[99] “The neophyte is constantly exhorted not to allow his eyes to wander, but to keep them fixed upon the sacred mescal in the center of the circle.” (Mooney, _The Mescal Plant_, 11). Changing the cross-legged position too often, leaning backward on one elbow or the like to rest is considered frivolous, indicating lack of seriousness. One may leave the meeting at any time with permission, but it is best to try to wait till after midnight, unless there is the emergency of nausea from peyote. In leaving and entering the leader is always consulted to see if the path to one’s seat is “clear,” i.e., that no one is eating peyote or smoking; as smoking or eating peyote is conceptually praying, it is extremely bad manners to pass between a person doing either and the altar fire, hence the need for instruction from the leader. This is old Plains etiquette (_Handbook of the American Indians_, 1:442b). Thus, to avoid his having to pass before smokers, the brand might be passed backwards to the fireman; his movements in tending the fire never entail passing before anyone, and the feather given him by the leader symbolizes delegation of power to enter or leave as necessary for wood. But no one may pass between him and his seat while tending the fire. [100] Corn shucks are standard, but Comanche and Shawnee sometimes use black-jack oak-leaves (just so the materials are native). Interestingly, the elbow pipe is never used in the Plains, but at Mescalero a pipe was used instead of the usual Southwestern cigarette—a case of reverse or reciprocal borrowing. [101] There are many individualized modes of eating peyote. Hoebel describes a Comanche way: chew into a ball, spit into palm of hand, rub in clockwise circle, swallow bolus. On the war-path one spits in his hands again and rubs his head and ears, the better to hear. Belo said he once ate a button when each person sang. Kiowa often make several clockwise motions of buttons toward the fire before eating, to prevent nausea, or hold the palms out toward it and rub themselves. One may request another to chew peyote for him if he has bad teeth or is sick, and swallow the bolus so prepared. The number of buttons eaten ranges from four to about thirty. [102] Mooney (_Miscellaneous Notes_) mentions an odorous root from New Mexico, but is unclear about its use; cedar incense was universal in the writer’s experience. The sage may be passed around also; some chew, eat it. [103] Cf. the whisk of sage used in sweat-bathing; in view of other parallels, this otherwise functionless item in the peyote meeting should not be overlooked.