BOCBKE.] PHYLACTERIES. 591 



before lie joined that of Cortes to Mexico. 1 Diaz says that Montezuina 

 sent to Charles V, as a present &quot;a few chalchihuis of such enormous 

 value that I would not consent to {live them to any one save to such a 

 powerful emperor as yours. 2 These stones were put &quot;in the mouth of 

 the distinguished chief s who died.&quot; 3 



Torquemada 4 repeats the Aztec myth already given from Mendieta. 

 He says that in 15. 57 Fray Antonio de Ciudad-Kodrigo, provincial of 

 the Franciscans, sent friars of his order to various parts of the Indian 

 country; in l.&quot;&amp;gt;;58 he sent them to the north, to a country where they 

 heard of a tribe of people wearing clothes and having many turquoises. 5 

 The Aztec priesthood adopted green as the sacred color. The cere 

 mony of their consecration ended thus: &quot;puis on 1 habillait tout en 

 vert.&quot; 6 



Maximilian, Prince of VVied, saw some of the Piegans of northwest 

 ern Montana u hang round their necks a green stone, ofteii of various 

 shapes.&quot; He describes it as &quot;a compact talc or steatite which is found 

 in the Kocky Mountains.&quot; 7 



PHYLACTERIES. 



The term phylactery, as herein employed, means any piece of buck 

 skin or other material upon which are inscribed certain characters or 

 symbols of a religious or medicine nature, which slip or phylactery 

 is to be worn attached to the person seeking to be benefited by it, and 

 this phylactery differs from the amulet or talisman in being concealed 

 from the scrutiny of the profane and kept as secret as possible This 

 phylactery, itself &quot; medicine,&quot; may be employed to enwrap other &quot; med 

 icine&quot; and thus augment its own potentiality. Indians in general 

 object to having their &quot;medicine&quot; scrutinized and touched; in this 

 there is a wide margin of individual opinion; but in regard to phylac 

 teries there is none that I have been able to discover, and the rule may 

 be given as antagonistic to the display of these sacred &quot;relics,&quot; as my 

 Mexican captive interpreter persisted in calling them. 



The first phylactery which it was my good fortune to be allowed to 

 examine was one worn by Ta-ul-tzu-je, of the Kaytzentin gens. It was 

 tightly rolled in at least half a mile of orange-colored saddlers silk, 

 obtained from some of the cavalry posts. After being duly uncovered, 

 it was found to be a small piece of buckskin two inches square, upon 

 which were drawn red and yellow crooked lines which the Apache said 

 represented the red and yellow snake. Inside were a piece of green 

 chalchihuitl and a small cross of lightning-riven twig (pine) and two 

 very small perforated shells. The cross was called &quot; intchi-dijin,&quot; the 

 black wind. 



A second phylactery which I was also allowed to untie and examine 



London. 1H44, vol. 1. ]ip. 26, 29, :16, 93. 5 Iliiil., lib. 19, cap. 22. pp. 357-358. 



2 Ibid., p. 278. * Tcrnaux Compans, vol. 10, p. 240. 



1 Ibid., vol. 2, p. 389. London, 1843, p. 248. 

 Monarcbia Indiana, lib. 6, cap. 45, p. 80. 



