The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-10-29
THE SNAKE DANCE.

A Wonderful Snake Story Told by an
Agent Of tho Moquis Indians-A Pit
Filled with Ratflers and serpents "
all Kinds and Taken out by the
Mouth. r -
Mr.. W. R. Mateer, Indian agent Of
the Moquis Pueblos, Of Arizona, gave
St. Louis reporter thrilling account OF
q strange ceremony practiced by that
tribe, called the "Snake Dance" The
Moquis regard the serpent as q sacred
reptile, possessed of the power OF con-
trolling the elements, and disposed to be
friendly to man. They never kill a
snake, and frequently handle the most
poisonous serpent with impunity. The
rattlesnake is regarded with special
veneration, and their bite is no more
dreaded than the scratch of mesquit
thorn or the pricking of cactus. They
have an antidote for the bite of a rattle
snake which is infallible, 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
being stupefied for moment, becomes
entirely restored and never feels any pain
or inconvenience afterward. All at
tempts of white men to learn the ingre-
dients Of this antidote have proved futile,
as this secret is guarded with religious
fidelity, and an Indian would lay down
his life rather than communicate the re-
cipe for snake bites to pale face. If a
white man is bitten by q rattlesnake the
Indians will not hesitate to give him the
antidote, but he must not inquire what
t is composed of.
The snake dance is performed by the
Moquis every two years, and is resorted
to as 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 certain height,
and needs moistening from the clouds,
preparations are made for the grand
snake dance. A deep and wide excava-
ton is made in the dirt floor of one Of
the largest houses in the village, and the
whole tribe 90 out to hunt snakes. These
they catch with their hands and bring
them in twined around their necks.
coiled in their bosoms. or wrapped
around their legs and arms. All kinds
of snakes are captured-the rettler, the
viper, the moccasin, the blue lacer, the
black, the garter, the green, spoted-in
fact, every variety existing in the coun-
try. These to the number 6 several
hundred are placed in the pit in the floor,
and the mouth is covered over with 8
buffalo robe, the hairy side down to pre-
vent the reptiles from crawling out and
escaping. Then a 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 tile Clouds to send rain
upon the thirsting cornfelds. A body of
younger men next form circle around
the pit, and 60 through q similar cere-
mony. Then come the old women, who
have a 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
solemn silence prevails, during which
the kissing of the serpents and the shrill
sound of their rattles are heard under
the buffalo robe. These sounds are taken
as favorable tokens that the incantations
have been successful, and that q copious
fall of rain will follow. Then the buff
falo 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. Sometimes man will
emerge with two or three small snakes
in his mouth. As each man emerges
from the pit with his mouth full of
snakes he runs at full speed down the
almost perpendicular side of the mesa
until he comes to the plain, and there
gently releases his captives, 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, snd if blood has been
drawn they know that the fa4gs of a
rattler have entered their flesh, and they
.ose no time in applying the antidote.,
The wounds inflicted by the rattle
snakes are very painful. Yhe rattler,
when provoked, is the most savage of all
serpents, and will continue to strike and
lacerate an enemy as long as he Is
within reach. Sometimes an old snake
with full-grown fangs will fasten upon
the cheek or arm of an Indian and hold
on until the fangs are torn from his jaws.
Mr.. Matter witnessed one of these snake
dances of the Moquis recently, and was
Mortified at the sight. He saw the blood
streaming from the arms and breasts OF
the Indians, who bore the pain with
stole indifference. and seemed to take
pleasure in the inAiction. They believed
that the more savage the snakes became
and the deeper the wounds inflicted, the
more copious would be the shower. On
the occasion of the last snake dance the
Indians of one of the villages refused to
participate. For some reason they be-
fieved that the rain would come without
the dance. and while the other villages
were engaged in the ceremony they sat
idly in their houses listening to the noise
and smiling at the unnecessary trouble
their neighbors were taking. Subse-
quently they had good cause to repent,
for when the rain came sweeping down
from the mountains it poured a copious
flood upon the misunderstanding villages
and their fields and passed around the
hereto village and their parched corn
fields, leaving them as dry as a powder
horn. The result was that six of the
seven villages raised abundant crops,
and the other had to call on the agent
fo,, ,opo,,, ~, ont roii0na