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(Ebook PDF) Managing Sport Events 2nd Editionpdf Download

The document is a comprehensive overview of the second edition of 'Managing Sport Events', which serves as a resource for individuals involved in sport event management. It covers essential topics such as planning, marketing, risk management, and post-event evaluation, integrating practical skills with theoretical knowledge. The textbook is designed for students and professionals in the sport industry, providing insights and tools necessary for successful event management.

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100% found this document useful (4 votes)
21 views43 pages

(Ebook PDF) Managing Sport Events 2nd Editionpdf Download

The document is a comprehensive overview of the second edition of 'Managing Sport Events', which serves as a resource for individuals involved in sport event management. It covers essential topics such as planning, marketing, risk management, and post-event evaluation, integrating practical skills with theoretical knowledge. The textbook is designed for students and professionals in the sport industry, providing insights and tools necessary for successful event management.

Uploaded by

hekemobyrdy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Distribution
Event Promotion
Sales
Creating Community Support
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 7 Media Relations and Promotion


Symbiotic Relationship: Working Together to Achieve
Greatness
The Critical Rs of Media Relations
Differentiating the Promotional Mix From the Marketing
Mix
Promotional Tools
Social Media: Connecting Through Connectivity
Evaluating Success
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 8 Contract Considerations


Contract Law 101
Types of Contracts
Tips for Negotiating Contracts
An Attorney’s Perspective on Contracts: Neil Braslow, JD
Federal Legislation
Technology and Contracts
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 9 Risk Management and Negligence


Risk Management Process
Risk Management Planning
Threats to Events
Crowd Control
Crowd Management Plans
Negligence
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 10 Event Staffing


Organizational Chart

8
Identifying Necessary Staff
Scheduling Staff
Considering Outsourcing Staff
Managing and Motivating Staff
Personal Management Style and Effective Leadership
Management Meetings
Communicating With Staff
Volunteers
Team Building
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 11 Event Services and Logistics


Event Timeline
Event Registration
Ticket Sales
Food and Beverage Operations
Hospitality Services
Waste Management Services
Custodial Services
Transportation Services
Lighting
Vendor Relationships
Event Facility Selection
Customer Service
Awards Ceremonies
Summary
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 12 Event Day Management


Managing Event Day
Easily Missed Details
Event Day Tools
Managing Staff
Managing Spectators
Managing Participants
Managing Sponsors
Customer Service
Event Day Technologies
Summary

9
Learning Activities

CHAPTER 13 Postevent Details and Evaluation


Postevent Promotions
Postevent Media Coverage
Sponsor Follow-Up
Postevent Debriefing
Event Evaluation
Evaluating Outcomes and Objectives
Measuring Economic Impact
Summary
Learning Activities

Glossary
References
Index
About the Authors

10
PREFACE

To have a successful career in sport, it is important to have some proficiency in


sport event management because just about everyone involved in sport will be
engaged in planning, promoting, or managing a sporting event at one time or
another. Sport event management is unique among the many areas of sport
management in that it integrates various areas of the sport industry, including
marketing, sponsorship, budgeting, risk management, and personnel management.
In addition, running a sporting event requires the skills to plan, organize, lead, and
communicate. Users of this textbook should be able to demonstrate an
understanding of event management principles unique to sport.
Managing Sport Events is written for those who are either working in or
aspiring to work in the sport industry. One does not necessarily need to be working
in event management per se; everyone working with sporting events should be able
to draw something from this text, which is designed to familiarize readers with the
principles and practices related to effective event management. It approaches sport
event management from a practical standpoint, integrating theory to support
suggestions for practice, and it takes readers through the entire process of
organizing events, from conception through postevent evaluation.

Scope of the Book


Managing Sport Events covers a wide variety of competitions, from local
grassroots events such as a youth soccer tournament to mega-events such as the
Olympic Games. The reader should be able to glean relevant information that
applies to events large and small, local and international. Further, the text accounts
for the various purposes that events serve (e.g., competition, revenue, tourism,
promoting a cause) and for the various stakeholders that sporting events may serve
(e.g., athletes, governing bodies, sponsors, communities).This book is a resource
for anyone involved in sporting events, whether in a parks and recreation
department or in high school, college, amateur, minor league, professional, or
international sports.

11
Organization
Each chapter begins with a profile of an industry professional, in the form of an
interview. These profiles give an insider’s perspective into the concept being
discussed. Each chapter then covers key sport event management principles;
relevant examples from the sport industry are woven into each principle to
illustrate how it applies in practice. Finally, each chapter ends with learning
activities that apply what has been learned in the text. Numerous checklists,
templates, and worksheets are provided throughout the book to illustrate tools that
can be used to successfully plan and implement events. Boldfaced terms and an
end-of-book glossary highlight key terms.
Managing Sport Events covers the main topics necessary to plan, organize,
implement, and evaluate an event. The book opens with an overview of the sport
event industry and a chapter that educates readers on how to conceive and develop
an event. The chapters that follow cover key planning areas such as bidding,
budgeting, marketing, promotion, sponsorship, and legal concerns and risk
management. These chapters illustrate how different disciplines within sport
management apply specifically to planning sporting events. Key operational areas
such as staffing, event services and logistics, and event-day management are then
presented to encompass what happens during the event itself. The final chapter
discusses what needs to happen after the event.

Updates to the Second Edition


The second edition includes several important additions. To keep up with the
changing sport event landscape, new sections and real-world examples related to
key issues such as project management, event management technologies, social
media usage, and sustainability have been added throughout. To increase the
book’s scope, more examples related to recreational and small-scale events have
also been incorporated. The end-of-chapter activities have been revised to focus
more on practical skills and critical thinking. Each chapter also includes a case
study based on actual sporting events, ending with a section designed to challenge
readers to apply theory to practice. New profiles of industry professionals are also
included. These profiles are designed to add a practitioner’s perspective to the
chapter and reinforce the concepts within.

Benefits of the Book


Managing Sport Events is intended for practitioners within the sport industry as
well as for students preparing to enter the industry. It provides a strong conceptual,
theoretical, and practical basis for understanding the sport event industry and for
selecting, planning, implementing, and evaluating a sporting event. The textbook

12
helps the reader better understand the conceptual aspects of a sporting event that
form the basis of how the event will ultimately be run. Conceptual skills are vitally
important to all managers, especially event planners, and help to differentiate top-
level managers from middle- and staff-level managers and leaders.

