep. A
+warrior is then called to start the fire. Warriors now come forward in
+turn to count their coups. In this a man took a piece of firewood and
+holding it up, called out in a loud voice how he once struck a Sioux, a
+Snake, etc., then placed it in the fire. When he had recounted all he
+gave way to the next. Stories are told of men having enough coups to
+make a fire large enough to threaten the destruction of the dancing
+lodge. We were able to confirm the statement of Clark<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> that the
+height of the flame as determined by a buffalo tail hanging down was the
+criterion for determining a great warrior. One informant states as
+follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>There is always a cow tail hanging down from the center post. In olden
+times this was a buffalo tail, to the end of which a blackened plume was
+tied. This hangs down over the fireplace which was used at night to
+furnish light for the proceedings. The assembled people were entertained
+by narratives of warriors as they came forward to narrate their deeds;
+each threw a stick on the fire for each deed counted and he whose fire
+blazed high enough to reach the tail was considered a great warrior. It
+was a great honor when a man could tell enough war deeds to scorch the
+tail. All this time there was singing (the cheering songs) and drumming,
+while berry soup was served to all. The persons taking part are
+designated as those "who are about to make the fire." In recent years,
+this ceremony has been performed in a very perfunctory manner.</p>
+
+<p>After the ceremony, the fire was fed in the ordinary way and kept going
+during the greater part of the succeeding days. The origin of this dance
+is often ascribed to Scar-face.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span><a name="Society_Dances" id="Society_Dances"></a>Society Dances.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In former times, the succeeding days were apportioned to the men's
+societies (the ikunukats) in the order of their rank, beginning at the
+lowest.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> There seems to have been no fixed allotment of time to each,
+only the order of succession being adhered to. The ceremonies were
+determined chiefly by the respective society rituals, though the
+recounting of deeds in war was given great prominence. As a rule, each
+society closed its ceremonies by offering parts of its regalia, etc., to
+the sun, a custom still observed by the Blood (See vol. 11, this series,
+fig. 19, p. 411). After the highest society had completed its function,
+the leading men of the tribe held a kind of a war dance in which coups
+were recounted. In this dance, again, rattles were beaten upon a
+rawhide. The organizations or persons having charge of the day's
+ceremonies must furnish the feast and all necessaries. The medicine
+woman and her husband usually repair to the dancing lodge each day. The
+man usually takes his pipe and tobacco and furnishes the smoking for the
+guests who sit around. His wife wears the buckskin dress and elk robe,
+but not the natoas. They sit on the north or right side of the booth and
+merely are spectators. This closes the ceremonies and camp is broken.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Torture_Ceremony" id="The_Torture_Ceremony"></a>The Torture Ceremony.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The torture feature, especially prominent in the ceremonies of the
+Mandan, Hidatsa, and Dakota, was formerly given a place among the
+dancing lodge ceremonies of the Blackfoot. The information we have seems
+to indicate that this ceremony had not become thoroughly adjusted to its
+place in this series at the time of its prohibition by the United States
+and Canadian governments. The claim is made by some of the Piegan that
+it was borrowed from the Arapaho and was not looked upon with much
+favor. As one man expressed it, "None of those taking the cutting lived
+to reach old age." It was said that a few Blackfoot warriors once
+visited the Arapaho at the time of their sun dance where they were put
+through the cutting ceremony. According to the Blackfoot mode of
+thought, this means that the medicine rites (and rights) were
+transferred to them. When they returned, they induced others to take the
+cutting, to whom, of course, the rites were transferred. Whether this
+historical statement is accurate or mythical, we have no means of
+knowing, but we are inclined to give <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>it some weight as evidence. It
+seems, however, that warriors took the cutting because of a vow, similar
+to that of the medicine woman. Sometimes a man dreamed that the sun
+required it of him. The giving of property and the conditions of the
+transfer were the same as for "cutting the thong," though we have no
+information that "catching" was permitted. Such may, however, have been
+tolerated.</p>
+
+<p>The men taking the cutting were nude to the belt. Sage was tied around
+the wrists and ankles. The hair hung down, held in place by a wreath of
+cedar (some informants say sage). They were painted white. Rows of spots
+in blue extended down the sides of the face, over the shoulders and down
+the arms. Wavy lines of the same color were also drawn down the arms. A
+circle representing the sun, was made on the breast, also upon the chin
+and probably on the back opposite the one over the heart. On the
+forehead was another circle representing the moon. Other informants say
+a crescent moon in black was used instead of these circles.</p>
+
+<p>According to one informant, vows were made to purchase this ceremony
+when ill or in great danger. If the promise brought results, the vow was
+fulfilled at the next dance. The supplicant calls upon one having
+purchased the rite. They enter the booth of the weather dancers, a
+blanket is held up to shut out the gaze of the others. The transferrer
+then paints the purchaser. He cuts a hole through the skin of the right
+shoulder, over the scapula, and a hole over each breast. A small
+sharpened stick is thrust through each. A shield is hung on the back.
+Long cords were fastened to those on the breast, the ends of which were
+tied fast, high up to the center pole. The purchaser goes up to the
+pole, embraces it, and cries for a time. Then he backs off, and dancing,
+throws his weight on the ropes. The transferrer jerks the shield from
+his shoulders and if necessary, assists him in tearing loose. At once,
+the purchaser goes out into the hills and sleeps in different places to
+receive power.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that all who take this ceremony die in a few years, because
+it is equivalent to giving one's self to the sun. Hence, the sun takes
+them for his own.</p>
+
+<p>The cutting was similar to that described by Catlin and other writers as
+observed elsewhere. Some informants say the dancers held whistles in
+their mouths and gazed at the sun as they danced. When all the thongs
+were torn out, some of the lacerated flesh was cut off as an offering to
+the sun.</p>
+
+<p>McLean reports the following observations upon this ceremony at a Blood
+sun dance:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>... The chief attraction to the pale-face is what has been
+ignorantly termed "making braves." I desired very much to see this
+ceremony <i>once</i>, that I might know the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> facts from personal
+observation, and draw my own conclusions after conversing with the
+Indians.</p>
+
+<p>Two young men having their whole bodies painted, wearing the
+loin-cloth only, and with wreaths of leaves around their heads,
+ankles and wrists, stepped into the center of the lodge. A blanket
+and a pillow were laid on the ground, and one of the young men
+stretched himself upon them. As he lay, an old man came forward and
+stood over him and then in an earnest speech told the people of the
+brave deeds, and noble heart of the young man. In the enumeration of
+his virtues and noble deeds, after each separate statement the
+musicians beat applause. When the aged orator ceased, the young man
+arose, placed his hands upon the old man's shoulders, and drew them
+downward, as a sign of gratitude for the favorable things said about
+him. He lay down, and four men held him while a fifth made the
+incisions in his breast and back. Two places were marked in each
+breast denoting the position and width of each incision. This being
+done, the wooden skewers being in readiness, a double edged knife
+was held in the hand, the point touching the flesh, a small piece of
+wood was placed on the under side to receive the point of the knife
+when it had gone through, and the flesh was drawn out the desired
+length for the knife to pierce. A quick pressure and the incision
+was made, the piece of wood was removed, and the skewer inserted
+from the under-side as the knife was being taken out. When the
+skewer was properly inserted, it was beaten down with the palm of
+the hand of the operator, that it might remain firmly in its place.
+This being done to each breast, with a single skewer for each,
+strong enough to tear away the flesh, and long enough to hold the
+lariats fastened to the top of the sacred pole, a double incision
+was made on the back of the left shoulder, to the skewer of which
+was fastened an Indian drum. The work being pronounced good by the
+persons engaged in the operation, the young man arose, and one of
+the operators fastened the lariats giving them two or three jerks to
+bring them into position.</p>
+
+<p>The young man went up to the sacred pole, and while his countenance
+was exceedingly pale, and his frame trembling with emotion, threw
+his arms around it, and prayed earnestly for strength to pass
+successfully through the trying ordeal. His prayer ended he moved
+backward until the flesh was fully extended, and placing a small
+bone whistle in his mouth, he blew continuously upon it a series of
+short sharp sounds, while he threw himself backward, and danced
+until the flesh gave way and he fell. Previous to his tearing
+himself free from the lariats, he seized the drum with both hands
+and with a sudden pull tore the flesh on his back, dashing the drum
+to the ground amid the applause of the people. As he lay on the
+ground, the operators examined his wounds, cut off the flesh that
+was hanging loosely, and the ceremony was at an end. In former years
+the head of a buffalo was fastened by a rope on the back of the
+person undergoing the feat of self-immolation, but now a drum is
+used for that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>From two to five persons undergo this torture every Sun-Dance. Its
+object is military and religious. It admits the young man into the
+noble band of warriors, whereby he gains the esteem of his fellows,
+and opens up the path to fortune and fame. But it is chiefly a
+religious rite. In a time of sickness, or danger, or in starting
+upon some dangerous expedition, the young man prays to Natos for
+help, and promises to give himself to Natos if his prayers are
+answered. Upon his return, when the Annual Sun-Dance is held, he
+fulfills his vow, gives himself to his god, and thus performs a
+twofold duty. Of course the applause of the people and the
+exhibition of courage are important factors in this rite, but its
+chief feature is a religious one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> Instead of being a time of
+feasting and pleasure, the Sun-Dance is a military and religious
+festival, in connection with which there are occasions for joy, and
+the feast enhances the pleasure.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p></blockquote>
+
+<p>It may be well to note that the offering of bits of flesh to the sun was
+a general practice not necessarily associated with the sun dance. Many
+comparatively young men now living (1904) bear numerous scars testifying
+to such offerings. When in perilous situations a finger would sometimes
+be struck off with a call upon the sun for help. Among the Blood, such
+sacrifice of a finger by women as well as men was common at the sun
+dance.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> These facts concerning the more general practice of
+mutilating the body to win the approval of the sun suggest that if the
+cutting ceremony is intrusive, it either found on hand a series of
+analogous customs or brought with it a concept that afterwards gave
+birth to them. It may be observed that the form of costume and dance is
+strikingly like that employed by the present weather dancers.</p>
+
+<p>Since there seems to be no good published data on the sacrificing of
+skin and fingers we append the narrative of Split-ears:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Sometimes, when warriors are on an expedition and come in sight of
+the enemy they will sit in a circle while the leader, or the oldest
+member of the party, offers prayers that they may succeed in their
+undertaking. Then they proceed to offer bits of their own skin to
+the sun. The one who prayed sits down by one of the party, takes up
+a needle or bodkin and a knife, thrusts the former under a small
+section of skin and raising it, cuts off a small slice with a knife.
+This leaves a circular wound a quarter of an inch or less in
+diameter. It is understood that the operator pulls the skin up with
+the needle and slices off a small section underneath that
+instrument. He then takes up some black paint and dips the bit of
+skin into it. Then he holds it up to the sun and prays for the
+success of his victim. The bit of skin is then placed upon a piece
+of cloth and another is removed from the victim in the same manner
+and so the operator goes to each of the party in turn, each time
+removing a piece of skin, dipping it in black paint, and holding it
+up in a prayer to the sun. While each person is expected to give two
+pieces, they are not limited to the maximum number, some men giving
+four and some still more. The bits of skin thus collected are tied
+up in one corner of the cloth which is mounted upon a stick wrapped
+with wild sage, the whole being fastened in a tree or set up on the
+top of a high hill as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> sun's offering. This sacrifice is always
+spoken of as feeding the sun with flesh from one's own body. The
+cloth is fastened to the stick in the form of a flag or banner so
+that it waves in the wind with the flesh offerings tied in one
+corner. This sacrifice is considered one of the greatest a man can
+make.</p>
+
+<p>Now, as I have said, some men only give two small pieces of skin,
+while others give a great many more, but as they do this each time
+they go on an expedition, it so happens that a man who made many war
+expeditions has many small scars on his arms and legs. Thus, we can
+still tell those of our old men who went upon the warpath many times
+in their youth. We can tell by the scars made from feeding the sun
+their own flesh. But, again, it so happens that men while at home
+may have dreams in which they are commanded to feed the sun. Now it
+is believed that unless a man heeds such a command, he is certain to
+be visited by misfortune or even death, so he always makes haste to
+comply with the command. After such a dream he makes a sweathouse
+and invites in an old man who prays and makes the offering. The
+procedure here is the same as previously described and the offering
+is made into a banner and placed in a tree or upon a hill. Then
+again, the men who are at home in the camp but who have relatives in
+a war party may so wish for the safety of these that they themselves
+offer bits of skin in their behalf. Thus, you see, there are many
+times when people will offer bits of skin, so that it was not
+uncommon for a man to have one hundred or more scars upon his body.
+These are generally arranged in rows up and down the arms, down the
+legs, down the breasts and the back. I have even heard of cases
+where a man is said to have offered one hundred pieces of skin at
+one time. This, however, was unusual.</p>
+
+<p><a id="fig1" name="fig1"></a></p>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/banner.png" width="297" height="400" alt="See caption" title="" />
+<p class="caption">Fig. 1. The Offering of Human Flesh. The bits of
+flesh are tied in the corner of the banner. Drawn from a native
+ sketch.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Sometimes, instead of offering skin, the warrior would offer a
+finger. Thus, if beset by very great danger on the warpath a man may
+make a vow to the sun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> stating that if brought home safely he will
+sacrifice a finger. This sacrifice can be made at any time; either
+when on the warpath or when at home in camp or at the sun dance. In
+such cases, the finger is offered to the sun in the precise manner
+as the pieces of skin described above.</p>
+
+<p>There are, however, occasions upon which fingers are cut off that
+are not offerings to the sun. Thus, people who are in mourning
+sometimes sacrifice a finger. In those cases it is usual to call
+upon some old woman who is skilled in the amputation. She cuts off
+the finger, usually reciting a kind of ritual, but it is not offered
+to the sun. It is simply thrown away. Then again babies' fingers are
+sometimes cut off to give the child good luck. Thus, if a woman lost
+many children she would call upon an old woman to make the sacrifice
+for her newly born. In this case, the tip end of a finger is cut off
+and wrapped up in a piece of meat which the mother is required to
+swallow. This is supposed to insure the child's living to maturity.
+It had no connection with the sun.</p>
+
+<p>I have told you how men are called upon to cut off pieces of skin
+and how certain old women were selected to amputate fingers. You
+should also know that in olden times there were some women and men
+who might be called upon to cut open dead persons for various
+reasons. Sometimes they did this on their own account in order to
+get information as to the cause of death.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These accounts show for one thing that the cutting ceremony in the sun
+dance is but one of a type of blood and flesh offerings made to the sun,
+in fulfillment of a vow. The sacrifice of a finger is more frequent and
+less specialized, though frequently done at the sun dance. Then comes
+the very frequent offering of bits of skin, a sacrifice common in war
+raids at all times. The offering of bits of skin in the precise manner
+described here is found elsewhere in the Plains. The writer has observed
+men so scarred among several divisions of the Dakota. The method of
+removing the skin was here the same as followed by the Blackfoot. The
+thrusting in of the awl has a curious similarity to the cutting and
+skewering in the sun dance; one may even be pardoned for wondering if it
+did not so arise.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Sun_Dance_Songs" id="Sun_Dance_Songs"></a>Sun Dance Songs.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Two songs have a special place in the ceremony. They are sung by the men
+as they ride into camp with the willows for the hundred-willow
+sweathouse. They are sung again when the procession of pole raisers
+moves up to raise the sun pole. Formerly, they were sung by any
+considerable body of the tribe approaching the camp of strange Indians.
+Likewise, when they approached a post to open trade.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>Red-plume, a Piegan, has a smudge stick on which are notches said <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>to
+represent the number of different songs used in the ceremonies of the
+medicine woman. There are 413 which is said to be the full number of
+songs. These, as has been stated in Volume 7, are in reality a part of
+the beaver bundle ritual.</p>
+
+<p>The singing at the dancing ceremonies after the sun lodge has been
+erected is usually confined to the songs of various societies concerned.
