The Penn's Grove record., 1884-11-22

rgbt knee. rflf.es made o. tortoise
sbsrls s1d sheep or goat toes which
rrarkrr gIEuaIy whenever the Leg or
s1sy moved Small punches Of red
feathers were attached 10 the crown Of
.be hood. tEsi- long black hair hung
loose down .aar hgclv, .heir faces we're
racsoucd f-.m brow 20 upper lip, while
mouth. lower sip aud chin looked
gh-s..v by contact vita the ksoiin
dsrre4 over them. Collars Of The white
ses.sleI blads of then own manufacture
hung round their ncCks, end neal " all
wore abal3ne shells Elis,ening Oh their
breasts Ssstes Of The sea-shell beads
covered their bodies from the right
der TO She len nfp.
Their bodies legs and arms were
naked and l.ao1sL-h.uCk. without marx
VI design. sits Of painted cotton cloth
hang lum walst 70 knee, aud dangling
Gown fotbe heels ia the rear we're the skins
~ the f0v and C5y3.e Red buckskin
fringe hung from the Rslst IN most cases.
and Ia OILERS. again, cJttJu-ball pendants
ornsmented She gifI'cs. The feet we're
covered with red buCkskIu moccssins,
fuaged at the ankles, and broad white
arm ets eucIICled the elbows. The inter-
lude vas very brief The procession
began, and as it pranccd closer snd closer
20 where We were sezted we saw that the
dancers farther 10 The rear Of the column
were holding Shiny, wuggiing serpents
.bstweer their teethi' The mead Of the
animal 10 tbs case also was held towards
The right, the object of this beng very
manifest. The Indians In the right file Of
the column stall retained the eagle wsnds,
which their comrades bad discarded.
Wjth these wands they tiokled the heads,
recks and Jaws OF the snakes, thus DIE
tracing Their attention from the dancers,
10 whose teeth they were grssped 30
firmly.
The spectacle was az astonishing one,
eui one felt at tnce bcwildered and horri-
ded at thus long column Of weird figures.
nsked in al excepting the ke-painted
cotton kits aud red buctskln mOccssins;
bodies . dark greenish-btown, relieved
only by the broad white srmlets and the
bri2bt yellowlsh Ersy OF the fox skins
dangling behind them; long elm locks
brushed straight back from the head,
tufied with scarlet parrot or woOdpecker
feathers: faces painted black, as with a
mask Of charcoal from brow to upper lip,
where the ghasJly wnlte Of asolln began,
and continued Gown over chin and neck,
the croWnlng point beng the deadly rep
tiles borne N mouth and hand which I'M
parted to the drama the lurid tinge Of a
nightmare. With rsttles clauking At the
knees, bands clipched and elbows bent,
the procession pEsnCeI slowly around the
~rectaugle, the dancers lifting each knee
slowly TO the height Of the waist and then
planting the Foot firmly upon the ground
before lifting the other, the snakes all the
while writing and Fquirming 70 tree
themselves fIom restraint.
When the snake carriers reached the
eastern END of the Tectgugle they spAt the
snakes out upon the ground and moved on
10 the front Of the sacred lodge, tree and
rock, where they stamped strongly with
the left foot twice, at the same time emit
ting q strange cry, half grunt and half
vail. Some women scattering corn meal
now developed their line more fully, a
portion occupying the terrace directly
above the arcade, TWO or three standing
on ladders near the archwayr the main
body mssslng IN the space between the
sacred rock and the saered lodge, and two
or three. re enforced by 3 squad OF devout
old Crones, dong effective Work at the
eaton lire If the reCtangle. Nearly all
carried the beautiful, closely-woyen, fat
baskets, IN red, yellow and black, orns-
menled With the butterfly, thunder bird, or
deer. These baskets were heaped high
with Underground corn flour, which from
this on was scattered with reckless pro-
fusion. not, IS previously, upon the
ground, but in tue air and upon the rep
ules as fast IS thrown down.
The devotion Of the bystsnders WAS
raised 10 the highest pitch; the maldens
~redoubied their energy, 'sprinkling meal
% OF only upon the serpents wriggIlng Az
non feet, but throwing haudfuls into the
saces Of the men carrying them. The air
va8 misty with -four, and the space ia
front 0f the squaws white as the driven
snow. Some OF the dancers inserted two
snakes into their mouths instead Of one,
the reptiles In these cases being, of course,
OF small SIZE. / must repeat that no steps
had been taken to render these snakes in
uocuous either by the extraction OF their
tangs or by drugs, and that if they are
auescent while between the teeth Of the
dancers, 1t was as much because their al
tantion WIS distracted by the feather
NhNls pllCG 81 hhlllhtJ ny tue |htttuuhntst
Is from any ''medIcine" With which they
Rad been bathed or fed; that as som as
they struck the ground, most OF them
began to wriggle actively and coil up.
10 the great CONSERVATION Of the spectators
IN closest proximity, and that when so
moving the attendants first sprInkled them
with corn-mesl, n then began to tickle
them with the eagle. wands to make them
squirm out st full length, when they
would pounce upon them behind the head
and carry them, held in this secure man
Der, to some little boys, who, grssplng
them IL the same way, seemed 10 have no
spprenensions OF danger. The whole
dance did not occupy more than one-half
or three-quaiters OF an hour. The num-
Der OF snakes used was more than one
hundred; the dancers ran backwards and
forwards so confusedly that 1t was not
possible to determine certainly how many
tunes they had changed snakes but 1t
must bave been moi less than four, and
more probably as many As five times.
The opinions OF the American ~bystauders
varied as 10 whether or not any OF the
dancers were bitten. None were so re-
ported by the Indians, and ths proper view
TO take Of this matter must be that, while
all, or nearly all, the snakes used were
Venomous, the knowledge and prudence
OF those handling them averIed all danger.