g>t)oulber ffilabe 



PMONG the many superstitious beliefs and 

 practices of our Montagnais Indians, I 

 think that what is known as "Shoulder Blade 

 Reading" is one of the least known and most cur- 

 ious. It is seldom practised in the presence of a 

 "white brother" unless the latter is held in very 

 high esteem or has lived among them. I suppose 

 this is due to the fear that the secret may be re- 

 vealed, to their prejudice. In the Montagnais 

 dialect the custom is known as "outlickan mes- 

 kina," the literal translation of which is "shoul- 

 der blade track." 



The bones of various animals are used for this 

 purpose, but the favorite, the most truthful, and 

 most far-seeing, in their belief, is that of the 

 caribou. As soon as .the animal is cut up, the 

 shoulder blade is removed by cutting at the first 

 joint. The meat is then cut away with a sharp 

 knife as close to the bone as possible and the latter 

 is boiled for a few minutes, just sufficiently to al- 

 low of all the meat being wiped off. It is then 

 hung up in the wigwam to dry, and in the even- 

 ing after the children are asleep, the bone is read 

 in the following manner : 



A small piece of wood is partially split, and in- 