+There are, however, a few with characteristic airs that are regarded as
+peculiarly appropriate to the occasion, regardless of who may be
+dancing.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Sun_Dance_Camp" id="The_Sun_Dance_Camp"></a>The Sun Dance Camp.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In a previous paper, we called attention to the belief that the camp
+circle was formed expressly for the sun dance. Our informants say that
+formerly the circle was formed by the assemblage of the bands some time
+before the medicine woman began her fast. In winter, the tribes
+scattered out, usually two to five bands in a camp, often many miles
+apart. At the approach of summer, the husband of a woman having made a
+vow to give the sun dance sends a man to look up the camps and invite
+them to join his band. He carries tobacco and presents some to each head
+man with the invitation. As the head men receive the invitation, they
+order their bands to move, forming the circle at the medicine woman's
+camp. Once formed, the circle is not broken until after the sun dance, a
+period estimated at from two to four months. The whole body may move
+about and even make long journeys aside from the four ceremonial moves
+required while the medicine woman is fasting. After the sun dance, they
+split up into parties for the fall hunt and finally went into winter
+quarters. The import of our former statement is thus apparent. The
+suggestion is that the camp circle is intimately associated with the sun
+dance. At least, one point is clear, the camp circle is initiated by the
+woman who starts the sun dance and even so is one of the preparatory
+steps.</p>
+
+<p>As previously stated in Volume 7 of this series, there is much
+uncertainty as to the order of bands in the circle. We doubt if it ever
+was absolutely fixed beyond change at the will of those in charge of the
+sun dance proceedings.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Mythological_Notes" id="Mythological_Notes"></a>Mythological Notes.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The way that several distinct myths are used to account for different
+features of the sun dance might be taken as a suggestion that the
+ceremony grew up among the Blackfoot. We suspect, however, that we have
+here an example of pattern phenomena. Those familiar with the detailed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+study of rituals in Volume 7 will recall that tradition recognized the
+obvious fact that rituals were not produced all at once, but grew by
+accretions. This is so marked in the mythical accounts of ritual origin
+that we may suspect its appearance in the mythology of the sun dance. On
+page 241 we have enumerated the myths accounting for important features
+of the ceremony. Among these are not included the parts taken by
+societies or the cutting sacrifices, they, as we have stated, not being
+regarded as integral parts of the sun dance.</p>
+
+<p>For the sake of completeness we offer some extracts from an unpublished
+version of the Scar-face myth:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>We will take up this narrative at the point where Scar Face has killed
+the cranes and reported with their scalps. We are told that had not Scar
+Face killed these birds, they would always have killed people, but that
+since he overpowered them they now fear people and have done so ever
+since.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Now, the Sun, the Moon, Scar Face, and Morningstar had a scalp dance
+while the Sun and Moon sang the praise songs in honor of Scar Face.
+The Sun addressed Scar Face: "When your people kill enemies they
+should scalp them and then give a scalp dance. Whenever anyone
+counts coup or recounts his war experiences, the praise songs should
+be sung." We have followed this custom ever since. Whenever anyone
+related his war deeds, some old men or old woman sang the praise
+songs, repeating the narrator's name during the singing.</p>
+
+<p>The Sun was pleased with Scar Face. He directed Morningstar and Scar
+Face to build four sweathouses, standing side by side, with their
+entrances facing east. When they were completed, the Sun,
+Morningstar, and Scar Face entered one of them, the Moon remaining
+outside to close the door. After the Sun had worked over Scar Face,
+he ordered the moon to open the door and they went into the next
+sweathouse, again choosing the moon to be the door attendant. Now,
+the Sun asked the Moon to point out her son. The Moon designated
+Morningstar. They moved into the third sweathouse where the Sun had
+Morningstar and Scar Face exchange seats. Again, the Moon was asked
+to pick out her son. Though she noticed that the scar on the young
+man's face had disappeared, she pointed to her own son. They
+proceeded to the fourth sweathouse. Again, the Sun had the two men
+exchange places. The Moon looked in and pointing to Scar Face said,
+"This is Morningstar." The Sun replied, "You have mistaken him for
+Morningstar, the other is our son." Ever since that time, Scar Face
+has always been called Mistaken Morningstar.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Sun gave Scar Face a buckskin suit decorated with porcupine
+quills. On the breast and back of the shirt were quill-worked
+rosettes representing the sun; the side seams of the leggings and
+sleeves were covered with strips of quillwork three or four inches
+wide. In addition, the sleeves and leggings bore hair fringes
+representing the scalps of cranes killed by Scar Face. The Sun also
+gave Scar Face a bow with a lock of hair fastened to one end, a
+whistle made of a hollow reed, a bladder, and the robe worn by Scar
+Face. To represent the scalping, the Sun painted the upper part
+black. The whistle and the bladder were to be used on the woman who
+had refused Scar Face. The bow too, is a reminder of the killing of
+the cranes and is still used in the sun dance lodge. The Sun gave
+Scar Face a circle of creeping juniper which the women that build
+the lodge (the sun dance or medicine lodge) are to wear on their
+heads.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Sun told Scar Face of the sun dance, the lodge, and the
+sweathouse, and added, "When you return to your people and wish to
+make an offering to me, you must first build a sweathouse and there
+make your offerings. Then I will hear your prayers and accept them.
+You may also make offerings to me in the sun dance lodge." He
+covered Scar Face's face with the "seventh" or red paint, drew a
+black circle around his face and a black dot on the bridge of his
+nose, and a streak of black around each wrist. He said to Scar Face,
+"This is the way the people must paint when they make offerings to
+me in the sun dance lodge. For the victory or scalp dance they must
+paint their faces black." The Sun also gave him a necklace, in the
+center of which were strung two small shells and a pendent lock of
+hair, flanked on either side by four beads. This is the necklace
+worn by the husband of the woman owning the natoas. The Sun's lodge
+was made of white buffalo robes and some the color of beaver skins.
+The door of the Sun's lodge faced the east. For this reason, tipis
+were always turned so the doors faced east. Now Scar Face decided to
+return to the place where Spider waited.</p>
+
+<p>The narrative then proceeds in the usual way, except that the hero
+calls all the men of the camp to take revenge on the young woman
+after which he by magic turns her into a cripple.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="The_Blood_and_North_Blackfoot" id="The_Blood_and_North_Blackfoot"></a>The Blood and North Blackfoot.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The writer has upon two occasions seen the ground where a Blood sun
+dance had been held. The dancing lodge, the sweathouse, etc., were still
+standing and all these were just as noted among the Piegan. The Blood
+lodge was a little larger, but the Piegan said that it was formerly so
+with them, they now having very poor timber to work with. We have in
+addition two brief published accounts of eyewitnesses.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> The chief
+difference we could detect was in the secondary dances of the society
+where the Horns and the Matoki<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> took a very prominent part. As there
+are now no such organizations among the Piegan, this gives merely an
+outward appearance of difference.</p>
+
+<p>The Northern Piegan, as may be expected, also had the same form. As to
+the North Blackfoot, we have only the statement of other Indians that
+the sun dance was the same. The Sarsi<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> also had the very same form
+and we may suspect the Kutenai as well. At least, my Piegan informants
+asserted that the Kutenai had the sun dance from them. The problem here,
+however, must rest until we have more data, though Hale is of the
+opinion that the Blackfoot gradually displaced the Kutenai and took over
+many Plains traits from them.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><p class="b">FOOTNOTES:</p>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> As in many other cases, there is a difference of opinion as
+to what was, or is, the correct schedule. Some maintain that the timber
+and sun pole are brought in on the fourth day and the fifth day given
+over to the erection of the dancing lodge only. This is, however, a
+matter of no great moment.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> See Grinnell, George Bird, <i>Blackfoot Lodge Tales</i> (New
+York, 1903), 264, for program.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This series, volume 7, 215.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This series, vol. 2, 83.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> For example, we were told that some few years ago the widow
+of Spotted-eagle took the part of the medicine woman and borrowed a
+natoas from the mother of Curly-bear. Recently (1911), the latter died.
+Then the former claimed the natoas on the grounds that she had paid full
+value for it at the time and that she had now the most right to it.
+Curly-bear consented. Then, after an interval, this woman transferred it
+to the wife of &mdash;&mdash; who made no vow to give the sun dance, for it was
+generally known that the reputation of the new owner permanently
+disqualified her for the function of medicine woman.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> In former times, the natoas and the medicine woman's
+costume were owned by a beaver man. When a woman gave a sun dance she
+gave a horse for their use. She just borrowed them. Later on, a beaver
+man transferred them, whence they became a separate bundle.&mdash;Tom Kiyo.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Should the woman already own a natoas and the transferrer
+(father) own one; the woman must say which bundle shall be used. She can
+use her own, borrow, or purchase of the transferrer.&mdash;Curly-bear.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> A Piegan informant comments as follows: The woman can
+either buy or borrow a natoas. In the olden times she often borrowed
+because the natoas, the dress, the elk tooth wristlets, and the robe
+were owned by a beaver man's wife. After a time, however, these were
+transferred to a medicine woman and were thus separated from the beaver
+bundle.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Scar-face is said to have made a whistle (flageolet) of
+such a stalk. The pith of the growing plant is sometimes eaten for
+food.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Obviously, this would make the dancing lodge very large.
+In reply to this objection it was said that they were large; that it was
+necessary to select as a site places where very long rafter poles could
+be cut; that formerly societies and others performed evolutions within
+on horseback. The late Little-plume is credited with having introduced
+the present custom of reciting deeds, requiring horses, outside the
+dancing lodge. It may be of interest to note that the Arapaho also made
+very large sun dance shelters.</p>
+
+<p>In 1908 Mr. Duvall measured the dancing lodge. The sun pole stood
+sixteen feet from the ground to the fork. The posts were eight feet and
+approximately sixteen feet apart. The diameter of the whole was
+fifty-two feet. The fireplace was east of the sun pole six feet and was
+four feet by two feet and five inches deep. The booth for medicinemen
+was five feet eight inches wide by seven feet six inches deep. The two
+holes were about a foot forward from the sod walls, eight inches across
+and six inches deep. The man who has been marking out the site for the
+lodge during the last few years, begins by selecting the place for the
+sun pole and stepping off seven paces as the radius.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The bundle of boughs is neither spoken of as the
+thunderbird's nest nor given a name of any kind; though some old men
+seemed to know that other tribes so designated it. We made diligent
+inquiry on this point and feel that the above statement is correct.
+Reference to published photographs will show that the brush is merely
+gathered into a bundle and not made into the form of a nest as in case
+of the Crow.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Clark, W. P., <i>The Indian Sign Language</i> (Philadelphia,
+1885), 72.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> It will be recalled that in the sun dance of the Dakota
+type (p. 110) there is a ceremonial shooting at the sun pole. Here the
+shooting takes place in a perfunctory way, while the pole is dragged to
+the sun dance site. Yet, McQuesten claims to have witnessed the driving
+of evil power from the sun lodge at a Blood ceremony in 1912. ("The Sun
+Dance of the Blackfeet" <i>Rod and Gun in Canada</i>, March 1912.) As this is
+not noted in older accounts and we failed to get information as to it,
+we suspect it to be due to foreign influences, or perhaps the author's
+own interpretation.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Clark, <i>ibid.</i>, 72.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> This series, Vol. 11, 365-474.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> McLean, John, "The Blackfoot Sun Dance" (<i>Proceedings of
+the Canadian Institute</i>, third series, vol. 6, Toronto, 1888), 235-237.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> McLean, as an eye-witness to such a sacrifice, gives the
+following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"As I stood outside the lodge, a young Indian friend of mine, went to an
+old medicine-woman and presented his sacrifice to Natos. During the year
+he had gone on a horse-stealing expedition and as is customary on such
+occasions had prayed to Natos for protection and success, offering
+himself to his god if his prayers were answered. He had been successful
+and he now presented himself as a sacrifice. The old woman took his hand
+held it toward the Sun and prayed, then laying a finger on a block of
+wood she severed it with one blow from a knife and deer's horn scraper.
+She held the portion of the finger cut off toward the Sun and dedicated
+that to him as the young man's sacrifice." (p. 235.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> For musical notation see McClintock, Walter, <i>The Old
+North Trail, or Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfoot Indians</i>
+(London, 1910), 311.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> McLean, <i>ibid.</i>, 231-237; McQuesten, <i>ibid.</i>, 1169-1177.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> This series, volume 11, 410-418, 430-435.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Goddard, Pliny Earle, "Sarsi Texts" (<i>University of
+California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology</i>, vol. 11,
+no. 3, Berkeley, 1915), 192-195.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Hale, H., "On the North-Western Tribes of Canada"
+(<i>Report, Fifty-seventh Meeting, British Association for the Advancement
+of Sciences</i>, 173-200, London, 1888), 198.</p></div>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by 
+Clark Wissler
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35952-h.htm or 35952-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/9/5/35952/
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/35952-h/images/banner.png b/35952-h/images/banner.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ee5e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-h/images/banner.png
diff --git a/35952-h/images/publisher.png b/35952-h/images/publisher.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed0d4a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952-h/images/publisher.png
diff --git a/35952.txt b/35952.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cac931f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2716 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by Clark Wissler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
+
+Author: Clark Wissler
+
+Release Date: April 24, 2011 [EBook #35952]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
+OF
+THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
+OF NATURAL HISTORY
+
+VOL. XVI, PART III
+
+THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS
+
+BY
+
+CLARK WISSLER
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NEW YORK
+PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
+1918
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS.
+
+BY CLARK WISSLER.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The Blackfoot tribes, particularly the Piegan, have been more
+extensively studied than most other Plains Indians. The writer began a
+systematic investigation of their culture in 1903. At that time, the
+only works treating them seriously were those of the younger Henry,
+Maximilian, and Grinnell. There were some good fragmentary articles by
+McLean and Hale. Yet, since we began work on this problem, a number of
+excellent books have appeared. First, the long-forgotten journals of
+Mathew Cocking and Anthony Hendry who went to the Blackfoot country in
+1754 were printed. Then followed McClintock's delightful book, "The Old
+North Trail" and later, Curtis's highly illustrated account of the
+Piegan. Linguistic studies had been undertaken by Tims, but later,
+Michelson, Uhlenbeck, and Josselin de Jong brought out studies of the
+language and some aspects of social organization. Of more popular books,
+the only one to be considered here is Schultz's, "My Life as an Indian,"
+which, though in the form of fiction, is full of true pictures of
+Blackfoot life and thought. One unfortunate thing about all this
+subsequent activity is that it centered on the Piegan and as the
+writer's work was largely with that division before these publications
+appeared, there was no chance to rectify this asymmetry.
+
+The publication of this study of the sun dance has been long delayed in
+the hope that circumstances would permit a more intensive study of the
+ceremony among the Canadian divisions. But the time for making such a
+study has really passed, since those natives who had the knowledge
+essential to an accurate exposition of the sun dance are now dead. It
+seems advisable, therefore, to publish the data as they stand.
+
+The writer saw the Piegan ceremony twice, so that this study is based
+both upon objective observation and discussion with the native
+authorities on the subject. Later, Mr. Duvall checked over the data and
+conclusions with these and other informants. A large series of
+photographs was taken, but the important phases of the ceremony are so
+well shown in the published works of McClintock and Curtis that a
+repetition here is unnecessary.
+
+                                                       CLARK WISSLER.
+
+May, 1918.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                   PAGE.
+
+  PREFACE                                                            225
+
+  THE SUN DANCE                                                      229
+
+  PREPARATION PERIOD                                                 229
+
+  PROGRAM BY DAYS                                                    230
+    First Day                                                        230
+    Second Day                                                       230
+    Third Day                                                        230
+    Fourth Day                                                       230
+    Fifth Day                                                        230
+    Sixth Day                                                        231
+    Seventh Day                                                      231
+    Eighth Day                                                       231
+
+  THE VOW                                                            231
+
+  CEREMONY OF THE TONGUES                                            234
+
+  THE MEDICINE WOMAN                                                 240
+
+  THE PROCESSION TO THE DANCING LODGE                                248
+    The Offering of Cloth                                            249
+
+  THE HUNDRED-WILLOW SWEATHOUSE                                      250
+
+  THE DANCING LODGE                                                  252
+
+  CUTTING THE THONGS                                                 254
+
+  RAISING THE SUN POLE                                               256
+
+  THE WEATHER DANCERS                                                258
+
+  DANCING                                                            260
+
+  SOCIETY DANCES                                                     262
+
+  THE TORTURE CEREMONY                                               262
+
+  SUN DANCE SONGS                                                    267
+
+  THE SUN DANCE CAMP                                                 268
+
+  MYTHOLOGICAL NOTES                                                 268
+
+  THE BLOOD AND NORTH BLACKFOOT                                      270
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+TEXT FIGURES.
+
+  1. The Offering of Human Flesh. Drawn from a native sketch         266
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE.
+
+
+In our earlier paper upon the bundles of the Blackfoot, we have
+concerned ourselves with ceremonial functions in which the ownership and
+chief responsibility, in theory, rested in a single individual. We come
+now to an affair initiated, it is true, by the owner of the natoas
+bundle, but yet a composite of other rituals and functions, each of
+which has a definite place in a program carried out by the whole tribal
+organization. The only trace of a similar tribal participation is in the
+now almost extinct tobacco-planting ceremonies conducted by the beaver
+owners; but here there was no complex of other unrelated ceremonies and
+functions. In short, the sun dance was for the Blackfoot a true tribal
+festival, or demonstration of ceremonial functions, in which practically
+every important ritual owner and organization had a place. Nevertheless,
+there were certain rituals peculiar to it which gave it its character.
+
+Since the plan of this section is to give an ethnological presentation
+of the Blackfoot sun dance, rather than a logically unfolding
+description of the ceremony as seen at a specified time, we shall
+present the general program now and take up later a somewhat analytical
+detailed discussion of the various phases of the ceremony. By this
+method, we shall be able to concentrate our attention upon a single
+ceremonial concept without the distraction arising from contemporaneous
+and intrusive procedures based upon other concepts, for as we shall see,
+this sun dance is a true composite. The following schedule is not given
+as the one observed by the writer, but as the one regarded as proper and
+believed to have been followed before the various divisions of the
+Blackfoot were under the complete domination of the Canadian and United
+States governments.
