382 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [erH. ANN. 18 
having his hands on the nape of the one in front of him; everyone is 
completely nude. Two nude boys are placed in the middle of the ring 
while the men circle four times around the room from left to right (with 
the sun), the boys, except those in the middle of the ring, climbing upon 
their backs and chasing each other about. 
As soon as the four circuits of the room have been completed, the 
men stop and slap each other heartily upon the back until each has had 
enough; then they stand back from the hole in the middle of the floor 
and jump over it until some one nearly falls in. Two lines are now let 
down from the roof; handles are tied to the ends, which are some dis- 
tance from the floor, and the men grasp them, attempting to raise 
themselves up and perform other trials of strength. This ends the 
festival, but no work must be done in the village during the next 
four days. 
At one of these festivals witnessed at St Michael, the ceremonies of 
the last morning varied from those described. Just before sunrise a 
small bunch of dried parsnip stalks was lighted and waved about the 
bladders and also over and inside the waterproof gut-skin shirts worn 
by the hunters when in their kaiaks at sea,which were brought in for the 
purpose. The headman of the village then stood up and each hunter 
placed beside himself a small bundle of dried grass. The headman took 
these, one after the other, and passed them about the bladders belong- 
ing to their owners, repeating at the same time certain directions to 
the shades in a low tone of voice. As soon as he had completed this, 
the hunter to whom the bladders belonged would ery out “Aé-yai!” 
The straws were then lighted and again passed over the bladders, the 
charred stumps being returned to the side of their owner, after which 
the hunters made black paint of wild-parsnip charcoal and oil, with 
which they striped one another’s faces and drew a double cross (#) 
upon the middle of each one’s back and chest. 
Then each hunter took the spear to which his bladders had been 
fastened and all marched about the hole in the middle of the floor, each 
making several feints before putting his bladders through the hole and 
taking them outside. At the hole in the ice the bladders were burst 
by means of aseal-claw ice scratcher, and several strands of seal sinew 
were tied to each before thrusting it under the ice. 
On December 15, 1879, I reached Kushunuk, near Cape Vancouver, 
and found the Bladder festival in progress. Hanging from the roof 
over the middle of the floor was a fantastic bird-shape image, said to 
represent a sea gull. It had the primary quill feather of a gull stuck 
in each side of the body to represent the wings. The body was covered 
with the skin and feathers of the small Canada goose (Branta cana- 
densis minima). It was fastened to a long, slender, rawhide cord 
which passed through an eye fastened to one .of the roof logs, and 
thence down to the floor on one side of tae room. By pulling and 
