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The Search-Light.
BaTnBIU DGE, SEl’T. 28, fiiiJlT
AN INDIAN CEREMONY
THE “MEDICINE SWEAT” THAT MAK!lo
THE RED MAN CLEAN.
'll la III. TnrUI.N Bath, So lo Sufi:,.
and It I. to Him a lilt*. Doth ’Phjs-
lml n-.id Spiritual — Making Modi
cine to the Great Spirit.
Pew, If any, of the writers on tli<>
habits, folklore and history of the
American Indian have devoted any
tfnc* to the red wnn’s Turkish bath,
ft* Institution homemade, to be sure,
but o recognized necessity In every
camp and a feature of the dally life of
the Indian. On the contrary, com
mentators have conveyed the impres
sion thut habits of cleanliness are for
eign to the Indian and that he lias an
Inborn aversion to water except for
culinary purposes.
II,v the avidity and frequency with
which the Indian Indulges In his home
made Turkish bath he proves the fal
lacy of this belief and shows that he.
ns well as his white brother, can live
up to the precept “Cleanliness Is next
to godliness," only In the practice the
Indian puts cleanliness llrst.
The term Turkish bnlh Is unknown
to the Indian. lie calls that method of
ablution a "medicine sweat.” It Is to
him a rite both physical nnd spiritual,
for he cleanses his person and then
“makes medicine" to Ills Or eat Spirit.
That the rite Is religiously observed
was shown by a hand of Brule Sioux
Indians, who made a Journey across
the continent to the east nnd went Into
encampment In, to them, u strange
laud.
On their arrival, even before they
raised their tepee poles, they erected a
‘‘medicine sweat" tent. The framework
of this tent Is of hoop poles so trained
‘ thut It Is about nlue feet tn diameter,
four feet high. Hat topped und almost
circular In form.
Just within the frninework there Is a
bedding of straw ubuut two feet wide,
nnd lu the center of the tent there Is a
whole In the ground about three feet In
diameter ami three feet deep. There
aiv no steam vents or pipes, no marble
slabs, no rubbers and no sheets. When
the Indian Is ready for h!s “medicine
sweat" a mimlsT of stones or rocks
are heated lo almost white heat und
dumped into the hole lu the ground.
Then the red men. L’l) or 25 of them. In
o cost nine even seautler than Adam’s
after the fall, range themselves upon
tin* straw. They sit mummy fashion,
their chins on their knees nnd their
arms around their shins, packed so
close together that even if they would
they could not move.
When they are all ready, blankets,
skins nnd canvas are thrown over the
framework until the tent Is almost air
tight, two or three buckets of water
are passed in and thrown upon the hot
stones nnd the “medicine sweat" be
gins. The moment the steam begins to
rise the Indians begin n chant, which
Is kepi up without Interruption until
the sweat 1s over, racked together,
enveloped In steam so thick that none
can see his neighbor, the Indiana sit.
singing and perspiring for an hour or
more. Not tin Indlun moves, lie
neither can nor wants to.
At n signal front the chief or the
medicine mun a section of the tent Is
torn nw.ay, and with a heave anil a
'whoop nil the bucks make pellmell for
the water. A run nnd a Jump, und lu
they go. It Is Just as much sport for
the oldest warrior as for the hoy Who
has not yet won his war bounet. Once
more on land, the Indian, having (>010
formed a duty be owes to himself and
Ills uelghbor, la ready to "make medi
cine." This Is always done after the-
“medicine sweat”—iu fuel it Is part
and pa reel of the ceremony, for it is
regarded as n ceremony.
The Indlau, clenu In person and at
this moment before his communion
with the God of bis fathers, supposed
to be equally cieau of mind and guile
less of souL now proceeds to the blgb-
«at point of land iu the vicinity of the
camp, thus getting as near to th«
Great Spirit as It Is possible to do while
on earth. On the way he gat lien up a
little toll, a stray leaf, some old tobacco
quids, a dead fly or bug or two—In fact
anything which may be deemed refuse,
for he is about to convey to the Great
Spirit that he has cleansed hie persou
and that all things andean have gone
from him.