+
+
+
+
+PREPARATION PERIOD.
+
+
+After making a vow to purchase a sun dance bundle, the woman and her
+husband make the necessary arrangements and perform the prescribed
+rites. This is an indefinite period. At the approach of summer, the
+invitation tobacco is sent to all the bands and the camp circle is
+formed.
+
+
+
+
+PROGRAM BY DAYS.
+
+
+_First Day._ The program opens with moving camp to a site previously
+selected. On the morning of this day, the medicine woman begins to fast,
+which may be taken as the real beginning of the ceremony. If the
+ceremony of "cutting the tongues" has not been previously performed or
+completed, it is now in order. In any event, the father and any male
+assistants he may choose to invite, spend a part of the day in "praying
+and singing over the tongues." A society brings in willows and a
+hundred-willow sweathouse is built.
+
+
+_Second Day._ In the morning, the camp moves again to a site still
+nearer that proposed for the sun dance. A few green boughs of cottonwood
+are kept around the base of the medicine woman's tipi as a sign of its
+sanctity. A sweathouse is made, as on the previous day. "Praying and
+singing over the tongues" continues during the day and evening.
+
+
+_Third Day._ The same as the second day.
+
+
+_Fourth Day._ The camp moves again; this time to the site of the sun
+dance. In the afternoon, the fourth and last hundred-willow sweathouse
+is built and used. The singing continues during the evening in the
+medicine woman's tipi.
+
+
+_Fifth Day._ This is an active day.[1] The various bands cut and drag in
+the poles and green cottonwood boughs to be used in constructing the
+dancing lodge. The center, or sun pole, is selected and brought in with
+the ceremonies pertaining thereto. During the day, the holes for the
+posts are dug and the sides of the dancing lodge put in place and
+prepared for the raising at sunset. A wind-break is erected at the west
+side, facing the forked end of the sun pole. Later in the day, some
+medicinemen take up their stations here to receive offerings to the sun
+and place them on the pole. In the forenoon, the ceremony connected with
+the opening of the natoas bundle begins in the medicine woman's tipi.
+This is completed by the middle of the afternoon when there is a
+procession from the tipi to the wind-break facing the sun pole. The
+thongs for the poles are cut. While these are taking place, some food is
+distributed among the poor people. Those women, who, during the past
+season, promised "to come forward to the tongues" now fulfil their vows
+by public declarations addressed to the setting sun. The pole raisers
+then approach from the four quarters, erecting first the sun pole and
+then the rafters, with as much speed as possible. The medicine woman
+then returns to her tipi and the father with his male companions goes
+into a sweathouse.
+
+
+_Sixth Day._ In the morning, a booth is erected in the dancing lodge for
+the medicinemen, or weather dancers. Later in the day, they approach,
+with processions made up of their respective bands, and take their
+places in the booth. At various times during the day, they dance to the
+sun. People also come up to be painted and prayed for. As a rule, the
+medicine-pipes are brought out for these men to bless and smoke. During
+the afternoon, the "digging dance" occurs, when the fireplace is made
+and the fire kindled.
+
+
+_Seventh Day._ People still come to be painted or prayed for by the
+medicinemen. Later in the day, the dancing of the societies begins.
+
+
+_Eighth Day._ The dancing may continue on this day; otherwise, camp is
+broken and the bands go their several ways. The dancing may continue
+several days, there being no definite time for closing the ceremony.
+Indeed, to the Blackfoot mind, the really vital part of the ceremony
+closes on the evening of the fifth day. The dancing of the societies is
+free to take its course as the various organizations see fit. In former
+times, however, it was customary to break camp any time between the
+seventh and tenth days.
+
+According to our information, the four camps of the medicine woman was
+the rule in olden times and a hundred-willow sweathouse was made at each
+camp. In recent times, but two moves seem to have been made; the first
+day marking the move from the regular home camp to the temporary one
+where the second day is also spent. But one of the hundred-willow
+sweathouses is now made--the one on the third day. Also, where formerly
+they used the ordinary type of sweathouse, at the close of the fourth
+day, the men now return to the hundred-willow sweathouse. The time then
+was "when the service berries are ripe", perhaps August, instead of
+Fourth-of-July week, as in recent years.[2] Even the fast is much
+abbreviated, usually but of two days' duration.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [1] As in many other cases, there is a difference of opinion as to
+  what was, or is, the correct schedule. Some maintain that the timber
+  and sun pole are brought in on the fourth day and the fifth day given
+  over to the erection of the dancing lodge only. This is, however, a
+  matter of no great moment.
+
+  [2] See Grinnell, George Bird, _Blackfoot Lodge Tales_ (New York,
+  1903), 264, for program.
+
+
+
+
+THE VOW.
+
+
+The most important functionary in the Blackfoot sun dance is a woman,
+known among the whites as the medicine woman, and upon a clear
+comprehension of her functions and antecedents depends our understanding
+of the ceremony itself. Accordingly, we shall proceed with as complete
+an exposition of her office as the information at hand allows. In the
+first place, a sun dance cannot occur unless some woman qualifies for
+the office. On the other hand, it was almost inconceivable that there
+should be a summer in which such a qualification would not be made. This
+attitude of our informants implies that public opinion had sufficient
+force to call out volunteers against their own wills. There was a
+feeling that an annual sun dance was, from a religious and ethical point
+of view, necessary to the general welfare, for which some individual
+ought to sacrifice personal comfort and property to the extent required
+by custom. As we shall see later, this was no small price to pay for a
+doubtful honor. This feeling was sure to express itself in the subtle
+ways peculiar to Indian society, if need be, to the direct suggestion of
+a candidate who in turn felt impelled to come forward as if prompted
+entirely from within.
+
+As a rule, however, the woman qualifies by a vow. Oftimes, when a member
+of the family is dangerously ill, one of the women goes out of the tipi
+and raising her eyes to the sun calls upon it that health may be
+restored to the ailing one. In such an appeal she offers to make gifts
+to the sun, usually specifying that she will sacrifice a piece of cloth,
+a dress, a robe, an ax, etc., which are after a time, provided the sick
+one improves, hung in trees or deposited upon a hill. Such appeals are
+still made with great frequency. It is believed that unless the woman
+has been industrious, truthful, and above all, true to her marriage
+vows, her appeal will not be answered. Sometimes, when the woman
+addresses the sun she promises to be the medicine woman at the next sun
+dance. She herself may be ill and promise such a sacrifice in case she
+receives help. Again, she may, out of gratitude for the satisfactory way
+in which her prayers have been answered, announce her intention to take
+this step. In such a case, a formal announcement is made to the sun. In
+company with a man, usually a medicineman experienced in the ceremonies,
+she steps out into the camp, where they face the sun whom the man
+addresses, explaining that as this woman asked for help in time of need
+and that inasmuch as it was granted, she in turn promises to be the
+medicine woman at the first opportunity. Some such formal announcement
+is made in every case where the prayers have been answered. By this
+formality, the vow receives public registry.
+
+As indicated above, the prayers are not always granted. In such cases,
+the promises are not only not binding, but to proceed with the sun
+dance, or to take a secondary part in it, would be to the detriment of
+all concerned. The fault is said to lie in the woman's life and that
+only the wrath of the sun would be invoked by her participation in the
+ceremonies.
+
+It may be asked if a man can make such a vow. He may and does often call
+upon the sun, promising gifts of property or even scalps and may
+promise to furnish the material support for a wife, mother, sister, or
+in fact any woman who will come forward to perform the ceremony. Thus, a
+Blood chief once told us that he had been very ill all winter; that he
+had tried all kinds of doctors without relief, until he was stripped of
+all his property. At last, he recovered and then made a vow that with
+the help of his wife he would give the sun dance. This he did, but, as
+he expressed it, "with great difficulty because he was then poor and did
+not receive adequate help from his relatives."
+
+Again, it must be noted that women who do not feel equal to the
+responsibility of the medicine woman's office, make a vow to announce
+publicly their virginity or faithfulness to their marriage vows, as the
+case may be, though for an unmarried woman to make such a pledge is the
+exception. This is spoken of as "the going forward to the tongues," the
+full meaning of which will appear later. The manner and occasion of
+making this vow are in most respects similar to the preceding. At a
+certain stage of the sun dance proceedings, all the women who made such
+a promise to the sun, come forward and make their statements subject to
+the challenge of any man present. This bears some resemblance to the
+virginity tests of the Dakota, but applies more particularly to married
+women and marital virtue than otherwise.
+
+Naturally, the number of women making promises of this kind was much
+greater than for the more important ceremony. Thus, we have a custom of
+calling upon the sun in time of need which is an almost universal
+practice, a more restricted form of such appeal peculiar to women in so
+far that sexual morality is a necessary qualification, the more specific
+vow of "going forward to the tongues", and the exceptional vow to
+perform the medicine woman's functions at the sun dance, a fair
+illustration of the way in which most complex folk ceremonies are
+supported by a pyramid of less and less differentiated practices.
+
+In passing, it should be noted that when the vow is made to perform the
+medicine woman's functions, it is literally an obligation to purchase a
+natoas bundle, or if already the owner of a bundle, to perform its
+ritual.[3] A woman may own more than one of these bundles at a time;
+indeed, we have heard of a woman purchasing new ones at several
+successive sun dances. This purchase is a fundamental feature in all
+bundle ceremonies to which the sun dance bundle offers no exception.
+
+On the other hand, the vow means more than the mere purchase of a
+bundle. We are told that the requirement as to virtue holds strictly for
+the vow and the tongue ceremony. A woman can buy a natoas in the
+ordinary sense and have it transferred with the ritual even though
+she has not been true to her husband. We are reminded that
+Scabby-round-robe's wife[4] was not true to her former husband and that
+when her husband received a beaver bundle there went with it a natoas
+and accessories; but that while she could use them by virtue of her
+relation to a beaver bundle, she was not competent to make a vow and
+initiate a sun dance.[5] This is consistent with the tradition that the
+natoas was once bought from a beaver bundle by a woman who gave the sun
+dance for that year and used instead of a wreath of juniper as in former
+ceremonies. It also throws some light on the relation of the natoas to
+the beaver and the sun dance rituals.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [3] This series, volume 7, 215.
+
+  [4] This series, vol. 2, 83.
+
+  [5] For example, we were told that some few years ago the widow of
+  Spotted-eagle took the part of the medicine woman and borrowed a
+  natoas from the mother of Curly-bear. Recently (1911), the latter
+  died. Then the former claimed the natoas on the grounds that she had
+  paid full value for it at the time and that she had now the most right
+  to it. Curly-bear consented. Then, after an interval, this woman
+  transferred it to the wife of ---- who made no vow to give the sun
+  dance, for it was generally known that the reputation of the new owner
+  permanently disqualified her for the function of medicine woman.
+
+
+
+
+CEREMONY OF THE TONGUES.
+
+
+While it is obvious from the preceding, that the medicine woman takes
+her vow at no fixed period in the year, the order of procedure is such
+that as a rule, she must have taken her vow not later than the spring of
+the year in which the sun dance occurs. There is no absolute prohibition
+to qualifying at a later time, as is often the case at present when the
+consent of the Indian Agent must be obtained before the ceremony is
+permitted, but the normal order seems to be as just stated. Any way, in
+the spring, the medicine woman calls upon her relatives for buffalo
+tongues (in recent years, those of cattle). These are then saved as
+requested. In passing, it may be noted that in all ceremonies, the
+persons upon whom the burden of responsibility falls have not only an
+inherent right to call upon their blood relatives, but these in turn are
+under obligations to respond. The number of tongues required is
+uncertain, some informants claiming that there should be an even
+hundred, others, that four to five full parfleches was the standard.
+Naturally, in recent years, the number has been much less. These tongues
+are to be sliced, parboiled, and dried like meat. The slices, however,
+must be perfect, without holes, and come from the interior of the
+tongue.
+
+The slicing of these tongues appears to have been the first ceremony of
+the cycle. It is conducted by a man, usually the father, who formally
+announced the woman's vow and who conducts all the ceremonies in which
+the medicine woman takes part. There is no stipulation that the same
+man must direct all parts of the ceremony, but, by custom, this office
+is performed annually by the same man so long as he is physically
+capable. To this ceremony are called the medicine woman, the women who
+have promised to "go forward to take the tongues", and sometimes those
+having previously performed these functions.
+
+The manner of formally registering the vow and of collecting the tongues
+is stated as follows:--
+
+Now the woman who made the vow calls on a man and woman who have been
+through the medicine lodge ceremony to announce it. The man and woman
+come to her tipi and paint her clothes and face and those of the
+relative for whom the vow was made with red paint. Prayers are offered
+for them and a few songs sung. After this, the four stand in front of
+the tipi and the man announces the vow. He says, "Sun, she is going to
+make a sun lodge for you. I think you and those who are above can hear
+what is said." Then they move in turn to the south, west, and north side
+of the tipi, repeating the same words at each stop and finally enter the
+tipi.
+
+In the spring of the year, when the people run buffalo, the woman has
+her tipi a little towards the front or center. It may be that she is
+only with one of the bands, while the rest are camped elsewhere. Her
+tipi stands alone a little to the west of the others. The people are
+then notified that the tongues are to be given to the woman. Her husband
+mounts his horse and sets out, taking a pipe and tobacco, but no weapons
+with him. When he finds a man butchering, he sits down on a robe, fills
+his pipe, prays for those present, and smokes with them. The butcher
+cuts out the tongue, wipes it off with sagegrass, and places it near the
+man, who has spread some buffalo dung with sagegrass on top of it in a
+row before him. The tongues are placed on the sage and dung. The man
+then takes the tongues and rides to where the next man is butchering and
+goes through the same procedure. After he has gathered up all the
+tongues he takes them home. Each time buffalo are killed the man rides
+out to gather in tongues until he has accumulated a hundred.
+
+The tongues having been collected, an important ceremony follows with
+their boiling and slicing. An experienced man and woman are invited to
+direct; these are spoken of as the father and the mother. Also, all the
+women having made a vow "to go forward to the tongues" are invited. In
+addition, a number of women and men familiar with the ceremonies are
+called. The woman making the vow (the daughter) and her husband (the
+son) sit at the back of the fire; next to the former, sits the mother
+and then the other women; next to the latter, sits the father and then
+the men in order. The men sit on the north side and the women on the
+south. At the proper moment, the mother brings in the tongues, passing
+around to the south side, and lays them in rows on a half rawhide back
+of the fire. All the women having made vows are now called upon to slice
+the tongues. Their husbands must be present.
+
+The tongues are slit open and the women are invited to slice and boil
+them. When all the guests are present, one of the tongues is taken and
+painted black on one edge and red on the other, and given to the woman
+who made the vow. The rest of the tongues are handed to the women for
+skinning and slicing; if there were more tongues than women, each was
+given more than one to slice. After all the women have the tongues, the
+woman with the painted tongue makes a confession, saying, "Sun, I have
+been true to my husband ever since I have been with him and all my life.
+Help me, for what I say is true. I will skin this tongue without cutting
+a hole in it or cutting my fingers."
+
+The next woman also makes a confession, and so on. After all have
+confessed, they commence to skin the tongues. As the first woman takes
+up the knife, the song runs: "A sharp thing I have taken; it is
+powerful." The knife is painted, one half red, the other black. Should
+any of the women cut a hole in the tongue skin or cut their fingers, it
+is a sign that they must have lied and they are ordered from the tipi.
+At the outset, each woman carefully examines her tongue to see if the
+skin is perfect. Should a hole be found, the tongue is passed to the
+director who marks it with black paint. After the tongues are all
+skinned and sliced, they are passed back to the woman who distributed
+them and placed in a wooden bowl. The skins of the tongues are tied in
+bunches with sinew so that they can tell to which woman the skins
+belong.
+
+The skins are to be boiled by two women. Two sticks are given to one
+woman and one to the other. All this time singing is going on. The woman
+who has the two sticks paints them black, while the woman who has the
+other, paints it red. The three sticks are tied together at one end and
+are used as a tripod for hanging the kettle in which the skins of the
+tongues are to be boiled. The legs of the tripod, the wooden kettle
+hook, and all other sticks are painted half in red and half in black.
+Also, the kettle is marked with four vertical bands of black and four of
+red. The four blunt sticks for stirring the pot are painted in pairs,
+red and black. A red and black painted stick is slipped through the
+bail, passed around to the north of the tipi, and handed to the two
+women. During all these movements there is praying and singing. The
+women each take hold of one end of the stick and go for water.
+
+They make four pauses on this journey, each time praying to the sun and
+asserting their marital rectitude and recounting such occasions as they
+have been improperly approached by a man. All this time, the father and
+his assistants sing in the tipi. One of the women takes a cup, makes
+four movements with it and dips the water. At this moment the song
+runs:--
+
+    "The water that I see.
+    Water is sacred."
