be in the way
of the others. "Tzitz hanutsh," said he in closing, alluding to his own
performances, "has saved the tribe; it has done its duty. Now we will go
and see whether our brethren and sisters are still alive; and in case we
find them, seek for another spot where there will be sufficient room for
all."

Every one present did not understand these words; but the members of the
council knew to what the young man was alluding, and they bowed their
heads in shame. Even the Hishtanyi Chayan felt the reproach, for he knew
that it was partly his fault, since had he followed the hint dropped by
Topanashka, and his own first impressions, all might have taken a
different turn. He did not therefore insist any longer, and did not even
think it advisable to invoke the will of Those Above in aid of his
personal desire. His silence determined the people of the Rito, for they
took it for granted that the higher powers approved of Hayoue's
resolution to leave.

It may seem strange that the Chayan did not insist upon consulting the
Shiuana first, for Hayoue would have been compelled to abide by their
final decision. Here the question arises how far the Indian shaman is
sincere in his oracular utterances,--how much of his decisions is
honest error, and how much of his official acts may be deception or
mere jugglery.

In most cases of importance the shaman is honest. He really believes
that what he says is the echo from a higher world. This firm belief is
the fruit of training; and the voices he hears, the sights he sees when
alone with Those Above are the products of honest hallucination. His
training and the long and painful discipline he undergoes in rising from
degree of knowledge to degree of knowledge, the constant privations and
bodily and mental tortures, prepare him for a dreamy state in which he
becomes thoroughly convinced that he really is a medium. As such he
speaks in council, and he is most thoroughly satisfied that what he says
is the truth. Of course there are among them some who are rogues, who
profit by the credulity of others, and who even invent tricks in order
to fasten their authority upon the people in an illegitimate manner.
These tricks themselves are not performed in the majority of cases as
conscious sleight of hand. They may have been such at their inception,
but their origin has been forgotten by subsequent generations, and
nothing has remained but the bare wonderful, inexplicable fact of their
perfo