114 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 80 
one side of the front of his head where it was tied in a bunch, and to 
this were fastened feathers or bags of medicine, as directed by the 
clan father, all these preparations being as nearly as possible like 
those of warriors. A Stone Hammer raid was regarded seriously 
and as tending to develop the qualities which would later be needed 
on the warpath. 
The boys took their seats in the lodge according to the place 
which their clan occupied in the tribal circle, some at the right, 
others at the left, of the entrance. The door of the lodge was tightly — 
closed and only members were allowed to enter. Every boy in 
the village belonged to the society if he were within the age limits, 
but it was recognized that some were more efficient than others. 
The first act. of the society was to select the boys who were to steal. 
A boy might decline, saying that he did not wish to try it. The 
selection seems to have been by a general nomination, some one 
saying, “ Let so-and-so go, he is a smart boy.” The boys, when se- 
lected, sat in the middle of the circle. Frequently they were four to 
eight in number. A boy was then appointed to “ask the ques- 
tions.” He began with the boy next the door and asked him what 
his mother had in the house that was good to eat, and where she 
kept it. The boys in the middle of the lodge listened carefully to 
these replies. The same questions were asked of every boy in the 
circle and each was expected to be posted and to reply correctly. 
The boys in the middle of the lodge were then questioned and at 
last the boy who had questioned the others was himself questioned 
as to where his mother, or aunt, or grandmother hid her best food. 
This being finished, the stealing boys were divided into two groups 
according to the side of the circle where their band was located, as 
they were required to steal from the tents on the opposite side of 
the circle, with which they naturally were less familiar than with 
their own. They went out in pairs and with each group there were 
two extra boys who stayed outside the tents and who gave the alarm 
if necessary by a sharp repeated exhalation of the breath, given 
without forming any syllable, or by a low whistle. A favorite 
place for hiding food was under the pillow or under the pallet on 
which an old woman slept. Mr. Packineau stated that it was not 
unusual for the Stone Hammer boys to lift the blanket on which 
an old woman was sleeping, lay the blanket and the old woman 
gently to one side, and take the dried meat or other food from be- 
neath her bed without waking her. Thus in the morning people 
often found themselves sleeping in another part of the tent than that 
in which they had retired, and the food was gone. Occasionally 
the boys were badly treated. Sometimes the men threw them on the 
ground, rubbed or punched the stomach in a painful manner, and 
