ing the rest of that day and night in polishing their necklaces, pendants and bracelets, and all the other ornaments in which they wish to appear at the great feast.
On the fifth day, an aide-de-camp of Lecharoutetewarouchte, or the chief of sacrifice, ran through the village to announce, in the name of his master, the necessity of preparing the red and black paint, which is to serve for the grand ceremony. It is vain to attempt to give you, my dear sir, an adequate description of this personage, either as regards his costume, his figure, or his manner; it is everything that a savage can invent of the fantastic, the ridiculous and the frightful, united in one person. The collector of colors himself scarcely yields to his comrade in monstrosity. He has the appearance of one, truly, just escaped from the infernal regions. His body is painted black, which, contrasted with the whiteness of his teeth and of his huge eyes, and with his hair besmeared with white clay and bristling like the mane of a lion, gives him an aspect terrible and ferocious in the extreme. At each heel is fastened the tail of a wolf, and on his feet a pair of moccasins made of buffalo skin, with the long shaggy hair on the outside. He passes through the whole village with a meas ured step, holding a wooden plate in each hand. He enters the huts successively, and as he approaches the fire-place he cries aloud: " The Master of Life sends me here." Immediately a woman comes and empties into one of his plates either some red or some black paint, which she had prepared. Upon the reception of which, he raises his eyes to heaven, and with a loud voice says: " Regard the love of thy children, O Tirawa! However poor, all that they possess is thine, and they give it to thee. Grant us an abundant harvest. Fill our hunting grounds with buffalo, deer, stags and antelope. Make us powerful against our enemies, so that we may again renew this great sacrifice." Each one replies by the usual exclamation : " Neva ! Neva ! Neva ! "