as introduced by a Paiute who gathered a number of Washo
followers. His cult or "way" has since been superseded by a strictly Washo
group, following the Teepee Way (d'Azevedo 1957). The Teepee Way is an
illustration of the effect an ethnographer can have on the lives of his
subjects. A casual remark by an ethnographer that the peyote ceremonies
carried out by the Paiute leader were not like those he had seen elsewhere
motivated a Washo to drive to Idaho to find out for himself. This trip
resulted in the formation of the new cult and the near dissolution of the
group headed by the Paiute. Washo peyotism has incorporated much of the
curing emphasis of Washo shamanism and much of the symbolism as well. The
peyote button is reminiscent of the poison parsnip taken by old-time
doctors (d'Azevedo 1957). The powerful eagle feather is reserved for the
use of road chiefs just as it was the special symbol of the shaman or
powerful warrior. The fans carried by most peyotists are often composed of
magpie feathers. Curative peyote meetings are often conducted by a special
chief, reputed to have very potent curing powers, who does not conduct the
regular peyote meeting. Even in regular meetings one of the main emphases
is on curing ailments of both the body and spirit.

Led by an assimilated Washo, known by other Indians as a "white man's
Indian," the shamans brought suit against the peyotists urging they be
arrested and their meetings banned. They charged, among other things, that
peyote meetings were occasions of sexual license. Such open accusations
and the bringing of white men into a strictly Indian matter created a
great deal of antagonism toward the shamans among the Washo, whether or
not they were committed to peyote.

Peyote curing differs only in detail from shamanistic curing as these two
stories may illustrate.

"Had these gallstones and them white doctors operated and they got
a lotta little stones but pretty soon it was back. So I decided to
pray. You know whenever an Indian wants to pray the first thing he
turns to is water and tobacco. So every night when I went to the
john [toilet] I'd roll a cigarette and pray to that Peyote. I'd
say, 'I don't want to be sick so you got to help them white
doctors. You got to get all those little stones together in one
place.' That Peyote is a good medicine. I used to go to meetings
and it helped me before. So every night I prayed to the Peyote t