30. Jĕs´sakkân´, or juggler’s lodge 252 31. Jĕs´sakkīd´ curing woman 255 32. Jĕs´sakkīd´ curing man 255 33. Diagram of Midē´wigân of the fourth degree 255 34. General view of Midē´wigân 256 35. Indian diagram of ghost lodge 279 36. Leech Lake Midē´ song 295 37. Leech Lake Midē´ song 296 38. Leech Lake Midē´ song 297 39. Leech Lake Midē´ song 297 THE MIDĒ´WIWIN OR “GRAND MEDICINE SOCIETY” OF THE OJIBWAY. By W. J. Hoffman. INTRODUCTION. The Ojibwa is one of the largest tribes of the United States, and it is scattered over a considerable area, from the Province of Ontario, on the east, to the Red River of the North, on the west, and from Manitoba southward through the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This tribe is, strictly speaking, a timber people, and in its westward migration or dispersion has never passed beyond the limit of the timber growth which so remarkably divides the State of Minnesota into two parts possessing distinct physical features. The western portion of this State is a gently undulating prairie which sweeps away to the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern portion is heavily timbered. The dividing line, at or near the meridian of 95° 50' west longitude, extends due north and south, and at a point about 75 miles south of the northern boundary the timber line trends toward the northwest, crossing the State line, 49° north latitude, at about 97° 10' west longitude. Minnesota contains many thousand lakes of various sizes, some of which are connected by fine water courses, while others are entirely isolated. The wooded country is undulating, the elevated portions being covered chiefly with pine, fir, spruce, and other coniferous trees, and the lowest depressions being occupied by lakes, ponds, or marshes, around which occur the tamarack, willow, and other trees which thrive in moist ground, while the regions between these extremes are covered with oak, poplar, ash, birch, maple, and many other varieties of trees and shrubs. Wild fowl, game, and fish are still abundant, and until recently have furnished to the Indians the chief source of subsistence. Tribal organization according to the totemic system is practically broken up, as the Indians are generally located upon or near the several reservations set apart for them by the General Government, where they have been under more or less restraint by the United States Indian agents and the missionaries. Representatives of various totems or gentes may therefore be found upon a single reservation, where they continue to adhere to traditional customs and beliefs, thus presenting an interesting field for ethnologic research.