M. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 231

elapse after it has been used one way before attempting another. Menstruating women must not approach or touch the image, for if they incautiously do this they are likely to bleed to death.
Mrs. Carter was urged to explain further, to tell all she knew of the bundle, its origin, uses and the ceremonies con- nected with it. Finally she agreed.
It was started, she said, by her husband’s great-grand- mother, who at the time was mourning the death of her man. Six days she fasted, and on the night of the sixth it seemed as if somebody, some supernatural being, had taken pity upon her, for she was granted a vision in which she was told to go to a certain place at a certain time if she wished to find some- thing that would help her. Going to that place as appointed, she saw what seemed to be a crow flying toward her carrying some object in its claws which it dropped near where she stood. When she ran to pick it up she found it to be this little figure of a man.
She took it home, but never told how she had obtained it, except to the person who afterward became its owner; and thus it was handed down, no one knowing its history but the owner.
During her lifetime she treasured the little figure, and bestowed great care upon it, for which, in return, the Indians say, it gave her good health, helped her in getting a second husband, gave her luck in games of chance — in fact, helped her in anything she wished to do.
Every year, when the grass comes up green in the spring a feast must be held for the image, the date of which must be appointed several days ahead, and new clothes made to put on it as soon as the bundle is open. The specimen bought by the Expedition has been neglected in this respect for a number of years. Anyone the owner wishes may be invited to the gathering, and often quite a crowd assembles. It is said that besides those bidden to the feast one uninvited guest will surely appear, ar.d that this will be someone who is espe-
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232 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV.
daily “proud of himself.” He may not know that he is proud of himself, but the spirit of the doll will call him just the same, and he will come without knowing why, even from a long distance.
When the day arrives a dog is killed or other meat pro- vided and set to cook. Then after the company is assembled and the uninvited guest appears, they open the bundle, sprink- ling it with native tobacco as they untie the cords and expose the image to view. At this point a man known as the Speaker, who customarily makes prayers and speeches at various cere- monies, addresses the fetish as “Ne' nl wa (man) who owns the medidne,” and prays, sprinkling tobacco upon it, “We have now begun. We want you to help us and give us good health and long life. Take care of us while we live. If any of us fall sick, care for them.” This finished, the feasting begins. The best piece of meat is set aside in a bowl for the uninvited guest, and as many others are called upon as there are pieces of meat in the kettle, to help eat the rest. If there are eight pieces they set out one, and call up seven persons to finish the others, but the owner of the fetish is not included — she does not eat of the feast she has prepared.
After the feast comes the singing, four songs sung sitting, to the accompaniment of gourd rattles; then four dance songs are given for the guests to dance. The image is not carried in the dance as among the Delaware, but lies upon its wrap- pings throughout the ceremony, after which it is carefully tied up again.
In case of sickness the owner of the fetish, arriving on the scene, opens the bundle and speaks to it, sprinkling tobacco the while, and begs it to help the ailing one. A piece of broad- cloth or a good blanket or some other expensive piece of goods is then folded and placed on the rack above the sick person or else near his head, and the image laid upon it to remain all night. When the owner comes for her fetish in the morning, she takes the goods upon which it has rested as her fee.
The bundle containing the image should always be kept
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