The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-12-04
THE SNAKE DANCE.
A Wonderful Story Told by an Agent Of the
Moquis Indians.

Wonderful Story Told by an Agent of ths
Moquis Indians.
[From the saa Francisco Bulletin.l
W. B. Mateer, Indian Agent of the
Maquis Pueblos of Arizona. gives
thrilling account of a strange ceremony
practiced by that tribe, called the SNAKE
dance" The Moquis regard the serpent
as sacred reptile, possessed of the
power of controlling the elements and
disposed to be friendly to man. They
never kill snake, and frequently
handle the. most poisonous serpent
with 1mpuuity. The rattlesnake is re-
garded with special veneratien, and
their bite is no more dreaded than the
scratch Of mesquit thorn or the prick
ing of cactus. They have an antidote
for the bite of rattlesnake which is in-
fallible, and never fails to effect cure
In few minutes when administered
Immediately. An Indian of this tribe,
when bitten by rattler, swallows the
antidote at once, and, after bsing stupi-
fed for moment, becomes entirely
restored, and never feels any pain or
inconvenience afterward. ALI attempts
of white men to learn the ingredients
of this antidote have proved futile, as
the secret is regarded with religious
fidelity, and an Indian would lay dewn
his life rather than communicate the
recipe for bites to q pale-face.
Ha white man is bitten by rattler,
the Indians viii not hesitate to give
him the antidote, but he must not in
xx,hok = 80 do cf
The snake dance is performed by the
Moquis every two years, and is resorted
to as q means of propitiating the spirit
OF the summer rain to send abundant
showers to fructify the earth and make
the crops grow. The corn is planted
in the moist sand of the mesa, without
previous preparation Of the ground, for
the plow is unknown to the tribe, and
after it has grown to q certain height
and needs moistening from the clouds,
preparations are made for the
grand snake dance. A deep and
wide excavation is made in the
dirt floor of one of the largest
houses in the village, end the whole
tribe go out to hunt snakes. These they
catch with their hands and bring them
in twined around their necks, cooled in
their bosoms, or wrapped around their
legs and arms. All kinds of snakes are
captured-the RATHER, the viper, the
moccasin, the blue racer, the garter, the
existing in the country. These, to the
number of several hundred, are placed
in the pit in the floor, and the mouth is
covered with bufalo-robe, the hairy
side down, to prevent the reptiles from
crawling out and escaping. Then q
certain number of the old men dance
around the pit, chanting monotonous
songs and calling upon the imprisoned
serpents to intercede with the spirit of
the clouds to send rain upon the thirst
ing corn-felds. A body OF younger
men next form circle around the pit,
and go through similar ceremony.
Then come the old women, who have o
different chant, then the young married
women, then the boys, and finally the
virgins, with their hair done up In
loops, and then for few moments q
solemn silence prevails, during which
the kissing of the serpents and the
shril sound of their rattles are heard
under the buftalo-robe. These sounds
are taken as favorable tokens that the
| incantations have been successful, and
that copious fall of rain will follow.
Then the bufalo-robe is removed, and
then the men and boys leap into the
pit, and each one brings forth snake,
which he holds in his mouth. Some
| H.. .,.ox iii ~, o~r~<, .ru.k1 kvv,r> -
three small snakes in his mouth. A1
each man emerges from the pit with his
mouth full of snakes, he runs at full
speed down the neutrality-suspicious.
side of the mesq until he comes to the
plain, aud there gently releases his cap
tives, who at once take to the grass and
quickly disappear. After the pit has
been emptied, the men examine the
wounds On their arms, breast and faces
and, if blood has been drawn, they
know that the fangs Of rattler have en-
tered their flesh, and they lose no time
in applying the antidote.
The wounds inflicted by the rattle
snakes are very painful. The rattler
when provoked, is the most savage Of
all serpents, and will continue to strike
and lacerate an enemy as long as he il
within reach. Sometimes an old snake
with full-grown fangs win fasten upor
the cheek or arm of an Indian and hole
on until the fsngs are torn from hil
Jaw. Mr.. Mateer Witnessed one of thest
snake-dances of the Moquis recently
and was Mortified at the sight. He saw
the blood streaming flom the arms ani
breasts of the Indians, who bore tn,
pain with stole indifference and seemed
to take pleasure in the infection. The,
believed that the more savage the snakes
became, and the deeper the wounds in
ficted, the more copious would be tn
shower. On the occasion of the las
snake-dance the Indians of one of tn
villages refused to participate. Fo
some reason they believed the rail
would come down without the dance
and while the other villages were en-
gagged in the ceremony they sat idly i
their houses listening to the noise an
smiling at the unnecessary trouble thei
neighbors were taking. Subsequent
they had good cause to repent, for whe
the rain came sweeping down from th
| mountains it poured copious foo
upon the snake-worshiping villages an
, their fields, and passed around th
: hereto village and their parcbed corI
fields, leaving them as dry as powde
, horn. The result was that six of th
seven villages raised abundant crop
/ and the other had to call on the Agei
: for Government rations.
: Mr.. Mateer was formerly residel
, of this city, and appears to be a trutl
q full man. He was q spectator OF Il
a strange snake dance, but witnesse
' it from safe distance, sitting on wa
: overlooking the scene.
Q A Penitentiary Used by Counterfeiter
r For some time past counterfeit 81
q yer dollars, halves, quarters, dimes an
9 nickels have been circulated quit
a freely in Frankfort, KY, and the neigl
Q boring towns. Several days ago the,
s coins were traced to the Kentucl
u pehitentiary The prison authoriti,
b were notified of the fact and they d
Q termined to make an investigation
The prisoners were locked up in the
cells and diligent search was inst
= 49,