Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-11-26
1he susEe Dsnoe.


zcu..- all the dancers wore, tied 10 the
night knee. raitles made Of tortoise
shells and sheep or goat toes, which
clsuked dismally whenever the leg or
BODY moved. Small punches OF red
feathers were attached 10 the crown OF
the head, their long black hair hung
loose down their backs, their faces were
bIackened from brow to upper lip, while
mouth, lover slip and chin looked
chastity by contact with the ksolin
5aubed over them. Collars Of the white
sea-shell beads Of their own manufacture
hung round their necks, and neal ly all
wore shslons shells glistenIng on their
breasts. Ssshes Of the sea-shel beads
covered their bodies from the right
shoulder 10 the left NIP.
Their bodies, legs and arms were
naked and greenIsh-black, without mark
u! desigR, kits Of painted cotton cloth
hung from waist 10 knee, and dangling
Gown TO the beels IN the rear were the skins
II the fox and coyote Red buckskln
fringe hung from the waist in most cases;
and in others, again, cottOn-ball pendants
8rnsmeuted the girdles. Ghe feet we're
covered with red buckskIn moccssins,
frlnged At the ankles, and broad white
srmIets eucIrcled the elbows. The inter-
Jude was very brief. The procession
begaD, and ~ il ptsnced closer and closer
20 where we were seated We saw that the
dsncers farther 70 the rear OF the column
we're holding shiny, wuggling serpents
.'bc, yeen their teelh." The head Of the
animal in this case also was held towards
she right, the object Of this beng very
manifest. The Indians in the right file of
the column stLl retained The eagle wsnds,
which their comrades bad discarded.
With these wands they ticSled the heads,
recAs and Jaws % the snakes, thus DIS
tracing their attention from the dancers,
IN whose teeth they werc grsspod So
firmly.
The speclace vas an astonishing one,
and one feit at once beTildered and borrl-
fed al TINS long column Of weird figures.
naked IL a. excepting the snske-palnted
cotton k.lts aHc red buokskln moccsslns;
hadies q dark greenish-brown, relieved
only by the broad white sEmlets and the
bright yellowIsh gray OF the fox skins
dangling behind them; long elan locks
brushed straight back fIOm the head,
All tEu = AZ 1Aa.ahNA ffaaA-'s ~ "RNNkeNNSa
fg-thers; faces painted black, s' with
mssk OF chsrcosi from brow to upper lip,
where the CHASTITY white Of -aOhn began,
nud continued down over chm and neck,
the crovnIng point beng the deadly rep
u!es borne an mouth snd hand which I'M
parted 10 the drama The lurid iInge of a
nightmare. With rstties clsnking at the
Knees, hands ciiuChed and elbows bent,
the procession prsnCet slowly around the
rectaugle. the dancers lifting eacR knee
slowly 70 the height ot the waist and then
planting the tO0t firmly upon the ground
before hiuDg the other, the snakes all the
while wulhiug snd sguTming to tree
iEemss lives from restraint
When the snake carriers reached the
eastern end Of the Tectangle they spst the
snakes ont upon the grousd and moved on
70 lne front OF the sacred lodge, tree and
r5ck, where they stamped strongly with
the Jeff foot twice, at the same lime emit
ting 8 strange cry, half gruBt and half
gail. some women scattering corn meal
uow developed their line more fully, q
portion occupying the terrace directly
above the arcade, tgO Or three standing
on ladders near the aTchwsy. the msiu
body msssIng IN the space between the
sscred rOcK and the sacred lodge, and two
or thee, re enfOrced By squsd Of devOut
old eroues, doing effective woTs NJ the
ssste-n lire II the reCtsngie. Nearly all
Cstned the beautiful, cioseiy-woyer. fiat
baskets, ii red. yellow and black, orns-
meuted with the butterfly, thunder bird, or
deer. These baskets we're hesped high
with Underground corn -four, which from
this on was scattered with reckless pro-
fusion, not, as previously, upon the
ground, but in the air and upon the rep
ulrs as tsst ~ thrown down.
The devotion of The bysianders WAS
raised 10 the highest pitch; the msIdeus
.edoubled their energy, sprinklIug meal
roI Only upon The seIp nts wrigcl'ug sS
their Tesi, but throwing L4u0ful- INTO tie
faces Of the meG carrying them. The air
was misty with tguT, and the space Ia
'front.' OF the sgusws white as the driven
snow. Some Of lie dancers inserted two
snskes into thelr mouths instead ot one,
the reptiles IL these cases beng, OF course,
OF small s.ze. ! must repeat tnst NJ steps
had been taAen 70 reBceF these snakes ill.,
uocUous either by the extraction Of their
tsngs OF by drugs, and that if they are
,,pesceut Wh.ie between the teeth of the
dancers. It was as much because their Al
lention VAS distracted by the feather
wgnds Piled 50 skilfClly by the stIendsnts,
Is from any ''me1lCine' with which they
lad been bsthed OF fed; that as soon as
they struck the ground. most Of them
began to WrlPgle actively and coil up,
10 the great CONSERVATION Of the spectator S
in closest proximity, and thst when 60
moving the attendants FIRST sprlnkled them
with cOIn-mesl, and then began to tickle
them with the eagle wsnds TO make them
eauirm out at full lergth. when they
would pounCe upon them behind the head,
and csrIy them. held IN this secure man
Ter, Ia some htiie boys, who, grasplng
them IN the same way, seemed to have no
apprenensiOns Ut danger The whole
dance Cd Dot occupy more than ne-hslf
ur three-gusTteTs Of an hour. The num-
he- Of SNAKES used was more than one
hundred: the dancers Tan backwards and
forwards 50 coBfusetly that II wa. no,
uossirle to determine certainly how many
times they hsd changed snakes, but II
must have been not less Ihsn four, and
more probably IS many as five times
The opinions oi the American bystsnders
varied rs 20 whether or not any OF the
daucers were bitten. None were so re-
ported BY the Indians, and tn, proper view
to take Of this matter must be that, while
all, n nearly sl, the snakes used were
veuomous, the knowledge and prudence
Of those handling them sverUed al danger.
Dahlia- Of Mexican Origin.
The gorgeous dshiIas are OF Mexican
orgln. They were trst introduced 10
Germany by Dahl; their name was then
.'Bidens Magnifcs; afterwards they were