'Nakani' man; he does not know what he says or what he does, he is a
bad 'Nakani.'"

"I think some one has made medicine on him," said another; "he is
possessed, and will get worse till the spell is off him."

This medicine making among the Northern Indians is one of the most
firmly rooted of all their superstitions. The term is by no means
well chosen or descriptive of the strange ungodly rite; it is in
reality a charm or spell which one man is supposed to lay upon
another. It is employed for various purposes and by different means
of operations. You will hear of one man 'making medicine' to
ascertain what time the Company's boats may be expected, or when
certain sledges of meat may come to the Fort. Another man is sick and
the medicine-man is summoned, and a drum is beaten during the night
with solemn monotonous 'tum, tum, tum', and certain confidential
communications take place between the Doctor and his patient, during
which the sick man is supposed to divulge every secret he may
possess, and on the perfect sincerity of his revelation must depend
his recovery.

The accompaniments of this strange scene vary according to
circumstances. In some cases a basin of blood of some animal is made
use of; in most instances a knife or dagger plays an important part.
I have seen one of these, which, by-the-by, is most difficult to
obtain, and can only be seen by special favour. It is made of bone or
ivory, beautifully carved and notched at the edges, with various dots
or devices upon it, and all, both dots and notches, arranged in
groups of sevens! After some hours the spell may be supposed to work,
the sick man feels better, the excitement of the medicine-man