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Show HOfTMAN.] WAB& TO' AND jfo'SAKKID'. 157 sires, and apart from his general routine of furnishing " hunting medicine," " love powders," etc., he pretends also to practice medical magic. When a hunter has been successful through the supposed assistance of the WabSno', he supplies the latter with part of the game, when, in giving a feast to his tutelary daimon, the W& b£ no' will invite a number of friends, but all who desire to come are welcome. This feast is given at night; singing and dancing are boisterously indulged in, and the Wabgno', to sustain his reputation, entertains his visitors with a further exhibition of his skill. By the use of plants he is alleged to be enabled to take up and handle with impunity red- hot stones and burning brands, and without evincing the slightest discomfort it is said that he will bathe his hands in boiling water, or even boiling maple sirup. On account of such performances the general impression prevails among the Indians that the W& b8no' is a " dealer in fire," or " fire- handler." Such exhibitions always terminate at the approach of day. The number of these pretenders who are not members of the Mide'wiwin, is very limited; for instance, there are at present but two or three at White Earth Reservation and none at Leech Lake. As a general rule, however, the W& b8no' will seek entrance into the MidS'wiwin when he becomes more of a specialist in the practice of medical magic, incantations, and the exorcism of malevolent man'idos, especially such as cause disease. The JSs'sakkid' is a seer and prophet; though commonly designated a " juggler," the Indians define him as a " revealer of hidden truths." There is no association whatever between the members of this profession, and each practices his art singly and alone whenever a demand is made and the fee presented. As there is no association, so there is no initiation by means of which one may become a Jgs'sakkid'. The gift is believed to be given by the thunder god, or Animiki', and then only at long intervals and to a chosen few. The gift is received during youth, when'the fast is undertaken and when visions appear to the individual. His renown depends upon his own audacity and the opinion of the tribe. He is said to possess the power to look into futurity; to become acquainted with the affairs and intentions of men; to prognosticate the success or misfortune of hunters and warriors, as well as other affairs of various individuals, and to call from any living human being the soul, or, more strictly speaking, the shadow, thus depriving the victim of reason, and even of life. His power consists in invoking and causing evil, while that • of the Mide' is to avert it; he attempts at times to injure the/ Mide', but the latter, by the aid of his superior man'idos, becomes aware of, and averts such premeditated injury. It sometimes happens that the demon possessing a patient is discovered, but the Mide' alone has the power to expel him. The exorcism of demons is one of the chief pretensions of this personage, and evil spirits are sometimes removed |