Students
This textbook is written with the understanding that the primary audience will be
undergraduate students, the majority of whom are studying sport management.
However, the text is also applicable to students in any discipline of study who
desire to learn more about the nuts and bolts of selecting, planning, implementing,
and evaluating an event. Students interested in areas such as hospitality,
entertainment, physical education, business, and nonprofit or public administration
may also find the textbook useful.
Event management is an important course for almost every sport management
program. More importantly, employers within the sport industry expect students to
enter the field as young professionals with an understanding of event management
and possessing the necessary skills to immediately engage in event production.
Although not every student will have the title of event planner, every student
within the sport industry will most likely be engaged in some type of event
planning, even if it is only a meal function at your place of business. Our hope is
that this will not be one of those books that students buy and sell back at the end of
the semester. Instead, this text should serve as a continual resource as they
graduate and enter the industry.
The web resource is a tool that students will find useful. Each chapter contains
additional case studies with multiple-choice questions that provide immediate
feedback. Each chapter also includes a key terms learning activity and a list of
internet resources so that students can practice defining key terms and further
explore examples discussed in the book. The web resource is available at
www.HumanKinetics.com/ManagingSportEvents.

Professors
This textbook will assist faculty in teaching important practical and conceptual
issues in the context of sport event management. These are important concepts that
add to conceptual and cognitive skill development in each student. At the same
time, the authors of the book recognize the practical nature of event management.
We have extensive experience within the industry in the area of event
management, and because we are also current faculty, we understand the
challenges of bringing fresh and relevant practical material into the classroom.
Handy resources such as an instructor guide, test package, and PowerPoint
presentation are included in the package for professors; these ancillaries are
available at www.HumanKinetics.com/ManagingSportEvents. Specific instructions

13
are provided should the faculty member want to engage the students in the process
of putting on an actual event. Chapters are organized to follow the process of
staging an event, and all chapters contain learning activities to assist the faculty
member in engaging students. Each chapter summary offers a review of key
concepts. Furthermore, each chapter provides a short biography of a current
industry professional to assist professors in experiential learning by using case
studies.

Current Industry Professionals


This text serves as an important resource for those currently working within the
sport industry who may need a refresher course in event management. Those
needing additional training or going back for a graduate degree will also find the
textbook helpful. In addition, the text is useful as an independent study and as a
resource for writing industry reports or proposals. It will help industry
professionals brush up on key definitions and is a refresher for key theoretical
concepts. All sport industry professionals should keep this text on their bookshelf
because of its practical nature.

Need for the Book


Most of us who attend an event do so as an invitee, not fully understanding the
vastness of what it takes to host an event. Managing Sport Events provides a
comprehensive look at what it takes to produce a successful event from conception
to fruition to evaluation. As a dynamic field, sport management encompasses
traditional business segments (administration, finance, and marketing) requiring
expertise. The uniqueness of the sport industry must be understood and applied to
event management. This book marries the business side with the unique traits of
sport to provide a fresh perspective on event management.
Marketing, risk management, staffing, budgeting, and sponsorship are just a few
areas of concern for event managers. Being knowledgeable about these topics and
the role each plays in the bigger picture is imperative for today’s sport
management students. This book provides a distinctive perspective on the how-to
aspects of sport management and its intricacies. The years of experience expressed
throughout this book and the industry profiles found in each chapter offer readers
great perspectives and real-life examples to contemplate and critically analyze.
Many textbooks focus on a single aspect of the sport management field, such as
sport marketing, sport finance, or sport media relations, but this text represents an
inclusive look at event management and how those individual aspects work
together to provide a strong foundation for students considering careers in this
segment of the industry. We have taken great effort to address all pertinent areas of
event management. Upon completion of this course, readers will have a

14
comprehensive knowledge of event management and will be prepared to accept the
challenges of the field.

15
ACCESSING THE WEB
RESOURCE

Throughout Managing Sport Events, Second Edition, you will notice references to
a web resource. This online content is available to you for free upon purchase of a
new print book or an ebook. All you need to do is register with the Human Kinetics
website to access the online content. The following steps explain how to register.
The web resource offers learning activities that focus on key term comprehension,
additional case studies with practice questions, and internet resources for each
chapter. We are certain you will enjoy this unique online learning experience.

Follow these steps to access the web


resource:
1. Visit www.HumanKinetics.com/ManagingSportEvents.
2. Click the second edition link next to the corresponding second edition book
cover.
3. Click the Sign In link on the left or top of the page. If you do not have an
account with Human Kinetics, you will be prompted to create one.
4. After you register, if the online product does not appear in the Ancillary
Items box on the left of the page, click the Enter Pass Code option in that
box. Enter the following pass code exactly as it is printed here, including
capitalization and all hyphens: GREENWELL-Q4LAG-WR
5. Click the Submit button to unlock your online product.
6. After you have entered your pass code the first time, you will never have to
enter it again to access this online product. Once unlocked, a link to your
product will permanently appear in the menu on the left. All you need to do
to access your online content on subsequent visits is sign in to
www.HumanKinetics.com/ManagingSportEvents and follow the link!

Click the Need Help? button on the book’s website if you need assistance along the

16
way.

17
CHAPTER 1
Understanding the
Sport Event Industry
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After completing the chapter, the reader should be able to do the
following:
Appreciate the role of sporting events from a historical perspective.
Identify various types of sporting events.
Recognize the employment opportunities in sport event management
and the skills and knowledge necessary for success within the
industry.
Compare and contrast sporting events versus nonsporting events.

18
Understand the relationship of sport event management to sport
facility management and sport tourism.

19
INDUSTRY PROFILE
Al Kidd, National Association of Sports Commissions
Al Kidd is President and CEO of the National Association of Sports
Commissions, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kidd taught in Ohio and
in Utah before entering the advertising world. His career eventually
led him to San Diego, with several positions in advertising and
venture capital investing. Starting in 2003 and continuing into
2011, Kidd helped with the financial turnaround of the San Diego
Hall of Champions sports museum. As president of the San Diego
Sports Commission, he led a merger effort to consolidate a
number of the professional, collegiate, nonprofit sports
organizations and governmental agencies under one roof to
acquire and service sports events in San Diego. Most recently, he
has served as a partner with BoldPointe Partners, a private equity
firm specializing in middle market companies.
What is the mission of the National Association of Sports
Commissions (NASC)? What else can you tell us about the
organization?
The mission of the NASC is to be the essential resource and
leading advocate for the sports events and tourism industries. We
educate, advocate for, inform, and provide resources to our
members to generate economic growth, create jobs, and to
promote sports participation. We do so to enhance the quality of
life through sports events and tourism.
As regards the composition of the association, we currently
have 550 destinations as members: convention and visitors
bureaus (CVBs), chambers of commerce, state associations, and
sports commissions; 85 are industry partners (e.g., lodging
industry, event services companies); 180 are rights holders
(anyone who owns an event, e.g., NCAA, USOC). Of these 550
destinations, only 90 are true sports commissions (i.e., a
freestanding incorporated business and not a division of a CVB).
The trend line is consolidation of freestanding sports commissions
into CVBs.
It is our goal to EARN the respect of our members every day
through our four key pillars of excellence:
Education: Gain knowledge of industry trends and best
practices.
Advocacy: Be represented on national issues and initiatives

