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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



mother ; a few hours after delivery she was attending to her 

 usual duties, even though it happened to be a walk of many miles. 

 An acquaintance of mine had employed the same maliala for sev- 

 eral months to do the washing for her family. It finally became 

 evident that she was about to become a mother. She had the 

 washing well started one Monday morning when she said : " Me 

 feel heap bad, me go home ; me think papoose come." Early the 



next morning she came back ; the 

 baby had been born and she was 

 ready to finish the washing. 



The male child was held in 

 greater favor than the female; 

 frequently a child of the latter 

 sex was destroyed as soon as born. 

 These Indians, though seem- 

 ingly strong and vigorous, suc- 

 cumbed easily to disease; con- 

 sumption and smallpox were the 

 most prevalent and fatal diseases; 

 much of the former was undoubt- 

 edly caused from their sweat 

 dance, followed by the cold-water 

 plunge. This dance was a festive 

 event. The sweat-house was an 

 immense cone-shaped structure, 

 built near water, and much in 

 the same way as their homes. 

 All important events were cele- 

 brated with one of these dances, 

 and Indians gathered from long 

 distances to take part in them. 

 A fire was built in the middle 

 of the close, smoky house, and 

 around it the naked, face-and- 

 body-painted Indians danced. As 

 the flames darted upward their 

 enthusiasm increased until they 

 leaped and shrieked in a frenzy of excitement. They kept this up 

 until the perspiration poured from their bodies and exhaustion 

 caused them to drop from the ring, when others would take their 

 places, and they hurried to the stream to plunge into the ice-cold 

 water. These dances were also used to cure disease, but more 

 often caused death. The time for these dances, like the time for 

 everything else, was reckoned by reference to the moon and by 

 such natural periodical events as the ripening of various varieties 

 of berries and the emigration of certain species of birds. 



" DiGGEB " Boy of about Ten, from 

 Featheb Riveb. 



