The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-16
Indians Of
Arizona.

Special Correspondence Of the Globe.
HOLBROOK, Okla, May 12.-You
wouldn't be inclined to stop over at this
station at all If you came upon 1t cas-
ually without any intimat1on of what
great attractions lay concealed in the
desert region to the north Of it. But
having been posted" as to the posi-
bilities here I recklessly dropped off the
regular Santa Fe train as it halted a
moment and intrusted myself to fate
and the natives.
Fate was kind, the natives were
trustworthy, and the upshot was that
I accomplished the object Of my stop
over, which was to see the rare and
wonderful Moquis in their native
haunts. These Indians live just about
100 miles north Of here, on their reser-
walton, which, as it is pretty much all
desert and cactus, has not been taken
away from them by their white broth
ers. To reach the Moqui pueblo, or
village, you must hire a guide with
team for your luggage and strike out
northwardly, generally two days Of Sc
we're travelling through region which
has been neglected by God and man.
On the way we encounter the rude
huts, or 'hogans," Of the semi-civilized
Nayajoes. who, despite their nomadic
and barbaric state of existence, are
weavers of the most beautiful blankets
made in this country. They are also
silversmiths Of some skill, and from the
regulation silver dollar will evoke orna-
ments aof worth and beauty.
ov,J OF Io Saann6 Hou If
you are fortunate, you will reach
Keam's canyon, where lives the only
white man on the trail and where
generally square meal and wash up
can be obtained. Be sure to indulge IN
both these luxuries, because they are
the last you will get until you reach
this point again on the way out. Ten
miles farther and we arrive at the base
of an almost perpendicular mesa, 600
feet high, on the summit of which are
the three Moqui villages of Tehua, or
Tegua, Sichomnivi and Hualpi. The
last is the most picturesque and con-
sists of collection Of typical ''pu-
eblo" houses of stone and adobe from
two to five stories in height, each
story on a receding terrace, with a
platform in front of it. The entire
mesa is a vast sandstone rock, per-
haps three miles long, and from 20 to
200 feet in breadth, as bare Of vegeta-
ton as the palm Of ones hand, and
with three small villages cropping out
Of it like huge eXcrescences Of adobe
and of the same general color as the
rock upon which they are perched.
Here reside those strange people the
Moquis, who were discovered $50 years
ago, but who haven't changed an iota
of their customs or mode of life since
their first revealment to white men.
All this, presume, is well known to
the average reader, for they have been
visited by tourists and scientists, and
their dwellings as we'll. as the mesa
upon which they stand have been re-
produced in miniature and may be seen
in our museum at Washington.
But the real attraction here, the
function which induces one to visit this
Indian mountain city, is the weird and
wonderful snake dance which takes
place every other year in the month
of August. It was my misfortune to
arrive ahead of the time set for this
important ceremonial, but, as the next
performance is scheduled for this very
year, and as cannot return to wit
ness and describe it, I will avail my
self of the vivid description furnished
me by a very intelligent friend, who
was at the last snake dance, and whose
photographs as we'll as his word paint
ings, are herewith for the first time
given to the public. Like myself, he
was Hospitality received by the MoQuis,
who assigned, him quarters in one OF
the mud houses and permitted him to
photograph the proceedings. 1t is quite
difficult to secure good photographs of
place at or near sunset and on the
east side Of the rock, near the edge
of the perpendicular cliffs.
Here sands big rock Of eroded
sandstone about fifteen feet high and
shaped like an hourglass, very near to
which are the estufas, or underground
council chambers, hewed like cisterns
sandstone pillar Is called the Sacred
rock. and around it the snake dance
is performed It was 8 o'clock before
the first signs Of the ceremony were
made manifest by the appearance Of
some half a dozen women with baskets
Of the sacred meal. who came out
of one Of the houses. The participants
sisted Of seventeen members Of the
antelope" and thirty-three Of the
snake. fraternity For three days
previously they have tasted and ABB
stained from all intercourse with
others, which time they spent in,
searching for snakes on the plain be-
low the mesa. They collected at least
100 snakes. most Of them vigorous and
deadly rattlers. which they deposited
In an estufa, ready for the ceremonial.
They have q tradition that their
branch Of the Moquis is descended from
the rattlesnake. who is consequently
their "elder brother" and this Is the
motive for their dance-to propitiate
the snakes and cause abundant rains
for their crops. They are not snake
worslMpers in the generally accepted
sense, but they are venerators OF his
snakeship and never kiN one unless
under great provocation. The snakes
themselves are not deprived Of their
fangs, but are - deadly poisonous as
any to be found. though the high priest
adn,lnisterv . decoction- to the dancers
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