20
related to the sports events and tourism industry.
Resources: Access industry leading information, analysis, and
trends you need to know to better conduct your business.
Networking: Reach a network of more than 2,000 sports events
and tourism professionals.
Most of our efforts in the past focused on providing
programming for sports commissions. Today, we focus on meeting
the needs of all of our members (i.e., rights holders, industry
partners, destinations, and sports commissions). We have
opportunities to provide educational programming for all of these
categories. We have recently added an event called the 4S
Summit, a two-and-a-half-day educational symposium that
emphasizes the four core activities of all of our members: strategy,
sponsorship, sales, and servicing. We have also added a chief
executive summit, open to a limited number of attendees, that
delivers high-level content providing an up close and intimate
perspective about the issues facing sport and recreation with our
association top-level leadership. Finally, we also run a women’s
summit focusing on women’s issues that takes place in
conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four Championship.
How large is the sport event industry and how do you
measure economic impact?
Having just completed our annual study, we project the youth pay-
to-play sports tournament segment to be approximately $11.8
billion. Not captured in this number are the many facets of youth
sport, which have led to hundreds or thousands of jobs across the
United States, including everything from league administrators and
coaches to clinicians and physical therapists. The business has
created financial opportunities for municipalities to create new
facilities, thus creating construction jobs, an increased tax base,
and increased earned media.
In terms of economic impact measurement, a variety of tools
have been available in the market with no real consistency among
them. We have combined our resources with other organizations
in order to offer sport modules that are far more robust,
customizable, and detailed than ever before. Economic impact
reporting has always been an imperfect analysis. However,
combining the resources of the market segments that desire
metrics with all the major tourism associations in the sport, CVBs,
and facilities industries, produces a very consistent and detailed
reporting module. Traditionally, measurement of economic impact

21
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that that deity also had power over the crops or summer vegetation, for it is
at the time of year when lightning is most prevalent that these come to
fruition. Again, the serpent would through this association with the war-god
attain a significance in the eye of warriors, who would regard it as powerful
war-physic. Thus, the horn of the great Prince of Serpents, which was
supposed to dwell in the Great Lakes, was thought to be the most potent
war-charm obtainable, and priests or medicine-men professed to have in
their possession fragments of this mighty talisman.

The Algonquins believed that the lightning was an immense serpent


vomited by the Manito, or creator, and said that he leaves serpentine twists
and folds on the trees that he strikes. The Pawnees called the thunder "the
hissing of the great snake."

In snake-charming as a proof of magical proficiency, as typifying the


lightning, which, as the serpent-spear of the war-god, brings victory in
battle, and in its agricultural connexion, lies most of the secret of the
potency of the serpent symbol. As the emblem of the fertilizing summer
showers the lightning serpent was the god of fruitfulness; but as the
forerunner of floods and disastrous rains it was feared and dreaded.

Serpent-Worship

Probably more ponderous nonsense has been written about the worship
of reptiles ('ophiolatry,' as the mythologists of half a century ago termed it)
than upon any other allied subject. But, this notwithstanding, there is no
question that the serpent still holds a high place in the superstitious regard
of many peoples, Asiatic and American. As we have already seen, it
frequently represents the orb of day, and this is especially the case among
the Zuñi and other tribes of the southern portions of North America, where
sun-worship is more usual than in the less genial regions. With the Red Man
also it commonly typified water. The sinuous motion of the reptile
sufficiently accounts for its adoption as the symbol for this element. And it
would be no difficult feat of imagination for the savage to regard the
serpent as a water-god, bearing in mind as he would the resemblance
between its movement and the winding course of a river. Kennebec, the
name of a stream in Maine, means 'snake,' and Antietam, a creek in
Maryland, has the same significance in the Iroquois dialect. Both
Algonquins and Iroquois believed in the mighty serpent of the Great Lakes.
The wrath of this deity was greatly to be feared, and it was thought that,
unless duly placated, he vented his irascible temper upon the foolhardy
adventurers who dared to approach his domain by raising a tempest or
breaking the ice beneath their feet and dragging them down to his dismal
fastnesses beneath.

The Rattlesnake

The rattlesnake was the serpent almost exclusively honoured by the Red
Race. It is slow to attack, but venomous in the extreme, and possesses the
power of the basilisk to attract within reach of its spring small birds and
squirrels. "It has the same strange susceptibility to the influence of rhythmic
sounds as the vipers, in which lies the secret of snake-charming. Most of the
Indian magicians were familiar with this singularity. They employed it with
telling effect to put beyond question their intercourse with the unseen
powers, and to vindicate the potency of their own guardian spirits who thus
enabled them to handle with impunity the most venomous of reptiles. The
well-known antipathy of these serpents to certain plants, for instance the
hazel, which, bound around the ankles, is an alleged protection against their
attacks, and perhaps some antidote to their poison used by the magicians,
led to their frequent introduction in religious ceremonies. Such exhibitions
must have made a profound impression on the spectators and redounded in
a corresponding degree to the glory of the performer. 'Who is a manito?'
asks the mystic Meda Chant of the Algonkins. 'He,' is the reply, 'he who
walketh with a serpent, walking on the ground; he is a manito.' The intimate
alliance of this symbol with the mysteries of religion, the darkest riddles of
the Unknown, is reflected in their language, and also in that of their
neighbours, the Dakotas, in both of which the same words manito, wakan,
which express the supernatural in its broadest sense, are also used as terms
for this species of animals! The pious founder of the Moravian
Brotherhood, the Count of Zinzendorf, owed his life on one occasion to this
deeply rooted superstition. He was visiting a missionary station among the
Shawnees, in the Wyoming valley. Recent quarrels with the whites had
unusually irritated this unruly folk, and they resolved to make him their first
victim. After he had retired to his secluded hut, several of the braves crept
upon him, and, cautiously lifting the corner of the lodge, peered in. The
venerable man was seated before a little fire, a volume of the Scriptures on
his knees, lost in the perusal of the sacred words. While they gazed, a huge
rattlesnake, unnoticed by him, trailed across his feet, and rolled itself into a
coil in the comfortable warmth of the fire. Immediately the would-be
murderers forsook their purpose and noiselessly retired, convinced that this
was indeed a man of God."[6]

[6] Brinton, Myths of the New World, pp. 131-133.

