4 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



In the nedghbourhood of Indian camps and resei'vations, a faniiliar 

 sight is an article of clothing such as a coat, shirt, or blanket, attached 

 to a stick and placed in a conspicuous position, generally on the top of 

 a high hill, on the edge of a cliff, or tied to the trunk of a prominent 

 tree. 



These are sacrificial offerings to the Sun, which in former times 

 consisted of the rarest and most highly valued articles possessed by the 

 Indians; notably the skins of the two exceedingly rare specimens of the 

 bison commonly known as the " white buffalo " and the " silk robe," — 

 the latter being called by the Blackfoot the "beaver hair," — the skins 

 of the otter and ermine, of the fawns of various deer, and the tail 

 feathers of the eagle. Eichly ornamented war clothing of all kinds and 

 numbers of other things were proper for sacrificial purposes, the rule 

 seeming to have been that the more scarce and valuable the article, the 

 greater reason why the Indian should give it to the Sun. 



As nearly all such treasures have now become things of the past, in 

 their stead the people sacrifice, for the most part, clothing, coloured cloth, 

 and other articles of wliite manufacture; although a skin of some sort 

 is occasionally to be seen exposed. 



Sometimes, acting under the force of circumstances, an Indian 

 prepares his offering, carries it to a hill, and, uttering a prayer, erects it 

 without further ceremony. 



There is, however, a particular rite connected with the making of 

 such sacrifices, and its description is the object of this contribution. 



Of the many propitiatory ceremonies of solar worship practised 

 under the observation of the writer during an association with these 

 Indians extending back to the year 1881 the sacrificial rite has been 

 chosen as the subject of the present paper because it includes within 

 convenient limits such a large number of the typical features of Blackfoot 

 ritual that its description will present something more than a superficial 

 view of the sacred practices and beliefs of these people. 



When an old Blackfoot is asked why such rites are practised in 

 honour of the Sun, he replies, "because Scarface taught us so," refer- 

 ring to a mythological personage of that name. It will, therefore, not 

 be inappropriate to first consider the myth. 



Mythical Origin. 



The Legend of Scarface. In the mythology of the Blackfoot there 

 is a story called Uk-ski,— meaning "scar on the face,"— which is be- 

 lieved by them to explain the origin of their principal sacred ceremonies 

 and beliefs. 



