86 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IV. 



offering or sacrifice on his part and were akin to a prayer for blessing. 

 Inasmuch as Yahiise was blind, Chanitoe took these objects from 

 Yahiise and fastened the two discs to the buffalo robe on the head, 

 while the eagle feathers were fastened just in front of the discs. In 

 the forepart of the head of the robe were then made two large slits. 



THE "PACKED" BIRD. 



In connection with the preparation of the medicine water at the 

 termination of the dance, the absence of a Certain bird will be noted in 

 the account to be given later on. Special effort was made during the 

 ceremony of 1902 to secure this bird, and although many had been 

 warned to look after and bring it into camp, and although careful 

 search was made among the tipis of the camp-circle, as well as among 

 the tipis of the visiting Cheyenne, the priests were not able to secure it. 



In order that it might be ceremon-ially represented, at least, in the 

 1902 performance, Hawkan, early in the morning of the fourth day, 

 brought into the lodge a small cottonwood stick about three feet in 

 length, split at one end and sharpened at the other, having gone 

 through the usual rite before splitting it. On entering the lodge, he 

 proceeded to the buffalo skull and inserted the sharpened end into the 

 ground just south of the forward end of the skull. It was so placed 

 that the fork extended in an east and west direction. In the fork he 

 then placed a small bunch of sage, representing the bird. The author's 

 attention was called to the fact by Hawkan, that if the bird had been 

 in its proper position, it would have faced the north, thus overlook- 

 ing the skull and Wheel. 



THE DIGGING-STICK PREPARED. 



The preparation of this stick was not witnessed in the 1901 per- 

 formance. In 1902, immediately on the return of the priests to the 

 Rabbit-tipi, after the bringing in of the center-pole, Thiyeh entered 

 the lodge, bearing the second of the two forked sticks, used on a 

 previous occasion in connection with the rites attendant upon the 

 capture of the buffalo. Placing the stick in front of Hocheni, with 

 her hands upon his head, she uttered a short prayer, whereupon he 

 touched the forefinger of his right hand to the ground, then touched 

 his tongue, took a bite of root, spat toward the digging-stick four 

 times, pointing at the same time with the pipe-stem, the fifth time 

 indicating directly upon the stick the place where it was to be cut. 

 She now took the stick outside to cut it at this point, and soon 

 returned with it, passing it to her husband. There then followed the 

 usual ceremonial smoking of the pipe, it making the circuit four times. 



