214 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 61 



As an introduction to his narrative concerning the sacred stones, 

 Lone Man said: 



Ever since I have known the old Indians and their customs, I have seen that in any 

 great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself. Most 

 people place their dependence on the medicine-men, who xmderstand this life and 

 all its surroundings and are able to predict what will come to pass. They have the right 

 to make these predictions. If as we sit here we should hear a voice speaking from 

 above, it would be because we had the right to hear what others could not hear, or we 

 might see what others had not the right to see because they were not properly qualified. 

 Such are some of the rights and privileges of the medicine-men, and those who desire 

 to know mysterious things must seek their aid. If a man desires success in war or the 

 hunt, or if he wishes to make the greatest of all requests, which is the request for long 

 life, he should make it through a medicine-man, who will give him a charm, probably 

 a root of herb wrapped in buckskin, and he will wear this charm. [See p. 161.] It 

 is not enough for a man to make known his request. There is a way which it has been 

 found best to follow, and that is to make an offering with the request. 



"\Mien I was a young man I went to a medicine-man for advice concerning my future. 

 The medicine-man said: "I have not. much to tell you except to help you understand 

 this earth on which you live. If a man is to succeed on the hunt or the warpath, he 

 must not be governed by his inclination, but by an understanding of the ways of animals 

 and of his natural surroundings, gained through close observation .['] The earth is large, 

 and on it live many animals. This earth is under the protection of something which at 

 times becomes visible to the eye. One would think this would be at the center of the 

 earth [see p. 120], but its representations appear everywhere, in large and small forms — 

 they are the sacred stones. The presence of a sacred stone will protect you from mis- 

 fortune. "[^] lie then gave me a sacred stone which he himself had worn . I kept it with 

 me wherever I went and was helped by it. He also told me where I might find one 

 for myself. Wakag'tagka tells the sacred stones many things which may happen to 

 people. The medicine-man told me to observe my natural surroundings, and after my 

 talk with him I observed them closely. I watched the changes of the weather, the 

 habits of animals, and all the things by which I might be guided in the future, and I 

 stored this knowledge in my mind. 



The medicine-man also told me that the sacred stone may appear in the form of a 

 person who talks and sings many wonderful songs. Among these was the following song, 

 in which the sacred stone says that all living creatures look to him for protection. This 

 and the song next following were composed and used by Ite'-oksaq-lu'ta [Red-Streaked- 

 around-the-Face], a man who dreamed of the rainbow and therefore painted his face 

 with an arch of color. He used red for this arch, as red was his favorite among the colors 

 of the rainbow. 



[ ' In this connection it is interesting to note the following statement by Father De Smet. a native of Bel- 

 gium, who came to America in 1821 and for many years labored as a Jesuit missionary among the Siou.x, 

 writing extensively of their conditions and needs. He says: " Some writers have supposed that the Indians 

 are guided by instinct, and have even ventured to assert that their children would find their way through 

 the forests as well as those further advanced in age. I have consulted some of the most intelligent Indians 

 on this subject, and they uniformly told me that they acquire this practical knowledge by long and close 

 attention to the growth of plants and trees, and to the sun and stars. . . . Parents teach their children 

 to remark such things, and these in their turn sometimes add new discoveries to those of their fathers." 

 (Life, Letters, and Travels of Father P'ierre-Jean De Smet, S. J., edited bj' Hiram Martin Chittenden and 

 Alfred Tall)ot Kichardson, in, p. 1016, New York, 190,5.)] 



[ - The carrying of a sacred stone in order to secure a benefit from its presence is, in the mind of the Sioux, 

 on an entirely different plane from the wearing of a "charm" (iro'tahc). This is one of many instances in 

 which the English language lacks a brief equivalent for the shades of meaning in an Indian language.) 