These thing* that he has gathered be
placet tn a piece of white doth, which
in turn is fastened to the end of a long
■tick. The other eud of the atick le
thrust Into the ground at the top of the
hill or kuoU. and the good Indian has
made medicine. Two days seldom pass
without the repetition of this cere
mony. It never varies. The scene may
change, the Indian may wander to sew
lauds or be driven to them, hot where
be le there also la hla “medicine sweat"
tent and there be “makes medicine."—
New York Times.
“Why. oh. why.” ws»... » the woman,
picking up the watch at her feet and
bolding It to h*r nr, “doesn't some*
body invent a watch that you can drop
yrlthent lit stopping?”-New York Sun.
CUPID’S ODD PRANKS. 1 Legal Advertisements, r J 1. Hum
Conlraflor and Builder.
WHY SOME WOMEN FELL IN LOVE
W/1TH THEIR HUSBANDS.
Peculiar Reason* Tbnl at Times tn-
U'/cnce file Fnlr Sc* In Matters of
tl.c iti-nrf—The Woman Who Won
anj V. c.Ideal a Woman IJsJer.
If then* la one question more than
r.notl.iT to which It id (lililcult to get or
g:,c u satisfactory answer It is surely
this: "Why did you rail tn love with
yu.r husband?" In ID cases out of 2D
woman would probably confess candid
ly l;,.it she did not know or else she
would declare conclusively that she
did because she did, und thut ought to
1 eud the matter.
1 In the rare cases where the lady con
descends to declare her reason the an
swers are both Interesting and In-
‘ structlve.
! “Whatever made you marry the pr!s-
| oner?" a Loudon magistrate asked a
woman whose face bore "striking" evi
dence of Iter husband's affection. "IJe-
cause lie punched all the other fellows’
heads,” she answered, "and nobody
else dared make love to me.”
Anottier good lady confessed that she
fell lu love with her husband because
be was the "only man who ever dared
to snub her." While other men were
stumbling over each other to pay her
court and attention, he always treated
her with absolute Indifference and even
rudeness.
The consequence was that she de
termined to bring him to her foot and
his knees. She succeeded, but lost her
heart I11 the attempt.
“I fell In love with my husband,”
one lady recently declared, “because
he was the only man about whom no
one tvus ever heard to say an unkind
word. Even the'women, although lie
paid them no special attention, were
agreed that he was "a darling;’ and. al
though he was plain, almost to ugli
ness. and old enough almost to he my
father, I loved him and determined to
marry him long before he hud uuy
such thought of me.”
Not long ago a Yorkshire lady ol
wealth and beauty shocked her friends
by marrying a poor cripple. It had
come to Iter ears that be bad long lov
ed her In silence and hud counted each
day happy If he only caught a distant
glimpse of her. She discovered that
he was a devoted son and brother and
a mutt of unusual gifts ami cnltury tor
his humble position, und, moved by
one of those sudden, generous Im
pulses to which some women are lia
ble. she Nought an interview with him,
told him that she hud learned his se
cret nnd offered him her band and for
tune. This may appear u strange and
Improbable thing, but thousands know
thut It Is literally true.
Another lady whose marriage result
ed from a similar Impulse gives this
explanation of It. Among the friends
of her family was nn old bachelor with
u reputation for crustiness who had
known her from a child and had often
nursed her in early days. To her he
had always been gentle and kind, and
slit* had loved him "In a way” as long
ns she couhl remember.
One day she said, "Why have yon
never married. Mr. —f
“Slurry, my dear? Why. no one
would ever marry a grumpy old man
like me!"
"Of course they would!" she answer
ed Indignantly. “Why, 1 would marry
you myself!”
“Thuuk you. my dear!" came the un
expected nuswer. "Then we’tl consider
the matter ended.”
In spite of her surprise and misgiv
ings the girl loyally kept her promise,
nnd 3he has never bad reason to regret
her “moment's Indiscretion.”
