922 REroRT — 1884. 



traditions say that ' in the third sun (Natose) of the age of the earth, on the day 

 of the Bull of the Hill, the third Napa of Chokitapia, or the plain people (the 

 name of the Blackfeet) when returning from the great river of the south, caused to 

 he erected in the sacred land of the Napas (Alberta district) upon certain high 

 hills of the country, seven sesoators, or sacrificial stones, for religious purposes 

 among his people.' The traditions of the Blackfeet have always pointed to a high 

 hill situated on the south-east side of the Red River, opposite to Handbill, two 

 miles east of Brokenknife ridge, as the site of one of their ancient relics. 



Elevated 200 feet above the surrounding plain Kekip Sesoators (the hill of the 

 Blood Sacrifice) stands like a huge pyramidal mound, commanding an extensive 

 view of both Deer River and Red River valleys. A natural platform of 100 feet 

 crowns its summit. 



At the north end of this platform is the sesoators, a boulder of fine grained 

 quartz ore, hemispheroidal, and hewn horizontally at the bottom, measuring 15 

 inches in height and 4 feet in circumference. Upon its surface are sculptured, half an 

 iuch deep, a crescent moon with a star over it, two small conical basins about 

 2 inches in diameter, one in the centre of the star-like figure, and the other about 

 7 inches, in a straight line with it, and around these hieroglyphic signs resembling 

 those of the Davenport stone and the Oopan altar. Interwoven all over are 

 numerous small circlets, resembling those on the sacrificial stone9 in Mexico. At 

 times of great public necessity or trouble, offerings are made, by deputies of the 

 family clan, the tribe, and in certain emergencies, of the whole nation. The warrior, 

 dressed in war costume, ascends the mountain alone, and awaits the rising of the 

 morning star. When it appears he falls prostrate and prays ; he then lays a finger 

 of his left hand on the stone and cuts it off. He then presents the finger towards the 

 morning star, saying, ' Hail, Epizors ! Lord of the night, hail ! Hear me, re- 

 gard me from above ! To thee 1 give of my blood, I give of my flesh ! Glorious 

 is tby coming, all powerful in battle, Son of the Sun, I worship thee ! Hear my 

 prayer, grant me my petition, O Epizors ! ' He then puts the finger into the basin 

 oil the star-like figure, and having dressed the wound in a neighbouring lake, he 

 returns to the village, where he is received with rejoicings. This sacrifice ranks 

 even above wounds in battle in honour, and is with the red man his Cross of the 

 Lesnon of Honour. 



12. Race Elements of the Malagasy. By C. Staniland Wake, M.A.I. 



An examination was made of the Rev. L. Dahle's arguments in support of the 

 hypothesis that Madagascar was first occupied by East African tribes, who, after 

 being subjugated by Malayo-Polynesian peoples from the East, became mixed with 

 them, forming the present Malagasy ; and that the Hova were later Malay 

 emigrants who took possession of the interior of the island, which had previously 

 been occupied by African tribes. Reasons were given for doubting the African 

 origin of the early inhabitants of Madagascar, particularly the Vazimba, who 

 differed little from some of the other Malagasy, although they may have had 

 a Negrito element. Facts were mentioned to prove that the Vazimba were a 

 numerous people inhabiting the interior of the island, and that the Hova were 

 descended from them, although probably affected by Arab blood. The other 

 Malagasy belong to the same ancient stock as the Melanesiaus, but with the 

 addition of a strong Mongoloid element. 



13. Notes on Researches as to American Origins. By Hyde Clarke. 



The author reviewed the papers which he had contributed on American Origins 

 to the British Association and other societies, and stated the result of his investi- 

 gations in their present development. 



Without entering into any defined statement as to the intercourse between the 

 Eastern and Western hemispheres in the earlier epoch of gesture language, he 

 inferred it from various facts. The ideographs were also of the early epoch. The 

 invention of speech, which took place in the Eastern hemisphere, and was trans- 



