Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-09-10
The SNAKE DANCE.
STRANGE CEREMONY OF THE Mokl
INDIANS IN THE SOUTHWEST.

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INDIANS IN THE SOUTHWEST.
The Performers March About Holding Live
Snakes In Their Mouths tiandIlng Dead
" Reptiles Like skslns OF Yarn.
In description Of the Moki Indiana
annual snake dance In the Southwest
a writer in Harper's Weekly says:
At signal from the leader, Kopeli,
they entered the plaza In single file, on
a rapid walk, and after circling the
plaza, ranged themselves in slightly
curved line before the tent of cotton
wood boughs In which the snakes were
placed, and on each side Of which the
fifteen Antelope-priests stood In line
singing wild and cultural chant.
A wilder hum arose, a portentous,
cultural, snarling sound, which passed
soon to a strong, manly. marching
chant, full of sudden, deep-falling,
stern cadences. Then Kopeli, the
Snake-chief, and the one second to him
Joined arms and danced slowly down
before the kisi. They stopped, and
when they rose Kopeli held In his mouth
a snake. His companion placed his
left arm over the Snake-chief's shout
ders, and together they turned, cir
cling to the left. The snake hung
quietly from the Snake-priest's mouth.
1t was held at about nine inches from
the head. Behind him walked the
third man, the snake-gatherer. They
passed with a quick, strong step, one
might almost say with lope, in time
to the singing.
Immediately behind came another
group, the snake-carrier holding an en-
tire snake in his mouth, the head pro-
truding about an inch. These two
were followed by a third man, the
snake-gatherer; and soon the entire line
Of thirty three Snake-priests had bro
ken into eleven groups and were cir
cling the plaza, one man in each group
carrying from one to three snakes IN his
mouth. The singing continued, stern
and swift like strong stream, ana al
though at times the dancers lost step
to the music, In general they may be
said to have retained throughout all the
rush of movement tOlerable accuracy
of rhythm. A group of women stood
near, and threw sacred meal upon the
men as they passed. They kept far
from contact, l observed. The excite
ment of the spectators increased. l
pushed close to the circle OF dancing
priests to study their faces.
One man passed with an enormous
bull snake in his mouth. Its tail hung
down to his knee. Each snake-carrier
danced with his eyes closed and his
chin thrust forward. The reasons for
this were obvious. The little snakes
were the most vicious, and struck re-
peatedly at the eyes and cheeks Of the
priests.
One man went by with two large rat
tlesnakes in his mouth. Another held
a rattlesnake and two larger bull
snakes between his lips; and a third
priest, to silence all question of his SUI
periority, crowded into his mouth four
snakes! The gatherer who followed
him held in the fingers of his left hand
six or eight snakes, strung like pieces
of rope. In fact, they all handled the
snakes precisely as If they were skeins
of yarn, with the single exception OF
the moment when they snatched them
from the ground.
Once or twice there was brief strug-
gle between the snake-gatherer and the
fallen snake. In every case which l
observed the snake-gatherer brushed
the snake with the feathers of his
snake-whip until he uncoiled and
Strengthened out to run. After the
gatherer picked him up he was as
helpless as if dead.
AS the dance went on, the excite
ment grew. The clink of metal fringes
and the patter Of rattles filled the ear.
The snakes dashed into the crowd,
shouts and screams and laughter rose,
but the wary snake-gatherer in every
case caught the snake before it passed
out of reach. In one or two instances
when a rattlesnake ran toward the wo-
men with their basket plaques Of meal,
they broke into wild screams and ran.
Evidently they feared the rattlesnakes
quite as much as any Of the white wo-
men. At last, SO deep was my interest
to see, / lost all sense Of hearing.
They all moved like figures in a dream.
During all this time, whatever the
outcries among the spectators, what
ever the screams or laughter among
the women with the meal, the Snake
priests, intent and grave, showed no
trace whatever of excitement. 1t is
absurd to speak of hypnotism or frenzy
of any kind. They were not in the
slightest degree moved either to fear
or laughter, or even to the point of
being fastened or retarded by the pres
ence of the white man. They had a
religious duty to perform, and they
were carrying it forward, intent, mas
terful, solemn, and perfectly silent
Incredible, thrilling, savage and dan
gerous as it appeared to us, to them II
was a world-old religions ceremonial.
Lumber Used in Box Making.