134 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IX. 



cular motion and the four passes were repeated three additional times, 

 Black-Man each time taking up an additional handful of earth. 

 Big-Baby released Black-Man's hand and the latter, using his right 

 hand only, gathered up the remaining loose earth and placed it upon 

 the blanket. When the space had thus been cleaned Big-Baby and 

 Black-Man seized the blanket by the four corners, lifted on it four 

 times, carried it to the center-pole and waved the blanket toward it 

 four times, and emptied the earth at the foot of the center-pole on 

 the west side. (See PI. XLIV.) 



Preparation of the Altar Sticks. 



During this time other priests, especially Cedar-Tree and the assist- 

 ant Chief Priest, the number of priests working being gradually in- 

 creased, were decorticating and fashioning the dogwood sticks into 

 requisite shapes, to be used either in the construction of the rainbow 

 or to be placed upright along the sides of the excavation. (See Fig. 

 6 1.) Before beginning work on these sticks, however, all had their 

 hands prepared by the Chief Priest in the customary manner. The 

 priests worked on these sticks until they were all prepared. 



Fig. 6i. Priests decorticating altar sticks. 



