116 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 80 
Pleiades (thadho’a), the “ hand stars” (skawaro’saki), referring to 
a group of stars resembling an outspread hand which is seen in 
the south in winter and which “ moves around the north star.” 
The wand was made for an initiate by the old man of his clan 
whom he selected to present him for membership. The selection of 
the design on the stone head of his wand might be determined in 
several ways. If the boy had had a dream and seen a dream sym- 
bol, he told it to his “clan father,’ who placed it on the stone. 
If the boy had not had a vision, the responsibility for the design 
rested with his “clan father” If he did not wish to choose it him- 
self he called together some old men of the same clan and consulted 
them as to what design would “give the boy a good start in life” 
by placing him under protection of strong and favorable elements. 
When a design was chosen by the old men for a boy who had not 
had a vision, it was expected that the boy would seek a vision imme- 
diately afterwards and would try to obtain a dream of the symbol 
that had been placed on his wand. The fasting vigil for securing 
the dream could be of any duration, but one night was sometimes 
sufficient, and the result was considered as satisfactory as though a 
longer time were required. 
An old man did not allow anyone in the lodge when he was making 
one of these wands. He filled a pipe and presented the stem to the 
south, west, north, and east, then to the zenith and the earth. Some 
presented it to the zenith before presenting it to the cardinal points, 
but it was always offered last to the earth. As the old man per- 
formed each of these acts he made a supplication similar to the 
following: ‘ Ma’hopaik’ti’a (great medicine),®°* smoke this pipe. 
I want success for this young man.” After which he mentioned in 
his petition the respects in which success was especially desired for 
the candidate. 
A clan father was rewarded for making the wand by liberal gifts, 
often including a horse. Henceforth he took great interest in the 
lad and considered that the young man’s successes were a source of 
rightful pride to himself, believing he had contributed to the secur- 
ing of the supernatural help without which the young man could 
not have succeeded in life. 
STONE HAMMER SOCIETY SONGS 
The two songs next following are serenades of the Stone Hammer 
Society. . 
93 See p. 36. 
