24 Canadian Record of Science. 



"When the tom-toms ceased to beat, the medicine man se- 

 lected from the line of warriors a brave, who immediately 

 fell out of the ring. With an air of great dignity he parad- 

 ed before the orchestra, reciting his experiences as a public 

 man. These were twofold. He told with accuracy of de- 

 tail how many Blackfeet or hostile Indians he had killed, 

 and how many horses he had stolen, being rated by the rest 

 of the tribe accordingly. In the course of his narrative he 

 frequently adopted the highly tragic vein, and gesticulated 

 freely. He then fell again into the ring, and in a circle 

 they all jumped to the music which had recommenced, mut- 

 tering an indescribable, partially suppressed howl. Such 

 are the attendant circumstances to the great event of the 

 festival. 



All those engaged in the dance were in war paint, even 

 including the women, but no special pattern was followed, 

 and the result was a curious blending of inharmonious 

 colours and unsymmetrical patterns on the same face. 



The object of the Torture Dance is to initiate warriors. 

 The young "bucks" or " squaw-bucks," as they are called, 

 in order to graduate into the class of warriors or " braves," 

 must undergo this ordeal. Before they become initiated 

 they are on a par with the squaw as regards the division 

 of labour, which means that, like the squaw, they have all 

 the menial and heavy work to do, the full-fledged brave 

 merely going on the warpath and stealing horses. 



The young " buck" is in full war paint, and, when his 

 turn comes, is called out by the medicine man, before whom 

 he appears perfectly nude but for a breech-clout about his 

 loins. Stepping to the front near the entrance to the tent, 

 he takes up too small flags or bannerettes, one in each hand, 

 and after a few preliminary facings in the way of extend- 

 ing his arms, advancing towards and retiring from the me- 

 dicine pole, sits down. The medicine men then close in 

 around him, as the rest of the tribe are not allowed to see 

 the incision, and with a sharp knife cut into his breast an 

 inch above the nipple. As our party wore uniforms, we 

 were invited to witness the operation. The knife used on 

 this occasion resembled somewhat a shoemaker's knife, and 



