Si! This day, game animal, even though, for a day and a night, thy trail
above (the earth) circled about--this day it has come to pass that I
have embraced thee upward (from it). To thee here I address good
fortune. To thee here I address the (sacred) pollen. To thee here I
address treasure. By thy (magic) knowledge dressing thyself with this
good fortune, with this yellow, with this treasure, do thou, in becoming
a new being, converse with (or, of) my prayer as you wander to and fro.
That I may become unfailing toward the Game animals all, I have here
addressed unto thee good fortune, the yellow and treasure.
Grant unto me the light of thy favor.
Grant unto me a good (journey) over the trail of life, and, together
with children, make the road of my existence, do.
During the performance of these ceremonials the fetich is usually
placed in a convenient spot to dry, and at their conclusion, with a
blessing, it is replaced in the pouch. The hunter either seeks further
for game, or making a pack of his game in its own skin by tying the legs
together and crossing them over his forehead like a burden strap,
returns home and deposits it either at the door or just within. The
women then come, and, breathing from the nostrils, take the dead animal
to the center of the room, where, placing its head toward the East, they
lay on either side of its body next to the heart an ear of corn
(significant of renewed life), and say prayers, which, though short, are
not less interesting and illustrative of the subject than those already
given, but which, unfortunately, I cannot produce word for word.
The fetich is returned to the Keeper of the Deer Medicine with
thanksgiving and a prayer, not unlike that uttered on taking it forth,
but which also I am unable to reproduce. It contains a sentence
consigning the fetich to its house with its relatives, speaking of its
quenched thirst, satisfied hunger, and the prospects of future
conquests, etc.