MATTHEWS.| CEREMONIES: TREATMENT OF THE PATIENT. 427 
rendered doubly sacred, and put it in their medicine bags. Some took 
portions of the remaining dust from the figures, after the manner of 
the shaman, and applied it to ailing portions of their persons. If the 
devotee had disease in his legs, he took dust from the legs of the fig- 
ures; if in his head, the dust was taken from the heads of the figures, 
and so on. 
108. By the time they were all done the picture was badly marred ; 
yet its general form and some of the details were quite distinguishable. 
Then it became the province of the chanter to completely obliterate it. 
He began with the white god in the east and took in turn the figures 
in the southeast (corn), south, southwest, west, center, northwest, north, 
and northeast. Next, the figure of the rainbow was erased from foot 
to head, and, on his way, the chanter knocked down, with rather vicious 
blows, the plumed wands which stood up around the picture. When 
he came to the round figure in the center he dug up a cup which had 
been buried there. He erased the picture with a long slender wand 
and sang in the mean time, to the accompaniment of the rattling of his 
assistants, a plaintive chant in a minor key, which was perhaps the 
most melodious Indian song I ever heard. All was over at half past 
2 in the afternoon. 
109. Later in the day it was announced that the other akaninili was 
approaching from the north. He could then be observed about a mile 
away in an open plain. As he advanced the sound of his whistle was 
heard. At exactly half past 4 he entered the medicine lodge, where 
the chanter motioned him to a seatin the south. Singing and rattling 
were at once begun and the akaninili was divested of his trappings in the 
. following order: head plumes, beaver collar, necklace, right wing, left 
wing, belt, sash, moceasins. The white paint was removed and pre- 
served as on the former occasion. He was led out of the lodge, where 
he was well washed from head to foot in a hot decoction of the deter- 
gent amolé and dried with corn meal. Two large blood blisters were 
to be seen on the inner aspects of his thighs, brought on by the friction 
of his breechcloth in running. He said that he had run constantly 
when not in sight from our camp, had traveled a long way since morn- 
ing, and was very tired. It seems to be the custom with the akaninilis 
to walk slowly when near camp and to run when out of sight, probably 
to follow the mythic examples of Tla¢escini and Indsiskai. (Paragraph 
63.) 
110, With the toilet of the akaninili the ceremonies of the day ended. 
He returned to the lodge te relate his adventures and get some food. 
During the day visitors arrived occasionally from distant camps. In 
the afternoon there were several young men present, who busied them- 
selves in grubbing and clearing the ground where the corral was to be 
built and the great dance of the last night was to be held. I re- 
mained in the lodge until it was quite late, and I frequently rose during 
the night to see if anything was going on; but the night passed with- 
out event, like the previous one. 
