USE OF MUSIC BY AMERICAN INDIANS — DENSMORE 445 



15 or 16 in number, go to the house of the sick man, arriving early in 

 the evening. They shake their black gourd rattles and sing until 

 about midnight, with pauses for relaxation and smoking at intervals 

 of about eight songs. If the patient is a woman they may ques- 

 tion her and ask her friends what she has done to brine; on the sick- 

 ness. Then they consult among themselves as to her condition and 

 chances of recovery. There is much ceremonial procedure, including 

 the making and effacing of a meal-painting ("altar") on which cer- 

 tain ceremonial articles are placed. The medicine men "call on the 

 birds and animals," whose voices are distinctly heard. They look 

 in a crystal ball and make use of a special song with these words: 



I am fighting to cure you. 



I will suck out what is hurting you, to cure you. 



The things I shall take out are the things that are causing your sickness. 



Now I shall take Mother-bear and put her under my arm 



As I get ready to look in the crystal, and I will help you. 



Help us alL 



Thank you. 



"Mother-bear" refers to the "bear-paws" or "mittens" which the 

 medicine man puts over his hands. They consist of the skin of the 

 forelegs of the bear, with the paws. It is said that the people "never 

 deny what a medicine man says he sees in the crystal." 



"We have dwelt somewhat at length of the circumstances under 

 which the Indians sing their healing songs. Let us now consider the 

 men and women who sing them and the characteristics of the songs. 



I have known the Indian doctors in many tribes, from British Co- 

 lumbia to Florida, and the acquaintance in some instances has con- 

 tinued for several years. Without exception they were quiet, conserva- 

 tive men and women, constituting a definite type and respected in 

 their several tribes. They prepare themselves for their calling by 

 a fast in which they receive their "dream" or vision, and they live 

 strictly in accordance with the requirements of that dream. They 

 do not take part in social affairs, but they are not antagonistic to- 

 ward them. Doctors do not expect to be understood, nor do they 

 seek companionship. A doctor's wife is usually his principal helper. 

 Through this isolation comes a deepened sense of companionship 

 with all living creatures and an awareness of nature in all its 

 manifestations. 



Three women who were engaged in the practice of medicine told 

 me of their work. These were Owl Woman, the Papago (cf. p. 450), 

 Susie Tiger (a Seminole of the northern or Cow Creek group living 

 in the cabbage-palm country), and Mrs. Washington, of the Northern 

 Ute. Susie Tiger recorded five songs which she was using in her 

 treatment of the sick. These included songs for lumbago, for a sick 

 baby, for bringing a child into the world, a song addressed to the 



