The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-09-17
LAVE SNAKES,

The chief Feature OF an Ahcient p"t
DiSsustiUE Redgion-1he snake
nanSg as Practicea by the nOQui In
diRns,
Ohicago, September l3.-Fnst Lieutenant
John G.. Bourke, Third cavalry, United
states army, and side-de-csmp TO General
Crook. vas one OF the officers selected BY
T5su,aaantsG General Sheridan some months
sipcs to make Investigators into the habii',
&C., Of the Indians living within or coz.
,;spous to the military division Of Missouri.
The district assigned Lieutenant Bourte was
,ha southern half of the division, the
nnrtbern portion being allotted 10 Capts'n
w. p. Clarke, 5 ceud cavalry
Bourko has penetrated into
conntrv never before uSversed By >
white man, and has sioce written 70 General
Sheridan a long letter which contains .
orsnhic account Of 8 curious fud horrible
5Salisious ceremony among tho remote aud
sIn,ost uaknown Indian tribe, the NoqilI OF
Tor,bses,ern Arizona. They have an apostle
whose identity hiss bsen preserved since
tbsy we're ffst seen ard psrlislly deacrit,d
by Spsni.h Catholic miaalouariss in 1886.
1.-THE RITZ -
referred 20 " t1e sFsse dance,
Liautenanl Bourbo says the Moqnis ha6
the procession divided into two parts one OF
tho ohorislors and soutd rai.lers, the
Other Of forty eight meG and chli-
dren, twenty four of whom car
ria1 suakes end the other twentysfour acted
A. attendants, tanning tho snakes with eagle
f,athera Tho horrible reptiles we're carried
1. IL, tho ,nOnth a
Iosthsous sigbs TO rec the long hle Of naked
man carryine these monsters between their
teatb and tramping around q long circle to
the accompaniment of fnnenal dirge OF
rAttlss and RonotonoWs chanting; after y
snake rad been thus carried around the or
Gle. il was deposited in h sacred log of cot
tonwood espiiDg, covered with buffalo robes,
and its place taken by another. Thus it YVES
not hard 10 calculate tho number used which
was moi far from one hundred rather over
than under, and half the number were.
RATTLEsNAKEs.
Tho procession entered through an arcade
marching in hne of srrow heads four timer
around the great circle embracing both the
sacred lodge ard the sscred rock, and then
formed in two single ranks, the choristers
facing toward the precipice and the dancers
facing the sacred lodge. The high priest, IS
| cali him, took station directly in front of
the sacred lodge, and between it and the
sacred rock. which latter is grim looking
nile of weather worn sandstone twenty or
thirty feet high, having slight re-
semblsnce TO q human head. At the foot of
il is niche, in which is piece of black
stone, bearing vague appearance of the hui
man trunk; at ths base OF this idol are
many
yoTtyE OFFERINGS
to propitiate the deity to send plentiful rains
and "a the procession files around the little
plaza the high priest sprinkles the ground
with water, using an earthsn bowl and On
eagles feather as "a spriokler. A second
medicine man twirls peculiar cling and
makes q noise like the falling of copious
showers, When tho two lines are halted
facing each other, the dancers, who are at
frat provided with eagle feathers wave them
gently downward to the right and left. while
the choristers shake their rattles, making q
noise like rattlesnakes, and at the same time
sing low and not unmusicsl chant. When
this 10 finished the "high priest" holds the
bowl toward the sacred lodge, utters low
but audible prayer ard sprinkles the ground
again with water. The singing and feather
waving are repeated and the first scene is
over.
Nothing at all horrible has occurred yet.
But no time 10 lost before tho
SECOND PART OF THE CEREMONY
commences. The choristsrs remain in their
places with high priest. while the dancers,
two BY two and arm in arm tramp, with
measured tread in = long circle, embracing
the sacred points already mentioned. Your
blood ohills ss you SEQ held by the men on
your left snakes OF oil kinds wriggling and
writing, while the right.hand man Keeps
the reptile distracted by flaming
its head with eagle feathesr.
There is no discount on this part
of the business. Snskes are carried in the
hand and in the mouth ,snd as have already
said some o: the rsttlesnakes were go large,
over five feet, that the dancer could not
grasp the whole diameter ir his mouth. As
the procession filed past the squaws st s.,
the latter threw corn meal before them on
the ground. These snakes when thrown to
the earth showed themselves in the most
cases to be extremely viciou, and struck at
anyone coming near. In such an evest q
little cornmesl was throw n upon them, and
the assistant running up famed them with
The eagle feathers until they coiled up and
then no quickly seized them back of the
head. After all tbs snakes had been put
under the buffalo robe covering the sacred
lodga, there was another prayer and the
second scene ended.
THE THIRD SCENE
Commeucsd almost Immediately and was IS
follows: The snakes were seized by ones,
twos and half dozens and thrown
into the circle at L, where they
were covered over with corn meal. The
signal was given and snumber of fleet young
men grabbed the snakes in hsndfuls, ran at
full speed down the almost vertical paths
in the face of the mesa, and
upon reaching its foot let them 90 free TO
the north, the south, the east and west.
The young men then came back at full run,
dashed through the crowd and on to one Of
the eatafas, where we we're told that they had
TO swallow spo,ion to induce copious Won.
iIing aud TO iergo other treatment 30
neutrslizs any b q they may have received.
One thing 1 nm assured, the Moqui.
medicine men know more about snakes than