3 2 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XVIII, 



took the dog's tongue, and, holding it at the tip, touched one 

 side of it, and then the other, to the ground at the southeast, 

 southwest, northwest, and northeast successively; and at 

 last, with a downward movement, touched the tongue against 

 the wooden pins fastening the front of the tent above the door. 

 Then the food was eaten. A dish standing southeast from 

 the fire was first taken and passed to each in the tent, travel- 

 ling in a circle; then the food at the southwest was taken; 

 and so on around the fire until all the food had been passed 

 around. Then friends were called, and the remnants given 

 to them. After the dishes and plates had been taken out of 

 the tent, incense was again burned inside. Then Backward 

 told me to give her the four knives, and a board on which 

 to cut medicine. I took niibaa°tou (hemlock-leaves) and 

 niis6na" (part of a beaver) and cut them fine. Backward 

 took biihtceihina" (a yellow composita) and niaata" (a greasy 

 carrot-like root) and cut them up together. The rest cut 

 up and mixed ni6x" (sweet-grass) with niis6na°, and niaata" 

 with niis&na". This made four kinds of incense. Then Back- 

 ward, with a spoon of mountain-sheep horn, took up the sev- 

 eral incenses and put them into the small bags into which 

 they belonged. Again she put incense on the coals. Then 

 they all painted themselves with red paint and tallow. After 

 that they painted their bags: they touched them with their 

 palms in four places, and then in a spot in the middle of these 

 four, and thereupon rubbed the whole bag with paint. They 

 also painted the stones (used for holding coals for incense) and 

 the pieces of bone (used for marking designs on robes) that 

 were in the bags. The latter two incenses are used when a 

 tent is decorated; the former two, with the stones and bones, 

 when a robe is to be made. They replaced all these things in 

 their bags and closed them. Then Backward told me to give 

 her the cloth goods I had provided. I gave them to her. 

 She touched the ground and put her finger to her tongue; 

 then she rubbed me over with medicine from her mouth. 

 She spit medicine on a piece of the goods, and put it under 

 my dress from below, and, passing it under the dress to my 

 other side, took it out there and laid it down. Then she 



