Miscellaneous Papers. 265 



prayed to those above. The old woman dropped the bear to the 

 ground, and as the helpless little thing howled and cried most piti- 

 ably, she beat the life out of it. 



Picking up the animal's lifeless body, the old woman shook it 

 vigorously. Then dancing across the plaza as she shrieked and 

 batted her mouth, she entered her own house and laid the bear 

 with head to the fire a moment. Then she took it and laid it in 

 the rear of the room. Here the populace followed her. Hither to 

 her house the women then rushed with baskets of eatables. Hither 

 into this house entered the populace. As they entered each one 

 blew his breath on his right hand, patted the bear a moment with 

 that hand, passed on, squatted on the floor, and partook of the 

 eatables till he had satisfied his hunger. Then all arose, lit the 

 ceremonial cigarette, and passed out again into the public dancing 

 area. 



Here, seated in the center of the area, the Indian who had 

 touched the bear first when it was captured was telling every one 

 his hunting adventures and the diflBculties he had in capturing the 

 cub bear which his mother had just killed. He had told them the 

 same story before when they had returned from the hunt, but it 

 was still new and interesting to his hearers. 



As the hero was thus relating his hunting trip, men dressed in 

 breech-cloths, their bodies painted in symbolic colors, their hair 

 decked with feathers, entered the plaza.and began to dance in single 

 file back and forth across the public dancing-ground, as the chief 

 penitents beat drums, sang the bear song, and gesticulated to bring 

 out the meaning of the same. Soon almost all of the men and boys 

 joined the musicians, and, as all sang and shouted at the top of their 

 voices, the whole procession, dancers included, moved toward the 

 general feast house of the pueblo. As they neared it, the women 

 rushed out of their houses with baskets of eatables. These they 

 threw skyward, to shower down upon the dancers and chanters as a 

 thank-offering to those above. 



On entering the feast hall, the aged woman, with the hide of the 

 cub bear she had killed, headed the procession, dancing, "wow- 

 wow-ing," and batting her mouth with her hand. Thus performing, 

 she encircled the middle space of the room twice. She then pro- 

 ceeded to her son, the hero, blew her breath on him in blessing, 

 gave him the hide, and immediately left the room. 



As soon as the mother had departed, the cacique sprinkled the 

 bear skin and its possessor with sacred corn pollen, as he prayed to 

 his gods. He then cut the left front leg from the hide and placed 