+
+On the return, the women make four pauses as before. When the pail is
+finally within the tipi, incense is burned between the fireplace and the
+door and the pail held in the smudge. The father takes up the board upon
+which some of the tongues lie and while holding it up in one hand,
+shakes the cup about in the water, meanwhile making a noise like the
+buffalo, finally striking the pail a blow with the cup. Here the song
+runs:--
+
+    "Buffalo will drink."
+
+This may be taken as marking one stage of the ceremony. The boiling of
+the tongue is now in order. When all is ready, the father starts the
+songs in the next series. The two women hook the kettle on the tripods
+and while the kettle is heated, there are other songs and incense burned
+and the song runs:--
+
+    "Where I (buffalo speaking) sit is sacred."
+
+While the water boils, the director takes up a tongue, holds it above
+the kettle, lowers it slowly, making a noise as if something were
+drinking. After this, the women place the tongues in the kettle and
+proceed with the boiling. Here or elsewhere, songs accompany the
+ceremonial acts. The pot must not boil over.
+
+When the tongues have cooked, the two women rise and stand by the fire
+as the songs begin. At the proper moment, they remove the kettle and
+place it on the spot where the smudge was made. First, they take out the
+painted tongues and then the others. The father takes up a small piece,
+singing:--
+
+    "Old Man (sun), he wants pemmican.
+    He wants to eat.
+
+    Old Woman (moon), she wants back fat.
+    She wants to eat.
+
+    Morningstar, he wants broth.
+    He wants to eat."
+
+Then the painted tongue is passed to the daughter. Now, each of the
+women tears off a bit of the tongue skin and all hold up the pieces and
+pray. After the prayers, the pieces are placed in the earth and the
+tongues are hung up to dry. First, the rope is taken up and a song sung.
+The woman who made the vow, rises and ties one end of the rope to the
+tipi pole on the north side and the other end to the tipi pole on the
+south side, a little to the west of the fireplace. All the tongues, both
+painted and unpainted, are hung on this rope.
+
+During all these ceremonies there is no regular smudge. The smudges are
+made with sweetgrass on the grass near the rear of the tipi. The tongues
+are left to hang for two days before they are taken down to be cooked.
+When the tongues have been hung, all return to their homes, the women
+taking the tongue skins with them for their relatives to eat, as they
+are considered to be blessed and supposed to bring good luck.
+
+After two days, all meet again in the same tipi. The two women who went
+for the water place the tripods over the fire and while songs are sung,
+the pot is passed to them with the red painted sticks. The two women,
+each holding one end of the stick, go for water, praying on the way.
+When they return to the tipi a smudge, over which they hold the bucket
+of water, is made between the door and the fireplace. Then the bucket is
+placed beside the smudge. While the others sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises and first takes the painted tongue and then the others from
+where they were hung. They are then placed on a buffalo hide and the
+woman returns to her place. Four women sit down near the tongues; each
+one takes a tongue, one of which is the painted one. Kneeling and
+swaying their bodies in time with the songs, they sing the buffalo
+songs. The painted tongue is placed in the kettle first and a song is
+sung: "When buffalo go to drink; it is powerful. Where buffalo sit is
+powerful (natojiwa)." Then the rest of the tongues are placed in the pot
+which is hooked on the tripod over the fire. Songs are sung and four
+sticks, about the length of the forearm, for stirring the tongues, are
+placed where the tongues were first placed. One of the cooks takes a
+pair of the sticks and stirs the tongues with them. When removing the
+tongues from the kettle they are held between two of these sticks.
+
+Another song, called the song of rest is sung, and all rest for a time
+and smoke. When the tongues are cooled, another song is sung, the two
+cooks rise, and taking the pot, place it over the smudge place near the
+door. To the singing of songs, the painted tongue first, and then the
+others, are taken out and placed on half a rawhide. The soup is poured
+into wooden bowls and distributed among those present. No tin cups must
+be used in drinking this soup. While all sing, the woman who made the
+vow rises and first takes the painted tongue and then all the others
+and hangs them up as before. This ends the ceremony.
+
+Two days later, the same participants are called together to the same
+tipi and the woman rises and takes first the painted tongue and then the
+others from where they were hung. A parfleche is brought and a buffalo
+song sung: "Buffalo I take. Where I sit is powerful." The painted tongue
+and then the others are placed on the parfleche. Wild peppermint is put
+in with the tongues, the parfleches are tied up and placed at the rear
+of the tipi. Sometimes tongues are dried in front of the tipi on a stage
+made by setting up two travois with a lodge pole tied between them.
+
+The man and woman who lead the ceremony must not have any metal about
+them. Brass rings, earrings, and all such trinkets must be taken off.
+Nor must there be any knives in the vicinity. Even the knives with which
+the tongues are cut are taken out. No one must spit in front of him, but
+always close to the wall under the beds. If they do, it will rain. No
+water is brought into the medicine lodge and when water is brought, it
+is covered. The only time when it is permitted to eat or drink is before
+sunrise and after sunset. They must be given food by the instructors.
+The prayers in this ceremony are prayers for good luck for everyone in
+the camp.
+
+This closes the preliminaries to the ceremonies leading to the sun dance
+and may be designated as the cutting of the tongues. As in most other
+cases, there seems to have been considerable variation in this
+procedure, both as to time and order. Certainly, for a number of years,
+it has been much abbreviated. As implied in the program, this ceremony
+may be performed on the first day. The gathering of tongues was
+dependent upon circumstances and after the days of the great buffalo
+drives was a matter of gradual accumulation. Thus, it was explained that
+by necessity, the "cutting" was often repeated, though naturally with
+less ceremony.
+
+The parfleches containing tongues are kept in the medicine woman's tipi
+where they are "prayed and sung over" during the first and second days
+of the program. The underlying thought seems to be that they are
+consecrated to the sun.
+
+In the procession of the fourth day, the parfleches are carried behind
+the medicine woman by her attendants. In former years, these were the
+women who had promised "to go forward to the tongues." They are present
+at the ceremony in the medicine woman's tipi and may be said to be in
+attendance during the entire fasting period. At the time indicated in
+the program, the parfleches are opened and the women in turn step out
+with some of the dried tongue, face the west, and each holding up a
+piece, address the sun then nearing the horizon. They declare their
+innocence of adultery, as at the time of making the vow and cutting the
+tongues. They also pray for themselves and their relatives after which
+they distribute dried tongue among them. Finally, there is a general
+distribution of tongues among the people.
+
+However, there is another aspect of their appearance at this point. The
+Blackfoot assume that many women have at one or more periods of their
+lives been invited by a man to commit the offence and that often the
+occasion is one of great temptation or calls for great presence of mind
+and will power. Now, when addressing the sun, if so approached, the
+woman narrates the circumstances, naming the men committing the offence,
+and recounts the manner of her refusal. In naming the offender, they
+usually say, "I suppose he hears what I say." These women are also
+subject to challenge of their having committed adultery. It will be seen
+from this that the part they take in the ceremony is an ordeal for which
+most women have little liking and one which they will not undertake
+lightly. The Blackfoot, themselves, regard it as one of the most solemn
+occasions in the ceremony. So far as we could learn, no one now living
+was ever present when one of these women was challenged, but the naming
+of men who were guilty of improper advances was not unusual.
+
+A retrospect of the concept of the tongues indicates that the entire
+ceremony, or their association with the medicine woman and those who are
+sexually pure, gives them a potency that may be acquired by eating. They
+seem most closely associated with sexual purity since they are less
+primary in the function of the medicine woman than in case of those who
+"go forward," the former being required to possess many virtues, the
+latter but one. While the medicine woman fasts and keeps to her tipi,
+the others do not.
+
+
+
+
+THE MEDICINE WOMAN.
+
+
+We shall now give our attention to the medicine woman. As previously
+stated, she is in most respects the central figure in the whole
+ceremony, around whom centers its more serious and solemn aspects. On
+the fifth day, an elaborate ritual is demonstrated in her tipi,
+culminating in the procession to the dancing lodge. To this ritual
+belongs a medicine bundle with accessories, known as the natoas, though
+the name is primarily that of the headdress which the bundle contains.
+This bundle is transferred in the ritualistic way to the medicine woman
+by the ceremony and thus becomes hers to care for and guard until used
+again at another sun dance ceremony. The ritual and the bundle have been
+discussed in detail in Volume 7 of this series. In addition to the
+contents of the bundle, there must be a special robe of elkskin, a dress
+of the same material, and wristlets of strong elk teeth. A new travois
+must be provided for moving the medicine woman outfit. Sometimes she
+herself rides on it. This travois is made by the past medicine woman,
+her attendant in the ceremonies.
+
+As previously stated, the natoas ritual in the sun dance has for its
+mythical basis the Elk-woman and the Woman-who-married-a-star, though
+Scar-face, Cuts-wood, Otter-woman, and Scabby-round-robe are said to
+have made minor contributions. Versions of these myths may be consulted
+in Volume 2, part 1 of this series. The Woman-who-married-a-star is
+credited with bringing down the digging-stick and the turnip, together
+with the songs pertaining thereto (p. 61), also a wreath of juniper
+formerly worn in place of the natoas and the eagle feather worn by the
+man.
+
+It is also interesting to note that the Crane-woman who transfers the
+ritualistic attributes of these objects makes a formal declaration of
+her marital virtue. In the case of Elk-woman, we have again the incident
+of the Crane and the digging-stick where it is implied that the latter
+symbolizes the bill of the former. We are informed that many animals
+were present at this transfer, each contributing something to the
+regalia. We also find it suggested that the bunches of feathers on the
+natoas represent the horns of the elk, the elk robe and elk teeth
+wristlets further symbolizing that animal. In one version of this myth
+is the antagonistic implication that Elk-woman was not quite up to the
+standard of marital virtue. In the Cuts-wood myth the "going forward to
+the tongues" is accounted for. Scabby-round-robe is credited with adding
+the necklace and the arrow point to the natoas and Otter-woman with the
+wild cat-tail.
+
+The following statement of an informant has a bearing upon this point:--
+
+    The natoas is said to have come from the Elk. It was first owned by
+    beaver bundle men, but it was the custom for the medicine woman in
+    the sun dance to borrow it for her ceremony. This continued for a
+    time, but ultimately the medicine woman bought it and kept it in a
+    bundle of her own. The feathers on the front of the natoas are said
+    to represent the horns of Elk and the plumes at the sides, the leafy
+    top of the large turnip. This is the same turnip which the woman who
+    went to the sky land is supposed to have dug up. The digging-stick
+    which accompanies the natoas also represents the stick with which
+    she did this digging. Some of the songs in the natoas ritual speak
+    of little children running about and this refers to the ball-like
+    image on the front of the natoas, for this image is stuffed with
+    tobacco seeds, which, as you know, are often spoken of as children,
+    or dwarfs (p. 201). The broad band upon which the natoas is mounted
+    is said to represent the lizard. All these things, it is said, were
+    added to the natoas, one at a time, by some of the beaver men. So it
+    came about that we have the natoas as it is.
+
+    Now, as to the story about the Elk giving the Natoas the robe and
+    the wristlets used with it. The objection is sometimes made that
+    this first woman who ran away from her husband to join the Elk was
+    not a true woman and that the facts are therefore inconsistent with
+    the ideal of the natoas ritual. Yet, some of our people claim that
+    the woman was true and that though she went away with the Elk it was
+    merely for the sake of receiving the ritual and that this is evident
+    because in the story it tells how she was able to hook down trees by
+    her magical powers and it is not conceivable that she could do this
+    if she had not been a true woman.
+
+The ceremonial transfer of the sun dance bundle really begins with the
+fasting of the medicine woman on the first day. Neither she nor her
+husband are supposed to eat or drink while the sun is visible, and then
+but sparingly. On the evening before, they are put to bed by the father
+and mother. The mother places the daughter on the south side of the fire
+and the father the son on the north side. They must remain in the same
+position until morning. Before the sun rises the father and mother go to
+the medicine woman's tipi, stand by the door and sing. They sing as they
+formally enter, the father raising up the son; the mother, the daughter.
+The man is taken out by the father and the daughter by the mother for
+the morning toilet. When they return a small amount of food is fed to
+the son and daughter, after which the father and mother take a little
+food and drink. This must be before sunrise. During the day the son and
+especially the daughter must sit quietly in their places with bowed
+heads and eyes cast down. She wears a buffalo robe, hair side in,
+painted red, covering her head as well as her body. Her hair is not
+braided, but hangs down freely except for a horizontal band around the
+head. The hair may be allowed to conceal the entire face.
+
+The daughter must do nothing for herself. If she wishes to speak it must
+be in almost a whisper in the ear of the mother or other attendant, who
+in turn will announce the import, if necessary. A fire is kept burning
+in the middle of the tipi, the ears are closely drawn around the smoke
+hole, the door closed, and the tipi cover securely staked down at the
+edges. Though this keeps the temperature high, the medicine woman cannot
+use a fan, but may use the skin of a muskrat to wipe the perspiration
+from her face and hands.
+
+During the fasting period no noise must be made in the tipi. All the
+attendants must avoid unnecessary conversation and speak in a very
+subdued tone; utensils must not be rattled or struck together. Visitors
+may enter, but respectfully and quietly. No noises should be made in the
+vicinity of the medicine tipi and boisterous acts abstained from in all
+parts of the camp circle. If water is brought in the vessel must be
+covered. No one should spit in the tipi nor do the other things
+forbidden at the ceremony of the tongues.
+
+Throughout the whole period there is a male attendant. He keeps the fire
+alive during the night and until camp is moved. He can only start the
+fire with an ember from some other tipi, striking fire in the tipi being
+strictly prohibited. Pipes can only be lighted from the fire by this
+attendant with service berry sticks. A blaze must be avoided as much as
+possible. The attendant cuts the tobacco and fills the pipe and when
+burnt out he must empty the ashes into a small hole in the ground near
+his seat. Everyone is expected to sit quietly, leaving the moving to
+him. He remains on duty during the night also.
+
+Formerly, the tipi of the medicine woman was moved three times, four
+different camps resulting, the last being at its position in the circle
+for the sun dance. As a considerable journey was often necessary to
+reach the sun dance site these camps might be far apart. Theoretically,
+the camp is pitched late in the afternoon of each day. At the sun dance
+a special sweathouse ceremony takes place. This will be discussed later.
+After this the evening and greater part of the night are spent by those
+in attendance at the medicine woman's tipi in rehearsing the songs and
+instructing the son and daughter.
+
+Like everything else, moving the camp of the medicine woman is a formal
+matter. The travois is made, painted red, and reserved for the special
+use of the medicine woman. When the time for breaking camp in the
+medicine woman's band arrives, she and her husband are led out and
+seated upon a robe at the west or rear of their tipi, facing in the
+direction to move. The parfleche of tongues and other paraphernalia are
+brought out by the attending women and put down beside the couple. The
+mother directs the attending women in taking down the tipi and hitching
+the horse to the travois. The parfleche of tongues is packed on the
+travois. When all is ready, the woman and man are led to their horses
+and assisted to mount, the woman riding the horse to the travois. The
+father and the son go ahead in single file, next the mother and the
+daughter, or medicine woman. They pause four times, as songs are sung.
+After they get some distance out, they stop and wait for the camp, now
+moving for the first time. This procession of four always leads, the two
+men side by side and behind them the two women likewise. At noon, when
+they stop for lunch, the two are again seated on a robe, the travois
+unhooked and laid down before them. Then follows the camp some distance
+behind. The old men form a circle and smoke near the pair.
+
+At this time the father orders one of the men's societies to go forward
+and mark out a camp site. When this spot is reached, tipis are pitched
+and when everything is in place the medicine woman and her husband are
+taken inside.
+
+On the morning of each day a society is given instructions to make the
+sweathouse at the camping place, a man to get the creeping juniper and
+another to cut out the smudge place. As the sweathouse procedure is a
+distinct ceremony, it will be treated under another head.
+
+The following account of the evening ceremonies in the medicine woman's
+tipi was given by Red-plume:--
+
+    In the evening, after sunset, the first sweathouse is made. All
+    those who took part in the ceremony before and a few other old men
+    are invited. The man who fills the pipes and tends to the smoking
+    during the ceremony remains on duty during the whole sun dance
+    ceremony. Four-bears is told to tell the mosquito society to sing
+    that night in their own tipi which is inside of the circle. This
+    society is to sing the sun dance songs, the weather-makers dancing
+    songs, the rest of the people remaining quiet through the night. In
+    the medicine lodge they sing until a little before day-break.
+
+    The smudge place in the medicine lodge on the first day and for the
+    first sweathouse is a square marked in the soft earth with a
+    crescent in the middle of it. It is not painted. Under the crescent
+    is a dot where the smudge is made.
+
+    When all the guests are assembled in the tipi the ceremony for the
+    evening begins. Food is given to all; the medicine woman and her
+    husband have their meat cut up for them. While a song is sung a
+    piece of meat is held over the smudge, four passes made with it, and
+    then fed to the man and woman. The same thing is done with water.
+    After this they may help themselves to the food. After the meal is
+    over the singing begins. The sweetgrass is taken up and a song sung:
+    "Old man, takes spring grass. Old woman comes in with her body."
