DENSMORD] MANDAN AND HIDATSA MUSIC 41 
measures 154 inches at its largest and 13% inches at its smallest 
diameter. The thickness of the drum varies from 3 .to 3% inches. 
The rawhide is fastened across the back of the drum with strips 
of hide that cross in the middle, forming a handhold (see also pl. 
9, 6). The drumming stick was made for the writer by Ben Ben- 
son, who is familiar with the usage of the society. The stick is 
new, but the buffalo-hide covering of the end is very old and ap- 
. parently has been used on a similar drumming stick. On remov- 
ing this covering it was found that the wood at the end of the 
stick had been scraped and turned downward, the inner bark 
being left in narrow strips, between which were 12 spaces. This 
form suggests a 12-row ear of corn with the silk turned downward, 
but as the writer had left the reservation it was impossible to secure 
information concerning the complete symbolism of the stick. Eagle 
feathers were placed around the end of the drumming stick, and the 
buffalo-hide covering was held in place by a strip of the same 
material (pl. 18, 6). A drum decorated with goose tracks is noted 
on page 91. 
Wounded Face, who contributed a portion of the information con- 
cerning this society, was a singer at its last meetings. 
The first song is of unusual interest. Wounded Face said it is 
called the captive song because of the following legend: Many years 
ago a Goose woman was captured by an enemy and taken far away, 
but she managed to escape and started toward home. As she traveled 
wearily a flock of geese flew above her. They flew low and sang this 
song, which she learned from them. The words of the song appear 
to be connected with Old-woman-who-never-dies, a mythical charac- 
ter associated with many of the agricultural beliefs and practices of 
the Mandan and Hidatsa. She resembles the Mother Corn and the 
Spider Woman of certain tribes farther south, though differing from 
them in many respects. Maximilian states that “The old woman 
who never dies sends, in the spring, the waterfowl, swans, geese, and 
ducks as symbols of the kinds of grain cultivated by the Indians. 
The wild goose signifies maize; the swan, the gourd; and the duck, 
beans. It is the old woman who causes these plants to grow, and, 
therefore, she sends these birds as her signs and representatives.” ™ 
The Old-woman-who-never-dies was called Mother, and as the birds 
were her representatives, the geese and the Goose Women might, as 
in this instance, address one another as mother and daughter. 
The ceremonial use of this and the four songs next following has 
already been noted. 
*1 Maximilian, Travels, pt. 11, p. 385, Cf. also Will and Spinden, The Mandans, p. 141. 
