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-WHERE HE STUDIES AND WORKS AND ENTERTAINS HIS FRIENDS
privilege to examine. Here the best productions of the
Winnebago, Chippewa and Algonquin beadworkers are
grouped. Belts and sashes, in which wonderful designs are
traced in harmonious coloring, hang side by side with rare
designs in richly dyed quills of the porcupine. On the
south wall hang over half a hundred masks used in Iroquois
ceremonials and dances, all carved from solid wood and each
of a different design and meaning. Hideous ? Yes, at first
glance, but as your host explains their meaning and use an
interest is awakened that overshadows all other feeling. Each
has its legend and its use in their ceremonies. Ga-gon-sa is
the name given them by the Indians, and of one mask, the
features of which are pushed to one side and wonderfully
distorted, this legend is related: Many, many years ago,
when this world was young a being lived by the banks of a
river and each day his custom was to stroll by the water's
side and see the fishes leap and hear the birds sing in the
trees. One morning, while taking his daily walk, he was
surprised to see upon the opposite bank the figure of a man.
Halting, he demanded his presence there and whence he
came; "Who are you that dares to walk by the side of my
river ? Know you not that I am the only one and the maker
and possessor of all this earth?" The intruder smiled and re-