THE BEAR MEDICINE-MAN. 333 
like a drum and then yelling. Sometimes he would see many sparks of 
fire going up. He thought he saw many animals swimming through 
the ponds and coming nearer to him. The boy had this time strange 
sensations running through him. He thought his hair stood up; then 
he fell over and knew no more. 
When he awoke he was sitting by the fireplace. He looked around 
and he saw all kinds of animals sitting in groups in the lodge. The 
Beavers seemed to be the leaders of the medicine-men in this lodge. 
He saw the Magpie sitting on the south side of the entrance. These two 
were the errand people for the lodge. The Magpie then flew up and 
around the lodge. It stopped at the entrance and stood there. This 
was all as the boy had seen it in his dreams. Black mud covered his 
body. A big bunch of Magpie feathers was upon his head. He said to 
the animals: ‘‘My brother feasted with a man who had animal power. 
_ He fed him with scrapings from a buffalo hide. He mixed this stuff 
with white clay and some kind of medicine. When the boy ate this 
there was a little ball of clay formed inhis stomach. That little ball of 
clay has been growing until now it is large.’’ For the first time the boy 
heard this. He felt strangely about his stomach, but had not paid any 
attention to it. The Magpie continued and said: ‘‘Animals, I wait 
upon you. I carry messages for you. I have never asked anything of 
you. To-day I come to you with a poor heart. I ask you to take pity 
upon this brother, so that he may live.” The Magpie sat on a limb near 
the entrance of the lodge. 
When the animals heard what the Magpie said there was great shout- 
ing all over the animals’ lodge. Each animal made a noise, so that there 
was much noise in the lodge. When the noise died away the Beavers 
asked the Magpie what he meant, and the Magpie said: ‘“‘I have told 
you. This boy has a ball of clay in his stomach and that ball is growing 
within him. If that ball of clay is not removed it will continue to grow 
until he will burst and die.’’ Then the Beavers said: ‘‘Animals, we 
have before us a human being. Heisintrouble. Wewill first visit him 
and see if we can remove this ball of clay from him.’”’ There was great 
shouting, much noise and singing. The Beavers went to the boy. They 
jumped over him several times. Then they turned on the boy and 
squirted water all over him. They touched him with their mouths and 
made grunting sounds. After this they went to their places and the 
leader said: ‘‘Animals,it is hard. We can not do anything for the boy.”’ 
All of the animals failed to help the boy. Then they decided that the 
boy should go to another animals’ lodge which was farther up the Platte 
River. The Magpie said, ‘‘I will take him there.” 
