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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



wliicli make a loud noise, or carved wands of wood or ivory, pow- 

 erful in healing or in witchcraft. It must be noticed that here 

 every article has spirit power, and all or nearly all are calculated 

 to inculcate feelings of terror or dread. There are some special 

 articles, at times worn or carried by the shaman, which are very 

 interesting. Among them are the curiously carved hollow bone 

 tubes, used by the Haida shamans, into which the soul of a sick 

 man is tempted and kept prisoner until it is restored to him upon 

 his recovery to health. Every Tlingit shaman would carry also a 

 scratcher of stone or bone, carved neatly, which he uses in treating 

 the sick. It would be unlucky — disastrous — for him to touch the 

 patient with his hand, but the scratcher may touch him without 

 damage. 



Turning from such savage garments to the dress of religious 

 officers in civilized communities, we no longer find the chief de- 

 sign to be production of ter- 

 ror, but rather to impress by 

 grandeur or magnificence. 

 Of course, the fundamental 

 idea in both is the same — to 

 mark off or distinguish the 

 priest from the layman. In 

 the vestments of priests we 

 find numerous cases of sur- 

 vival. What is meant by a 

 " survival " in religion is 

 well shown by the sacred fire 

 of various peoples. Among 

 the Sacs and Foxes matches 

 made by white men are com- 

 monly used for the produc- 

 tion of fire. On the occa- 

 sion of religious ceremonies, 

 however, the priest kindles 

 a fire by friction of pieces 

 of wood, using a sj^indle of 

 cedar rapidly whirled by a 

 bow between two boards of 

 the same kind. Such fire is 

 sacred, and is supposed to 

 come direct from heaven. It is, we think, perfectly certain that 

 anciently these Indians used the fire-drill as their only means of 

 kindling fire. As better means, such as flints, were found, the old 

 drill passed out of every-day use, but it lingered on in religious rite, 

 and still survives. In the same way, in Japan to-day, we are in- 

 formed by a Japanese friend, the Buddhist priests still use the flint 



Fig. 3. — Dance-rattle. Alaska. 



