14 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



bowls, for the uso of herself and husband. The men seat themselves on 

 the north side and the women occupy the south. The priest's position 

 is at tlie west, facing the altar, with the vow-maker or host sitting at 

 his right hand. All being now ready, the host's wives serve out to the 

 assembled guests, who somjetimes number more than a score, a feast 

 consisting of beef tongues chopped in small pieces and stewjed with 

 service berries, or some other fruit according to the season or to the 

 supply on hand, ^\^len each individual's portion of food is placed 

 before him, the priest, — whom w^e shall also refer to as the ritualist, — 

 with his fingers takes from his own dish a small piece of meat wliicli he 

 holds high in front of him while he prays aloud to the Sun, asking the 

 deity to take pity on the people wliO have assembled to do him homage, 

 to grant the requests that would be made of him, to favour all present 

 with good health, to cause them to become possessed of many horses, 

 to long continue the peaceful relations existing between Indians and 

 white men, and to grant old age to himself, tlie host, and others pre- 

 sent. At the conclusion of the prayer he lowers the bit of meat close 

 to the ground in front of where he sits, and after saying some such 

 words as " Here Earth Person I give this to you that the grass may 

 grow and that there may be a continuation of all blessings which come 

 from our mother the Earth, " he pushes the piece of meat into the 

 dirt at his feet. 



Each guest now extracts a particle of food from his or her dish, 

 and, uttering a shorter prayer than that used by the director of cere- 

 monies, sacrifices to the Earth in the same manner by depositing it in 

 the ground. The prayers of the guests being made simultaneously, 

 and each one praying after his own fashion, considerable confusion of 

 voices is the result, but an obaierver is able to note the peculiarities of 

 the different orisons. Some of the less eloquent supplicants, being 

 literally men of few words, micrely mutter a single sentence contain- 

 ing words which signify old age, many horses, good health, and joy- 

 fulness, at which they forthwith sacrifice to the Earth deit}^, as de- 

 scribed. All having thus said grace the food is disposed of in short 

 order, i 



The feast being c'oncluded, the ritualist, using the forked firestick, 

 extracts a ned coal from the fire and deposits it on the ground between 

 the altar and the fireplace. Chanting one of the wordless sacred songs, 

 he grasps the right wrist of the host and guides his hand to take a 

 pinch of the sweet grass and drop it upon the coal of fire, from which 

 an aromatic smoke soon arises and pervades the lodge. Then follow 

 a number of songs in which signs are made referring to the instructions 

 given by tlie Sun to tlie mythical Scarface. 