The Sacred Origin of Smoking

Smoking is, of course, originally an American custom, and with the


Indians of North America possesses a sacred origin. Says an authority upon
the barbarian use of tobacco:[7]

[7] Schoolcraft, op. cit.

"Of the sacred origin of tobacco the Indian has no doubt, although
scarcely two tribes exactly agree in the details of the way in which the
invaluable boon was conferred on man. In substance, however, the legend is
the same with all. Ages ago, at the time when spirits considered the world
yet good enough for their occasional residence, a very great and powerful
spirit lay down by the side of his fire to sleep in the forest. While so lying,
his arch-enemy came that way, and thought it would be a good chance for
mischief; so, gently approaching the sleeper, he rolled him over toward the
fire, till his head rested among the glowing embers, and his hair was set
ablaze. The roaring of the fire in his ears roused the good spirit, and,
leaping to his feet, he rushed in a fright through the forest, and as he did so
the wind caught his singed hair as it flew off, and, carrying it away, sowed it
broadcast over the earth, into which it sank and took root, and grew up
tobacco.

"If anything exceeds the savage's belief in tobacco, it is that which


attaches to his pipe. In life it is his dearest companion, and in death is
inseparable; for whatever else may be forgotten at his funeral obsequies, his
pipe is laid in the grave with him to solace him on his journey to the 'happy
hunting-ground.' 'The first pipe' is among the most sacred of their traditions;
as well it may be, when it is sincerely believed that no other than the Great
Spirit himself was the original smoker.

"Many years ago the Great Spirit called all his people together, and,
standing on the precipice of the Red Pipe-stone Rock, he broke a piece from
the wall, and, kneading it in his hands, made a huge pipe, which he smoked
over them, and to the north, south, east, and west. He told them that this
stone was red, that it was their flesh, that of it they might make their pipes
of peace; but it belonged equally to all; and the war-club and the scalping-
knife must not be raised on this ground. And he smoked his pipe and talked
to them till the last whiff, and then his head disappeared in a cloud; and
immediately the whole surface of the rock for several miles was melted and
glazed. Two great ovens were opened beneath, and two women (guardian
spirits of the place) entered them in a blaze of fire; and they are heard there
yet, and answer to the invocation of the priests, or medicine-men, who
consult them on their visits to this sacred place.

"The 'sacred place' here mentioned is the site of the world-renowned


'Pipe-stone Quarry.' From this place has the North American Indian ever
obtained material for his pipe, and from no other spot. Catlin asserts that in
every tribe he has visited (numbering about forty, and extending over
thousands of miles of country) the pipes have all been made of this red
pipe-stone. Clarke, the great American traveller, relates that in his
intercourse with many tribes who as yet had had but little intercourse with
the whites he learned that almost every adult had made the pilgrimage to the
sacred rock and drawn from thence his pipe-stone. So peculiar is this
'quarry' that Catlin has been at the pains to describe it very fully and
graphically, and from his account the following is taken:

"'Our approach to it was from the east, and the ascent, for the distance of
fifty miles, over a continued succession of slopes and terraces, almost
imperceptibly rising one above another, that seemed to lift us to a great
height. There is not a tree or bush to be seen from the highest summit of the
ridge, though the eye may range east and west, almost to a boundless
extent, over a surface covered with a short grass, that is green at one's feet,
and about him, but changing to blue in distance, like nothing but the blue
and vastness of the ocean.

"'On the very top of this mound or ridge we found the far-famed quarry
or fountain of the Red Pipe, which is truly an anomaly in nature. The
principal and most striking feature of this place is a perpendicular wall of
close-grained, compact quartz, of twenty-five and thirty feet in elevation,
running nearly north and south, with its face to the west, exhibiting a front
of nearly two miles in length, when it disappears at both ends, by running
under the prairie, which becomes there a little more elevated, and probably
covers it for many miles, both to the north and south. The depression of the
brow of the ridge at this place has been caused by the wash of a little
stream, produced by several springs at the top, a little back from the wall,
which has gradually carried away the superincumbent earth, and having
bared the wall for the distance of two miles, is now left to glide for some
distance over a perfectly level surface of quartz rock; and then to leap from
the top of the wall into a deep basin below, and thence seek its course to the
Missouri, forming the extreme source of a noted and powerful tributary,
called the "Big Sioux."

"'At the base of this wall there is a level prairie, of half a mile in width,
running parallel to it, in any, and in all parts of which, the Indians procure
the red stone for their pipes, by digging through the soil and several slaty
layers of the red stone to the depth of four or five feet. From the very
numerous marks of ancient and modern diggings or excavations, it would
appear that this place has been for many centuries resorted to for the red
stone; and from the great number of graves and remains of ancient
fortifications in the vicinity, it would seem, as well as from their actual
traditions, that the Indian tribes have long held this place in high
superstitious estimation; and also that it has been the resort of different
tribes, who have made their regular pilgrimages here to renew their pipes.'

"As far as may be gathered from the various and slightly conflicting
accounts of Indian smoking observances, it would seem that to every tribe,
or, if it be an extensive one, to every detachment of a tribe, belongs a potent
instrument known as 'medicine pipe-stem.' It is nothing more than a
tobacco-pipe, splendidly adorned with savage trappings, yet it is regarded
as a sacred thing to be used only on the most solemn occasions, or in the
transaction of such important business as among us could only be
concluded by the sanction of a Cabinet Council, and affixing the royal
signature."

The Gods of the Red Man

Most of the North American stocks possessed a regular pantheon of


deities. Of these, having regard to their numbers, it will be impossible to
speak in any detail, and it will be sufficient if we confine ourselves to some
account of the more outstanding figures. As in all mythologies, godhead is
often attached to the conception of the bringer of culture, the sapient being
who first instructs mankind in the arts of life, agriculture, and religion.
American mythologies possess many such hero-gods, and it is not always
easy to say whether they belong to history or mythology. Of course, the
circumstances surrounding the conception of some of these beings prove
that they can be nothing else than mythological, but without doubt some of
them were originally mere mortal heroes.

Michabo
We discover one of the first class in Michabo, the Great Hare, the
principal deity of the Algonquins. In the accounts of the older travellers we
find him described as the ruler of the winds, the inventor of picture-writing,
and even the creator and preserver of the world. Taking a grain of sand from
the bed of the ocean, he made from it an island which he launched in the
primeval waters. This island speedily grew to a great size; indeed, so
extensive did it become that a young wolf which managed to find a footing
on it and attempted to cross it died of old age before he completed his
journey. A great 'medicine' society, called Meda, was supposed to have been
founded by Michabo. Many were his inventions. Observing the spider
spread its web, he devised the art of knitting nets to catch fish. He furnished
the hunter with many signs and charms for use in the chase. In the autumn,
ere he takes his winter sleep, he fills his great pipe and smokes, and the
smoke which arises is seen in the clouds which fill the air with the haze of
the Indian summer.

