KADiN] SHAMANISTIC AND MEDICINAL PRACTICES 255 



the old man went to a certain place he would find them. He went 

 and found it was so. 



Tales Concerning Mid.jistega 



Recently the Potawatomi were going on the warpath and a num- 

 ber of other tribes were going along with them. As they were 

 making their preparations they spent the evenings exliibiting the 

 various powers they possessed and which they had obtained during 

 their fasts. 



One day Robert Lincoln's father heard that a Winnebago was 

 going to come and give a grizzly bear dance. Old Lincoln and a 

 tew other Potawatomi decided to go over and watch him When 

 they arrived at the lodge they were told that the name of the Win- 

 nebago was M'tdpstega. They were also told that this Midjistega 

 was gomg to make some gunpowder (in a magical manner) When 

 they heard this, the Potawatomi said that if he could make his 

 teeth protrude from his mouth he might be able to make gunpowder, 

 but that otherwise he could not. 



In the middle of the lodge where this performance was to be held 

 there was a wooden dish fiUed with charcoal near which Midjistega 

 was sittmg. He had beautiful hair and he had marks made by 



. !^ ,1 '". *" ''°™"'' °^ ^'^ ^y*'^ ^"^ ™o"tl^- When the singers 

 in the lodge began to sing for him he ran around the lodge on all 



r'^^^r 1™"'- '^^^'^ ^^ ^"""^ "P t^« '"^^ o'' cJiarcoal and shook 

 It. While doing this he made a noise like a grizzly bear. Then his 

 teeth began to protrude. When he had gone around the lodge four 

 • TT ! ^^^'■^0^1 turned into gunpowder. Then he took a handful 

 of ,t and threw It into the fire and it exploded. The members of 

 the different tribes present took some of it and put it in their war- 

 bundles. It is only a short time ago that a Winnebago war-bundle 

 that was supposed to have some of this gunpowder was stolen. 

 It belonged to a man named Buchanan. 



Old man Lincoln had never seen any Winnebago before this, but 

 he could undei-stand their language and he interpreted aU that 

 mdjutega s^id. The Potawatomi around him asked whether he 

 had learned the language from some of his Winnebago relatives but 

 ne said he had not. 



Mter showing that he could make gmipowder in this way, 

 M^d]^.stega made some plug tobacco. He cut the bark of some 

 walnut trees into the shape of plug chewing tobacco and put it in a 

 white deerskin on top of which was placed a piece of real plug 

 tobacco Then Jlhdpstega said, " Now since I have made gunpowder 



daTc d r ™'''^" "'T ?'"^ '^r''-" ^'"^ ^' *««k '^' bundle and 

 danced around the lodge with it and by the time he had danced 



around the lodge the third time the odor of tobacco became very 



