KADiN] THE PEYOTE CULT 405 



That night we went to the place where the peyote meeting was to 

 take place. They gave me a place to sit and treated me very kindly. 

 "Well, he has come," they even said when I got there, "make a place 

 for him." I thought they regarded me as a great man. John Rave, 

 the leader, was to conduct the (ceremony). I ate five peyote. Then 

 my brother-in-law and my sister came and gave themselves up. They 

 asked me to stand there with them. I did not like it, but I did it 

 nevertheless. " Why should I give myself up ? I am not in earnest, 

 and I intend to stop this as soon as I get back to Wisconsin. I am 

 only doing this because they have given me presents," I thought. 

 "I might just as well get up, since it doesn't mean anything to me." 

 So I stood up. The leader began to talk and I (suddenly) began to 

 feel sick. It got worse and worse and finally I lost consciousness 

 entirely. When I recovered, I was lying flat on my back. Those 

 with whom I had been standing were still standing there. I had (as 

 a matter of fact) regained consciousness as soon as I fell down. I 

 felt like leaving the place that night, but I did not do it. I was quite 

 tired out. " Why have I done this ? " I said to myself. " I promised 

 (my sister) that I would not do it." So I thought and then I tried 

 to leave, but I could not. I suffered intensely. At last daylight 

 came upon me. Now I thought that they regarded me as one who 

 had a trance and found out something. 



Then we went home and they showed me a passage in the Bible 

 where it said that it was a shame for any man to wear long hair. That 

 is what it said, they told me. I looked at the passage. I was not 

 a man learned in books, but I wanted to give the impression that I 

 knew how to read, so I told them to cut my hair, for I wore it long at 

 that time. After my hair was cut I took out a lot of medicine that I 

 happened to have in my pockets. These were courting medicines. 

 There were many small bundles of them. All these, together with 

 my hair, I gave to my brother-in-law. Then I cried and my brother- 

 in-law also cried. Then he thanked me. He told me that I under- 

 stood and that I had done well. He told me that Earthmaker (God) 

 alone was holy; that all the things (blessings and medicines) that I 

 possessed were false; that I had been fooled by the bad spirit (devil). 

 He told me that I had now freed myself from much of this (bad 

 influence). My relatives expressed their thanks fervently. 



On the fourth night they had another meeting and I went to it 

 again. There I again ate (peyote). I enjoyed it and I sang along 

 with them. I wanted to be able to sing immediately. Some young 

 men were singing and I enjoyed it, so I prayed to Earthmaker, asking 

 him to let me learn to sing right away. That was all I asked for. 

 My brother-in-law was with me all the time. At that meeting all the 

 things I had given my brother-in-law were burned up. 



