“With wooden tongs, the woman took a large coal from the fire, and laid it on the ground in front of the sacred stem.  Then, while every one joined in singing a chant, a song of the buffalo (without words), she took a bunch of dried sweet grass, and, raising and lowering her hand in time to the music, finally placed the grass on the burning coals.  As the thin column of perfumed smoke rose from the burning herb, both she and the medicine man grasped handfuls of it and rubbed it over their persons, to purify themselves before touching the sacred roll.  They also took each a small piece of some root from a little pouch, and ate it, signifying that they purified themselves without and within.

“The man and woman now faced each other and again began the buffalo song, keeping time by touching with the clenched hands—­the right and left alternately—­the wrappings of the pipe, occasionally making the sign for buffalo.  Now, too, one could occasionally hear the word Nai-ai’[1] in the song.  After singing this song for about ten minutes, it was changed to the antelope song, and, instead of touching the roll with the clenched hands, which represented the heavy tread of buffalo, they closed the hands, leaving the index finger extended and the thumbs partly open, and in time to the music, as in the previous song, alternately touched the wrappers with the tips of the left and right forefinger, the motions being quick and firm, and occasionally brought the hands to the side of the head, making the sign for antelope, and at the same time uttering a loud ’Kuh’ to represent the whistling or snorting of that animal.

[Footnote 1:  My shelter; my covering; my robe.]

“At the conclusion of this song, the woman put another bunch of sweet grass on a coal, and carefully undid the wrappings of the pipe, holding each one over the smoke to keep it pure.  When the last wrapping was removed, the man gently grasped the stem and, every one beginning the pipe song, he raised and lowered it several times, shaking it as he did so, until every feather and bit of fur and scalp hung loose and could be plainly seen.

“At this moment the sick woman entered the lodge, and with great difficulty, for she was very weak, walked over to the medicine woman and knelt down before her.  The medicine woman then produced a small bag of red paint, and painted a broad band across the sick woman’s forehead, a stripe down the nose, and a number of round dots on each cheek.  Then picking up the pipe stem, which the man had laid down, she held it up toward the sky and prayed, saying, ’Listen, Sun, pity us!  Listen, Old Man, pity us!  Above People, pity us!  Under Water People, pity us!  Listen, Sun!  Listen, Sun!  Let us survive, pity us!  Let us survive.  Look down on our sick daughter this day.  Pity her and give her a complete life.’  At the conclusion of this short prayer, all the people uttered a loud m-m-m-h, signifying that they took the words to their hearts.  Every one now commenced the pipe song, and the medicine woman passed the stem over different parts of the sick woman’s body, after which she rose and left the lodge.