An indian chief was feeling sick, so he summoned the medicine man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long, thin strip of elk hide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was doing. The chief shrugged and said, "The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on."