Some uncertainty prevailed among the various Algonquian tribes as to


where Michabo resided, some of them believing that he dwelt on an island
in Lake Superior, others on an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean, and still others
in the firmament, but the prevalent idea seems to have been that his home
was in the east, where the sun rises on the shores of the great river Ocean
that surrounds the dry land.

That a being possessing such qualities should be conceived of as taking


the name and form of a timid animal like the hare is indeed curious, and
there is little doubt that the original root from which the name Michabo has
been formed does not signify 'hare.' In fact, the root wab, which is the initial
syllable of the Algonquian word for 'hare,' means also 'white,' and from it
are derived the words for 'east,' 'dawn,' 'light,' and 'day.' Their names
proceeding from the same root, the idea of the hare and the dawn became
confused, and the more tangible object became the symbol of the god.
Michabo was therefore the spirit of light, and, as the dawn, the bringer of
winds. As lord of light he is also wielder of the lightning. He is in constant
strife, nevertheless, with his father the West Wind, and in this combat we
can see the diurnal struggle between east and west, light and darkness,
common to so many mythologies.
Modern Indian tales concerning Michabo make him a mere tricksy spirit,
a malicious buffoon, but in these we can see his character in process of
deterioration under the stress of modern conditions impinging upon Indian
life. It is in the tales of the old travellers and missionaries that we find him
in his true colours as a great culture-hero, Lord of the Day and bringer of
light and civilization.

The Battle of the Twin-Gods

Among the Iroquois we find a similar myth. It tells of two brothers,


Ioskeha and Tawiscara, or the White One and the Dark One, twins, whose
grandmother was the moon. When they grew up they quarrelled violently
with one another, and finally came to blows, Ioskeha took as his weapon the
horns of a stag, while Tawiscara seized a wild rose to defend himself. The
latter proved but a puny weapon, and, sorely wounded, Tawiscara turned to
fly. The drops of blood which fell from him became flint stones. Ioskeha
later built for himself a lodge in the far east, and became the father of
mankind and principal deity of the Iroquois, slaying the monsters which
infested the earth, stocking the woods with game, teaching the Indians how
to grow crops and make fires, and instructing them in many of the other arts
of life. This myth appears to have been accepted later by the Mohawks and
Tuscaroras.

Awonawilona

We have already alluded in the Zuñi creation-myth to the native deity


Awonawilona. This god stands out as one of the most perfect examples of
deity in its constructive aspect to be found in the mythologies of America.
He seems in some measure to be identified with the sun, and from the
remote allusions regarding him and the manner in which he is spoken of as
an architect of the universe we gather that he was not exactly in close touch
with mankind.
Ahsonnutli

Closely resembling him was Ahsonnutli, the principal deity of the


Navaho Indians of New Mexico, who was regarded as the creator of the
heavens and earth. He was supposed to have placed twelve men at each of
the cardinal points to uphold the heavens. He was believed to possess the
qualities of both sexes, and is entitled the Turquoise Man-woman.

Atius Tiráwa

Atius Tiráwa was the great god of the Pawnees. He also was a creative
deity, and ordered the courses of the sun, moon, and stars. As known to-day
he is regarded as omnipotent and intangible; but how far this conception of
him has been coloured by missionary influence it would be difficult to say.
We find, however, in other Indian mythologies which we know have not
been sophisticated by Christian belief many references to deities who
possess such attributes, and there is no reason why we should infer that
Atius Tiráwa is any other than a purely aboriginal conception.

Esaugetuh Emissee

The great life-giving god of the Creeks and other Muskhogeans was
Esaugetuh Emissee, whose name signifies, 'Master of Breath.' The sound of
the name represents the emission of breath from the mouth. He was the god
of wind, and, like many another divinity in American mythology, his rule
over that element was allied with his power over the breath of life—one of
the forms of wind or air. Savage man regards the wind as the great source of
breath and life. Indeed, in many tongues the words 'wind,' 'soul,' and 'breath'
have a common origin. We find a like conception in the Aztec wind-god
Tezcatlipoca, who was looked upon as the primary source of existence.[8]

[8] See the author's Myths of Mexico and Peru, in this series.

The Coyote God

Among the people of the far west, the Californians and Chinooks, an
outstanding deity is, strangely enough, the Coyote. But whereas among the
Chinooks he was thought to be a benign being, the Maidu and other
Californian tribes pictured him as mischievous, cunning, and destructive.
Kodoyanpe, the Maidu creator, discovered the world along with Coyote,
and with his aid rendered it habitable for mankind. The pair fashioned men
out of small wooden images, as the gods of the Kiche of Central America
are related to have done in the myth in the Popol Vuh. But the mannikins
proved unsuitable to their purpose, and they turned them into animals.
Kodoyanpe's intentions were beneficent, and as matters appeared to be
going but ill, he concluded that Coyote was at the bottom of the mischief. In
this he was correct, and on consideration he resolved to destroy Coyote. On
the side of the disturber was a formidable array of monsters and other evil
agencies. But Kodoyanpe received powerful assistance from a being called
the Conqueror, who rid the universe of many monsters and wicked spirits
which might have proved unfriendly to the life of man, as yet unborn. The
combat raged fiercely over a protracted period, but at last the beneficent
Kodoyanpe was defeated by the crafty Coyote. Kodoyanpe had buried
many of the wooden mannikins whom he had at first created, and they now
sprang from their places and became the Indian race.

This is, of course, a day-and-night or light-and-darkness myth.


Kodoyanpe is the sun, the spirit of day, who after a diurnal struggle with the
forces of darkness flies toward the west for refuge. Coyote is the spirit of
night, typified by an animal of nocturnal habits which slinks forth from its
den as the shades of dusk fall on the land. We find a similar conception in
Egyptian mythology, where Anubis, the jackal-headed, swallows his father
Osiris, the brilliant god of day, as the night swallows up the sun.

Another version of the Coyote myth current in California describes how


in the beginning there was only the primeval waste of waters, upon which
Kodoyanpe and Coyote dropped in a canoe. Coyote willed that the surf
beneath them should become sand.

