STEVENSON.] THE KNIFE SOCIETY. 109 



in shape until the smokers were ready. The remaining native tobacco 

 was returned to the old cloth and inxt iu place upon the wall. About 

 the time the boys had finished preparing the cigarettes, the vice- 

 ho'naaite took his seat on his wadded blanket, in front of the cloud 

 bowl and west of the line of meal. The man at the east end of the line 

 dipped his eagle plumes into the ashes, holding a plume in either hand 

 and striking the one held in the left hand on the under side with the 

 plume held in the right, he sprinkled the head of the vicar, who was 

 oft'ering a silent prayer, and at the same moment the song opened to 

 the accompaniment of the I'attle. Previous to the vicar leaving the 

 line, the ho'naaite removed a white fluffy eagle feather from one of the 

 ya'ya, to which it had been attached with a white cotton cord, and tied 

 it to the forelock of the vicar, who put into the cloud bowl the pow- 

 dered root which was to produce the froth ; then dipping the reed into 

 corn pollen he sprinkled the altar. He placed a pinch of pollen into 

 the upper end of the reed, and, turning that into the water, he put a 

 pinch into the other end, and touched the four cardinal points of the 

 cloud bowl with the corn pollen, and made bubbles by holding the 

 hollow reed in the center of the bowl and blowing through it. This 

 operation lasted but a few moments, when he began stirring the water 

 with the reed, moving it from right to left, and ne-ver raising the lower 

 end to the surface of the water, producing a beautiful egg-like froth. 

 Not satisfied with its rising high above the bowl, he did not cease 

 manipulating until the suds had completely covered it, so that nothing 

 could be seen but a mass of snowy froth; fifteen minutes of continual 

 stirring was required to produce this eftect. He then stood the reed iu 

 the center of the froth, and holding an eagle plume in each hand 

 danced before the altar vehemently gesticulating. He dipped suds 

 with his two plumes and threw them toward the altar, with a wild cry, 

 and again dipping suds he threw them over the altar to the north ; a 

 like quantity was thrown to the west, and the same to the south, the 

 east, the zenith, and the nadir. He then dipped a quantity, and 

 placing some on the head of the white bear and putting some over the 

 parrot, he resumed his seat on the blanket and began blowing through 

 the reed and beating the suds. In five minutes he stood the reed as 

 before in the center of the bowl, then, dancing, he dipped the suds, 

 placing them on the head of the bear and over the parrot; he then 

 removed the remaining suds from the plumes by striking one against 

 the other over the bowl (this froth is always referred to by the Sia as 

 clouds). During this part of the ceremony the choir sang an exhortation 

 to the cloud peoples. A boy now handed a cigarette of native tobacco 

 to the vicar, who pufled the smoke for some time, extending the cigar- 

 ette to the north; smoking again, he blew the smoke to the west, 

 and extended the cigarette to that point; this was repeated to the 

 south and east; when he had consumed all but an inch of the cigar- 

 ette, he laid it in front of the cloud bowl and east of the meal line. The 



