could appear as active participants. This peculiar movement of walking around the interior, shooting at one another with the medicine bag, and pretending in turn to have been wounded by the konä'pamik, continued for over an hour; suddenly there was an audible wailing sound. as of some one mortally wounded, which caused all but the chief officiating mitä", Shu'nien, and a companion to retire quickly to their seats. It was then discovered that a little girl, who had accompanied her mother to the ceremony, had been accidentally hit by a stray konä'. pamik, shot from a medicine bag by a careless member. The difficulty that now presented itself was to discover the culprit, and as this could be learned only through an apparently difficult procedure by one whose "medicine" was stronger than that of anyone else, it was Shu'nien's duty, as chief medicine man pro tempore, to make the discovery. He called to his side his three chief assistants, with whom he seemed in animated, though serious, consultation. Presently one of them left the structure by the eastern doorway, the others becoming seated. There was a period of profound silence until the messenger returned with a finely embroidered medicine sack, which he delivered to Shu'nien, who

FIG. 18-Diagram showing movement of mitä'wok.

now approached the eastern door, followed by his three assistants, where he began a curious movement, consisting in passing the top, or head, end of the sack up and down and back and forth along each pole and mat of the wigwam, at the same time rapidly uttering the syllables, hỏ, hò, hŏ. In this he was joined by his companions, who, together with Shu'nien, crouched forward and kept up a rapid dancing step of hopping alternately on each foot; all of them, furthermore, appeared to watch intently the proceedings, as if to discover the hidden konä'pamik and restore it to its proper place.

This curious, rapid search, accompanied by the grunting sounds, as the medicine bag was made to pass along every possible portion of the structure, continued all along the northern side, around the western entrance, and on the return along the southern side, when suddenly Shu'nien stopped his movement, gazed at his medicine sack, which appeared to be attracted toward a woman who was seated a little apart from the rest, and who was closely enveloped in a shawl. As Shu'nien approached her she threw back the shawl and exposed to view her little girl, who had been wounded. In the child's lap lay the konä'pamik, which the chief seemed eager to secure. Taking it upon the palm of

his right hand, extended forward and about two feet from the ground, he danced rapidly forward and around the interior, closely followed by his companions, all of whom uttered, in rapid succession, the word ho, calling attention to the discovery. When the party again reached the place where the shell was found, Shu'nien placed his hand quickly to his mouth, apparently swallowing the shell, when he fell to the ground. He recovered in a moment, blew his breath upon the medicine sack so as to charge it with the mysterious influence and power contained in the shell now within his body, when he started forward aiming at each member present to ascertain who it was that had caused so much trouble and anxiety. The victim was a woman, her presence being discovered by the medicine sack being forcibly repelled within the hands of the experimenter. Thereupon he stopped before her, took deliberate aim and pretended to shoot her when she fell to one side apparently dead. The four medicine men then returned to their proper stations, while the usher carried the medicine bag used in the search to its owner.

The time had now arrived to distribute the presents, and the usher and an assistant removed the blankets, pieces of calico, mats, kettles, and other articles from the pole from which they had been suspended, and carried them before the second group of officiating medicine men. The leader of these gave one blanket each to the chief officiating members, and to his own associates the pieces of calico, but instead of retaining them they presented these goods to the medicine women who had been engaged in the erection of the mitä'wiko'mik, the preparation of the feast, and in attendance on the candidate during the intervals at which he stood before the chiefs to listen to the chants. The kettles, mats, and a few other unimportant articles were divided among the second and third groups of medicine men.

By this time the day was almost spent, when the chief, Shu'nien, and the candidate-as mourner-started for the eastern door followed by two mitä'wok carrying the drum and chanting, who in turn were followed by all present, taking up a line of march to the grave, where they formed a circle. After considerable drumming, accompanied by a slight attempt at dancing, the procession returned and entered the inclosure at the western door. After all had taken their former positions, the drumming ceased, the chief announced the ceremonies ended, and all started for their respective homes.

NOTES ON THE CEREMONIES

Many others of the members present at the Mitä'wit ceremonies were credited with the power of performing tricks of various kinds, but only three, already referred to, could be induced to exhibit their skill. The Indians invariably claim that such tricks can be performed only through the intervention of ma'nidos, who must first be invoked by fasting and the making of gifts. The sweat bath must also be taken by these

prestigiators previous to such attempts at invocation. The ability of a medicine man to excel another in juggling is believed to be due to the fact that his "medicine" is the stronger. By the expression "medicine" is usually meant the power reputed to be possessed by a man's fetish or charmed object adopted after his first fast to typify his tutelary daimon, or so-called guardian mystery.

The Menomini Indians relate some curious tales of wonderful feats performed by medicine men and medicine women in the olden time, when greater faith was placed in the ma'nidos, and when people had the power to obtain "stronger medicine." One exploit referred to by the Menomini was later on also described by an Ottawa chief, as the incident occurred at a meeting of the Ottawa medicine society in Michigan, at which a number of medicine men from other tribes were present, because the Honorable Lewis Cass had also intimated his desire to witness the dance. The ceremonial had progressed with unflagging interest until toward the close of the day, and as Mr Cass is said to have observed an old Ojibwa medicine woman, who had come up at each dance to actively participate in the exercises, he asked someone near by why this old woman took such an active part, as she appeared rather uninteresting and had nothing to say, and apparently nothing to do except to shake her snake-skin medicine bag. The woman heard the remark and became offended, because she was known among her own people as a very powerful mitä'kwe. In an instant she threw the dry snake-skin bag toward the offender, when the skin became a live serpent which rushed at Mr Cass and ran him out of the crowd. The snake then returned to the medicine woman, who picked it up, when it appeared again as a dry skin bag.

In the chants rendered by the four chief mitä'wok, relating to the Indian genesis of mankind, the words are intoned in a recitative style, though rapidly and duplicated, as before mentioned. In addition to this there are but two tones employed, the initial two or three syllables being uttered in the first note, while the remainder of the phrase ends in a tone a third lower. This method is followed by each one throughout his chant. When the service is changed from the mortuary observance of the first evening and the following night to the preparatory course on the next morning, the music of the chants is entirely changed. The scope of the tones employed is limited, embracing as a rule but five, while the final syllable of each phrase is prolonged into a vowel sound, usually "ho" or "he," (which is merely interjectional and without definite meaning); though, unlike the songs of the Ojibwa, there is a pronounced quaver resulting from joining to the note a halfnote lower, thus giving one the impression that the note was chanted in a tremulous manner.

It has been observed, too, at some of the meetings of the society, that certain mitä wok, to prolong the ceremony, will invent a phrase to suit a circumstance that may occur, and as the musical notation is so simple