+    Another man takes the smudge stick and places a live coal on the
+    smudge place. The singer holds the grass over head and then brings
+    it down on the coal. This song is for the morningstar: "Morningstar
+    says let us have a sweathouse." Seven songs are sung for the sun and
+    moon which are spoken of as the old man and old woman. These with
+    the seven sung for the morningstar make fourteen sung thus far.
+
+    Since the men have been in the sweathouse where the paint has all
+    washed off, five songs are sung to re-paint the man and woman. As
+    the man sings, he takes some red earth paint with a ball of fat
+    which he rolls in the palms of his hands. The song is: "Old man says
+    red face I take." He makes a streak crosswise on the man's forehead,
+    vertically on his cheeks, and across the chin. The entire face is
+    then covered with the same red paint. The robe is then taken from
+    the man's shoulders. He sings another song as he takes up the
+    sagegrass and brushes one side of the man's head, his arm, and then
+    his body. At the same time, the woman is painted on the other side
+    of the tipi. Another song is sung and he takes the paint, rubs it in
+    his hands, and sings: "This man I am making his body holy,
+    powerful." The same words are sung for the woman. The man's body and
+    robe are then painted.
+
+    When the tongues were first taken in to be sliced, two round buffalo
+    dungs together with a ball of sweetgrass were given to the man and
+    woman. They keep these to wipe the paint from their hands. A song is
+    sung for the dung. The two men and the two women hold their hands
+    over the dung. They make four motions with the closed fists and then
+    touch the ground to the southeast, southwest, northwest, and
+    northeast of the dung. The words in this song are: "This may help me
+    to live long, and help me through life." There is also part of a
+    buffalo dung. The smudge stick is taken up, with the song: "Timber I
+    am looking for? Timber I have found and taken." The two men and the
+    two women all grasp the forked stick. They sing as they take up the
+    dung with it and gradually move it up the stick until it rests on
+    the fork. Then it is held over the fire. Someone knocks the dung
+    into the fire and it is covered with ashes. The song is: "Powerful,
+    I start. Powerful where I sit." To throw the dung off into the fire
+    is a sign that enemies will be conquered.
+
+    Four songs are now sung for the muskrat skin used to wipe the faces
+    of the man and woman: "Man says, my medicine, I am looking for. I
+    have found it." The skin is taken up. Two songs are sung for the
+    parfleche with tongues in it. It is taken up very slowly and the
+    singing continues during all the movements made with it. It is held
+    over the smudge and placed to one side, the cords untied, and the
+    tongues taken out and distributed to all who are now in the tipi.
+    The two medicinemen and women also eat. The song when first taking
+    up the parfleche is: "Buffalo I am powerfully starting. It is
+    powerful where I sit." When undoing the cords the words are:
+    "Buffalo I take some." When the first tongue is taken out, a little
+    piece is held up by everyone, prayers are said, the small pieces are
+    placed on the ground, and they begin to eat them.
+
+    Seven songs for the eagle tail feather with which the sun is
+    supposed to have brushed off the scar from Scar-face's face and is
+    supposed to be the feather brought down from the sun by Scar-face
+    follow: "Old man says, hand me a feather." The feather is passed to
+    the man. Another song follows: "Old man says he wants a hundred
+    feathers. Old woman wants different kinds of feathers." Seven more
+    songs are sung, the words of some of them are: "This man says that
+    above have seen me. It is powerful. The ground I see is powerful.
+    Old man, says, white buffalo robe I want. Old woman, says, Elk I
+    want. Old man says, don't fool me. Old woman says, don't fool me."
+    The meaning of this is to be sure and give them what they ask for,
+    that is, offerings made at the sun dance to the sun, moon, etc.
+
+    Seven songs are sung before they take up the rattles and the rawhide
+    and five songs for the raven. At this time, the man takes hold of
+    one of the rattles by the ball part touching it to the ground, while
+    he holds the end of the handle straight up. The raven songs are:
+    "Raven says, buffalo I am looking for; buffalo I take. The wind is
+    our medicine. The brush is our home. Buffalo I take." The man pecks
+    the rattle handle with one finger on both sides and crows. Then they
+    begin to beat the rattles on the rawhide and shake them in a circle
+    once.
+
+    Now seven songs are sung for the smudge which is made of a species
+    of fungus that grows on a kind of willow. The songs: "Old man says,
+    all right, may my lodge be put up. Old woman says, all right may my
+    lodge be put up or built." These words mean that the sun and moon
+    are speaking and want the sun dance lodge built without any
+    accidents.
+
+    The next songs are for the natoas bundle which is not opened. The
+    songs: "Old man comes in, he says, I am looking for my bonnet. I
+    have found it. It hears me. It is medicine." The old woman sings and
+    uses the same words in her songs. There are six of these bonnet
+    songs. The songs for the badger skin follow: "The man above hears
+    me; he is powerful. The ground is my home; it is powerful." There
+    are four songs for the badger. The badger skin and other things are
+    not handled, the songs about them are simply sung. The songs for the
+    natoas are: "Old man says I am looking for my bonnet. I have found
+    it: it is powerful." The woman then sings a song with the same
+    words, which is followed by a song about the stone arrow points on
+    the natoas. There is a song for everything which makes up the bonnet
+    which is as follows: the leather band, the blue paint on the band,
+    the stuffed weasel skin tied crosswise on the bonnet, the weasel
+    tails hanging from the bonnet, two feathers in front, and two
+    behind, two plumes on each side of the bonnet, a flint arrow point,
+    a buffalo calf tail, a snipe, and a small doll the head of which is
+    stuffed with tobacco seed. The song for the doll on the bonnet is:
+    "Children are running about. They are running from us. They are
+    running towards us. They are boys. They are powerful." The man says,
+    "Give me the child," and makes the movement of reception. Another
+    song is sung: "Child is crying," and the man imitates the crying of
+    a child. The song for the little birds is: "Bird says water is my
+    medicine; it is powerful," for the calf tail: "Man says calf tail I
+    want," and for the arrow point: "Sharp points are on both sides."
+    Then follows the song for the leather band which represents the
+    lizard: "Yonder man, I am angry and mad at you." This song of the
+    lizard refers to the prairie dog chief. The blue paint on the band
+    represents water and the song for it is: "The blue waters are our
+    medicine." The song for the feathers is: "Feathers I want." Another
+    song for the plume on the feathers: "Red I want." This closes the
+    evening ceremony. The man and woman are put to bed and all go home.
+
+    This is the ceremony after the first sweathouse is made. Three more
+    moves of the entire camp and three more sweathouses must be made.
+    The fourth move and sweathouse is where the sun dance takes place.
+    Nowadays, only one sweathouse is made for the sun dance.
+
+It seems that the final camp is marked out by a society laying rocks
+around its bounds, according to which the arriving bands find their
+proper places.
+
+At the fourth camp and on the fourth day, the natoas bundle is opened,
+or its formal ritual demonstrated. Early in the day another tipi is
+pitched before the medicine tipi and the covers are joined, thus
+enlarging the space and providing for a few spectators. A few men and
+women are invited to assist in the ceremony: the men use the rattles and
+with the women aid in the singing. The father and other men sit on the
+north side of the tipi, the former next the medicine woman's husband;
+and the other women sit on the south side, the mother next to the
+medicine woman. She directs the medicine woman and the singing of the
+other women. The ceremony opens at about ten A. M. with the first series
+of songs in the ritual. Three men hold a rattle in each hand, beating
+them upon the rawhide by a vigorous downward forward stroke, the seventh
+rattle is used by the father.
+
+The ritual of the natoas will be found in Volume 7, pp. 215-220.
+Normally, this ceremony transfers the natoas to the daughter. She may,
+however, waive the right, in which case the bundle returns to the former
+owner. Yet, she seems to enjoy all the privileges accorded to one having
+been an owner.
+
+Theoretically, no one can perform a transfer ceremony without having
+first owned the bundle in question. In case of the natoas, even now, a
+beaver owner is regarded as competent to conduct the proceeding, though
+he may never have gone through the ritual with his wife. This is
+consistent with the tradition that formerly the natoas was a part of the
+beaver bundle.[6] Yet, the conditions here are slightly different from
+those for other bundles in that the father must provide or is charged
+with the responsibility to see that a natoas is provided. Following the
+vow, either he or the son makes formal application to the owner of a
+natoas by the usual presentation of a pipe.[7]
+
+When the daughter begins her fasting, the father has the natoas brought
+to her tipi. As a rule, the father's wife owns a natoas. Some informants
+claim that even should the daughter own a natoas, the father must
+provide another. On the other hand, the daughter can select the eligible
+natoas. In any case, the father furnishes the daughter with a dress and
+an elk robe for which he must be paid liberally.[8]
+
+In conclusion, it may be remarked that anyone can make up a natoas, if
+he has a dream so directing him; also, if he owned a natoas that was
+lost or otherwise destroyed; if he gave it away, without receiving
+payment; or if it was buried with someone. Having owned a natoas and
+transferred it, he cannot duplicate it; should the new owner lose it, he
+may, if called upon, replace it; likewise, if buried, the surviving
+husband or wife could call upon him. In all such cases fees are given.
+When one transfers a medicine bundle and has been paid for it, he has no
+more right to it and cannot duplicate it on his own motion. Should one
+sell the bundle without the ceremony of transfer, the ritual remains
+with him and he can again make up the bundle; should one make the
+transfer and fail to receive the pay, or waive the pay, he can make it
+up again. The relatives of one buried with a bundle can call upon a
+former owner to make it up, after which it must be formally transferred
+to one of them. Men were sometimes killed on the warpath and their
+bundles lost; such were replaced as noted above. In every case these
+must be true duplicates; it is only a dream that authorizes new
+creations, or variations, however slight.
+
+An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the idealized qualities of this
+woman's function by the following narrative:--
+
+Once while a medicine woman was sleeping in the sacred tipi during the
+fasting, a nephew of her husband stole in and made improper advances.
+Being a good and true woman, like all others who give the sun dance,
+she spurned him. Next day she told her husband the whole story. He was
+very angry. He was not satisfied with the confession she made, but
+suspected that she must have given the young man some encouragement. So
+when all the medicinemen and women had come into the tipi to rehearse
+the songs as usual, he made a statement of these suspicions and as he
+had two wives, he proposed to have them change places.
+
+The medicinemen pleaded for the first wife because they believed her
+innocent, but the husband was obdurate. So the second wife was called in
+to take the place. Then the first wife said, "It was I who saved this
+man's life when he was ill. I made the vow to give the sun dance and he
+got well. I have suffered much in fasting, all for him. Now he disgraces
+me before all the people. But I will put my virtue to a test. If I am
+true, I have already acquired power."
+
+She filled a pipe, went outside and standing now on the east side of the
+tipi, then on the south, the west, and the north, she addressed the sun.
+The day was clear, but soon after the woman entered the tipi, thunder
+was heard. A storm came down with hail and blew over many tipis. But in
+spite of these proofs, her husband was obdurate and the second wife went
+on with the ceremony.
+
+Not long after the sun dance this same man became ill again. Finally, as
+a last resort, he called upon the first wife to save him again. This
+woman told him to call upon the other woman as he seemed to have so much
+faith in her. So he died and was properly punished for so unjustly
+treating his faithful wife.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [6] In former times, the natoas and the medicine woman's costume were
+  owned by a beaver man. When a woman gave a sun dance she gave a horse
+  for their use. She just borrowed them. Later on, a beaver man
+  transferred them, whence they became a separate bundle.--Tom Kiyo.
+
+  [7] Should the woman already own a natoas and the transferrer (father)
+  own one; the woman must say which bundle shall be used. She can use
+  her own, borrow, or purchase of the transferrer.--Curly-bear.
+
+  [8] A Piegan informant comments as follows: The woman can either buy
+  or borrow a natoas. In the olden times she often borrowed because the
+  natoas, the dress, the elk tooth wristlets, and the robe were owned by
+  a beaver man's wife. After a time, however, these were transferred to
+  a medicine woman and were thus separated from the beaver bundle.
+
+
+
+
+THE PROCESSION TO THE DANCING LODGE.
+
+
+In our account of the natoas ritual we told how the father, son, etc.,
+emerge from their tipi. The file is headed by the father, followed by
+the son, next the mother, then the medicine woman followed by women
+bearing the tongues. The father and the son are muffled in blankets
+(robes); the latter walks with bowed head, leaning heavily on a staff
+and bearing over his head a wild rhubarb stalk.[9] The medicine woman
+wears the natoas on her head, an elkskin (often buckskin) dress and an
+elkskin robe, with the digging-stick on her back. For a staff, she uses
+one of the smudge sticks. The women in her rear bear parfleches
+containing the tongues, together with blankets and other ordinary
+objects. Two or three old men act as conductors, or flankers, keeping
+the way clear of spectators, etc. The procession moves slowly and by
+stages. The four principal personages in it keep their eyes upon the
+ground. The course is southward past the entrance (east side) to the
+dancing lodge, around the south side, the rear of the shelter and
+entering from the north side. Here the medicine woman remains until the
+dancing lodge is raised at sunset, when she returns to her tipi and
+breaks her fast with berry soup. The father and the son go to a
+sweathouse after which their responsibilities also end. During the
+continuance of the ceremonies in the sun lodge, the medicine woman cares
+for the natoas bundle, now her property, until transferred to another,
+but is otherwise free to do as she likes. She usually remains quietly at
+home receiving guests and resting.
+
+The part of the medicine woman is truly a sacrifice. She and her husband
+must pay liberally everyone called upon for ceremonial service directly
+connected with the tongues and the natoas ritual. They must also pay a
+considerable amount of property for the natoas itself. To give the
+ceremony means the sacrifice of all personal property. On the other
+hand, there is compensation, aside from fulfilling the vow. Her
+relatives are very proud of her since she is so virtuous. She is highly
+respected by her husband and family. In a measure those who "take the
+tongues" are also respected. The medicine woman may act as the mother in
+a future sun dance for which she will receive presents and she may
+eventually realize something by transferring the natoas to another.
+Should anything go wrong during the ceremony, the weather be
+unfavorable, etc., people will look with suspicion upon her and say she
+must have lied in her confession to the sun. Should she become ill or
+have deaths in the family, the same charge will be made.
+
+
+_The Offerings of Cloth._ After the procession headed by the father and
+he is in position at the west side of the dancing lodge, offerings of
+cloth and clothing are brought up by the people. A man making such an
+offering hands the father a filled pipe and the cloth. The father holds
+the pipe and offers prayers for the giver and lights and passes the pipe
+to other old men sitting around. The cloth he lays in a pile. Then he
+paints the giver: first the face is smeared over with red, then black
+spots are daubed on the cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin, four in all. A
+black circle is marked around each wrist. Women bringing offerings and
+pipes go to the mother who prays for them and paints their faces red
+with a black spot on the nose and a black circle around the face. There
+is also a black circle around each wrist.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [9] Scar-face is said to have made a whistle (flageolet) of such a
+  stalk. The pith of the growing plant is sometimes eaten for food.
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNDRED-WILLOW SWEATHOUSE.
+
+
+As stated before, a sweathouse of special form is constructed on the
+third day. This is said to have originated with Scar-face, it being the
+house into which he was taken by the sun. About the middle of the day a
+society is sent out for the willows. These were usually those of the
+younger men; the pigeons and mosquitoes. There is a belief, however,
+that in former times only warriors could be sent upon this errand. These
+persons are mounted and return in procession, singing and circling the
+medicine woman's tipi in the direction of the sun, and deposit their
+willows at the west side of the camp circle. They must not drink water
+while on this duty.
+
+An older society is called to build the sweathouse. They must not drink
+water while engaged in this operation and receive some of the tongues
+after the ceremonies of the fourth day. Formerly, these men must have
+had a coup to their credit as a qualification and some informants claim
+that the sum total for the society should have totalled at least one
+hundred, the number of willows. The work begins some time before sunset
+by which time the sweathouse should be completed.
+
+The willows are stuck into the ground in an oval and their tops bent
+over and interlocked over the top. The ends point toward the east and
+the west, an opening or door being provided at each. The willows are
+then painted, one side red and the other black. Next, a hole is dug in
+the center of the structure for the heated stones. In the meantime, a
+small heap of stones mixed with firewood has been placed some distance
+to the east. A buffalo skull is painted with red spots on one side and
+black on the other. Sagegrass is thrust into the nose and eye-sockets.
+Robes are then thrown over the willows and all is ready for the
+procession from the medicine woman's tipi.
+
+The procession from the medicine woman's tipi consists of the father and
+another man experienced in ceremonial affairs, the husband, the mother
+and the medicine woman. They approach slowly and by stages, passing
+around the south side of the sweathouse to the north and then to the
+east or entrance. All keep their eyes on the ground. The husband walks
+with a heavy staff; the medicine woman carries the natoas bundle with a
+smudge stick.
+
+The men enter the sweathouse, while the two women go to the west side
+and sit down facing the east. The medicine woman is on the north side
+with the bundle before her. After the men have entered, the fire is
+lighted and some of the attendants (builders of the sweathouse) lift the
+buffalo skull to the top of the sweathouse where it faces the east.
