KADiN] THE PEYOTE CULT 401 



As soon as I arrived (in Nebraska) I met some people who had not 

 joined the peyote eaters and who said to me, '' Your relatives are 

 eating the peyote and they sent for you that you also might eat it. 

 Your mother, your father, and your younger sister, they are all eating 

 it." Thus they spoke to me. Then they told me of some of the bad 

 things it was reported that these people had done. I felt ashamed 

 and I wished I had not come in the first place. Then I said that I 

 was going to eat the medicine. 



After that I saw my father, mother, and sister. They were glad. 

 Then we all went to where they were staying. My father and I 

 walked (alone) . Then he told me about the peyote eating. " It does 

 not amoimt to anything, all this that they are doing, although they 

 do stop drinking. It is also said that sick people get well. We were 

 told about this and so we joined, and, sure enough, we are practically 

 well, your mother as well as I. It is said that they offer prayers to 

 Earthmaker (God)," he said. He kept on talking. "They are 

 rather foolish. They cry when they feel very happy about anything. 

 They throw away all of the medicines that they possess and know. 

 They give up all the blessings they received while fasting and they 

 give up all the spirits that blessed them in their fasts. They also 

 stop smoking and chewing tobacco. They stop giving feasts, and 

 they stop making offerings of tobacco. Indeed, they burn up their 

 holy things. They burn up their war bundles. They are bad people. 

 They give up the Medicine Dance. They burn up their medicine 

 bags and even cut up their otter-skin bags. They say they are pray- 

 mg to Earthmaker (God) and they do so standing and crying. They 

 claim that they hold nothing holy except Earthmaker (God). They 

 claim that all the things that they are stopping are those of the bad 

 spirit (the devil), and that the bad spirit (the devil) has deceived 

 them; that there are no spirits who can bless; that there is no other 

 spirit except Earthmaker (God)." Then I said, "Say, they certainly 

 speak foolishly." I felt very angry toward them. " You will hear 

 them, for they are going to have a meeting tonight. Their songs are 

 very strange. They use a very small drum," said he. Then I felt a 

 very strong desire to see them. 



After a while we arrived. At night they had their ceremony. At 

 first I sat outside and listened to them. I was rather fond of them. 

 I stayed in that country and the young peyote eaters were exceed- 

 ingly friendly to me. They would give me a little money now and 

 then and they treated me with tender regard. They did everything 

 that they thought would make me feel good, and in consequence I 

 used to speak as though I liked their ceremony. However, I was 

 only deceiving them. I only said it because they were so good to me. 

 I thought they acted in this way because (the peyote) was deceiving 

 them. 



