The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-30
SIOat'S Vegetable Bitters,
SIOat'S Vegetable BitterS.
SIOat's Vegetable BitterS.
f the feats of the magioians he witnessed

of the feats of the magicians he witnessed
in Zunl.
perhaps the severest test of nerve, and
one of the most remarkable in other re-
spects," he replied was the ember dance
of the Ma-ke-tsa-na-k we, which literally
means the little fire people. They perform
their evoutions upon thick and glowing
bed of embers barefooted and barelegged,
save for their painted decorations, once
in every four years 1t is religious rite,
symbolic of the conquest and the author
ity of mankind over fire and what they
term the elements of the south. They burn
out the effects of the fiery disease.
The priests who participate in these re-
markable scenes prepare themselves by
long period of publication. Eight days
previous 10 the act they maintain con-
tinual fast and vigil, and constantly
anoint their bodies with certain prepara-
tons which are said to harden the flesh.
| At any rate, although they dance upon the
| live Goals with their bare feet. and kick
| them around with their bare legs as if
| they were playing in a pile of dry leaves,
until the last spark has been eXtnguished
| by their tread, they do not suffer a single
| burn or blister. Their feet and legs are
| black, dlscoored with SCOT and ashes, but
| the skin is not broken nor injured in any
way. 1 suppose it is protected by some
sort of preparation like that used by the
| snake dancers of the Moquis. Capt.
Bourke in his book on the Moqui snake
| dance says they wash their hands and
feet and legs with a preparation of three
| herbs, which makes the skin imperviOus
| to the fangs of the rattlesnakes.
Something like the ember dance I be-
| lleve is found among the fire worshipers Of
| Persia
A Remarkable Trick.
1.-THE most startling trick I ever saw"
| continued Mr.. Gushing, was performed
| by the clown priest of the tribe, or as they
were called, The Ancients of Creation
They seat themselves in a circle on the
! clay floor around a jar that will hold per
| haps, a gallon, an ancient and sacred
| earthen vessel, which is filled with water.
| The chief priest carries in his hand two
| ordinary eagle feathers, which are tied to-
gether at the quill ends so that they make
| a fork Behind The circle of the priests
are other members of the tribe and the
musicians with their drums and gourds,
who Join in the chants with as much emo
| ton as is shown by the attendants OF
negro camp meeting. The incantations
| continue for several hours, and when the
| participants and spectators are wrought
| up TO a proper pitch of excitement the
priest dips the feather tips into the water,
| lifts the jar with them and holds it suS-
| pended for a minute or two at a hight
| level with his face or breast. Then he
lowers ii slowly TO the ground. This feat
| is repeated several times during the per-
| Torrance. Apparently there is nothing in
| the hand of the priest but the feathers.
| and they appear to be inserted into the
mouth of the jar only two or three inches.
| OF course, there is some trick about il,
but l was never able to discover it."
calling Up the Waters"
another marvellous trick performed by
| the priesthood of the bow" continued Mr.
| Cushing, lis the calling up of the waters
! in the primeval jar, which is a piece Of
| pottery unnumbered centuries old-perhaps
| as old a relic as they have in the Zuni
nation. 1t is a beautiful piece of work
manship, with elaborate decorations, and
| is the ordinary receptacle of the fetiches
| or that prizes thood. 1t is intrusted 10 the
| charge of the master priest and used once
| a year--in January-to call forth the wa
| ters as they term 1t.
| LAS in the previous trick, the jar Is
placed in the center of the circle, and
similar nominations take place. The words
| of the song describe the powers of the ele-
ments and offer them praise When, in
the course of the chant, the god of water
| Is named the two guardian priests pour
a little water-perhaps a teacupful-into
! the lar with certain fetiches, This is
known as the water seed Then, as the
| nominations continue, the water rises in
! the lar until 1t reaches the rim and over
flows in a little rivulet, running toward
| the altar upon which the image of the god
Of water stands. Then the high priest
dips a sacred she'll into the jar and allows
| each member of the tribe present to drink
After the lest one has drained the shell
| the water slowly subsidies and the mean
| tation dies away"
May BE HypnOtIsm.
How do you explain this?"
Il do not attempt to explain It, except
| as an optical illusion or an example of
| hypnotlsm but am sure saw that jar III
with water by some Invisible agency. There
| could be no connection with underground
pipes for such thing would be impossl-
| bic In zuni, nor could anybody have poured
! in water unseen by me. The skill of the
performance and the ingenuity Of the trick
| equal anything l have read of the Jug
| glers of India. II is equal to their trick of
| climbing an invisible rope"
DO the zunis know anything Of hyp-
notlsm?"
| Yes; their applications of hypnotism are