MATTHEWS. ] THIRD AND FOURTH GREAT PICTURES. 451 
The plumes of the red shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus var. mexicans) 
are near the bend in the northwest and the tail of the magpie termi- 
nates the northeastern extremity. Throughout the myth, it will be 
remembered, not only is the House of Dew-Drops spoken of as adorned 
with hangings and festoons of rainbows, but many of the holy dwell- 
ings are thus embellished. 
174. The FourtH PIcTURE represents the kaAtso-yiscan, or great 
plumed arrows. ‘These arrows are the especial great mystery, the 
potent healing charm of this dance. The picture is supposed to be a 
fac simile of a representation of these weapons, shown to the prophet 
when he visited the abode of the Tsilké-¢igini, or young men gods, where 
he first saw the arrows (paragraph 47). There are eight arrows. Four 
are in the center, lying parallel to one another —two pointing east and 
two others, alternate, pointing west. The picture is bordered by the 
other four, which have the same relative positions and directions as the 
bounding serpents in the first picture. The shafts are all of the same 
white tint, no attention being paid to the colors of the cardinal points; 
yet in drawing and erasing the picture the cardinal points are duly hon- 
ored. Among the central arrows, the second from the top, or north 
margin of the design, is that of the east; it is drawn and erased first. 
The next below it is the arrow of the south; the third is that of the 
west. The one on top belongs to the north; itis drawn and erased last. 
The heads are painted red to represent the red stone points used; the 
fringed margins show the irregularities of their edges. The plumes at 
the butt are indicated, as are also the strings by which the plumes are 
tied on and the notches to receive the bowstring. 
175. The ground of this picture is crossed with nebulous black streaks. 
These were originally present in all the pictures. I have omitted them 
in all but this, lest they might obscure the details of the reduced copies- 
Tt has been explained to me (although in the myth it is expressly stated 
only in one case, paragraph 40) that all these pictures were drawn by 
the gods upon the clouds and thus were shown to the Navajo prophet. 
Men cannot paint on the clouds, but according to the divine mandate 
they do the best they can on sand, and then sprinkle the sand with 
charcoal,in the manner indicated, to represent the cloudy scrolls where- 
on the primal designs of the celestial artists were painted. 
SACRIFICES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 
176. The sacrifices made to the gods during these ceremonies consist 
of nothing more than a few sticks and feathers, with the occasional 
addition of strings and beads—a form of sacrificial offering common 
among various tribes of the Southwest, including the sedentary Indians 
of the pueblos. During the six days’ work in the medicine lodge and 
the corral, I saw but one lot of these sticks prepared (paragraphs 86,87); 
but I think this lot represented two sets, i. e., sacrifices to two different 
