around one another's arms and thighs. They then splashed themselves with water, and each placing himself in a sloping position against a wooden pillar, went through the ceremony of "scarifying." This was done by expert operators, who using an instrument formed of the sharp teeth of the gar fish—two rows of about fifteen teeth tied to a corn cob, scraped the arms and legs of the players over a space of more than fifteen inches in length.
"Five separate scratchings were made on each man's leg below the knee, five on each thigh, and five on each arm, in all nearly thirty sets of cuts. As the instrument contained about thirty teeth, each Indian must in every case have had several hundred lines drawn on his skin. The blood flowed profusely, as long as the bandages were kept tight. This indeed, seemed to be one of their principal objects, as the Indians endeavoured to assist the bleeding by throwing their arms and legs about, holding them over, and sometimes placing them almost in the fire, for a second or two. It was altogether a hideous and frightful scene. For my own part I scarcely knew how to feel when I found myself amongst some dozens of naked savages, streaming with blood from
