600 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, l«9r>. 



waving to and fro on long shafts. It bad a long trail behind. The 

 speaker followed her. The people sang and women danced in her honor. 

 She disappeared behind the cnrtain, and blankets were distributed 

 again. 



Now a song was heard* ontside. The speaker asked the singers to 

 beat time, A man entered singing. His body was naked, but he wore 

 a dancing apron and had cedar bark rings around his arms and wrists. 

 He was a Ba'bakuaiiLa, a t'o'X'uit. After some speeches there was sing- 

 ing, and a woman and a man danced. They held their elbows close to 

 their sides, stretched their hands forward, the palms upward, and moved 

 the hands up and down in jerky motions. Tlie Ba'bakuafiLa was then 

 placed on a seat behind the fire in front of the singers and the speaker 

 was asked to pierce him with his lance. The singers beat time, the 

 speaker took up the lance aiul threw its point against the floor, to show 

 that the lance was solid, and showed it around among the people. Then 

 he took up the lance and walked around the Ba'bakuauLa. After 

 each circuit he put the point against the left side of Ba'bakuauLa, and 

 then continued his circuit. After he had gone around him four times, 

 lie once more put the lance against his left side and began to push it 

 in. Ap])arently the ])oint entered the body, blood ^Yas streaming out 

 of his side, and as the point j)enetrated farther the Ba'bakuauLa appar- 

 ently collapsed. Finally the whole length of the lance had pierced the 

 body and the point was seen to come out on the right side a little below 

 the arm pit.' He was raised so that the i)eople could see his body. 

 Then the lance was pulled out again slowly. The shamans were called, 

 and blew and sang over his body, while the singers continued their 

 song. Then he was led behind the curtain. After this, cloths were 

 distributed among the women ; the singers beat time and cried " hu." 



Tins was the last dance of the night. The Koskimo did not allow 

 their guests to go home, but invited them to stay for a feast. The 

 ha/mats'a still remained sitting in front of the door, preventing anyone 

 from going out. They continued to eat and to make speeches until 10 

 o'clock, when everybody went home to take a rest. 



On the l*6th of ISTovember everything was quiet, as the people were 

 exhausted by the preceding festivals. 



In the afternoon of the 27th, the Kwakiuti held a secret meeting in 

 order to determine what to do. The seal society was still confined to 

 the dancing house. K-ex-, whose mask had broken a few days ago 

 during the dance, was going to initiate his son in atonement for this 

 mishap. Ilis elder son had died a few years before, after he had been 

 made a member of the ha'mats'a society. Eeferring to this, he spoke 



'The Ba'bakuafiLa had a small hook attached to his right arm ring l>y means of 

 which he pulled up the skin of his chest below the right arm jiit, piercing at the 

 same time a small bag filled with blood which was fastened to the skin, so that the 

 blood was seen llowing down his side. This scene seems to be the same as that of 

 the dance described on p. 575. 



