hoftman] SACRED SHELL SHOOTING 103 



could appear as active participants. This peculiar movement of walk- 

 ing around the interior, shooting at one another with the medicine bag, 

 and pretending in turn to have been wounded by the kona'pamik, con- 

 tinued for over an hour; suddenly there was an audible wailing sound. 

 as of some one mortally wounded, which caused all but the chief offici- 

 ating mita'"', Shu'nien, and a companion to retire quickly to their seats. 

 It was then discovered that a little girl, who had accompanied her 

 mother to the ceremony, had been accidentally hit by a stray kona'- 

 pamik, shot from a medicine bag by a careless member. The difficulty 

 that now presented itself was to discover the culprit, and as this could 

 be learned only through an apparently difficult procedure by one whose 

 "medicine" was stronger than that of anyone else, it was Shu'nien's 

 duty, as chief medicine man pro tempore, to make the discovery. He 

 called to his side his three chief assistants, with whom he seemed in 

 animated, though serious, consultation. Presently one of them left the 

 structure by the eastern doorway, the others becoming seated. There 

 was a period of profound silence until the messenger returned with a 

 finely embroidered medicine sack, which he delivered to Shu'nien, who 



F!G. 18 — Diagram showing movement of mitii'wok. 



now approached the eastern door, followed by his three assistants, 

 where he began a curious movement, consisting in passing the top, or 

 head, end of the sack up and down and back and forth along each pole 

 and mat of the wigwam, at the same time rapidly uttering the syllables, 

 ho, ho, ho. In this he was joined by his companions, who, together 

 with Shu'nien, crouched forward and kept up a rapid dancing step of 

 hopping alternately on each foot; all of them, furthermore, appeared to 

 watch inteutly the proceedings, as if to discover the hidden kona'pamik 

 and restore it to its proper place. 



This curious, rapid search, accompanied by the grunting sounds, as 

 the medicine bag was made to pass along every possible portion of the 

 structure, continued all along the northern side, around the western 

 entrance, and on the return along the southern side, when suddenly 

 Shu'nien stopped his movement, gazed at his medicine sack, which 

 appeared to be attracted toward a woman who was seated a little apart 

 from the rest, and who was closely enveloped in a shawl. As Shu'nien 

 approached her she threw back the shawl and exposed to view her little 

 girl, who had been wounded. In the child's lap lay the kona'pamik, 

 which the chief seemed eager to secure. Taking it upon the palm of 