+Prayers and the usual sweathouse procedure now follow while the stones
+and a pail of water are passed in by an attendant. The covers are then
+drawn down and the vapor bath taken.
+
+After the ceremony the procession returns to the medicine woman's tipi.
+The cover is removed from the sweathouse and the buffalo skull placed on
+top where it remains.
+
+Should there be more than one medicine woman, another sweathouse is made
+on the east side of the camp circle and the others grouped around them
+equally.
+
+Since after the sweathouse ceremony there is formal singing in the tipi
+until far into the night, it may be said that during the four days of
+the fast the ceremonies begin with the sweathouse at sundown, while on
+the fifth day the ceremony begins in the morning and ends at sundown.
+
+To this generalized statement the following account from a Piegan may be
+added:--
+
+    Now, when the first sweathouse is to be made, orders are given in
+    the morning to one of the societies to get the willows to make the
+    hundred-willow sweathouse. Another man is to get the creeping
+    juniper to use in the smudge place in the medicine lodge, and still
+    another is to cut out the smudge place. The moves are short. The
+    people all move camp, as before, and the society goes on ahead and
+    stakes out the camping ground. When the tipis are pitched at the new
+    camping ground, the society comes in with the willows and the rocks
+    for the sweathouse. They circle once around to the right of the
+    lodges and stop outside of the circle, west of the medicine lodge.
+    They must neither eat nor drink while building the sweathouse. They
+    gather wood from among the tipis until they have enough to heat the
+    rocks. Robes for covering the sweathouse are borrowed from the
+    people of the camp. One man goes to the medicine lodge and digs out
+    the smudge place.
+
+    When the sweathouse is ready for the medicinemen, four of the men
+    who helped in the construction go and inform the men and women. They
+    carry the parfleche with the tongues in it on a robe, each man
+    holding a corner. The two medicinemen take the lead, the two women
+    follow, then come the four men with the parfleche. Four stops are
+    made before they reach the sweathouse. The instructor leads, and is
+    followed in single file by the other man, and the two women walking
+    very slowly and singing. They march once around the sweathouse in
+    the direction of the sun. The other old men who are to join them and
+    the two medicinemen go in while the two women remain seated on a
+    robe just west of it with the parfleche beside them. A smudge is
+    made with sweetgrass, and a crescent-shaped place marked out between
+    the square hole and the rear of the sweathouse and live coals are
+    placed on the dot in front of the crescent. A song is sung while the
+    smudge stick is taken up and a man goes after the coal for the
+    smudge. The sweetgrass is placed on the live coal and the two songs
+    for the smudge are sung: "Spring grass I take. Where I sit is
+    powerful." A pipe is handed in and the pipe bowl and stem painted
+    red. The man holds the pipe over the smudge and prays for the one
+    who gave it to him and then passes it to the last man to his right
+    who lights it and all smoke it. When the pipe is all burnt out, the
+    man who blessed it, takes it, and with a red-painted stick loosens
+    the ashes and empties some of them on the southeast corner of the
+    square hole in the sweathouse, then on the northwest corner, on the
+    northeast, and finally in the center.
+
+    After this the buffalo skull is brought in and the songs of the
+    buffalo sung while the same man paints it with black and red dots,
+    the left half black and the right half in red. Grass is stuffed into
+    the eyes and nose of the skull which is passed out through the west
+    of the sweathouse and placed on the earth taken out of the hole in
+    the sweathouse. An extra buffalo horn wrapped with swamp grass is
+    brought in and given to the man who paints it red and sings while
+    doing so: "Chiefs of other tribes I want to hook." He throws the
+    horn out and all the men of this society who remain near the
+    sweathouse try to catch it. The one who captures it is considered
+    lucky and he is supposed to capture a gun in the next battle he
+    witnesses.
+
+    The men in the sweathouse all undress and as they pass their robes
+    and moccasins out through the west of the sweathouse and the door,
+    the buffalo songs are sung. The two medicinemen only wear a robe and
+    moccasins when they go into the sweathouse. While singing, the
+    forked stick is taken up and one of the outsiders goes for the
+    heated stones, stopping four times before he brings them in. One of
+    the men who is inside takes the stone with two straight sticks and
+    places it on the southeast corner of the hole, the same is done with
+    four more stones which are placed on the southwest, the northwest,
+    the northeast corner and the fifth is placed in the bottom of the
+    hole at the center. When a sixth stone is placed in the hole, they
+    are all rolled to the bottom of the hole. Water and a horn spoon or
+    wooden bowl is brought in.
+
+    A little water is thrown on the stones to wash them, the curtains
+    are lowered, and prayers to the sun, moon, and stars, and earth
+    begin. In groups of four, sixteen medicine lodge songs are sung. The
+    curtains are raised and four more songs are sung; the sweathouse is
+    opened and four songs are sung, until the sixteen have been
+    completed. The two medicinemen go out through the west of the
+    sweathouse while the rest go through the door. The men dress, and
+    the parfleche containing the tongues is opened and the tongues given
+    to the members of the society who made the sweathouse. The
+    medicinemen and women do not eat. After all are provided with the
+    tongues a piece is broken off each and while all hold the pieces up
+    a prayer is said and the piece of tongue placed on the ground. Then
+    they all begin to eat. After this the robes are all returned to
+    their owners, the buffalo skull placed on top of the frame of the
+    sweathouse with the nose pointed towards the east and the
+    medicinemen and women return in single file while four men follow
+    behind carrying the empty parfleche. The men who belong to the
+    society may now eat and drink as they wish.
+
+
+
+
+THE DANCING LODGE.
+
+
+The dancing lodge may be said to take its origin on the fourth day, by
+which time the medicine woman has her tipi in place near its site and
+the camp circle has been formed. In construction, nine forked tree
+trunks about nine feet in height are set in a circle. Across their tops,
+except the eastern face, are laid stringers about fifteen feet long of
+the same material.[10] In the center, is another forked tree trunk much
+higher than the other (this we shall call the sun pole) connected with
+each of the stringers by a rafter. Green boughs are placed thickly
+against the outside of the lodge. On the inside, at the rear, is a booth
+screened and roofed with boughs. The material is cottonwood. That other
+woods were occasionally used, is attested by the fact that a locality is
+known as "the place of sweet pine dancing lodge."
+
+Some informants claim that in former years each band was required to
+furnish two rafters, a post, a rail, and their proportionate amount of
+boughs. Two rafters were used instead of one as now, each band
+furnishing the section opposite their place in the circle. The
+contradiction between the number of bands and the size of the dancing
+lodge seems not to have troubled our informants. Now, the young men go
+out during the early part of the fourth day to cut the poles and boughs.
+This is done without ceremony. A crier usually rides around the camp
+circle reminding the various bands of their duty. Formerly, the young
+women went out on horseback to drag in the poles and brush. On this
+occasion, they dressed in the best costumes and used the finest horse
+trappings obtainable. The men cut the poles and brush, hitching them to
+the drag ropes with their own hands. As the procession galloped toward
+the camp circle, the men rode behind, shooting and yelling. In recent
+years, the men bring the material in on wagons without demonstration.
+
+Men of some prominence are selected to dig the holes for the posts. The
+posts are erected and the stringers put in place, excepting one on the
+west side nearly opposite the entrance. The rafters are leaned against
+the stringers, ready to be pushed in place and the green boughs piled up
+at convenient places near by.
+
+The cutting of the sun pole is attended with some ceremony. Some
+informants claim that formerly this was to be carried out by the
+medicine woman's band; others that one of the men's societies was called
+upon for this service. In any event, they go out as a war party and
+locate a suitable tree. A man with a war record, preferably one having
+struck an enemy with an ax, comes forward, takes an ax, paints the blade
+as he recounts some event in which he killed an enemy, and then strikes
+the tree. Four such deeds must be told before the tree can be felled.
+Then one or two men cut the tree as the others stand around. As the tree
+begins to fall all give the war cry and shoot at its top, then rush up,
+and tearing off branches, wave them in the air as if they were trophies
+from an enemy. Indeed, the whole proceeding, from start to finish, is a
+mimic attack on an enemy.
+
+The pole is cut to approximate form and taken to the site of the dancing
+lodge. One end is placed on a travois (in recent times on a wagon),
+while the riders assist with their ropes, their horses massed around the
+travois horse.
+
+The hole for the sun pole is dug without ceremony by relatives of the
+medicine woman. When it is in place, they tie a bundle of green boughs
+in the fork,[11] making everything ready for the raising in the evening.
+The sun pole now lies on the ground with the butt over the hole and the
+forked end supported by a piece of timber. The fork points to the west.
+It seems that formerly the pole was painted. Just below the fork it was
+circled by two black bands and two red ones beneath these.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [10] Obviously, this would make the dancing lodge very large. In reply
+  to this objection it was said that they were large; that it was
+  necessary to select as a site places where very long rafter poles
+  could be cut; that formerly societies and others performed evolutions
+  within on horseback. The late Little-plume is credited with having
+  introduced the present custom of reciting deeds, requiring horses,
+  outside the dancing lodge. It may be of interest to note that the
+  Arapaho also made very large sun dance shelters.
+
+  In 1908 Mr. Duvall measured the dancing lodge. The sun pole stood
+  sixteen feet from the ground to the fork. The posts were eight feet
+  and approximately sixteen feet apart. The diameter of the whole was
+  fifty-two feet. The fireplace was east of the sun pole six feet and
+  was four feet by two feet and five inches deep. The booth for
+  medicinemen was five feet eight inches wide by seven feet six inches
+  deep. The two holes were about a foot forward from the sod walls,
+  eight inches across and six inches deep. The man who has been marking
+  out the site for the lodge during the last few years, begins by
+  selecting the place for the sun pole and stepping off seven paces as
+  the radius.
+
+  [11] The bundle of boughs is neither spoken of as the thunderbird's
+  nest nor given a name of any kind; though some old men seemed to know
+  that other tribes so designated it. We made diligent inquiry on this
+  point and feel that the above statement is correct. Reference to
+  published photographs will show that the brush is merely gathered into
+  a bundle and not made into the form of a nest as in case of the Crow.
+
+
+
+
+CUTTING THE THONGS.
+
+
+A fresh cowskin (formerly two buffalo hides) is provided that thongs may
+be cut for binding the rafters to the stringers and the objects placed
+on the sun pole. There seems to have been no hunting ceremony for
+providing this hide and there is now no symbolic hunting. After the
+medicine woman is in the shelter, the ceremony of cutting the thongs
+takes place. If no one volunteers, men are "caught." The men who cut the
+thongs last year may do the "catching" or engage representatives to do
+it. Formerly, this function was exercised by old warriors who had
+captured enemies alive. The "catchers" go quietly about the camp looking
+for eligibles. While pretending to pass one by without notice, they
+suddenly lay hold of him. The victim may pull back, but is not allowed
+to resort to other means of resistance. He is then led up to the hides
+near the front of the medicine woman's shelter. In former times, four
+such men were brought up for the ceremony. They must have coups to their
+records, otherwise they would not have been selected. In the ceremony of
+1904 we observed an attempt to "catch" a man on horseback, but the
+struggles of the horse enabled him to escape. In former times, the
+friends of the interested party would have gathered around the rear and
+sides of the horse forcing him forward in the lead of the "catcher".
+This whole catching procedure is said to symbolize the capture of an
+enemy.
+
+In order to understand the ceremony that now takes place, it is
+necessary to know that the right to cut the thong is to the Blackfoot a
+medicine to be transferred for gifts of property as in case of other
+medicines. The men who did the cutting in the previous year are to
+"sell", or transfer, this year. It is they who do the "catching", either
+in person or by deputy. Should no one be brought forward, those who
+performed the rite on the previous year must again serve. As soon as a
+man is caught, his relatives are notified; they come out with all kinds
+of property to support him in the transfer. The initiate is brought into
+the presence of the present owner of the right, his hands and face are
+painted, accompanied by ritualistic prayers. While this proceeds, an old
+man (usually a relative) stands somewhat apart and shouts out praise for
+the initiate. However, this may be done by a woman, if no man comes
+forward. A horse and other property is then given to the former owner of
+the right, whence it ceases to be his. The deputy "catcher", if there is
+one, then receives a small present or two from the former owner.
+
+The cutting of the thong then takes place. The new owner of the right,
+standing up by the hide, shouts out his coups. He holds the knife in his
+hand and while pointing in different directions with it, he tells of a
+war deed. At the end of each tale he makes a pass with the knife as if
+to cut the hide. After four deeds are told, he cuts the hide. For
+example, he may say, "At such a place I captured a horse which gives me
+the right to cut this, etc." If there are other men with the right, they
+follow in turn. After this, the thongs are cut with the assistance of
+other men and distributed at the places where they will be needed. A
+thong with the tail attached is used to bind the bunch of boughs to the
+sun pole, the tail hanging down.
+
+While this ceremony is going on, gifts of flour, beef, etc., made by
+white people are distributed among the old poor people. This is regarded
+as a recent intrusion.
+
+The following extract from an unpublished version of the Scar-face myth
+accounts for the thong-cutting ceremony:--
+
+    Her husband could tell by her eyes that she had been crying and he
+    said, "I told you not to dig up that turnip, but nevertheless you
+    have done so. Since you are lonesome and wish to return to your
+    people, I will take you back." Then Morningstar went out and killed
+    some buffalo. After he had skinned all of them he cut the hides into
+    long strands, fastened them together, and tied the woman and her
+    child to one end and let her down from the sky to where her people
+    were.
+
+    Before she reached the earth, a little sore-eyed boy was lying on
+    his back, looking up at the sky and saw a very small object coming
+    down. The boy told the men who were playing the wheel gambling game
+    what he saw, but they laughed at him and threw dirt in his eyes and
+    said, "You must see the gum on your eyelids or lashes." As the
+    falling object came closer others noticed it and when it came among
+    the group they knew that it was the woman who was missing from the
+    camp. They untied the rawhide strand and noticed that some of the
+    buffalo tails were on the ends of the long rope which lay piled up
+    high before them.
+
+    This woman came down with her digging-stick. As she was not a wicked
+    woman and only lived with Morningstar as her husband, she gave her
+    digging-stick to the medicine lodge woman and the natoas was named
+    for the turnip she dug up. When the sun dance was held, this woman
+    told them always to cut up a rawhide into strands and tie the posts
+    with them. Also that the center post and the birch on it must be
+    tied with them. The tail of the hide is to hang down from the center
+    post. These rawhide strands are a representation of the rawhide rope
+    with which this woman was let down to the earth. Later, the moose
+    hoofs are tied to this digging-stick. The plumes on the natoas are
+    to represent the leaf of the large turnip this woman dug up while in
+    the sky.
+
+
+
+
+RAISING THE SUN POLE.
+
+
+While the hide is being cut, all the woman who made vows to take some of
+the tongues come forward to the parfleche placed near the medicinemen
+and women. Each woman takes one of the tongues and stands with the
+person for whom her vow was made and makes a confession to the sun in a
+loud voice, so all may hear. Then she prays to the sun for the
+beneficiary. After all the women have taken their tongues, some of the
+men tie the cloth offerings to the ends of the poles and a bunch of
+birch is tied between the forks of the center pole.
+
+The preceding ceremony comes to a close as the sun gets very low. About
+time for the sun to set, a procession of pole raisers starts from each
+of the four quarters of the camp circle. Tipi poles are tied near the
+small ends in pairs, each pair carried by two men. The four parties
+advance in unison by four stages and at each pause sing a special song.
+In the last move, they rush upon the sun pole and raise it in place. In
+the meantime, the father and son go and stand on the center pole while
+their wives stand to the west. The men make wing movements with their
+arms toward the east. According to some informants, the medicine woman
+may make hooking motions at the pole, to symbolize the mythical
+Elk-woman.
+
+Four men are called upon to assist the father and son. As the latter
+stand upon the pole, they encircle and screen them with their blankets
+and join the father in singing. The songs call for good luck in erecting
+the dancing lodge. The son does not sing. Four songs are sung. At the
+end of each the father blows a whistle while someone shakes the pole.
+The last time they jump off the pole. The son drops his blanket (some
+say the father also, some add moccasins) painted black as a sun
+offering. Another blanket is handed him at once.
+
+As soon as the men leave the pole the advancing raisers rush in, raise
+the center pole, put on the rafters, tie them with the rawhide strands
+and place brush all around to form the wind-break. This is accompanied
+by much shouting, but without shooting.
+
+While the sun pole is being raised the daughter and mother stand
+watching it. They pray and make movements with the corners of their
+robes as though steering the rising pole. As it sways from side to side,
+they gesture as if righting it.
+
+As soon as the pole is set, the natoas, robe, and moccasins are taken
+off the daughter by the mother. She may call on someone to do this and
+pay a gun or a horse for the service. The mother and other attendants
+then lead the daughter to her tipi where she resumes her ordinary
+routine.
+
+The father and son go to a sweathouse where all the paint is washed off.
