“After a time, the faces of the men were painted red. When the sticks were finished, four men came in wrapped in buffalo-robes, each carrying a drum. Now the four men who had prepared the sticks were ready to receive the bow, and the drummers began to drum and sing. Then the man who dreamed about the bow carried it outside of the lodge, pointing it toward the west. He was followed by the whole company, and, after singing a song, they took a step forward and pointed the bow to the north; another step again, then pointed to the east; and then a step forward, pointing to the south. Then they ran toward the west, then toward the east, then toward the north, and then toward the south. [The significance of this is, that the thunder resides in the four directions of the heavens, and also goes in all directions, so that the carrying of the sticks toward the various points of the compass puts them in touch with the thunder.] Then they went back to the sweat-house, and the ceremony was complete. “The man who owns one of these bows must not wear iron on his person, he must never give his food to any one else after eating from it himself, and he must never allow the bow, or any part of it, to touch the ground.”[21] [Illustration: Fig. 24. Sketch of a Robe for the Medicine-bow Owner. Drawn by a Native. ] The owner of a medicine-bow should have a buffalo-robe with special decorations, consisting of a spider-web design of the character previously described, from the corners of which extend wavy lines representing the thunder. Sometimes the picture of a thunder-bird was drawn above the spider-web design, or a few tail-feathers of the eagle were attached to the robe. The spider-web design on the robe of an owner of a medicine-bow was to symbolize the thunder, for, as stated by the informants, the spider is a friend of the medicine-bow. None of these robes are now in existence; but sketches were made for the writer, one of which is reproduced in Fig. 24.