432 ON THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE . 
formed round it, about twenty feet in diameter. A young man about commencing his 
career as a warrior, or a leader on the eve of starting with a party against the enemy, 
feels bound to undergo the tortures about to be noticed, in order to secure the aid of the 
Great Spirit in these undertakings. ‘These rites are repeated at different periods when. 
circumstances require their observance. The person under the influence of this supersti- 
tion, usually prepares himself by three or four days of fasting, lying on the ground without 
shoes or covering of any kind, without food or water, and without speaking to any one. 
At the end of this period, he is visited by the medicine-men, who after much incantation, 
make incisions about three inches long and half an inch deep, lengthwise down the back 
opposite each shoulder-blade, through which a stout stick is thrust, and a strong cord 
being attached to the stick, he is drawn up a few feet from the ground by passing the 
cord through a hole in the top of the post, his entire weight being supported by the skewer 
in the back. When suspended in this way, the medicine-men take hold of his feet, and 
running rapidly around, give an impetus to the body so as to wind up the cord, after 
which the devotee, using his feet, could in the same way unwind himself, and thus keep 
himself constantly swinging round by striking his feet on the post. Here he hangs for 
one or two days and nights, until, fainting and exhausted, he is let down by the medicine- 
men. After being liberated from the post, four or five buffalo-skulls are tied to the end 
of the coxd, the stick still remaining in the incision, and he is obliged to drag these skulls, 
a weight of fifty or sixty pounds, over the prairie, with the horns ploughing up the ground, 
and the blood streaming down his back. ‘This is persisted in until the flesh breaks loose, 
or the person fainting, is carried away by his friends. The ceremony being over, food and 
drink are given him, and when fully revived, he is considered in a fit state to undertake 
any dangerous expedition, though he still is compelled to wait, until by favorable dreams 
he is advised of the proper time. Most warriors of note have passed through this ordeal, 
and many have repeated the same several times during their lives. 
Another and scarcely less painful rite is to burn across the breast with a red-hot iron, 
making deep sores, about four inches long, six or eight in number, and about an inch 
apart. Sometimes the burns are made in large circles on the breast, and again on one or 
both shoulders. ‘his actual cautery is very severe, on account of the slow operation of 
the medicine-men, who with smoking and invocation require at least an hour to inflict 
one wound. 
In the spring of 1838, that dreaded scourge of the Indians, small-pox, made its appear- 
ance among the Mandans. By some accident portions of the clothing belonging to one 
of the employés of the Fur Company, who had suffered from the disease on the lower part 
of the Missouri River, were retained on the steamboat, although no appearance of the in- 
fection was visible until the boat arrived at Fort Pierre. Here it broke out amongst the 
