174 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 45 



subdivision of the count, the less important melody progressions, 

 or the order of phrases may vary. The significance of this can be 

 appreciated only after an examination of the songs, and those who 

 wish to follow closely this study of rhythm may tap the rhythm of 

 the songs with a pencil, following the note values as definitely as 

 possible. It is not necessary that one should be able to hear men- 

 tally the melody; the general progression can be seen by the posi- 

 tion of the notes on the staff. 



In these, as in songs previouslj^ considered, the tempo of the drum 

 is steadily maintained, the tempo of the voice varying somewhat 

 from the metronome indication. 



The special points of interest in this group are: 



(1) Two songs on the second five-toned scale, nos. 80 and 169. 



(2) Two songs based on the tonic and submediant chords, nos. 

 186 and 159. 



(3) A slow melody with a very quick drum, no. 171. 



(4) A song interrupted by sharp ejaculations repeated on the 

 same tone, no. 176. 



(5) Range of the singer's voice from C sharp on the bass clef to 

 B on the treble clef. Many songs have the compass of a twelfth. 



(6) A rhythm of three pulses of the drum equivalent to two of the 

 melody, a rhythm in which the pulse of the drum has no apparent 

 relation to that of the melody, a practice of letting the drum follow 

 the voice and of using an accented sixteenth note followed by a 

 dotted eighth are of frequent occurrence, but are found in the work 

 of other singers also. 



2. WABEZIC ("MARTEN") 



Wabezic' was a most interesting character. He was ])art Cree and 

 belonged to the Pembina band living farther north, but he married a 

 Chippewa woman and now lives at the village of Sandy River, on 

 the Red Lake reservation. He could neither speak nor understand 

 English. Wabezic' was short in stature and different jn feature from 

 the Chippewa. He was a wiry, active little man, with quick, keen 

 eyes, a good dancer, and had the general appearance of a man accus- 

 tomed to depend on his own resources. He said that he was named 

 Wabezic/ because he was so small. 



This singer gave twelve songs, five of which were major and six 

 minor in tonality. One was so wandering as to suggest a ])ossibility 

 that it was incorrectly remembered. It is transcribed, however, as 

 it was sung. The main characteristics of these songs are the per- 

 sistence with which the drum beat follows the voice, the frequent 

 descent of the minor third, and the tenacity with which the rhythm 

 is maintained even when the melody is imperfectly repeated. 



