M. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 211

MEDICINE BUNDLES.
Contents. — No attempt was made to tabulate the con- tents of the medicine or charm bundles, because there was too little resemblance between them; but the fact was noted that out of thirteen bundles, all contained charm medicines; eight, magic paint; five, “high-toned medicine” (to be explained later); four, amulets; and four, fetishes.
General Medicine Bundles.
Bundle 2 / 5327 .
From Mecabe'kwa, also known as U. S. Grant (PI. XX, A), who sold ms the first war bundles, we were able to secure a small bundle for general purposes. This the owner called “ Mi ca' dus kwe, ” or “high-toned medicine,” although the “good-will producing” compound generally known by that name forms only part of the contents of the bundle, which also contains medicines for war, gambling and hunting. Mecabe'kwa furnished the following information concerning the bundle.
The account is especially complete, thanks to Mecabe'- kwa, who wanted every detail recorded. It seems a pity that there were not more like him among his people.
This bundle started from a dream or vision a long time ago. A man had painted himself black with charcoal and had fasted as much as ten days when Ge” tci Ma' ni to spoke to him, and told him to get some hawk feathers. Next day he looked for a hawk and found one sitting low. Then he spoke to it and offered it Indian tobacco, telling it that the great Manito had directed him to get feathers. So the hawk let him go up to it and pull one feather from each wing — then
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it flew away. Then he fasted again and was told to get down feathers from under an eagle’s tail. Next day he saw an eagle sitting on a log, gave him tobacco, and told him what the great Manito had said; whereupon the eagle let him take some feathers — then flew away. Similarly, other things were also found for the bundle. When the man went to war he wore the feathers tied on his scalp lock, the hawk feathers and one bunch of down feathers hanging down, the other two bunches of down feathers sticking out crosswise, and these pro- tected him by their power, so that no one could hit him from behind. At such times he used to put red paint on his face from the bundle, four spots on each cheek.
Another time when he was fasting, he had a little house or shelter built of long grass into which a small weasel made its way one day. “Do not hit it!” said the Manito. “Tie it up in a rag.” The man did as directed, but when he had finished fasting and looked in the rag the weasel was dead, so he skinned it and made a little medicine bag at the direction of the Manito, and this he wore when he went to war, hung about his neck. The weasel runs close to the ground, or under it; he is hard to see and harder still to hit. So the man was, when he rode to war with the little weasel hanging from its cord about his neck. The Sioux could not see him — they could only hear his war whoop. That is how the bundle started. Later nine similar bundles or “branches” were made.
The snake rattle in the bundle was once larger, but has been broken off in the course of years. It was tied on the feathers worn in the owner’s hair in battle. Some rattlesnake spoke to him in his fast, and offered to help him, and gave him his tail. Often you cannot see the snake as it lies or moves through the grass. That is how the snake helped him — you could not see the man either.
Some of the songs said by MScabS'kwa to belong to the bundle, in its warlike aspect, were given as follows:
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