M. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 233

in the best buffalo-hide trunk and taken along when the owner goes away for any length of time, as when the family starts out on a hunting trip. But woe if the owner does not properly care for her fetish! It will not only refuse to help her, but will cause some accident or other harm to come to her or her family.
If the owner wishes to be relieved of it, she must pick out some kinswoman or best friend who will treat it well and not misuse it, and give it to her with instructions as to its use. There is no rule against selling part of each of the medicines in the bundle.
Another account of this same variety of fetish, which shows that the image could be kept and used by a man as well as a woman, was obtained from Pern wa n ta, a Sac and Fox man.
It seems that his grandfather, a long time ago, went out to fast, and remained away ten days. On the tenth a great power (man' i to) spoke to him, and the figure of a little man appeared. “Make one like this,” said the Manito, “and stop grieving. Take good care of it, and you will live a long life. If you ever feel badly or full of grief about anything, open the bundle within which the image lies, and you will receive help.” Hearing this, the faster dried his tears, and washed from his face the black paint, symbol of his fasting. Then, having partaken of food, he carved from wood the little image according to instructions, and prepared some love medicine and other herbs to go with it, and wrapped them up together in the form of a bundle. Such was the origin of one Mi thi' - ni ni, and in similar ways, according to tradition, most of those in use were obtained; the stories of origin and rules for using and caring for the fetish differing but slightly in different cases.
Pern wa" ta said that the love medicine kept with the image is the same as was found with the preceding, called “ka'pia,” which is worn by the women in a little package concealed in a thimble, attached to the bead necklace at the
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234 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV.
nape of the neck, when they dress in their best for some special occasion, and which is said to make people “think well” of them. If a woman wants to make a man love her, she talks to the medicine, mentioning the man’s name, and when she wants to see him, then paints her face with a little of the medicine itself. At the appointed time, it is said, the man is sure to appear. He will stay with her, too, for a long time if she treats him well, but she is obliged to confess to him that she has used the medicine.
If a man sees or hears about some girl he thinks he would like to marry on account of her wealth or other desirable qual- ities, he can get her by the use of this same medicine kept with the Mi thi' ni ni. Even though she has never seen or heard of him before, she will believe him and do what he tells her. He can get this power by saying to the image, “I beg you to make this girl (naming her) believe anything I say and do anything I want.” Then he paints the medicine on his face and goes to see her. No matter if he is a total stranger, the girl will take a liking to him at once.
But a man must actually marry a girl he wins in this way or the medicine will do him a serious injury. He must not deceive her. Besides, if a man tries to leave a woman after winning her with this love medicine, he cannot get away — she will not let him alone.
If a man’s wife begins to go wrong and lead a fast life there is usually a medicine with the Mi thi' ni ni by which he can bring her back. A man owning such an image is likely to have trouble of this sort with his wife, as the presence of the image in the lodge is said to often make the women wild.
With many of these fetishes is kept a preparation which might be called a “witch medicine,” for by its use the owner may kill anyone. To accomplish this the medicine is chewed and placed at the tip of a little pointed stick, with which the owner touches the image on whichever part of the body he wishes to injure, naming the proposed victim as he does so. Immediately the person named begins to have pains in the
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