to dance. He beat a slow, uneasy measure on the drum. His face
grinned hideously. His voice at times rose to a harsh shriek, then
suddenly it trailed away until it seemed like the voice of one speaking
very far off. In a curious sort of intermittent crooning and shrieking
ventriloquism he called down curses upon Ootah. His dance increased;
he beat the drum frenziedly. His legs twisted under him, he described
short running circles and jumped up and down in accesses of hysteria.
His scraggy arms, with their tattered clothes, writhed in the air as he
beat the drum above him. His head began to nod from side to side; his
eyes glowed like coals; his tongue hung from his mouth; foam gathered
at his lips.

"Ootah! Ootah! May his _kaneg_ (head) swell with the great fire! May
he see horrors that do not exist--what the wicked dead dream in their
frigid hell! May the wrath of the spirits descend upon him! May the
wrath of the spirits descend upon him!"

Sipsu uttered short howls. Maisanguaq joined in the incantation, and
re-echoed the blighting curses.

"May he suffer from _kangerdlugpoq_ (terrible body pains). May they
end not! May he lie awake forever! May he never sleep! May his teeth
chatter during the great dark!"

Sipsu groaned. He worked himself into an ecstasy of torture. His form
became a black whirling figure in the dim tent.

"May Ootah's eyes close, may the lids swell; may they burn with fire."

"May he never see the light of day--may he never aim the arrow--may his