70 THE OSAGE TRIBE (eth. an\. 36 



shall iilway.s livo to see oUl a,ge. In the morning when tlic mists 

 have cleared away go to yonder river, follow its course until you 

 come to a bond, and tlicrc, in the middle of its bank, you will see me 

 standing in the midst of the winds." 



When morning came the chief followed the course of the river, as 

 the stranger bade him, until he came to a sharp bend, where the 

 waters had washed away the earth, leaving a high bank. The chief 

 looked up and there, in the middle of the bank, he saw the stranger, 

 who was Mo"-ko" Ni-ka-shi-ga,' the Man Medicine {Cucurhita per- 

 ennis). The chief removed from its place the strange man-shaj)cd 

 root, being careful not to break any part of it. As this was the 

 seventh and the last day of his fast, the chief then started toward 

 his home, following the course of the river. He had not gone far 

 when he came to another bend of the stream where there was a high 

 bank. In the middle of it he beheld another root which he examined 

 and found to be of the female sex. The chief carried home these two 

 roots, which afterwards were used to cure bodily ailments. 



For ceremonial purposes a portable shrine was ma<le for these two 

 roots and wi'-gi-es relating to their revelation, but as they did not 

 belong to the gens of the narrator, Wa-xthi'-zhi, he declined to give 

 further details of the ceremonies. 



Old Sho°'-ge-mo"-i" said that Ni'-ka-wa-zhi°-to°-ga's wife had the 

 shrine, but she had given it to Ni'-ka-u-ko^-dsi, and it is supposed 

 that when he died the shrine was buried with him. 



The story of the vigil of the Wa'-tse-tsi chief is given in three 

 wi'-gi-es. The first is entitled No^'-zhi^-zho" Wi-gi-e, The Wi'-gi-e 

 of the Vigil: the second, Ho°'-ga Wa-gthi" Ts'a-ge, The Aged 

 Eagle; the third, Mo-'-^e Wi'-gi-e, The Wi'-gi-e of the Metal. These 

 wi'-gi-es form a part of the ritual relating to the tattooing ceremony 

 and will follow later, but a paraphrase of the story given by the nar- 

 rator is here repeated because it supplies two omissions in the wi'-gi-es 

 presented : 



On the evening of the sixth day of his vigil the Wa'-tse-tsi chief 

 removed from his face the sign of vigil and sat down to rest for the 

 night. While he was yet awake there appeared before him a very 

 aged man, who spoke to him, saying," I have heard your cry and have 

 come to give myself to your people. I am" Old Age. When the little 

 ones make of me their bodies they shall always live to see old age. 

 Wlien morning comes, go to yonder river, and in a bend where the 

 water, sheltered b}- a high bank, lies placid you will iim\ me. Take 

 from my right wing seven feathers. Let your people make of them 

 their bodies aii<l they shall always live to see old age." In the dawn 

 of the morning which was the seventh day of his vigil the chief arose 

 and again put upon his face the sign of vigil. He went to the river, 



' The Omahas also use this root for medicine. See 27th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn.. p. 585. 



