After the seed has been planted, they leave it and go off after the buffalo.  While away during the summer, some important man—­one of the medicine men who had taken part in the planting—­announces to the people his purpose to go back to look after the crop.  He starts, and after he has reached the place, he builds a little fire in the bed, and offers a prayer for the crop, asking that it may survive and do well.  Then he pulls up one of the plants, which he takes back with him and shows to the people, so that all may see how the crop is growing.  He may thus visit the place three or four times in the course of the summer.

From time to time, while they are absent from the tobacco patch in summer, moving about after the buffalo, the men gather in some lodge to perform a special ceremony for the protection of the crop.  Each man holds in his hand a little stick.  They sing and pray to the Sun and Old Man, asking that the grasshoppers and other insects may not eat their plants.  At the end of each song they strike the ground with their sticks, as if killing grasshoppers and worms.  It has sometimes happened that a young man has said that he does not believe that these prayers and songs protect the plants, that the Sun does not send messengers to destroy the worms.  To such a one a medicine man will say, “Well, you can go to the place and see for yourself.”  The young man gets on his horse and travels to the place.  When he comes to the edge of the patch and looks out on it, he sees many small children at work there, killing worms.  He has not believed in this before, but now he goes back convinced.  Such a young man does not live very long.

At length the season comes for gathering the crop, and, at a time appointed, all the camps begin to move back toward the tobacco patch, timing their marches so that all may reach it on the same day.  When they get there, they camp near it, but no one visits it except the head man of the medicine men who took charge of the planting.  This man goes to the bed, gathers a little of the plant, and returns to the camp.

A small boy, six or eight years old, is selected to carry this plant to the centre of the circle.  The man who gathered the tobacco ties it to a little stick, and, under the tobacco, to the stick he ties a baby’s moccasin.  The little boy carries this stick to the centre of the camp, and stands it in the ground in the middle of the circle, the old man accompanying him and showing him where to put it.  It is left there all night.  The next day there is a great feast, and the kettles of food are all brought to the centre of the camp.  The people all gather there, and a prayer is made.  Then they sing the four songs which belong especially to this festival.  The first and fourth are merely airs without words; the second has words, the purport of which is, “The sun goes with us.”  The third song says, “Hear your children’s prayer.”  After the ceremony is over, every one is at liberty to go and gather the tobacco.  It is dried and put in sacks for use during the year.  The seed is collected for the next planting.  When they reach the patch, if the crop is good, every one is glad.  After the gathering, they all move away again after the buffalo.