556 MEDICINE-MEN OF THE APACHE. 



head like a cap. On one-half of this hoop was marked the figure of a 

 snake, whose office, as the chief told me, was to take care of the water.&quot; l 

 The &quot;small hoop of wood&quot; of which Tanner speaks, to be worn on the 

 head, seems to be analogoiis to the small hoop attached to the izze-kloth, 

 to be worn or applied in cases of headache (Fig. 430). Reference to 

 something very much like the izze-kloth is made by Harmon as in use 

 among the Carriers of British North America. He says : &quot; The lads, as 

 soon as they come to the age of puberty, tie cords, wound with swan s- 

 down, around each leg a little below the knee, which they wear during 

 one year, and then they are considered as men.&quot; 2 C atlin speaks of 

 &quot;mystery-beads&quot; in use among the Mandan. &quot;The negro suspends 

 all about his person cords with most complicated knots.&quot; 4 



The female inhabitants of Alaska, TTnalaska, and the Fox Islands 

 were represented by the Russian explorers of 17(58 (Captain Krenitzin) 

 to &quot;wear chequered strings around the arms and legs.&quot; 5 These cords 

 bear a striking resemblance to the &quot;wresting cords&quot; of the peasantry 

 of Europe. Some of the Australians preserve the hair of a dead man. 

 &quot; It is spun into a cord and fastened around the head of a warrior.&quot; 6 

 &quot;A cord of opossum hair around the neck, the ends drooping down on 

 the back and fastened to the belt,&quot; is one of the parts of the costume 

 assumed by those attaining manhood in the initiation ceremonies of the 

 Australians. 7 Again, on pages 72 and 74, he calls it &quot;the beltof man 

 hood.&quot; &quot;The use of amulets was common among the Greeks and 

 Romans, whose amulets were principally formed of gems, crowns of 

 pearls, necklaces of coral, shells, etc.&quot; 8 



When I first saw the medicine cords of the Apache, it occurred to 

 ine that perhaps in some way they might be an inheritance from the 

 Franciscans, who, two centuries ago, had endeavored to plant mis 

 sions among the Apache, and did succeed in doing something for the 

 Navajo part of the tribe. I therefore examined the most convenient 

 authorities and learned that the cord of S. Francois, like the cord of St. 

 Augustine and the cord of St. Monica, was itself a medicine cord, rep 

 resenting a descent from a condition of thought perfectly parallel to 

 that which has given birth to the izze-kloth. Thus Picart tells us: 

 &quot;On appelle Cordon de S. Fran5ois la grosse corde qui sert de ceinture 

 aux Religieux qui vivent sous la Regie de ce Saint. . . . Cette corde 

 ceint le corps du Moine, & pend a pen pres jusqu aux pieds. Elle lui sert 

 de discipline, & pour cet effet, elle est armee do distance en distance de 

 fort gros iKEuds. ... La Corde de S. Francois a souvent gueri les 

 malades, facility les accouchemens, fortifie la sante, procure tig-ne e & fait 



1 Tanner s Narrative, p. 188. 



Journal, p. 289. 



3 North American Indians, London, 1845, vol. 1, p. 135. 



4 Schultze, Fetichism, Now York, 1885, p. 32, quoting Bastian. 



Cose, Russian Discoveries between America and Asia. London, 18o:i, p. 254. 



6 Smyth, Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 1, pp. xxix, 112. . 



7 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 68. 



Pettigrew, Medical Superstitions, Philadelphia, 1844. pp. 67.72, 74. 



