KADiN] RELIGION 299 



He wanted me to fast all the time. I would therefore, to please him, 

 fast off and on tlirough the winter. The longest I ever fasted at 

 any one time was six days. I was blessed by a yellow snake who 

 lived near Medway, Wis. It was at that place that I fasted one 

 winter. The spirit-snake that lives there blessed me with life and 

 the right to draw bad blood from sick people (i. e., "cup blood"). 

 These blessings are truly efficacious, but after they have been handed 

 down to the next generation they lose their power (unless renewed). 

 That same winter, not long before the begimiing of spring, I fasted 

 again for four days and early on the morning of the fourth day as I 

 was walking along a ravine, crying and putting myself in a "pitiable 

 condition," so that the spirits might take pity upon me, some one 

 came to meet me. Up to tliis time, in spite of all my exertions and 

 fastings, I had not been blessed by any of the spirits. The one who 

 was coming toward me was walking very fast and when I stopped 

 to look at liim I saw that he was a man. His entire body was painted 

 red and he wore an eagle feather on his head and garters around his 

 legs. Wlien he came near to me he said: "Human, I bless you. 

 You may now go home and eat (i. e., break your fast). Every day I 

 will bring the blessing of life to you. This also (I wish to tell you), 

 if you think of me when you are in any difficulty, you will pass 

 through it safely. The sick you will be able to heal through the 

 blessing I give you. I am the Sun. Even if a day is cloudy, then 

 know that I am keeping life for you beyond the clouds." 



HOW Y. FASTED AND WAS BLESSED WITH A WAB-BTJNDLE " 



Our war-bundle is eight generations old. In the beginning my 

 clansmen had no war-bundles. Whenever they had war, they had 

 nothing from which to receive strength. The only powerful posses- 

 sion they had was fire. That was the only thing they carried when 

 on the warpath. Soon they discovered that other clans had war- 

 bundles and that they received them by fasting for them. So 

 K'erex u^'sak'a started to fast for one. He fasted from early 

 autumn until summer and he received a blessing. Then he went 

 to his father and told him, "Father, you told me to fast. Let us 

 now go and see with what I have been blessed." So the old man 

 accompanied his son.'* When the old man got there he found a 

 snake dried and dressed up and standing in an upright position. 

 The snake had long hairs on its back, scattered here and there. The 

 father on seeing it said, "My son, this is really too great. If you 

 accept this and carry it with you on the warpath, you will not leave 

 any human beings alive (i. e., you will always want to go on the 



'" This is the account of the origin of a war-bundle claimed to be eight generations old. 

 '" Evidently the spirit had told him to go to a certain place and that there he would find certain objects, 

 namely, the material objects with which he had been blessed. 



