oIbrecIts] the swimmer MANUSCRIPT 21 



have caused headache (insolation?). No one could give the reason 

 why the sun causes disease. An explanation is found in a myth 

 where it is stated that the sun causes fever because she hates to see 

 her grandchildren (the human beings) screw up their faces when 

 they look up at her. (Mooney, Myths, p. 252.) 



As une*'ttanori the sun is often called upon to cure disease, 

 however, and she is invariably addressed in the prayers that are 

 recited to ask permission to gather plants and simples. 



The Fire. — We find the fire so closely associated with the sun that 

 their identity could plausibly be surmised, even if there were no actual 

 and definite proof of it. 



The fire but rarely sends disease, and then only because of our 

 disrespectful conduct; throwing the offal of anything we have chewed 

 into the fire results in our being visited with toothache; urinating on 

 the ashes that have been thrown outside exposes us to a disease as 

 the one referred to in Formula No. 4. 



It is often addressed as "our grandparent," opening bis (her?) 

 sheltering arms in affection, and surrounded by us, his (her?) grand- 

 children. Epithets, as "Ancient white," "Ancient red," are often 

 bestowed upon it. The hunter, when returning from a successful 

 trip, never neglected to offer a particle of meat, usually the liver of the 

 animal, to it, but this custom is now well-nigh obsolete. It is unfor- 

 tunately not now possible to ascertain whether this offer was intended 

 for the fire, in its capacity as emanation of une-'tlano'i, or simply as 

 a recompense for the fire's divinatory offices, as the hunter usually 

 consults the fire prior to his departure as to where he will be able to 

 locate and kill game. 



There is only one instance of the fire curing an ailment by its own 

 virtue, viz, where burns and scalds caused by flames are exposed to 

 the fire, "so that the fire should take the pain back," but there are a 

 great many instances where the curing virtue of the fire is relied 

 upon as an additional element in the cure. In all the cases, viz, where 

 the patient has "to be hit" (see p. 62), the medicine man, prior to 

 this operation, warms his hands near the fire. Usually a few live 

 coals are taken from the hearth on a shovel, in a dish, or a flat vessel, 

 and put near the patient; the medicine man warms his hands over these 

 coals before he starts "rubbing the disease away." 



The fire is also generally invoked against all disease caused by 

 "cold-blooded" animals, as the terrapin, snakes, fish, etc. (Mooney, 

 Notes), and also often against complaints caused by Frost, Cold, 

 the Blue Man, etc. 



Another case where the curing virtue of the fire is resorted to 

 is when an infusion, prior to being drunk by the patient, or to being 

 rubbed on his body, is "strengthened" by dropping four or seven live 

 coals into it. 



