any days in the lodge and the
disease at each day's ceremony exuded from his body, it was deemed
necessary that these gods should go to the four points of the compass
and draw the disease from the lodge. When they entered the lodge the
buffalo robe had been spread in front of the song-priest with its head
north. Upon this robe each god knelt on his left knee, Naiyenesgony on
the north end of the robe, Ahsonnutli on the south end, and
Tobaidischinni between them, all facing east. The song-priest, followed
by the invalid, advanced to the front of the line carrying the basket
containing the medicine tubes. He sprinkled Naiyenesgony with corn
pollen, passing it up the right arm over the head and down the left arm
to the hand. He placed the black tube in the palm, of the left hand of
the god, the priest chanting all the while a prayer. The red tube was
given with the same ceremony to Tobaidischinni, and the blue tube with
the same ceremony to Ahsonnutli. The quiver was removed from Ahsonnutli
before she knelt. The song-priest, kneeling in front of Naiyenesgony,
repeated a long litany with responses by the invalid, when the gods left
the lodge led by Naiyenesgony who deposited his tube and stick in a
pinon tree, Tobaidischinni depositing his in a cedar tree, and
Ahsonnutli hers in the heart of a shrub.

SECOND CEREMONY.

The scene was a brilliant one. Long before the time for the dance a line
of four immense fires burned on each side of the avenue where the dance
was to take place, and Navajo men and women clad in their bright colored
blankets and all their rare beads and silver encircled each fire. Logs
were piled 5 or 6 feet high. In addition to these eight fires there were
many others near and far, around which groups of gamblers gathered, all
gay and happy. Until this night no women but those who carried food to
the lodge had been present at any of the ceremonies except at the
initiation of the children. To say that there were 1,200 Navajo would be
a moderate calculation. This indeed was a picture never to be forgotten.
Many had been the objections to our sketching and writing, but
throughout the nine days the song-priest stood steadfastly by us. One
chief in particular denounced the theurgist for allowing the medicine to
be put on paper and carried to Washington. But his words availed
nothing. We were treated with every consideration. We were allowed to
handle the masks and examine them closely, and at times the artis