ARCTI/T^OLOGY OF MICTTOACIIAN. P}0[) 



fii relation to Fi<;-s. .'>'2 aiuK);}, Juan do rFosiis, a Voninra- Tiidian, stat<'(l 

 that tlio iniplcmeuts whicli tlioso li.!J^uies represent were idols. Feathers 

 were tied on cacli end, the idol placed in a basket or similar recei)ta- 

 cle in the house of the medicine ma,n, when tlfe peoi)le who were desir- 

 ous of obtaining favors from the sjiirit or i)ower attributed to the idol 

 threw in seeds and other offerinfijs to the receptacle until the idol was 

 covered uj). Tt is needless to say the olTerings were ai)propriated by 

 the medicine man. 



Jasto, a Santa Barbara Indian, stated that the charm stones were 

 sometimes arranged or scattered in various places ; those without per- 

 forations were covered up, while the perforated stones were placed on 

 the surface of the o-round, and during the dance, upon the approach of 

 the individuals who had been made holy by the ceremonies before 

 mentioned, the perforated charm stones would elevate themselves on 

 one end, to be grasped by the fortunate individuals, who thereby obtained 

 their desire in relation to having a good year. These stones were sus- 

 I)ended upon the person of the medicine man only during the sacred 

 dances, except in the case of a warrior, who would hang them upon his 

 person to render him arrow-proof. In tliis connection 1 learned that 

 the peculiar stone implement figured in Vol. vit, Wheeler's Report, on 

 page 215, the uses of which have been heretofore unknown, was used 

 in the following manner : 



Twenty of them were arranged in a square, five on each side; in the 

 center was a bowl of water, beside w'hich stood the medicine-man, with 

 a long stone pipe shaped like a cigar, in which an a herb, called impirate 

 by the Mexicans, resembling southern wood, was smoked. The smoke 

 was first directed toward the bowl of water, then toward the stones. 

 The i)eoj)le ca?ne and moistened their faces with the w^ater in the bowl, 

 which had been made holy by the previous ceremonies. This ceremony 

 brought rain, caused death to enemies, and various other things. 



In conclusion, the evidence which I have obtained directly from the 

 aborigines, the localities in which the implements have been found, the 

 materials of which they are composed, the care and labor necessary in 

 their manufacture, the evident superstitious ideas connected with them, 

 and the ignorance of their uses (pretended or real), favor the conclusion 

 that these im[)lements were objects highly prized and religiously vener- 

 ated. Had they been intended to be used for any ordinary purpose or 

 ])urposes as assigned to them, the Imlians would not have been in ig- 

 norance of it, nor would they have hesitated to give information con- 

 eerning them. 



n. Mis. 170 20 