+This is not the hundred-willow sweathouse and is the fifth sweathouse,
+if it were counted. The two men go in and some sagegrass being handed to
+the father, he takes off the feathers tied to the son's hair, the hair
+necklace, and whistle. After the first opening of the sweathouse he
+takes the sagegrass and wipes off the black paint on the son and hands
+out through the west side of the sweathouse the necklace, whistle, and
+feathers which are to be taken home. At the same time, the two women are
+in the ceremonial lodge, the mother caring for the daughter.
+
+When the men have completed the sweathouse ceremony they go to the
+medicine woman's tipi. The father and his wife wrap up the natoas and
+place it in the badger skin. After this is done, they no longer have to
+eat sparingly. This ends the ceremony of the medicine woman.
+
+Early the next day she and her husband must obtain the cottonwood brush
+with which the booth for the weather dancers is made. Another man digs
+out the place in the booth, making it the same as the smudge place in
+the medicine woman's tipi, with the sod on three sides and creeping
+juniper on top of it. The fireplace is dug out to the west of the center
+post and is made as in the medicine woman's tipi. When going for and
+returning the brush, the woman rides one horse and leads the one
+dragging her travois. While when the other brush was brought in there
+was much shooting and shouting, there are now no demonstrations of any
+kind, but absolute silence.
+
+
+
+
+THE WEATHER DANCERS.
+
+
+Early on the fifth day, a booth is built inside the dancing lodge
+opposite the entrance. A slight excavation about six feet square is made
+over which is erected a shelter of green cottonwood boughs, open on the
+side facing the sun pole. Before the middle of the day, a procession of
+one or more men supposed to have power over the weather, attended by
+drummers, proceeds by stages from the medicine woman's tipi to this
+booth. They pause four times and dance, facing alternately the east and
+the west. They hold whistles of bone in their mouths, which are sounded
+in unison with the dancing. The procession is of two transverse lines,
+the dancers, in front, the drummers and singers behind. A great deal of
+dancing is done between the entrance to the dancing lodge and the booth.
+At intervals during the day they stand before the booth and dance to the
+east and west: the drummers are now stationed on the south side of the
+booth where women also assemble for the singing. The dancing is chiefly
+an up and down movement produced by flexing the knees, the eyes are
+directed toward the sun and wing-like movements of the hands are made in
+the same direction. The dancers wear breechcloth and moccasins and
+usually a robe around the waist. Their faces and bodies are painted
+according to their own medicines and medicine objects worn on their
+heads.
+
+It is stated that there is but one weather dancer, but others may join
+under certain conditions. In practice this seems to amount to there
+being a director or leader in the dance, at least such was the case in
+1903 and 1904. In 1904 the two assistant dancers went to the medicine
+woman's tipi to paint themselves and began their procession from there,
+while the leader approached in a similar manner from his own tipi, the
+two forming one procession before the east side of the dancing lodge was
+reached. The leading dancer wore a special ceremonial robe, headdress,
+and several medicine objects, which have been described in Volume 7 (pp.
+98-99).
+
+These objects and their medicine functions may be regarded as esoteric
+in so far as they are not absolutely essential to the office of leading
+dancer. Yet, this same individual seems to have performed this function
+for a number of years. Clark mentions strings of feathers tied to the
+finger of this dancer.[12]
+
+In 1904 there were two assistant dancers. Both wore headdresses
+somewhat like that of their leader. One was fully dressed with a
+blanket around his waist; the other was nude to the belt. The latter was
+painted chiefly in red with a circle in blue on the back and one on the
+breast. The former had a pair of horizontal lines on each cheek, those
+on the right, black, on the left, red.
+
+It is said that formerly these dancers were nude, except for the
+breechcloth and moccasins. The entire body was painted. There seemed to
+have been no fixed painting, but the sun, moon, and stars were usually
+represented. Around the head, they wore a wreath of juniper and bands of
+sagegrass around the neck, wrists, and ankles.
+
+The weather dancers are not permitted to eat or drink during the day.
+Formerly, they remained in the booth continuously until the evening of
+the fourth day of their dancing; in recent years, they spend the night
+at home and return to the booth in the morning.
+
+The functions of these dancers are not clearly understood. They seem to
+be held responsible for the weather: i. e., upon them falls the duty of
+preventing rain from interfering with the dancing. Whether they do this
+because they happen to have independent shamanistic powers or whether it
+is a mere function of their temporary office in the ceremony, cannot be
+determined. Other medicinemen often attempt to control the weather
+during the days preceding the formal entry into the booth as well as
+during the later days. In 1903 (Piegan) there was a contest between a
+number of rival medicinemen some of whom conjured for rain, others for
+fair weather: strange to say, clouds would threaten and then pass away
+during these days, which coincidence was interpreted as proof of evenly
+matched powers. Several times one of the partisans of fair weather came
+out near the site of the dancing lodge and danced to the sun, holding up
+a small pipe and occasionally shouting. He wore no regalia and danced in
+a different manner from that observed among the weather dancers at the
+booth. However, the man who led the weather dancers for many years until
+his death in 1908, was famous for his control over the weather. Once, it
+is told, he became enraged at the power making the weather bad, shouting
+out "Now, you go ahead, if you want to. I have great power and can stop
+you when I will."
+
+In former times, the dreams of the weather dancers while sleeping in the
+booth were considered of special supernatural significance, since, it is
+said, they were _en rapport_ with the sun. This _rapport_ may account
+for what seems to be one of their chief functions--blessing the people.
+During the days they are in the booth, individuals come to them "to be
+prayed for." They come up and stand before the booth. The dancer takes
+black paint and paints their faces. Then he prays to the sun for their
+welfare. During this part of the ceremony the recipient faces the sun.
+Again, the medicine-pipes and other ritualistic objects are brought up
+for the dancer to present to the sun. The pipes he holds up with the
+stems towards the sun, whom he addresses at some length, offering him a
+smoke, making requests, etc., after which he smokes the pipe. All the
+persons present are then permitted to put their lips to the pipe from
+which they are supposed to derive great benefits. The dancer also
+receives offerings made to the sun. A young man may fill a pipe and
+approach with his offerings. The dancer takes the pipe, smokes, prays,
+paints the man's face, and makes the offering. A woman or child may do
+this; or a whole family. Formerly, a great deal of old clothing was
+offered at this time, a custom still practised by the Blood. Also
+children's moccasins and clothing were offered in this way. As they grew
+out of them they were given to the sun to promote well-being. In last
+analysis, it seems that while these dancers are spoken of as weather
+priests, they are rather sun priests, since through them appeals to the
+sun are made. It should be noted that they are regarded as independent
+of and in no way associated with the medicine woman ceremonies or the
+erection of the dancing lodge, but upon entrance to the booth, the
+leading weather dancer is said to become the chief and director of all
+succeeding ceremonies. The length of the ceremony depends entirely upon
+him and formerly continued as long as he kept his place.
+
+Like other rites this one was bought and sold, but it was usual to
+continue in ownership many years. Anyone could make a vow to dance with
+the weather dancer and join him in his ceremonies, but such vows were
+usually made by former owners of the rite. When one makes a vow to
+purchase the rite, its owner must sell, however reluctant he may be. The
+transfer must be in the sun dance. It is said that two men once
+alternately sold to each other for many years so that both could appear
+in every sun dance.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [12] Clark, W. P., _The Indian Sign Language_ (Philadelphia, 1885),
+  72.
+
+
+
+
+DANCING.
+
+
+The first ceremony of this character is named the cutting-out dance (to
+cut out a hole in a robe). It seems to have been performed by a society
+and occurs early on the fifth day. About four or six old men dance in
+line with a rawhide which they hold in front of them, singing and
+beating time on the rawhide with rattles similar to those of the beaver
+men. The society now divides into two parties, one placing itself north
+of the center pole, and the other party standing in line south of the
+center pole. The two parties dance back and forward in front of the pole
+shooting at it. The old men on the west side of the center pole dance
+in their places. The rawhide held in front of them, hangs down like an
+apron. They beat time on it, holding the rawhide in one hand, and the
+rattles in the other. An old man counts deeds and marks out with a knife
+the fireplace and the booth for the weather dancers. These are dug while
+the dancing and shooting take place.[13]
+
+The hole, or fire pit, is dug between the sun pole and the entrance to
+the dancing lodge. It is about three feet by two and "two hands" deep. A
+warrior is then called to start the fire. Warriors now come forward in
+turn to count their coups. In this a man took a piece of firewood and
+holding it up, called out in a loud voice how he once struck a Sioux, a
+Snake, etc., then placed it in the fire. When he had recounted all he
+gave way to the next. Stories are told of men having enough coups to
+make a fire large enough to threaten the destruction of the dancing
+lodge. We were able to confirm the statement of Clark[14] that the
+height of the flame as determined by a buffalo tail hanging down was the
+criterion for determining a great warrior. One informant states as
+follows:--
+
+There is always a cow tail hanging down from the center post. In olden
+times this was a buffalo tail, to the end of which a blackened plume was
+tied. This hangs down over the fireplace which was used at night to
+furnish light for the proceedings. The assembled people were entertained
+by narratives of warriors as they came forward to narrate their deeds;
+each threw a stick on the fire for each deed counted and he whose fire
+blazed high enough to reach the tail was considered a great warrior. It
+was a great honor when a man could tell enough war deeds to scorch the
+tail. All this time there was singing (the cheering songs) and drumming,
+while berry soup was served to all. The persons taking part are
+designated as those "who are about to make the fire." In recent years,
+this ceremony has been performed in a very perfunctory manner.
+
+After the ceremony, the fire was fed in the ordinary way and kept going
+during the greater part of the succeeding days. The origin of this dance
+is often ascribed to Scar-face.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [13] It will be recalled that in the sun dance of the Dakota type (p.
+  110) there is a ceremonial shooting at the sun pole. Here the shooting
+  takes place in a perfunctory way, while the pole is dragged to the sun
+  dance site. Yet, McQuesten claims to have witnessed the driving of
+  evil power from the sun lodge at a Blood ceremony in 1912. ("The Sun
+  Dance of the Blackfeet" _Rod and Gun in Canada_, March 1912.) As this
+  is not noted in older accounts and we failed to get information as to
+  it, we suspect it to be due to foreign influences, or perhaps the
+  author's own interpretation.
+
+  [14] Clark, _ibid._, 72.
+
+
+
+
+SOCIETY DANCES.
+
+
+In former times, the succeeding days were apportioned to the men's
+societies (the ikunukats) in the order of their rank, beginning at the
+lowest.[15] There seems to have been no fixed allotment of time to each,
+only the order of succession being adhered to. The ceremonies were
+determined chiefly by the respective society rituals, though the
+recounting of deeds in war was given great prominence. As a rule, each
+society closed its ceremonies by offering parts of its regalia, etc., to
+the sun, a custom still observed by the Blood (See vol. 11, this series,
+fig. 19, p. 411). After the highest society had completed its function,
+the leading men of the tribe held a kind of a war dance in which coups
+were recounted. In this dance, again, rattles were beaten upon a
+rawhide. The organizations or persons having charge of the day's
+ceremonies must furnish the feast and all necessaries. The medicine
+woman and her husband usually repair to the dancing lodge each day. The
+man usually takes his pipe and tobacco and furnishes the smoking for the
+guests who sit around. His wife wears the buckskin dress and elk robe,
+but not the natoas. They sit on the north or right side of the booth and
+merely are spectators. This closes the ceremonies and camp is broken.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [15] This series, Vol. 11, 365-474.
+
+
+
+
+THE TORTURE CEREMONY.
+
+
+The torture feature, especially prominent in the ceremonies of the
+Mandan, Hidatsa, and Dakota, was formerly given a place among the
+dancing lodge ceremonies of the Blackfoot. The information we have seems
+to indicate that this ceremony had not become thoroughly adjusted to its
+place in this series at the time of its prohibition by the United States
+and Canadian governments. The claim is made by some of the Piegan that
+it was borrowed from the Arapaho and was not looked upon with much
+favor. As one man expressed it, "None of those taking the cutting lived
+to reach old age." It was said that a few Blackfoot warriors once
+visited the Arapaho at the time of their sun dance where they were put
+through the cutting ceremony. According to the Blackfoot mode of
+thought, this means that the medicine rites (and rights) were
+transferred to them. When they returned, they induced others to take the
+cutting, to whom, of course, the rites were transferred. Whether this
+historical statement is accurate or mythical, we have no means of
+knowing, but we are inclined to give it some weight as evidence. It
+seems, however, that warriors took the cutting because of a vow, similar
+to that of the medicine woman. Sometimes a man dreamed that the sun
+required it of him. The giving of property and the conditions of the
+transfer were the same as for "cutting the thong," though we have no
+information that "catching" was permitted. Such may, however, have been
+tolerated.
+
+The men taking the cutting were nude to the belt. Sage was tied around
+the wrists and ankles. The hair hung down, held in place by a wreath of
+cedar (some informants say sage). They were painted white. Rows of spots
+in blue extended down the sides of the face, over the shoulders and down
+the arms. Wavy lines of the same color were also drawn down the arms. A
+circle representing the sun, was made on the breast, also upon the chin
+and probably on the back opposite the one over the heart. On the
+forehead was another circle representing the moon. Other informants say
+a crescent moon in black was used instead of these circles.
+
+According to one informant, vows were made to purchase this ceremony
+when ill or in great danger. If the promise brought results, the vow was
+fulfilled at the next dance. The supplicant calls upon one having
+purchased the rite. They enter the booth of the weather dancers, a
+blanket is held up to shut out the gaze of the others. The transferrer
+then paints the purchaser. He cuts a hole through the skin of the right
+shoulder, over the scapula, and a hole over each breast. A small
+sharpened stick is thrust through each. A shield is hung on the back.
+Long cords were fastened to those on the breast, the ends of which were
+tied fast, high up to the center pole. The purchaser goes up to the
+pole, embraces it, and cries for a time. Then he backs off, and dancing,
+throws his weight on the ropes. The transferrer jerks the shield from
+his shoulders and if necessary, assists him in tearing loose. At once,
+the purchaser goes out into the hills and sleeps in different places to
+receive power.
+
+It is said that all who take this ceremony die in a few years, because
+it is equivalent to giving one's self to the sun. Hence, the sun takes
+them for his own.
+
+The cutting was similar to that described by Catlin and other writers as
+observed elsewhere. Some informants say the dancers held whistles in
+their mouths and gazed at the sun as they danced. When all the thongs
+were torn out, some of the lacerated flesh was cut off as an offering to
+the sun.
+
+McLean reports the following observations upon this ceremony at a Blood
+sun dance:--
+
+    ... The chief attraction to the pale-face is what has been
+    ignorantly termed "making braves." I desired very much to see this
+    ceremony _once_, that I might know the facts from personal
+    observation, and draw my own conclusions after conversing with the
+    Indians.
+
+    Two young men having their whole bodies painted, wearing the
+    loin-cloth only, and with wreaths of leaves around their heads,
+    ankles and wrists, stepped into the center of the lodge. A blanket
+    and a pillow were laid on the ground, and one of the young men
+    stretched himself upon them. As he lay, an old man came forward and
+    stood over him and then in an earnest speech told the people of the
+    brave deeds, and noble heart of the young man. In the enumeration of
+    his virtues and noble deeds, after each separate statement the
+    musicians beat applause. When the aged orator ceased, the young man
+    arose, placed his hands upon the old man's shoulders, and drew them
+    downward, as a sign of gratitude for the favorable things said about
+    him. He lay down, and four men held him while a fifth made the
+    incisions in his breast and back. Two places were marked in each
+    breast denoting the position and width of each incision. This being
+    done, the wooden skewers being in readiness, a double edged knife
+    was held in the hand, the point touching the flesh, a small piece of
+    wood was placed on the under side to receive the point of the knife
+    when it had gone through, and the flesh was drawn out the desired
+    length for the knife to pierce. A quick pressure and the incision
+    was made, the piece of wood was removed, and the skewer inserted
+    from the under-side as the knife was being taken out. When the
+    skewer was properly inserted, it was beaten down with the palm of
+    the hand of the operator, that it might remain firmly in its place.
+    This being done to each breast, with a single skewer for each,
+    strong enough to tear away the flesh, and long enough to hold the
+    lariats fastened to the top of the sacred pole, a double incision
+    was made on the back of the left shoulder, to the skewer of which
+    was fastened an Indian drum. The work being pronounced good by the
+    persons engaged in the operation, the young man arose, and one of
+    the operators fastened the lariats giving them two or three jerks to
+    bring them into position.
+
+    The young man went up to the sacred pole, and while his countenance
+    was exceedingly pale, and his frame trembling with emotion, threw
+    his arms around it, and prayed earnestly for strength to pass
+    successfully through the trying ordeal. His prayer ended he moved
+    backward until the flesh was fully extended, and placing a small
+    bone whistle in his mouth, he blew continuously upon it a series of
+    short sharp sounds, while he threw himself backward, and danced
+    until the flesh gave way and he fell. Previous to his tearing
+    himself free from the lariats, he seized the drum with both hands
+    and with a sudden pull tore the flesh on his back, dashing the drum
+    to the ground amid the applause of the people. As he lay on the
+    ground, the operators examined his wounds, cut off the flesh that
+    was hanging loosely, and the ceremony was at an end. In former years
+    the head of a buffalo was fastened by a rope on the back of the
+    person undergoing the feat of self-immolation, but now a drum is
+    used for that purpose.