A lady frleud of the writer married
her husbund for the very illogical rea
son that he was an avowed wonmu
hater. He made no secret of bis aver
sion to the fair spx and declared It so
constantly that, us she says. “1 vowed
1 would convert him nnd make him
change bis uilnd, at least so rar ns one
of my sex was concerned." He was
not difficult to convert’, for within 12
months be had forsworn bis creed so
far as to couduct one of the "hated
sex" to the altar, and now he declares
that he “loves them all.”—TH*Blts.
CO NTY TAX LEVY FOR 1901 j
j GeoiutIA—Decatur County:
j It appearing to the board of county
eoumiisf-ioners for roads and revenues of
Decatur county. Georgia, from an
j inspection of the tax digest of said
I county for the year 1901, that it
j will be necessary in order to meet the
j current expenses of said county for the
| year 1901. and to pay for the coustruc-
; tion of a new court house suitable and
adequate for the business of the county,
j that a levy of of five dollars and fifty
I (1 cents on each out? thousand dollars
worth of property he made. It is there-
' fore ordered by the board t' at there he
] ievi* d against all the propei i.y in ‘lie
county of Decatur for the year 1901, a
I tax of’five dollars and* fifty 0 cents tor
each one tbou-ard dollars worth of pro
perty held t.r owned in said county, for
the following purposes to wit:
1. To pay the legal indebtedness of the
county, due or to become due during
the, year, or past due - - - $ 0.00
2. To build or repair court houses,
jails, bridges or ferries, or otner
public improvements according
to contract (including tne amount
to be expended during said year
for a new court house; - - 3.58
3. To pay sheriffs’, jailers.’or other
cunty officers’ fees, that they
m iy he entitled to, out of the
county ... - ,50
4. To pay coroners ell fees that
may Ire due them by the county
for holding inquests - - 0.00
5. To pay the expenses of the
county for bailiffs at courts, non
resident witnesses in criminal
cases, fuel,servant hire, station
ery, and the like .10
0. To pay jurors per diem compen
sation - - - - - .60
7. To pay charges incurved in sup
porting the poor of the county
and as otherwise prescribed by
by the code - - - - .30
8. To pay for educational purposes,
to be levied only in strict com
pliance with law - - - 0.U0
1). To pay any other lawful
charge against the county. - .50
$5.50
It is further ordered that a copy of
this order he published at the court house
door and a copy of the same be fur
nished to the tax collect jr as required
by law.
Witness the honorable board of eoun-
t commissioners for roads and revenues
i r Decatur county, Georgia, this Sept.
0 1901. II A. Litle.
Joe H. Gilpin. Chairman.
Clerk.
Tk» How* of Brton.
Many valleys described in guide
books as “whispering v&lley*” are fa
vorite resorts for tourists In all parts
of the world. I Vw, however, exceed In
wonder a valley at Stauxtlel.I In Es
sex. England. The rector or this par-
lab In giving a careful account of bis
own experiences states that his house
stands on a hill 28.8 feet above sea
level, rising In rear to 300 feet, while
in front the ground slopes away to s
stream 100 feet below snd again rises
180 feet on the opposite side. From
the rectory the bells of 14 or 18 vll-
lags* may be d-lstlnguUUed. while
screes the valley footsteps sad voices
In conversational tone may bo beard
at half s mil*.
BO AD NOTICE.
(JEOItUlA—Decatur Countv:
Whereas, The petition of C. B. Jle-
Nmr, J. B. Butler, W. A. Carr. J. D.
McNair, et. ah. has been duly tiled with
this hoard, petition for the establish
ment of n certain road, described ns fol
lows: Commencing at the seventeen
mile post on the Attapulgus and Cav
alry public road and running in a north
east direction to r at the residence of
S. D. Jones, and thence in a northerly
direction until it crosses Little Swamp
Creek, and thence in a northeast direc
tion until it intersects the road at Big
Swamp creek. Said road will be about
one ai d one-hnlf miles in length, and
will pass over the lands of S. G W. Mc
Nair’s e-tate, J. B. Butler. Wight Bros.
