166 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXI, 



they deposit the bags on a blanket and cover them with another blanket. 

 Whoever gets to the ground first will enjoy good luck that season; in 

 the old times it was believed that he was fairly certain of striking the 

 first coup of the season. 



Other informants furnished supplementary data. It is clear that 

 no one is permitted to walk in front of the Medicine-bearer. One-blue- 

 bead says there are watchers to see that this rule is not broken and Gray- 

 bull has a military society following the procession on horseback with 

 long sticks or dead snakes tied to sticks and preventing non-members 

 from approaching the society. At the first stop One-blue-beads repre- 

 sents the Bearer placing the otter between the forks of a stick, which is 

 planted into the ground about forty yards ahead of the Bearer's own 

 position, to which he (she?) must walk backwards. The same perform- 

 ance is repeated at subsequent stops. The winner of the race will have 

 a good crop of Tobacco, that is why all try hard to get to the garden first. 



According to Gray-bull the Medicine-bearer after planting the stick 

 with her otter into the ground at the first halting-place sings a song, 

 which the musicians take up, while all the other members dance. The 

 Bearer also dances in her place. At the second stop she takes a pipe to 

 all the Mixers, one of whom smokes and then gives the pipe to the other 

 members of his chapter. When they have finished it the Medicine-bearer 

 comes to take it back, and the Mixer tells her his dreams, what he has 

 seen of the next season or that he has beheld plenty of Tobacco. This 

 Mixer sings four songs there. At the third stop the Medicine-bearer 

 again brings a pipe buLhands it to another Mixer. A similar ceremony 

 ensues. At the fourth stop the Bearer gives the pipe to still another 

 Mixer. She usually encounters difficulty in trying to make one smoke, 

 for they are afraid to sing to the ground where they are to plant. 

 Just before the last Mixer's fourth song the members of all the chapters 

 give their bags to swift young runners. Now the police no longer re- 

 strain the spectators. The Medicine-bearer paints a horse red on the 

 sides of his body and lets some prominent man ride. At the close of the 

 fourth song the horseman and the young racers run to the site. The one 

 who gets there first says, "ha hel", as though he were striking an enemy. 

 The Mixers had put up their sticks previously on the site and instructed 

 their runners which ones to run to. Sometimes a foot-racer would take 

 the stick out of the ground, saying, "I have taken a gun from the enemy." 



There is a certain inconsistency in the accounts as to the identity of 

 the person making the Mixers smoke. This is rather apparent than real, 

 however, for throughout the Tobacco ceremony the unity of a married 



