PREFACE. 



Although the Tobacco society loomed large in the. tribal life of the 

 Crow, its ceremonial activities probably ranking next to the Sun dance 

 in importance, I am not acquainted with any detailed accounts of the 

 organization. The only ones I have seen are that by Curtis in The 

 North American Indian, vol. 4, 1909, pp. 61-67, and Simms's paper on 

 the " Cultivation of ' Medicine Tobacco' by the Crows" in the American 

 Anthropologist (N. S., vol. 6, 1904, pp. 331-335), which while announced 

 as a preliminary report has remained without a sequel. 



On my first visit to the Crow in 1907 I began to take notes on the 

 Tobacco society and in the course of subsequent visits succeeded in 

 accumulating considerable material on the subject. The greater por- 

 tion of this information was secured at Lodge Grass, Montana; how- 

 ever, a fair amount of check data was obtained in other districts of the 

 Reservation. Continued investigation would surely have added to my 

 knowledge of detail, but it seems that the information here presented 

 suffices to afford an understanding of the essential principles underlying 

 the organization. 



April, 1919. ROBERT H. LOWIE. 



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