inl '^ 



922 



REroRT — 1884:. 



ij 



traditions say that * in tho tliird sun (Natose) of the age of tl>o earth, on the day 

 of the Bull of the Hill, the third Napa of Chokitapia, or tlie plain people (the 

 name of the Blackfeet) when returninjr from the pfreat river of tlie south, caused to 

 be erected in the sacred land of the Napas (Alberta district) upon certain high 

 hills of the countrj', scveri .sesoator.s, or sacrificial stones, for religious purposes 

 among his people.' The traditions of the lilackfeet have always pointed to a high 

 hill situated on the south-east side of the Ked Iliver, opposite to Ilandhill, two 

 miles east of Jk'okenknife ridge, as the site of one of their ancient relics. 



Elevated 200 feet above the suvrounding plain Kekip Sesontors (the hill of the 

 Blood Sacrifice) stands like a liuge pvi'amidal mound, commanding an extensive 

 A iew of both Deer Iliver and Ked River valleys. A natural platform of 100 feet 

 crowns its summit. 



At the north end of this platform is the sesoators, a boulder of fine grained 

 ■quartz ore, hemispheroidal, and hewn horizontally at the bottom, measuring 15 

 inches in height and 4 feet in circumference. Upon its surface are sculptured, half an 

 inoli deep, a crescent moon with a star over it, two small conical basins about 

 2 inches in diameter, one in the centre of the star-like figure, and the other about 

 7 inches, in a straight line with it, and around these hieroglyphic signs resembling 

 those of the Davenport stone and the Copan altar. Interwoven all over are 

 numerous small circlets, resembling tliose on the sacrificial stones in Mexico. At 

 times of gre.at public necessity or trouble, ofl'erings are made, l)y deputies of the 

 family clan, the tribe, and in certain emergencies, of the whole nation. The warrior, 

 dressed in war costume, ascends tlic mount iiin alone, and awaits tlu^ rising of tho 

 morning star. When it ap]iears lie falls prostrate and prays; he then lays a finger 

 of his left hand on the stone and cuts it off. He th^n ])resents the finger towards tlie 

 morning star, saying, ' Hail, O Epizors ! Lord of the niglit, hail ! Hear me, re- 

 gard me from above ! To thee 1 give of my blood, I give of my flesh ! Glorious 

 Is thy coming, all powerful in battle, Son r)f the Sun, I worship thee! Hear my 

 priiyer, grant me my petition, O Epizors ! ' He then puts the finger into the basin 

 on the star-like tig ire, and having dressed the wound in a neighbouring lake, ho 

 returns to the villa,'e, where he is received with rejoicings. This sacritice ranks 

 even above wounds m battle in honour, and is with the red man his Cross of the 

 Legion of Honour. 



12. Bace Elements of the Malagasy. By C. Staniland Wake, M.A.I. 



An examination was made of the Rev. L. Dahle's arguments in support of the 

 liy])0thesis that Madagascar was first occupied by East African tribes, who, after 

 being subjugated by Malayo-Polynesian peoples from the East, became mixed with 

 them, forming the present IVIalagasy; and that the Hova were later Malay 

 emigrants Avho took possession of the interior of the island, which had previously 

 been occupied by African tribes. Heasons were given for doubting the African 

 origin of the early inhabitants of Madagascar, particularly the Vazimba, who 

 differed little from some of the other Malagasy, altiiough they may have had 

 a Negrito element. Facts were mentioned to prove that the Vazimba were a 

 numerous people inhabiting the interior of the island, and that the Hova were 

 descended from them, although prol)ably affected by Arab blood. The other 

 Malagasy belong to the same ancient stock as the Melanesians, but with the 

 addition of a strong Mongoloid element. 



13. Notes on Itesearchrs as to American Origins. By Hyde CtiARKE. 



The author reviewed the papers which he had contributed on American Origins 

 to the British Association and other societies, and stated the result of his investi- 

 gations in their present development. 



Without entering into any defined statement as to the intercourse between the. 

 Eastern and "\^'estern hemispheres in the earlier epoch of gesture language, he 

 inferred it from various facts. The ideographs were also of the early epoch. The 

 invention of speech, which took place in the Eastern hemisphere, and was trans- 