"Coyote was coming. He came to Got'at. There he met a heavy surf. He


was afraid that he might be drifted away, and went up to the spruce-trees.
He stayed there a long time. Then he took some sand and threw it upon that
surf: 'This shall be a prairie and no surf. The future generations shall walk
on this prairie!' Thus Clatsop became a prairie. The surf became a prairie."
[9]

[9] Boas, Chinook Texts.

But among other tribes as well as among the Chinooks Italapas, the
Coyote, is a beneficent deity. Thus in the myths of the Shushwap and
Kutenai Indians of British Columbia he figures as the creative agency, and
in the folk-tales of the Ashochimi of California he appears after the deluge
and plants in the earth the feathers of various birds, which according to their
colour become the several Indian tribes.

Blue Jay

Another mischievous deity of the Chinooks and other western peoples is


Blue Jay. He is a turbulent braggart, schemer, and mischief-maker. He is the
very clown of gods, and invariably in trouble himself if he is not
manufacturing it for others. He has the shape of a jay-bird, which was given
him by the Supernatural People because he lost to them in an archery
contest. They placed a curse upon him, telling him the note he used as a
bird would gain an unenviable notoriety as a bad omen. Blue Jay has an
elder brother, the Robin, who is continually upbraiding him for his
mischievous conduct in sententious phraseology. The story of the many
tricks and pranks played by Blue Jay, not only on the long-suffering
members of his tribe, but also upon the denizens of the supernatural world,
must have afforded intense amusement around many an Indian camp-fire.
Even the proverbial gravity of the Red Man could scarcely hold out against
the comical adventures of this American Owl-glass.

Thunder-Gods

North America is rich in thunder-gods. Of these a typical example is


Haokah, the god of the Sioux. The countenance of this divinity was divided
into halves, one of which expressed grief and the other cheerfulness—that
is, on occasion he could either weep with the rain or smile with the sun.
Heat affected him as cold, and cold was to him as heat. He beat the tattoo of
the thunder on his great drum, using the wind as a drum-stick. In some
phases he is reminiscent of Jupiter, for he hurls the lightning to earth in the
shape of thunderbolts. He wears a pair of horns, perhaps to typify his
connexion with the lightning, or else with the chase, for many American
thunder-gods are mighty hunters. This double conception arises from their
possession of the lightning-spear, or arrow, which also gives them in some
cases the character of a war-god. Strangely enough, such gods of the chase
often resembled in appearance the animals they hunted. For example, Tsui
'Kalu (Slanting Eyes), a hunter-god of the Cherokee Indians, seems to
resemble a deer. He is of giant proportions, and dwells in a great mountain
of the Blue Ridge Range, in North-western Virginia. He appears to have
possessed all the game in the district as his private property. A Cherokee
thunder-god is Asgaya Gigagei (Red Man). The facts that he is described as
being of a red colour, thus typifying the lightning, and that the Cherokees
were originally a mountain people, leave little room for doubt that he is a
thunder-god, for it is around the mountain peaks that the heavy thunder-
clouds gather, and the red lightning flashing from their depths looks like the
moving limbs of the half-hidden deity. We also find occasionally invoked in
the Cherokee religious formulæ a pair of twin deities known as the 'Little
Men,' or 'Thunder-boys.' This reminds us that in Peru twins were always
regarded as sacred to the lightning, since they were emblematic of the
thunder-and-lightning twins, Apocatequil and Piguerao. All these thunder-
gods are analogous to the Aztec Tlaloc, the Kiche Hurakan, and the Otomi
Mixcoatl.[10] A well-known instance of the thunder- or hunter-god who
possesses animal characteristics will occur to those who are familiar with
the old English legend of Herne the Hunter, with his deer's head and antlers.

[10] See Myths of Mexico and Peru.

The Dakota Indians worshipped a deity whom they addressed as


Waukheon (Thunder-bird). This being was engaged in constant strife with
the water-god, Unktahe, who was a cunning sorcerer, and a controller of
dreams and witchcraft. Their conflict probably symbolizes the atmospheric
changes which accompany the different seasons.

Idea of a Future Life

The idea of a future life was very widely disseminated among the tribes
of North America. The general conception of such an existence was that it
was merely a shadowy extension of terrestrial life, in which the same round
of hunting and kindred pursuits was engaged in. The Indian idea of eternal
bliss seems to have been an existence in the Land of the Sun, to which,
however, only those famed in war were usually admitted.
That the Indians possessed a firm belief in a future state of existence is
proved by their statements to the early Moravian missionaries, to whom
they said: "We Indians shall not for ever die. Even the grains of corn we put
under the earth grow up and become living things." The old missionary
adds: "They conceive that when the soul has been awhile with God it can, if
it chooses, return to earth and be born again." This idea of rebirth, however,
appears to have meant that the soul would return to the bones, that these
would clothe themselves with flesh, and that the man would rejoin his tribe.
By what process of reasoning they arrived at such a conclusion it would be
difficult to ascertain, but the almost universal practice which obtained
among the Indians both of North and South America of preserving the
bones of the deceased plainly indicates that they possessed some strong
religious reason for this belief. Many tribes which dwelt east of the
Mississippi once in every decade collected the bones of those who had died
within that period, carefully cleaned them, and placed them in a tomb lined
with beautiful flowers, over which they erected a mound of wood, stone, or
earth. Nor, indeed, were the ancient Egyptians more considerate of the
remains of their fathers.

The Hope of Resurrection

American funerary ritual and practice throughout the northern sub-


continent plainly indicates a strong and vivid belief in the resurrection of
the soul after death. Among many tribes the practice prevailed of interring
with the deceased such objects as he might be supposed to require in the
other world. These included weapons of war and of the chase for men, and
household implements and feminine finery in the case of women.

Among primitive peoples the belief is prevalent that inanimate objects


possess doubles, or, as spiritualists would say, 'astral bodies,' or souls, and
some Indian tribes supposed that unless such objects were broken or
mutilated—that is to say, 'killed'—their doubles would not accompany the
spirit of the deceased on its journey.

Indian Burial Customs

Many methods of disposing of the corpse were, and are, in use among
the American Indians. The most common of these were ordinary burial in
the earth or under tumuli, burial in caves, tree-burial, raising the dead on
platforms, and the disposal of cremated remains in urns.

Embalming and mummification were practised to a certain extent by


some of the extinct tribes of the east coast, and some of the north-west
tribes, notably the Chinooks, buried their dead in canoes, which were raised
on poles. The rites which accompanied burial, besides the placing of useful
articles and food in the grave, generally consisted in a solemn dance, in
which the bereaved relatives cut themselves and blackened their faces, after
which they wailed night and morning in solitary places. It was generally
regarded as unlucky to mention the name of the deceased, and, indeed, the
bereaved family often adopted another name to avoid such a contingency.

