1921] BARRETT, THE BLACKFOOT SWEAT LODGE. 7Z 



dwell in huge communal houses, sometimes seventy-five feet long by 

 forty wide, and oval in shape. These buildings are dark, as the roof and 

 walls are covered by a continuous thatch. The walls have no windows. 

 There are two doors, at opposite ends of the house, one for the women 

 and one for the men, who occupy opposite sides of the Ijuilding. Unlike 

 many of their neigh])ors, they do not sleep in hammocks, but on raised 

 platforms, and the dogs are kept tied, night and day, at the foot of the 

 beds of the women. 



The heads of their enemies are taken and preserved by the men as 

 their greatest trophies. When a foeman is slain, his head is severed 

 with a sharp bamboo knife. It is carried home, and then the skull and 

 some of the flesh is removed. The skin is then dipped in a decoction of 

 herbs which are rich in tannic acid, then hot stones or sand are ])laced 

 inside to rapidly shrink the skin. Finally, when it has been reduced to 

 the desired size, it is greased and smoked over a fire made of the wood 

 of a certain palm. 



After some months have elapsed, the possessor of the head makes a 

 feast to free himself of the pollution occasioned by the killing, and after 

 the ceremonies the head is kept as trophy for some time. Then it is 

 generally cast into the river nearb}', though in some tril)es it is preserved 

 to wear on the back on ceremonial occasions. 



THE BLACKFOOT SWEAT LODGE 



By S. a. Barrett'' 



One of the most wide-spread medicine practices among the North 

 American Indian tribes was the use of the sudatory or sweat lodge, in 

 fact it was found in one form or other among almost all of the tribes in 

 the United States. These primitive "Turkish ])aths" are employed for 

 both medicinal and ceremonial purposes, but among most tribes the 

 ceremonial element is by far the more important. It is not uncommon 

 for a white man to witness such a ceremony, but rarely is he invited 

 to participate. While engaged, in company with IMr. George Peter, the 

 Museum's artist, in collecting specimens and data among the Blackfoot 

 Indians of Montana, the writer received such an invitation and passed 

 through a rather novel experience of initiation into a part of the medi- 

 cine pipe ceremony. 



''Director, Milwaukee I'uljlic r^Iiiscuni. 



