i8 Transactions of the Canadian Institute. [Vol. VII. 



the chosen subject is the temporal artery. This is slightly cut with as 

 sharp an instrument as can be procured, and the blood is allowed to 

 escape until a rich red colour has succeeded the dark hue of the first 

 flow which is supposed to be the cause of the ailment. The wound is 

 then compressed by the application of a piece of skin or of a green leaf, 

 according to the season. The head is afterwards bandaged so as to 

 ensure the speedy healing of the wound. 



In cases of phlebotomy, the vein at the bend of the elbow is the 

 one operated on. Head-ache, general uneasiness, nervous complaints, 

 catalepsy or any accidental stiffness of a limb furnish the usual pretexts 

 for this sort of bleeding. Pains in the legs are, however, more com- 

 monly relieved by pricking or darting either side of the knee when fire 

 was not resorted to, as shall be seen further on. 



This leads me to speak of the second process, which is darting or 

 thrusting. Though widely different from the first, it is, in the ej-es of 

 the Indians, nothing but a modification thereof, and it goes by the 

 same name. The natives have recourse to it mostly in cases of local 

 pains, when it is a question of congested blood either in the course of 

 a malady or as the result of an accident, as in cases of contusions 

 consequent on a blow, a fall, etc. It differs from the first method of 

 blood-letting in having the flesh, not the veins, as its seat of operation. 

 The skin is first thoroughly softened with hot water, the diseased flesh 

 is firmly gripped or pinched out by the left hand while, with the right, 

 the blade of a sharp knife is thrust therein. The escape of the thick, 

 blackish blood affords immediate relief, though the operation may have 

 to be repeated time and again. All these details I know by personal 

 experience. 



A modification of this process, the usefulness of which is prac- 

 tically confined to cases of head-ache, is piercing. In connection 

 therewith, the fleshy part of the forehead is grasped as in the previous 

 operation and then several times transfixed with an awl or a like 

 instrument. 



The fourth way of using the lancet, net'sutas, is simply the gashing 

 or cutting open of a swelling, a sore or any unhealthy excrescence on 

 the skin. The Denes are rather impatient under the stress of long 

 standing ailments. They much prefer undergoing a painful operation 

 to waiting for the natural issue of any complaint. 



We now come to the fifth way of using the surgical bleeder which 