Jennie Kelley. S. D. Jones. W right Mc
Nair J D. McNair. W. 0. Jones, B, K.
T. Harrison, B. 0 Harrison and W. E.
Bvrd.
And whereas. Said petition has been
duly referred to the road c uumissionei's
of Bell’s district, in which said road is
situate, and they have made their re
port to this board, that said public road
wi.l be of public utility, and have mark
ed out the same according to law ; This is
to cite ar.d admonish all persons that if
no good cause be shownto the contrary
before this boaid on the first Monday in
October. 1901. an order will be grantea
opening up and establishing said road as
a public road in said county
Witness the honorable board of county
commissioners ot roads and revenues of
De eatur county, this the 2nd. day of
September, 1901. Joe H. Gilpin.
Clerk.
DwnIU foya.
Meeks—My wife prefers eoffe* fur
breakfast and I prefer tea.
Weeks—Then I suppose yos bare
both?
Meeks—Oh, no. Ws 00m promlss.
Week*—In whot wsy?
“wwwl— on
ROAD NOTICE.
Georgia—Decatur County:
Applicat ion having been made to the
Board of County Commissioners of Bonds
and Kevenues of Decatur county for the
alteration of : be Lambert Ferry road to-
wit: Where it now crosses the east or
igins! land liue of lot No. 389 in the 20th
district by running said road along said
east line inside on lot No. 389 and on the
east line of 888 in said district inside on
said lot and to the sou’ll east comer on
said lot 388 and from thence along the
south line of said lot 38S inside of said
lot until it intersects the said Lambert
Ferry road again at what is known as
"Colored Taberascle church,” and the
three road commissioners, appointed by
this Board as required by law to exam
ine into the public utility of $ai 1 altera
tion. having reported iu favor of said al
teration ana the discoi tii>”auce of the
said part of the old road tor which said
alteration is to be substituted; This is to
not.ifiy 111 persons concerned that unless
good cause to the otoiitmry be shown
to ibis Board k# such alteration
being allowed au ordqr wi.l be granted
directing and allowing said alteration
on the first Monday in September and
discontinuance of the said part of the
old road f .r which said alteration is sub
stituted.
Under the hands and seals of th- Hon-
nrtbta Board of County Commissioners
of D&catur county. This 96th day of
July. par Joe H. Gilpen, Clerk.
BAINlili ID GK, GA.
Bids Submitted on All Kinds of .
BRICK: or : WOOD : WORK.
12 A tf
ALBERT GRICE,
Tonsoral Artist,
COLQUITT, - GEORGIA.
Best Work. Satisfaction Guaranteed
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structing the exhausted digestive or
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Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Heartburn,
Flatulence, Sour Stomach, Nausea.
Sick Headache,Gastralgia,Cramps,and
all other results of imperf»etdigestion.
Prepared by E. C. DeWltt * '... ^fii-ago.
Situated °n Dickinson’s B a »
Ideal Resort f or uj.
Recreation
Finest mineral waters it,
fresh and salt. Trim
trams. A hotel will,
eq ipments. A weeks*, 5
eeea may restore your hea ,
save a doctor’s bill.
KATES, §1. PEP, Da,
Address
*• W. Dev
Pan
'ace,,
NOTICE.
Get your work done at the „
liable stand of
A. GUY,
Boot and ShoeMak
On Water Street.
m BUSINESS
Can be properly run without be
Advertised,
And no advertising pays better than
newspaper advertising. The news
paper goes into the homes of the
people and is read through. If bar
gains are offered, they make a note
of it.
THE SEARCH-EIGHT
a first-class advertising mediu
As it is read by the people very
generally in this county and by
many in adjoining comities.
PUT AN AD. I
And work up your business to
payin point.
Job Work
Our book and job office is busy turn
ing ont first-class job work all the
time, and we propose to give satis
faction at reasonable prices.
If yon need anything in the job
printing line, write to us or see us
before placing your order.
It will pay you.
RXSFXCTTTTZ*!.?
TEE SEARCH-LIGHT.