Apache learned of the sacred plant; and, instructed by

the latter, the Kiowa and Comanche by 1880 developed

the ritual essentially as it is still practiced, and spread it

to most tribes of the Plains and beyond.

The Kiowa also developed what might be called a

distinguished school of native artists, painting with

Caucasion materials in an original style developed by

themselves, and marked by a combination of sensitive

delicacy and firm decorative touch.*

Of this group, Monroe Tsa Toke, who died in 1937,

was one. He was also an ardent Peyote adherent.

The present book represents a series of his paintings

that refer to the dramatically mystical cult to which he

was so passionately attached, together with the

explanation, in his own words, of the meaning of the

acts, symbols, and visions of the religion. The combina-

tion of a deep belief with its fervent aesthetic expres-

sion make the record of Tsa Toke's life work an unusual

and important one.

A.L. Kroeber

* see "Kiowa Indian Art: Watercolor Paintings in Color; with Intro-
duction by Oscar Brousse Jacobson," Nice, 1929. The painters reproduced
besides Tsa Toke are Mopope, Hokeah, Asah and Bonjétah.

viii