20 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



makes his last prayer. He calls upon the Sun. Moon, and Morning 

 Star to remember the number and importance of the sacrifices he has 

 personally made to them in the past. He enumerates the principal 

 religious ceremonies that he has held during his lifetime, and asks the 

 deities to reward him by making the present proceedings successful. At 

 the conclusion of the prayer, — which is a long one, covering all the 

 ground imaginable, — ^he again renews singing and the movements of the 

 offering, assisted by the sacrificer. 



The feathers of the sacrifice are in tlie final song lowered thnee 

 times, imtil they gently touch the crescent and other figures. At the 

 end of the song the feathers are swept over the clay, and with a shout, 

 the men violently sweep the offering back and forth over the faqe of 

 the painting, completely obliterating every trace of the designs. 



The destruction of the painting has a reference to the obliteration 

 of the scax on the legendary hero's face. 



Four bunches of Artemisia are now placed on the north side of 

 the lodge, at equal distances apart, and extending from the altar to the 

 door. 



Taking his offering in his arms, the sacrificer stands up and begin- 

 ning with the right foot steps on the four bunches of Artemisia, thus 

 making his exit in four steps, using the fire stick to steady himself with. 



Walking past the south side of the lodge he carries the offering 

 away to some conspicuous place where it is set up and permanently ex- 

 posed to the elements. 



The exit of the host terminates the proceedings and the guests 

 depart to their several homes. 



The duration of the ceremony is from four to six hours, varied 

 aecording to the quickness of the director and the number of persons 

 painted. 



Such is tlie Sacrificial Eite of the Blackfoot according to the 

 personal observations of the writer and the explanations of the priests 

 who officiated upon several occasions when the ceremony was witnessed 

 previous to 1897, these offerings to the Sun and tlie ritualistic featiires 

 being still practised by the Blackfoot to propitiate their principal 

 deity. 



Principal deity is here used advisedly, after having on one hand 

 read that the superior god of these people is the " Creator, '' (Apisto- 

 to-kiw) and on the other hand that their chief divinity is the " iSTapi '' 

 of mythological fame. Every middle aged Indian in tlie three tribes 

 knows that the " Creator " was never heard of by them until the advent 

 of the mipsionaries, and as for addressing prayers to or in any way wor- 

 shipping " Xapi, " the Old Man of the legends, the blunderer, the ira- 



