Fig. 172 represents a jĕssakkī'd, named Ne-wik'-ki, curing a sick woman by sucking the demon through a bone tube. It is introduced here for comparison, though equally appropriate to Chap. XIV, sec. [3]. The left-hand character represents the Midē' holding a rattle in his hand. Around his head is an additional circle, denoting quantity (literally, more than an ordinary amount of knowledge), the short line projecting to the right therefrom indicating the tube used. The right-hand character is the patient operated upon.
The juggling trick of removing disease by sucking it through tubes is performed by the Midē' after fasting and is accompanied with many ceremonies.
THE ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS.
Sikas'sigé, one of the officiating priests of the Midē' society of the Ojibwa at White Earth, Minnesota, gives the following explanation of Fig. 173, which is a reduced copy of a pictorial representation of a tradition explaining the origin of the Indians:
Fig. 173.—Origin of the Indians.
In the beginning, Ki'tshi Man'idō—Dzhe Man'idō, a—made the Midē' Man'idōs. He first created two men, b and c, and two women, d and e, but they had no power of thought or reason. Then Dzhe Man'idō made them reasoning beings. He then took them in his hands so that they should multiply; he paired them, and from this sprung the Indians. Then, when there were people, he placed them upon the earth; but he soon observed that they were subject to sickness, misery, and death, and that unless he provided them with the sacred medicine they would soon become extinct.
Between the position occupied by Dzhe Man'idō and the earth were four lesser spirits, f, g, h, and i, with whom Dzhe Man'idō decided to commune, and to impart the mysteries by which the Indians could be benefited; so he first spoke to a spirit at f, and told him all he had to say, who in turn communicated the same information to g, and he in turn to h, who also communed with i. Then they all met in council and determined to call in the four wind gods at j, k, l, and m. After consulting as to what would be best for the comfort and welfare of the Indians, these spirits agreed to ask Dzhe Man'idō to communicate the mystery of the sacred medicine to the people.
Dzhe Man'idō then went to the Sun Spirit (o) and asked him to go to the earth and instruct the people as had been decided upon by the council. The Sun Spirit, in the form of a little boy, went to the earth and lived with a woman (p) who had a little boy of her own.