m-BRECHTs] THE SWIMMER MANUSCRIPT 93 



distinctive trait at all, I found most of them rather less slovenly 

 dressed than the lay members of the tribe. Occasionally, one of 

 them will cling to some archaic bit of garment or other, such as a pair 

 of moccasins, a cloth turban, etc. 



As to the attitude of the people toward the medicine men, this ^vill 

 to a considerable extent depend on the character of the latter. As a 

 rule they are not feared, unless they profess to be, or are reputed to 

 be Dt-'Dane-'s8Gf'ski (see p. 87), these being shunned and avoided as 

 far as possible. 



The esteem in which the others are held depends chiefly on their 

 professional skill, and on their social intercourse. Such medicine 

 men as yo-'no'' Ga^le-'oi ("the bear, he is clunbing") who was Del.'s 

 father, and Og. and W.'s brother, and who died about a score of years 

 ago, actually managed to be respected and loved by his people, as in 

 our villages an old clergyman or a devoted physician might be. Og. 

 himself was held in no smaller consideration. But there are others I 

 know who are looked upon with very different feelings and whose 

 services would be called upon only in cases of utmost emergency. 



Professional Ethics 



Under this caption there are to be discussed mainly two aspects of 

 the medicine men's profession — their sincerity, and what might be 

 called "their desire to serve." 



As to the former, I found them as a whole convinced of what they 

 profess and teach. They practice fervently what they believe and 

 treat themselves and the members of their own family by the same 

 methods and means as they do their patients. 



As far as sleight of hand is concerned, there are after all only four 

 ceremonies where this is possible: When examining with the beads, 

 when divining with the brown rock, when sucking, when scratching 

 -with the snake tooth. 



In the first and in the last case I hardly think that the slight 

 movements of the beads (see p. 132) or of the snake tooth ^'^ (see p. 70) 

 should be explained by legerdemain. The tension under which the 

 medicine man is laboring, together with a considerable dose of auto- 

 suggestion, are doubtlessly sufficient to bring about the "manifesta- 

 tions of life" they pretend to feel. 



As for the divination with the brown rock, matters seem to be 

 different. This mode of divination is usually resorted to when an 

 object, an animal, or even a person has been lost. A small fragment 

 (about the size of a thimble) of wo'ni' (i. e., "reddish-brown"), 

 hematite, is tied to a thread or a bit of yarn about 30 centimeters 



^5 The medicine man pretends that the snake tooth, prior to being scratched 

 with, "becomes alive," as is evinced by its twitching and trembling between the 

 fingers of the practitioner. 



