NOL
Sacred bundles of the Sac and Fox Indians

Chapter 51

M. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 229

would make the other Indians give them very good horses as presents.
Or, if one wishes to buy a certain horse whose owner does not want to sell, this medicine will make him change his mind and sell cheap. Sometimes people rub their hands with this medicine just before shaking hands with the person they wish to influence.
Also in the same red pouch was a little calico packet
(C) containing fine light-colored roots called Ne the tel gun pa ma dji tci gun, or “cure for poison,” an important medi- cine chewed and rubbed on the body after using “Mi ca' dus- kwe,” to prevent that powerful mixture from injuring the user, for if a person uses such things without taking proper precautions, he is likely to go insane.
A few bits of root, an empty buckskin packet, some white down and a wampum bead were found in the bottom of the pouch, and are shown immediately above it in the illustration.
Woven sack (M), 3" x 2§", made of buffalo wool yam and ravelings in dark blue, red and yellow. It contained a string 5" long of large black beads (E), at the end of which is a brass thimble in which is hidden a tiny packet of the same magic red paint found in (B). The whole outfit, which is called Ka' pi a, is worn at the back of the woman’s neck, attached to her necklace, to make people “think well of her.” There was also in the sack a little dark-brown rounded lump
(D) , about ¥ in diameter, called simply A' *ki (earth), which is used as a paint while fasting, being put on the face at night to ward off evil influences and give good dreams.
Another woven sack (L), 4j" x 3f", made largely of buf- falo wool yam and native fibre (Indian hemp?), in yellowish red, yellow and blue, held five little packages, two of them (F and G) of parchment-like skin, the remainder (H, I, J) of paper.
F is of oblong form, tied with a string of bark fibre, and contains six hemispherical wooden dice and one ordinary flat bone die, packed in a mixture of white down and down dyed
Digitized by LjOOQle
230 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV.
red. It was noticed that the wooden dice, which are of unusual form, showed a decided tendency to fall with the flat side, which is colored black, down. Still further examination revealed that the whole six had been ingeniously “loaded” by the inser- tion of small pieces of lead on the black side, craftily covered with the black paint. Mrs. Carter would give no explanation of these, but I think they were perhaps kept as charms to influence the dice of everyday use by sympathetic magic. They seem to me to be a little too “raw” for practical use, for they will invariably all fall white side up at every throw, which would cause instant suspicion on the part of the oppo- nent. Of course, I may be mistaken.
The- contents of packages G, H, I and J comprise roots used in gambling, as follows:
1 . The ko wa tho. Fine hair-like roots. A few small pieces left.
2. Mes kwl ja bi hi. Red root.
3. We na ni. Yellow root, woody texture.
4. Tci ka wi. A big black root.
For racing, the roots 1 and 2 are chewed and rubbed on the rider’s quirt in four places, and the horse is Struck four times with this quirt during the race. The rider rubs his thighs with the medicine where they touch the horse, and a foot racer rubs his legs with it.
The women when they gamble with the bowl and dice put a little between their teeth and blow on dice and bowl for good luck when opportunity offers; while in cards the players spit on the cards they plan to use, holding the medi- cine in the mouth.
Roots 3 and 4 are chewed and swallowed to counteract the effect of using the other medicines, which might prove harmful to the user.
This fetish may not be used for two different purposes — as courting and gambling — at the same time. It is necessary to use the poison-curing medicine and allow four days to
Digitized by kjOOQle