1920.] Lowie, Crow Tobacco Society. 143 



Muskrat was adopted because her husband was already a member. 

 For some time her adopters brought her such eatables as berries, then 

 they announced, "We have done this long enough, we'll take her in to 

 sing now." So they took her into the lodge on four consecutive winter 

 nights and on the fourth they asked her to dance. Two women got up 

 and danced with her. 



THE PUBLIC INITIATION. 



As explained in Plenty-hawk's account, an adoption implies a special 

 adoption lodge (actsitua). As might be expected, the institution of the 

 lodge and the details of its arrangement are derived from visions. To 

 own and superintend the erection of this lodge is a highly prized cere- 

 monial privilege, the Owner and his wife playing an important part in 

 the proceedings. Indeed, while there is no strictly hierarchical grading 

 of officers in the society, Gray-bull held that the Owner of the adoption 

 lodge ranked highest after the Medicine-bearer in the procession of the 

 planting ceremony. Theoretically the Owner performs a variety of 

 functions himself; in practice he frequently pays some one else to act 

 as delegate, a different person for each task. Some chapters are without 

 members owning the actsitua privileges and are obliged to appeal to 

 other chapters for help. Generally speaking, there is no spirit of exclu- 

 siveness between Tobacco members of different chapters. At an adop- 

 tion members of any chapter may attend, though presents are given only 

 to the initiating chapter. 



On July 3, 1910 two initiations were celebrated, and I witnessed 

 the major part of one and a lesser portion of the other. The two lodges 

 erected for these adoptions were similar to each other and to those seen 

 in the summer of 1911 (Fig. 5). The following notes refer mainly to 

 my earlier observations. 



The frame of each lodge consisted of ten large pine trunks, 1 joined at 

 the top and tied there with a mass of leafy twigs. At a height of about 

 three feet from the ground willow branches were laid horizontally from 

 pole to pole and tied to the poles. The lodge was imperfectly covered 

 with canvas, so that the sunlight could stream in from one side. The 

 most conspicuous part of the unoccupied lodge was the artica, which for 

 want of a better term I will call the 'altar.' At its head the members 

 afterwards deposited their bags and in one of the two lodges two slender 

 sprigs of willow with leaves were planted there as well. The altar 



Charges-strong said that cottonwoods should be used.. 