+
+    From two to five persons undergo this torture every Sun-Dance. Its
+    object is military and religious. It admits the young man into the
+    noble band of warriors, whereby he gains the esteem of his fellows,
+    and opens up the path to fortune and fame. But it is chiefly a
+    religious rite. In a time of sickness, or danger, or in starting
+    upon some dangerous expedition, the young man prays to Natos for
+    help, and promises to give himself to Natos if his prayers are
+    answered. Upon his return, when the Annual Sun-Dance is held, he
+    fulfills his vow, gives himself to his god, and thus performs a
+    twofold duty. Of course the applause of the people and the
+    exhibition of courage are important factors in this rite, but its
+    chief feature is a religious one. Instead of being a time of
+    feasting and pleasure, the Sun-Dance is a military and religious
+    festival, in connection with which there are occasions for joy, and
+    the feast enhances the pleasure.[16]
+
+It may be well to note that the offering of bits of flesh to the sun was
+a general practice not necessarily associated with the sun dance. Many
+comparatively young men now living (1904) bear numerous scars testifying
+to such offerings. When in perilous situations a finger would sometimes
+be struck off with a call upon the sun for help. Among the Blood, such
+sacrifice of a finger by women as well as men was common at the sun
+dance.[17] These facts concerning the more general practice of
+mutilating the body to win the approval of the sun suggest that if the
+cutting ceremony is intrusive, it either found on hand a series of
+analogous customs or brought with it a concept that afterwards gave
+birth to them. It may be observed that the form of costume and dance is
+strikingly like that employed by the present weather dancers.
+
+Since there seems to be no good published data on the sacrificing of
+skin and fingers we append the narrative of Split-ears:--
+
+    Sometimes, when warriors are on an expedition and come in sight of
+    the enemy they will sit in a circle while the leader, or the oldest
+    member of the party, offers prayers that they may succeed in their
+    undertaking. Then they proceed to offer bits of their own skin to
+    the sun. The one who prayed sits down by one of the party, takes up
+    a needle or bodkin and a knife, thrusts the former under a small
+    section of skin and raising it, cuts off a small slice with a knife.
+    This leaves a circular wound a quarter of an inch or less in
+    diameter. It is understood that the operator pulls the skin up with
+    the needle and slices off a small section underneath that
+    instrument. He then takes up some black paint and dips the bit of
+    skin into it. Then he holds it up to the sun and prays for the
+    success of his victim. The bit of skin is then placed upon a piece
+    of cloth and another is removed from the victim in the same manner
+    and so the operator goes to each of the party in turn, each time
+    removing a piece of skin, dipping it in black paint, and holding it
+    up in a prayer to the sun. While each person is expected to give two
+    pieces, they are not limited to the maximum number, some men giving
+    four and some still more. The bits of skin thus collected are tied
+    up in one corner of the cloth which is mounted upon a stick wrapped
+    with wild sage, the whole being fastened in a tree or set up on the
+    top of a high hill as the sun's offering. This sacrifice is always
+    spoken of as feeding the sun with flesh from one's own body. The
+    cloth is fastened to the stick in the form of a flag or banner so
+    that it waves in the wind with the flesh offerings tied in one
+    corner. This sacrifice is considered one of the greatest a man can
+    make.
+
+    Now, as I have said, some men only give two small pieces of skin,
+    while others give a great many more, but as they do this each time
+    they go on an expedition, it so happens that a man who made many war
+    expeditions has many small scars on his arms and legs. Thus, we can
+    still tell those of our old men who went upon the warpath many times
+    in their youth. We can tell by the scars made from feeding the sun
+    their own flesh. But, again, it so happens that men while at home
+    may have dreams in which they are commanded to feed the sun. Now it
+    is believed that unless a man heeds such a command, he is certain to
+    be visited by misfortune or even death, so he always makes haste to
+    comply with the command. After such a dream he makes a sweathouse
+    and invites in an old man who prays and makes the offering. The
+    procedure here is the same as previously described and the offering
+    is made into a banner and placed in a tree or upon a hill. Then
+    again, the men who are at home in the camp but who have relatives in
+    a war party may so wish for the safety of these that they themselves
+    offer bits of skin in their behalf. Thus, you see, there are many
+    times when people will offer bits of skin, so that it was not
+    uncommon for a man to have one hundred or more scars upon his body.
+    These are generally arranged in rows up and down the arms, down the
+    legs, down the breasts and the back. I have even heard of cases
+    where a man is said to have offered one hundred pieces of skin at
+    one time. This, however, was unusual.
+
+    [Illustration: Fig. 1. The Offering of Human Flesh. The bits of
+    flesh are tied in the corner of the banner. Drawn from a native
+    sketch.]
+
+    Sometimes, instead of offering skin, the warrior would offer a
+    finger. Thus, if beset by very great danger on the warpath a man may
+    make a vow to the sun stating that if brought home safely he will
+    sacrifice a finger. This sacrifice can be made at any time; either
+    when on the warpath or when at home in camp or at the sun dance. In
+    such cases, the finger is offered to the sun in the precise manner
+    as the pieces of skin described above.
+
+    There are, however, occasions upon which fingers are cut off that
+    are not offerings to the sun. Thus, people who are in mourning
+    sometimes sacrifice a finger. In those cases it is usual to call
+    upon some old woman who is skilled in the amputation. She cuts off
+    the finger, usually reciting a kind of ritual, but it is not offered
+    to the sun. It is simply thrown away. Then again babies' fingers are
+    sometimes cut off to give the child good luck. Thus, if a woman lost
+    many children she would call upon an old woman to make the sacrifice
+    for her newly born. In this case, the tip end of a finger is cut off
+    and wrapped up in a piece of meat which the mother is required to
+    swallow. This is supposed to insure the child's living to maturity.
+    It had no connection with the sun.
+
+    I have told you how men are called upon to cut off pieces of skin
+    and how certain old women were selected to amputate fingers. You
+    should also know that in olden times there were some women and men
+    who might be called upon to cut open dead persons for various
+    reasons. Sometimes they did this on their own account in order to
+    get information as to the cause of death.
+
+These accounts show for one thing that the cutting ceremony in the sun
+dance is but one of a type of blood and flesh offerings made to the sun,
+in fulfillment of a vow. The sacrifice of a finger is more frequent and
+less specialized, though frequently done at the sun dance. Then comes
+the very frequent offering of bits of skin, a sacrifice common in war
+raids at all times. The offering of bits of skin in the precise manner
+described here is found elsewhere in the Plains. The writer has observed
+men so scarred among several divisions of the Dakota. The method of
+removing the skin was here the same as followed by the Blackfoot. The
+thrusting in of the awl has a curious similarity to the cutting and
+skewering in the sun dance; one may even be pardoned for wondering if it
+did not so arise.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [16] McLean, John, "The Blackfoot Sun Dance" (_Proceedings of the
+  Canadian Institute_, third series, vol. 6, Toronto, 1888), 235-237.
+
+  [17] McLean, as an eye-witness to such a sacrifice, gives the
+  following:--
+
+  "As I stood outside the lodge, a young Indian friend of mine, went to
+  an old medicine-woman and presented his sacrifice to Natos. During the
+  year he had gone on a horse-stealing expedition and as is customary on
+  such occasions had prayed to Natos for protection and success,
+  offering himself to his god if his prayers were answered. He had been
+  successful and he now presented himself as a sacrifice. The old woman
+  took his hand held it toward the Sun and prayed, then laying a finger
+  on a block of wood she severed it with one blow from a knife and
+  deer's horn scraper. She held the portion of the finger cut off toward
+  the Sun and dedicated that to him as the young man's sacrifice." (p.
+  235.)
+
+
+
+
+SUN DANCE SONGS.
+
+
+Two songs have a special place in the ceremony. They are sung by the men
+as they ride into camp with the willows for the hundred-willow
+sweathouse. They are sung again when the procession of pole raisers
+moves up to raise the sun pole. Formerly, they were sung by any
+considerable body of the tribe approaching the camp of strange Indians.
+Likewise, when they approached a post to open trade.[18]
+
+Red-plume, a Piegan, has a smudge stick on which are notches said to
+represent the number of different songs used in the ceremonies of the
+medicine woman. There are 413 which is said to be the full number of
+songs. These, as has been stated in Volume 7, are in reality a part of
+the beaver bundle ritual.
+
+The singing at the dancing ceremonies after the sun lodge has been
+erected is usually confined to the songs of various societies concerned.
+There are, however, a few with characteristic airs that are regarded as
+peculiarly appropriate to the occasion, regardless of who may be
+dancing.
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [18] For musical notation see McClintock, Walter, _The Old North
+  Trail, or Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfoot Indians_
+  (London, 1910), 311.
+
+
+
+
+THE SUN DANCE CAMP.
+
+
+In a previous paper, we called attention to the belief that the camp
+circle was formed expressly for the sun dance. Our informants say that
+formerly the circle was formed by the assemblage of the bands some time
+before the medicine woman began her fast. In winter, the tribes
+scattered out, usually two to five bands in a camp, often many miles
+apart. At the approach of summer, the husband of a woman having made a
+vow to give the sun dance sends a man to look up the camps and invite
+them to join his band. He carries tobacco and presents some to each head
+man with the invitation. As the head men receive the invitation, they
+order their bands to move, forming the circle at the medicine woman's
+camp. Once formed, the circle is not broken until after the sun dance, a
+period estimated at from two to four months. The whole body may move
+about and even make long journeys aside from the four ceremonial moves
+required while the medicine woman is fasting. After the sun dance, they
+split up into parties for the fall hunt and finally went into winter
+quarters. The import of our former statement is thus apparent. The
+suggestion is that the camp circle is intimately associated with the sun
+dance. At least, one point is clear, the camp circle is initiated by the
+woman who starts the sun dance and even so is one of the preparatory
+steps.
+
+As previously stated in Volume 7 of this series, there is much
+uncertainty as to the order of bands in the circle. We doubt if it ever
+was absolutely fixed beyond change at the will of those in charge of the
+sun dance proceedings.
+
+
+
+
+MYTHOLOGICAL NOTES.
+
+
+The way that several distinct myths are used to account for different
+features of the sun dance might be taken as a suggestion that the
+ceremony grew up among the Blackfoot. We suspect, however, that we have
+here an example of pattern phenomena. Those familiar with the detailed
+study of rituals in Volume 7 will recall that tradition recognized the
+obvious fact that rituals were not produced all at once, but grew by
+accretions. This is so marked in the mythical accounts of ritual origin
+that we may suspect its appearance in the mythology of the sun dance. On
+page 241 we have enumerated the myths accounting for important features
+of the ceremony. Among these are not included the parts taken by
+societies or the cutting sacrifices, they, as we have stated, not being
+regarded as integral parts of the sun dance.
+
+For the sake of completeness we offer some extracts from an unpublished
+version of the Scar-face myth:--
+
+We will take up this narrative at the point where Scar Face has killed
+the cranes and reported with their scalps. We are told that had not Scar
+Face killed these birds, they would always have killed people, but that
+since he overpowered them they now fear people and have done so ever
+since.
+
+    Now, the Sun, the Moon, Scar Face, and Morningstar had a scalp dance
+    while the Sun and Moon sang the praise songs in honor of Scar Face.
+    The Sun addressed Scar Face: "When your people kill enemies they
+    should scalp them and then give a scalp dance. Whenever anyone
+    counts coup or recounts his war experiences, the praise songs should
+    be sung." We have followed this custom ever since. Whenever anyone
+    related his war deeds, some old men or old woman sang the praise
+    songs, repeating the narrator's name during the singing.
+
+    The Sun was pleased with Scar Face. He directed Morningstar and Scar
+    Face to build four sweathouses, standing side by side, with their
+    entrances facing east. When they were completed, the Sun,
+    Morningstar, and Scar Face entered one of them, the Moon remaining
+    outside to close the door. After the Sun had worked over Scar Face,
+    he ordered the moon to open the door and they went into the next
+    sweathouse, again choosing the moon to be the door attendant. Now,
+    the Sun asked the Moon to point out her son. The Moon designated
+    Morningstar. They moved into the third sweathouse where the Sun had
+    Morningstar and Scar Face exchange seats. Again, the Moon was asked
+    to pick out her son. Though she noticed that the scar on the young
+    man's face had disappeared, she pointed to her own son. They
+    proceeded to the fourth sweathouse. Again, the Sun had the two men
+    exchange places. The Moon looked in and pointing to Scar Face said,
+    "This is Morningstar." The Sun replied, "You have mistaken him for
+    Morningstar, the other is our son." Ever since that time, Scar Face
+    has always been called Mistaken Morningstar.
+
+    Then the Sun gave Scar Face a buckskin suit decorated with porcupine
+    quills. On the breast and back of the shirt were quill-worked
+    rosettes representing the sun; the side seams of the leggings and
+    sleeves were covered with strips of quillwork three or four inches
+    wide. In addition, the sleeves and leggings bore hair fringes
+    representing the scalps of cranes killed by Scar Face. The Sun also
+    gave Scar Face a bow with a lock of hair fastened to one end, a
+    whistle made of a hollow reed, a bladder, and the robe worn by Scar
+    Face. To represent the scalping, the Sun painted the upper part
+    black. The whistle and the bladder were to be used on the woman who
+    had refused Scar Face. The bow too, is a reminder of the killing of
+    the cranes and is still used in the sun dance lodge. The Sun gave
+    Scar Face a circle of creeping juniper which the women that build
+    the lodge (the sun dance or medicine lodge) are to wear on their
+    heads.
+
+    The Sun told Scar Face of the sun dance, the lodge, and the
+    sweathouse, and added, "When you return to your people and wish to
+    make an offering to me, you must first build a sweathouse and there
+    make your offerings. Then I will hear your prayers and accept them.
+    You may also make offerings to me in the sun dance lodge." He
+    covered Scar Face's face with the "seventh" or red paint, drew a
+    black circle around his face and a black dot on the bridge of his
+    nose, and a streak of black around each wrist. He said to Scar Face,
+    "This is the way the people must paint when they make offerings to
+    me in the sun dance lodge. For the victory or scalp dance they must
+    paint their faces black." The Sun also gave him a necklace, in the
+    center of which were strung two small shells and a pendent lock of
+    hair, flanked on either side by four beads. This is the necklace
+    worn by the husband of the woman owning the natoas. The Sun's lodge
+    was made of white buffalo robes and some the color of beaver skins.
+    The door of the Sun's lodge faced the east. For this reason, tipis
+    were always turned so the doors faced east. Now Scar Face decided to
+    return to the place where Spider waited.
+
+    The narrative then proceeds in the usual way, except that the hero
+    calls all the men of the camp to take revenge on the young woman
+    after which he by magic turns her into a cripple.
+
+
+
+
+THE BLOOD AND NORTH BLACKFOOT.
+
+
+The writer has upon two occasions seen the ground where a Blood sun
+dance had been held. The dancing lodge, the sweathouse, etc., were still
+standing and all these were just as noted among the Piegan. The Blood
+lodge was a little larger, but the Piegan said that it was formerly so
+with them, they now having very poor timber to work with. We have in
+addition two brief published accounts of eyewitnesses.[19] The chief
+difference we could detect was in the secondary dances of the society
+where the Horns and the Matoki[20] took a very prominent part. As there
+are now no such organizations among the Piegan, this gives merely an
+outward appearance of difference.
+
+The Northern Piegan, as may be expected, also had the same form. As to
+the North Blackfoot, we have only the statement of other Indians that
+the sun dance was the same. The Sarsi[21] also had the very same form
+and we may suspect the Kutenai as well. At least, my Piegan informants
+asserted that the Kutenai had the sun dance from them. The problem here,
+however, must rest until we have more data, though Hale is of the
+opinion that the Blackfoot gradually displaced the Kutenai and took over
+many Plains traits from them.[22]
+
+  FOOTNOTES:
+
+  [19] McLean, _ibid._, 231-237; McQuesten, _ibid._, 1169-1177.
+
+  [20] This series, volume 11, 410-418, 430-435.
+
+  [21] Goddard, Pliny Earle, "Sarsi Texts" (_University of California
+  Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology_, vol. 11, no. 3,
+  Berkeley, 1915), 192-195.
+
+  [22] Hale, H., "On the North-Western Tribes of Canada" (_Report,
+  Fifty-seventh Meeting, British Association for the Advancement of
+  Sciences_, 173-200, London, 1888), 198.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians, by
+Clark Wissler
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUN DANCE OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35952.txt or 35952.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/9/5/35952/
+
+Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Joseph Cooper, Constanze
+Hofmann and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/35952.zip b/35952.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15d3c99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35952.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ca829e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #35952 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35952)