Arizona republican., 1899-05-08

ill and weak to do this himself, his
 friends do il for him.
 During the Ycbichai dance. perhaps
 the most important Of all the Nava-
 hos religious ceremonies, four bath houses are set around large structure
 known as the song house, about forty yards distant fTcm it. one at each car dinal point The chief medicine man sweats the patient. who may be physI- cally well but bewitched, in these houses on four successive mornings just at dawn, beginning with the one -cn ',he east That one is merely an uncovered frame and after the patient has entered and hot stones have been rolled in, it is covered with many blan- kets and large buckskin is spread ove- all On this skin the medicine man sl3rink1es iron o.-hre5 and other colored sands in many-colcred bands, symto.flal Of the rainbow and sun beams which covered an early mythi- cal structure He and his assistants stand near the hut shaking rattles and singing a sc1g to the god of the un- der world, g. the Conclusion of which the patient is released, to be subjected lO JIG -oGIIiS O-A AGot III bl1O OCAiCA 11tttS on sucoessived avs.
 The initial spark Of the fire used in these ceremonies and fer all religious pur rroses is obtained by frictl-n, and is regarded as essentially different from fire produced by flint and stec-'. Or otherwise. The production of fire in this way is . very simple matter to- the Indians, and is often done in play, frequently in less time htan white man San accomplish the same result with matches in that windy country. For this purpose use is made Of the dry brittle stalks of the common bee weed. known in the books as cleome pun gems, and recently cata}cgUed by the forrists. The drill. which is whiF.ed between the Pa-n5 of the hands, con sists of a stalk perhaps a quarter of an inch in diameter. This is made to re- VClve on Ihe edge of a small r-tch cut into larger stalk, perhaps an inch in dia.ne.er A pinch of sand is some times placed under the point of the drill, whose rapid revolution produces fine p-rxder which runs down notch and forms a little pile On the ground. Smoke is produced in less than a minute, and finally, in perhaps twio n1inGIles, little sparks drop on the pile Of dry powder, which takes fire from them. By careful fostering and feeding with bits of bark and grass, with much blowing. a blaze is pro- dUced. This procedure must Ee fol- lowed each time ! bath house is used, fer the fire must be perfectly pure and straigb. fTom the under world. After a While the hut becomes imprsgnated with the eyf4 influences which have been extracted from those who used 1t, and thereafter becomes taboo. or bad me diciHe. a thing to be summed On peril of death.
 The Navahos, like the ether Indian tribes. have an elaborate myth0logica1 system which explains everything, pas-, present and tc come, fer to the Indian mind i5here is TO such thing as an unknown According to the legend tive famous brothers. the great heroes in all the Navaho folk tales, were sent to the Sun by the goddess .-f the east, the bane ec6nt deity frcm when most of the good things in this world ema- n2-e. 1t is in crder to be open ta her influence that the huts of these people are always faced to the rising sun. When the twins reached the house of the Sun they called him father. as they had been instructed to do; but the Sun Gisowned them and subjected them to many crd6aIs and even thru.- at them with spear: hut the goddess had giv- en each Of the youths a magic feather mantle imParviOus to any weapon. The night-be2rer-the moon-also scoffed at them and filled the mind of lihe Sun with doubts, SC he determined to sub Ject the brothers to Q further test
 Hem aGe four bath houses, but in- stead of using wood in their ccnst-uc- ton he made them of a metallic sub stance like iron, and placing them at the cardinal points he sent the moon to make fire in each Of them This fire was obtained from the burning stars, the comets, and the huts were made exceedingly hot. The brothers were placed in them successively, but so far from being harmed they came out of the last one s;r-nge- and more vigorous than ever. Then the Sun ac- nowledged them as his sons and gave the elder enc some magic apcn5 with which he destroyed the evil genii who infested the Navahc land This is the reason, the Nayahos say. why the bath hu,s drive out evil spirits and give man renewed treDSth.-Cosm5s Mindeleff in Commercial! Advertiser
 A LIVELY SESSION.