HOFFMAN ] 



MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 



77 



with a spot of blue on the forehead, or a vertical stripe or two across 

 the chin. 



When the four medicine men had taken their proper stations and 

 were seated on the mats, the usher brought the goods that had been 

 furnished by the candidate and placed them before Nio'pet, the east- 

 ernmost of the four. The medicine drum was then also placed before 

 Nio'pet, who removed the drum head, wet it, and after putting some 

 water into the drum — to the depth of perhaps 2 inches — he replaced 

 the drum head and 

 tightened it down by 

 means of a cloth-cov- 

 ered iron hoop. Figure 

 10 represents the drum 

 and drumstick. 



The mit;i' v drum dif- 

 fers from that ordi- 

 narily used in dances; 

 it consists of a cylin- 

 drical piece of wood 

 carefully hollowed out, 

 about 16 inches high 

 by 12 inches in diam- 

 eter at the base, gently 

 narrowing toward the 

 top. A piece of raw- 

 hide is permanently 

 attached across the 

 bottom, while the top 

 piece is secured only 

 by means of the iron 

 hoop fitting over it 

 and around the drum. 

 About a quart of water 

 is poured into thedruui, 

 and after the drumhead 

 has been thoroughly 

 softened by soaking, it is tightly stretched across the top and secured 

 by the hoop. 



The drumstick used with the drum consists of a piece of wood curved 

 downward and forward at the front end, so that the point of percussion 

 is but little larger than the tip of the finger. On account of the water 

 in the bottom of the drum, the sound, when one is near by, is merely 

 a series of dull thuds; but on a still night it is audible for the distance 

 of a mile or more. 



While the mita' T was using the drum, the two seated next accom- 

 panied him with rattles, one consisting of a round tin box, the other 

 of a hollow gourd, each with a stick passing through it lengthwise 



Fig. 10—11,. 



i and stick. 