The Soul's Journey

Most of the tribes appear to have believed that the soul had to undertake
a long journey before it reached its destination. The belief of the Chinooks
in this respect is perhaps a typical one. They imagine that after death the
spirit of the deceased drinks at a large hole in the ground, after which it
shrinks and passes on to the country of the ghosts, where it is fed with spirit
food and drink. After this act of communion with the spirit-world it may not
return. They also believe that every one is possessed of two spirits, a greater
and a less. During illness the lesser soul is spirited away by the denizens of
Ghost-land. The Navahos possess a similar belief, and say that the soul has
none of the vital force which animates the body, nor any of the faculties of
the mind, but a kind of third quality, or personality, like the ka of the ancient
Egyptians, which may leave its owner and become lost, much to his danger
and discomfort. The Hurons and Iroquois believe that after death the soul
must cross a deep and swift stream, by a bridge formed by a single slender
tree, upon which it has to combat the attacks of a fierce dog. The
Athapascans imagine that the soul must be ferried over a great water in a
stone canoe, and the Algonquins and Dakotas believe that departed spirits
must cross a stream bridged by an enormous snake.

Paradise and the Supernatural People

The Red Man appears to have possessed two wholly different


conceptions of supernatural life. We find in Indian myth allusions both to a
'Country of the Ghosts' and to a 'Land of the Supernatural People.' The first
appears to be the destination of human beings after death, but the second is
apparently the dwelling-place of a spiritual race some degrees higher than
mankind. Both these regions are within the reach of mortals, and seem to be
mere extensions of the terrestrial sphere. Their inhabitants eat, drink, hunt,
and amuse themselves in the same manner as earthly folk, and are by no
means invulnerable or immortal. The instinctive dread of the supernatural
which primitive man possesses is well exemplified in the myths in which he
is brought into contact with the denizens of Ghost-land or the Spirit-world.
These myths were undoubtedly framed for the same purpose as the old
Welsh poem on the harrying of hell, or the story of the journey of the twin
brothers to Xibalba in the Central American Popol Vuh. That is to say, the
desire was felt for some assurance that man, on entering the spiritual
sphere, would only be treading in the footsteps of heroic beings who had
preceded him, who had vanquished the forces of death and hell and had
stripped them of their terrors.

The mythologies of the North American Indians possess no place of


punishment, any more than they possess any deities who are frankly
malevolent toward humanity. Should a place of torment be discernible in
any Indian mythology at the present day it may unhesitatingly be classed as
the product of missionary sophistication. Father Brébeuf, an early French
missionary, could only find that the souls of suicides and those killed in war
were supposed to dwell apart from the others. "But as to the souls of
scoundrels," he adds, "so far from being shut out, they are welcome guests;
though for that matter, if it were not so their paradise would be a total
desert, as 'Indian' and 'scoundrel' are one and the same."

The Sacred Number Four

Over the length and breadth of the American continent a peculiar


sanctity is attached by the aborigines to the four points of the compass. This
arises from the circumstance that from these quarters come the winds which
carry the fertilizing rains. The Red Man, a dweller in vast undulating plains
where landmarks are few, recognized the necessity of such guidance in his
wanderings as could alone be received from a strict adherence to the
position of the four cardinal points. These he began to regard with
veneration as his personal safeguards, and recognized in them the dwelling-
places of powerful beings, under whose care he was. Most of his festivals
and celebrations had symbolical or direct allusions to the four points of the
compass. The ceremony of smoking, without which no treaty could be
commenced or ratified, was usually begun by the chief of the tribe exhaling
tobacco-smoke toward the four quarters of the earth. Among some tribes
other points were also recognized, as, for example, one in the sky and one
in the earth. All these points had their symbolical colours, and were
presided over by various animal or other divinities. Thus the Apaches took
black for the east, white for the south, yellow for the west, and blue for the
north, the Cherokees red, white, black, and blue for the same points, and the
Navahos white, blue, yellow, and black, with white and black for the lower
regions and blue for the upper or ethereal world.

Indian Time and Festivals


The North American tribes have various ways of computing time. Some
of them rely merely upon the changes in season and the growth of crops for
guidance as to when their annual festivals and seasonal celebrations should
take place. Others fix their system of festivals on the changes of the moon
and the habits of animals and birds. It was, however, upon the moon that
most of these peoples depended for information regarding the passage of
time. Most of them assigned twelve moons to the year, while others
considered thirteen a more correct number. The Kiowa reckoned the year to
consist of twelve and a half moons, the other half being carried over to the
year following.

The Zuñi of New Mexico allude to the year as a 'passage of time,' and
call the seasons the 'steps of the year.' The first six months of the Zuñi year
possess names which have an agricultural or natural significance, while the
last six have ritualistic names. Captain Jonathan Carver, who travelled
among the Sioux at the end of the eighteenth century, says that some tribes
among them reckoned their years by moons, and made them consist of
twelve lunar months, observing when thirty moons had waned to add a
supernumerary one, which they termed the 'lost moon.' They gave a name to
each month as follows, the year beginning at the first new moon after the
spring equinox: March, Worm Moon; April, Moon of Plants; May, Moon of
Flowers; June, Hot Moon; July, Buck Moon; August, Sturgeon Moon;
September, Corn Moon; October, Travelling Moon; November, Beaver
Moon; December, Hunting Moon; January, Cold Moon; February, Snow
Moon. These people had no division into weeks, but counted days by
'sleeps,' half-days by pointing to the sun at noon, and quarter-days by the
rising and setting of the sun, for all of which they possessed symbolic signs.
Many tribes kept records of events by means of such signs, as has already
been indicated. The eastern Sioux measure time by knotted leather thongs,
similar to the quipos of the ancient Peruvians. Other tribes have even more
primitive methods. The Hupa of California tell a person's age by examining
his teeth. The Maidu divide the seasons into Rain Season, Leaf Season, Dry
Season, and Falling-leaf Season. The Pima of Southern Arizona record
events by means of notched sticks, which no one but the persons who mark
them can understand.
The chief reason for the computation of time among savage peoples is
the correct observance of religious festivals. With the rude methods at their
command they are not always able to hit upon the exact date on which these
should occur. These festivals are often of a highly elaborate nature, and
occupy many days in their celebration, the most minute attention being paid
to the proper performance of the various rites connected with them. They
consist for the most part of a preliminary fast, followed by symbolic dances
or magical ceremonies, and concluding with a gluttonous orgy. Most of
these observances possess great similarity one to another, and visible
differences may be accounted for by circumstances of environment or
seasonal variations.

