I2 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
purposes. I have now come to take your life. You are to be used for 
a cradle.” Standing on the south, he cut the stick on the east side, 
then stepping tothe west of the stick, he cut it on the south side. He 
then stepped to the north and cut it on the west side, and then he took 
hold of the stick and made it fall towards the north. He then trimmed 
the sticks and cut them into the proper length. During this time he 
neither sang nor made any noise. Having cut the twenty-four sticks, 
he returned home. He now decorticated the rods, carefully saving the 
bark. He dried and straightened the rods, and if any were too large 
he trimmed them down. The shavings also were carefully saved. The 
rods having been prepared he took them, together with the bark and 
shavings, to the woman he had selected. She took the bark and the 
shavings toward the north and hid them either in a tree or in the 
ground; otherwise the growth and health of the child would have been 
impaired. Returning to her lodge she took up the twenty-four rods, 
prayed to Man-never-known-on-Earth, then to the Moon, that as she 
made the cradle they would help her to make it in a proper manner, 
and that the child might grow rapidly. The sticks were then painted 
red or yellow and were bound together in the form of a flat mat by 
sinew from the back of the neck of a buffalo. As soon as the cradle 
was finished she took it to the parents, and handed it to the mother, 
telling her that she had finished the cradle; that while making it she had 
prayed to the maker of all things and to the moon; and that the moon 
would see to it that the child would grow rapidly and he healthy. As 
soon as the child began to walk the cradle was put aside and kept for 
future use in the same family. A cradle which had served for several 
children in one family, all of whom had been healthy, might be sought 
after by another family, believing that by the use of it their children 
would grow without sickness or any trouble. Should the child die 
during its cradle days the cradle was carried out and placed upon a 
tree, that it might never be used again. 
A single form of burial was recognized among the Wichita. This 
varied slightly, according to the rank of the family of the deceased. 
Immediately after the death of a chief or of any prominent person, the 
parents or near relatives called upon some friend to take charge of the 
funeral. This friend invited three or four to assist him, and together 
they went to the burying ground, always situated on a near-by hill, 
and dug a grave, about four feet in depth. In the meantime the body 
had been bathed by other friends of the family and had been carefully 
dressed in suitable clothing, and the face was painted with the symbols 
which were the especial property of the individual in life. With the body 
