l68 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



had been killed recognized it and said " It is for the good of the 

 people! 



Again the young men were purged and again they went by 

 night, this time under the orders to follow the sound of music to its 

 source. Reaching the lick the voices came as before and the 

 young men said, " Now is the time to go! ' They started and 

 came to a windfall where the path was filled with fallen logs and it 

 was very dark there. After a time they came to a place where 

 they heard the roar of waters and there were two gulfs. Then a 

 big light came singing to follow it. Then the young men said, 

 " Let us go up and down the gulf," and when they went down they 

 found that they could ford the river. And the light began to 

 glow like morning. One warrior was timid and said, " Let us rest 

 for we may encounter great danger here," but the other replied " I 

 am rested," and they went up the mountain. 



The voices seemed very near yet they could not find the singers. 

 At length they reached the top of the mountain and found a large 

 cornstalk, from four to six inches around. Its long leaves swept 

 the ground and kept it smooth and clean. It grew from a large 

 stone and its four roots spread out, one to the east, one to the 

 west, one to the north and one to the south. One warrior said, 

 " It must be this corn that sings. " 



For a time they deliberated and said " The root must be cut. 

 We must have a piece of the root. This must be medicine." 

 They built a fire and offered tobacco incense; then taking an axe 

 they chopped portions of the roots off and the juice was red like 

 blood and immediately the cut ends came together and healed. 



The singing continued and seemed accompanied by a rattle 

 made of a squash. 



The young men with the words of the song ringing in their ears, 

 bearing the saered root started down the incline and all the animals 

 and birds being invisible followed the two virgin men and told them 

 all that was in the medicine. They returned to the camp and the 

 song was called a great blessing. They scraped the root and put it 

 in water and made incense of it. Drinking the mixture they became 

 so strong that they could not be shot though shot at seven times. 



(The holder of the song pauses after the story and then turning 

 to the candidate says) 



" We have this medicine good and strong. We have faith. It 

 is many extracts. For its preservation we sing four times a year. 

 It is the same music. We sing all night and the spirit of the medicine 

 sings with us as it did upon the mountain. 