When the white man first came into contact with the Algonquian race it
was observed that they held regularly recurring festivals to celebrate the
ripening of fruits and grain, and more irregular feasts to mark the return of
wild-fowl and the hunting season in general. Dances were engaged in, and
heroic songs chanted. Indeed, the entire observance appears to have been
identical in its general features with the festival of to-day.

One of the most remarkable of these celebrations is that of the Creeks


called the 'Busk,' a contraction for its native name, Pushkita. Commencing
with a rigorous fast which lasts three days, the entire tribe assembles on the
fourth day to watch the high-priest produce a new fire by means of friction.
From this flame the members of the tribe are supplied, and feasting and
dancing are then engaged in for three days. Four logs are arranged in the
form of a cross pointing to the four quarters of the earth, and burnt as an
offering to the four winds.

The Buffalo Dance

The Mandans, a Dakota tribe, each year celebrate as their principal


festival the Buffalo Dance, a feast which marks the return of the buffalo-
hunting season. Eight men wearing buffalo-skins on their backs, and
painted black, red, or white, imitate the actions of buffaloes. Each of them
holds a rattle in his right hand and a slender rod six feet long in his left, and
carries a bunch of green willow boughs on his back. The ceremony is held
at the season of the year when the willow is in full leaf. The dancers take up
their positions at four different points of a canoe to represent the four
cardinal points of the compass. Two men dressed as grizzly bears stand
beside the canoe, growling and threatening to spring upon any one who
interferes with the ceremony. The bystanders throw them pieces of food,
which are at once pounced upon by two other men, and carried off by them
to the prairie. During the ceremony the old men of the tribe beat upon
sacks, chanting prayers for the success of the buffalo-hunt. On the fourth
day a man enters the camp in the guise of an evil spirit, and is driven from
the vicinity with stones and curses.

The elucidation of this ceremony may perhaps be as follows: From some


one of the four points of the compass the buffalo must come; therefore all
are requested to send goodly supplies. The men dressed as bears symbolize
the wild beasts which might deflect the progress of the herds of buffalo
toward the territory of the tribe, and therefore must be placated. The demon
who visits the camp after the ceremony is, of course, famine.

Dance-Festivals of the Hopi

The most highly developed North American festival system is that of the
Hopi or Moqui of Arizona, the observances of which are almost of a
theatrical nature. All the Pueblo Indians, of whom the Hopi are a division,
possess similar festivals, which recur at various seasons or under the
auspices of different totem clans or secret societies. Most of these 'dances'
are arranged by the Katcina clan, and take place in dance-houses known as
kivas. These ceremonies have their origin in the universal reverence shown
to the serpent in America—a reverence based on the idea that the symbol of
the serpent, tail in mouth, represented the round, full sun of August. In the
summer 'dances' snake-charming feats are performed, but in the Katcina
ceremony serpents are never employed.

Devil-dances are by no means uncommon among the Indians. The


purpose of these is to drive evil spirits from the vicinity of the tribe.
Medicine-Men

The native American priesthood, whether known as medicine-men,


shamans, or wizards, were in most tribes a caste apart, exercising not only
the priestly function, but those of physician and prophet as well. The name
'medicine-men,' therefore, is scarcely a misnomer. They were skilled in the
handling of occult forces such as hypnotism, and thus exercised unlimited
sway over the rank and file of the tribe. But we shall first consider them in
their religious aspect. In many of the Indian tribes the priesthood was a
hereditary office; in others it was obtained through natural fitness or
revelation in dreams. With the Cherokees, for example, the seventh son of a
family was usually marked out as a suitable person for the priesthood. As a
rule the religious body did not share in the general life of the tribe, from
which to a great degree it isolated itself. For example, Bartram in his
Travels in the Carolinas describes the younger priests of the Creeks as
being arrayed in white robes, and carrying on their heads or arms "a great
owl-skin stuffed very ingeniously as an insignia of wisdom and divination.
These bachelors are also distinguishable from the other people by their
taciturnity, grave and solemn countenance, dignified step, and singing to
themselves songs or hymns in a low, sweet voice as they stroll about the
towns." To add to the feeling of awe which they inspired among the laymen
of the tribe, the priests conversed with one another in a secret tongue. Thus
the magical formulæ of some of the Algonquin priests were not in the
ordinary language, but in a dialect of their own invention. The Choctaws,
Cherokees, and Zuñi employed similar esoteric dialects, all of which are
now known to be merely modifications of their several tribal languages,
fortified with obsolete words, or else mere borrowings from the idioms of
other tribes.

Medicine-Men as Healers
It was, however, as healers that the medicine-men were pre-eminent. The
Indian assigns all illness or bodily discomfort to supernatural agency. He
cannot comprehend that indisposition may arise within his own system, but
believes that it must necessarily proceed from some external source. Some
supernatural being whom he has offended, the soul of an animal which he
has slain, or perhaps a malevolent sorcerer, torments him. If the bodies of
mankind were not afflicted in this mysterious manner their owners would
endure for ever. When the Indian falls sick he betakes himself to a
medicine-man, to whom he relates his symptoms, at the same time
acquainting him with any circumstances which he may suspect of having
brought about his condition. If he has slain a deer and omitted the usual
formula of placation afterward he suspects that the spirit of the beast is
actively harming him. Should he have shot a bird and have subsequently
observed any of the same species near his dwelling, he will almost
invariably conclude that they were bent on a mission of vengeance and have
by some means injured him. The medicine-man, in the first instance, may
give his patient some simple native remedy. If this treatment does not avail
he will arrange to go to the sufferer's lodge for the purpose of making a
more thorough examination. Having located the seat of the pain, he will
blow upon it several times, and then proceed to massage it vigorously,
invoking the while the aid of the natural enemy of the spirit which he
suspects is tormenting the sick man. Thus if a deer's spirit be suspected he
will call upon the mountain lion or the Great Dog to drive it away, but if a
bird of any of the smaller varieties he will invoke the Great Eagle who
dwells in the zenith to slay or devour it. Upon the supposed approach of
these potent beings he will become more excited, and, vigorously slapping
the patient, will chant incantations in a loud and sonorous voice, which are
supposed to hasten the advent of the friendly beings whom he has
summoned. At last, producing by sleight of hand an image of the disturbing
spirit worked in bone, he calls for a vessel of boiling water, into which he
promptly plunges the supposed cause of his patient's illness. The bone
figure is withdrawn from the boiling water after a space, and on being
examined may be found to have one or more scores on its surface. Each of
these shows that it has already slain its man, and the patient is assured that
had the native Æsculapius not adopted severe measures the malign spirit
would have added him to the number of its victims.
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