Arizona weekly enterprise., 1888-12-29
INDIAN JUGGlERY.
Wonderful Performances of 8 Jossakeed
 at Leecil Lake in 1858.


 at Leecil Lake in 1858.
 The feature of the evening at enc of the late meetings of the Anthropological So- ciety in New York City was paper by Colonel Garrick Mallory on "Algonkln Glyphs on Bark and Stone" The paper also dealt briefly with some related suo- jects, and will form a part Of the annual re- port of the Bureau of Ethnology The fol- lowing is a brief chapter on Indian Jug glery," extracted from thls paper:
 Paul Beaulieu, an Ojibwa Of mixed | blood, present interpreter at White Earth agency, gave his experience with aJossa- keed at Leech lake about tho year 1858. The reports of wonderful performances reached the agency and, as Beaulieu had no faith in the jugglers, he offered one hundred dol lars, large sum, then and there, against goods of equal value, that the juggler could not perform satisfactorily one of the tricks of his repertory to be selected by him (Beaulieau) in the presence Of himself and a committee consisting of his friends. The wager was accepted with the result to be described.
 "A medicine lodge was made. Four strong poles were planted deep in the ground, rising to an elevation of at least ten or twelve feet; one of them having the branches remaining and rising little be- yond it's fellows, this being the indication of a jossakeed as distinguished from mede lodge. The interior diameter was less than four feet. The frame, which was inclined to the center, was then filled in with intertwined twigs and covered with blankets and birch bark from the ground to the top, leaving an orifice of about one foot in diameter open for the ingress and egress | of spaits and of the objects to be men, tioned, but not large enough for the pas ] sage of mans body At one side of the bottom wrapping a flap was left for the en- | trance of the jossakeed or shaman. committee of twelve was selected to see that no communication was possible be tween the jossakeed and confederates. These twelve men were respectable people, one of them being the Episcopal clergy
 man of the reservation. The spectators were several hundred in number, but stood 1 of, not being allowed to approach
 "The jossakeed then removed his cloth ing, until nothing remained upon his person but the breech-eloth. Beaulieu then took rope (of his own selection for the purpose), and first tied and knotted one end about the ankles; the knees were then securely tied together; next the wrists, after which the arms were passed over the knees, and a billet of wood passed under the knees, thus securing and keeping the arms down motion less. The rope was then passed around the neck again and again, each time tied and
 knotted so as to bring the face down upon the knees. A fiat river-stone of black color-which was the jossakeed manedo or amulet-was left lying upon his thighs. The jossakeed was then carried to the lodge, placed inside upon mat on the ground, and the flap covering restored so as to completely hide him from view.
 "Immediately loud, humping noises
 were heard, and the framework began to
 sway from slde to side with much violence,
 whereuDon the clergyman remarked that
 this was the work of the evil one, and it
 was no place for him; so he left, and did
 not see the end. After few minutes of
 violent movement and swaying of the lodge,
 accompanied by loud, inartieulate noises,
 the motions gradually ceased, when the
 voice of the juggler was heard telling
 Beaulieu to go to the house of a friend near
 by and get the rope. Now, Beauleu, sus-
 pecting some joke was to be played upon
 him, directed the committed to be very careful not to permit any one to approach
 while he went for the rope, which he found
 at the place indicated, still tied exactly as
 he had placed it about the neck and ex-
 tremities of the jossakeed. He immediate
 ly returned, laid it down before the specta- tors, and requested of the jossakeed to be allowed to look at him, which was granted,
 but with the understanding that Beaulieu , was not to touch him.
 "When the covering was pulled aside : the jossakeed sat within the lodge con , tentedly smoking his pipe, with no other ob- ject in sight than the black stone of manedo. : Beaulieu paid his wager of one hundred = dollars. An exhibition of sim liar pretended powers, also for a wager, was announced a
 short time later at Yellow Medicine, Minn., , to be given in the presence of 9 number
 of army people; but at the threat of the grand medicine-man of Leech lake | bands, who probably objected tc l interference with his lucrative monopoly ? the event did not take placo and bets were
 declared off :; So remarkable ano
 frequent were these performances of jug glery that the French in 1613 called the whole body of Indians on the Ottawa river : whom they met at a very carly period, 'tht ! sorcerers.' They were the tribes after
 yar5 called Nipiseing, and were tho tJypica l Algonouins. No suspicion of jugglery il
 tho sense of deception appears to have beer entertained by any of tAc earliest brenef and English writers. Tie severe PrrltaI ] and the ardent Catholic both considered I that the exhibitions were real and the worl 1 of the devil. It is also worth mentioning f that one of the derivations of the name l 'Mcmac' is connected with the word mean
 ing 'sorcerer;' so that the known practice!
 of this character having an important of n feet upon the life of the people extended n from the great lakes to the extreme cast O | the continent. It was obvious to me il }. cross-examining the various old men tha n the performances of juggiery were in eacl
 case an exhibition of the pretended miraeu
 lous power of an individual, whereby h. T. obtained reputation above his rivals apt ,f derived subsistence and authority by tht 2 selling of charms and superhuman infor e nation The charms of fetiches, whicl V still are sold by few who are yet believes :. in, are of three kind5-to bring death or dis II ease to an enemy, to lure an enemy into am I- bush, and to create sexual love.'