THE MEDICINE-CHILD AND THE BEAVER MEDICINE. 243 
spread the robe again in the west side of the lodge and put two pillows 
upon it. When his visitors came in he motioned them to take their 
seats. They sat down. The women prepared the meal for them and 
they ate. The old Skidi began to continue his story about the mysteries 
of the medicine-men, and the young man listened. For two nights they 
sat up, andthe third day. Towards the close of the third day the Skidi 
man stopped telling about his mysteries, and he and his wife arose and 
left the lodge and went to their village. The Skidi medicine-man made 
_ several visits to the young man and he continued to tell his story. 
Once he visited the young man and took him presents of a buffalo 
robe, a pipe, eagle feathers, and some other little things. Word was 
sent to the boy that the old man and his wife were againcoming. The 
old man and his wife, upon entering, placed the gifts that they had 
brought to the young man in front of him and said: ‘‘My friend, I have 
come to you this time, and bring these gifts to you. I now wish to hear 
your story, why you, though you are yet young, should know the mys- 
teries of a medicine-man.’’ The young man accepted the gifts and laid 
them to one side. He told the old man to continue his story, as he 
was very much interested. They sat for three days and three nights, 
and upon the fourth day the old man stopped and told the young man 
that he now thought it was time for him to tell him something. The 
young man told the old man that he had no powers whatever; that he had 
not seen any mysteries in the heavens, nor had he been taken into the 
animals’ lodges; that if he had cured people, it must have been through a 
power that he did not know was present with him, for he had no roots 
or herbs to give patients,and that in reality he was not a medicine-man, 
and that he would like very much to have the old man continue. The 
old man was enraged by this turn of things, for he had expected a long 
story that he might learn how the boy had been taken into the animals’ 
lodge, and what powers he possessed. 
On the fourth night, as they were sitting, the old man reached for 
his skunk bag, pulled his pipe out, filled it up, and handed it to the young 
man. The young man lighted the pipe, smoked it, and passed it to the 
old man, who smoked a little and passed it back to the young man to smoke. 
As the young man was emptying the ashes from the bowl of the pipe, he 
fell over for want of sleep. The old man woke the boy. The boy sat up 
and the old man said: ‘‘ Youarenowvery sleepy and tiredout. We shall 
leave you and go home. I am glad we have talked, and some time we 
shall come again to see you.”’ 
The boy lay down by the side of the fireplace with his robe wrapped 
around him. From that time on he felt a peculiar sensation in his 
