130 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHN'()L(){4Y [bull. 43 



eul of the (Uv'i- (inly to bo swifter. It nlso hapiions often tliat they have more 

 recoiirse to Iheir le,i;s in order to save themselves than to their arms to defend 

 themselves. They do not eat any bison meat for f(>ar of becoming; heavy, uor 

 of any fish for fear of becoming weak, for which tlu-y have ytiod reason, since 

 otherwise th€\v have so little courage. 



Before beginning the feast, all the warriors being assembled, the oldest out 

 of condition for following the others to war on account of his great age, takes the 

 war calumet in his hand, and in the dress of a warrior, makes the others this 

 speech: " My comrades," he says to them, "Oh, that I were young enough and 

 strong enough to accompany you to this war and to do against our enemies now 

 as I did against a nation from which I have taken three scalps, against another 

 nation from which 1 have t,;ken five, and four from such another. And how 

 many blows of the war club lia\e I nuuh' against our enemies in order not to 

 be takenV 1 made so many efl'orts that I gave lime I'm- the other warriors to 

 succor me, to set me at liberty and take me away with them, for I nuich pre- 

 fer to die fighting than to allow myself to be taken and die in the frame (cadre). 



" So, my comrades, leave with great courage, always have strong hearts, 

 walk on the toes, keep the eyes open, never shut your ears, have no fear of the 

 cold, do not hesitate to throw yourselves into the water in order to escape if it 

 is necessary, and in that case conceal your retreat well. Especially never fear 

 the arrows of the enemy and let it be seen that you are men and true warriors. 

 Finally, if you liud the occasion for it, use all yoiu' arrows on the enemies and 

 afterward strike, kill, until your war clubs are drunk with the blood of the 

 enemies." 



This s])eecli being linished, the old warrior fills the piiie of the caliunet with 

 tobacco. lie gives it to the gi-eat war chief to smoke and to all the other war- 

 riors according to their rank. The youths who have never yet been to war also 

 come to smoke as if to enroll themselves in this militia. The old warrior 

 smokes last and replaces the calumet on the pole. 



After this ceremony the war chief goes to take a piece of dog meat. The 

 others after him do the same thing, place themselves outside the circle of plates, 

 and eat while walking incessantly to signify that a good warrior ought to be 

 continually in motion and on his guard. 



When the meal is begun one of the young people goes behind a thicket two 

 or three hundred paces off with his arms and utters the death cry. At once all 

 the warriors take their arms and run in the direction from which the cry has 

 been heard. When they are near the place the young warrior comes out and 

 makes the death cry anew, to which all the warriors reply by the same cry. 



They then come back to take ni) their meat which tliey had thrown on the 

 grass. The young man or another does the same thing twice more. After 

 that they bring the war drink. It is made of a large quantity of leaves of the 

 Apalachine (//'./• ca.s.sinc) boiled in enough water to be cooked in sjiite of their 

 hardness. It is by pressing these strongly that this intoxicating drink is ex- 

 tracted. Tlicn the meal is finished and they go to the post behind which is 

 planted the pule of tlie ealumel. 



All the w;nriors asst'mble in a group .'(• luices from this jiost, which they 

 make reseinlil(> a man as much as they ari' al)le. especially in the size of the 

 head. They ]iainl it red, and the warriors go in turn to sti-ike this post. To 

 this end the one; who goes there takes his war club and i-uns with all his nnght, 

 making the death cry when he arrives there. He gives it a blow with the 

 war club. There he relates his military deeds with emphasis and insults the 

 post, which repr(>sents the enemy. At the end of his s]H>ech he takes great care 

 to pronounce the last syil.able with all the strength of his chest, to which the 

 other wari-iors i-eply by a groat Iioa drawn frcui the bottom of the stcanacli. 



