The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-04-16


without the slightest evil results.
In vain have the authorities at
Washington sent scientific men to dis
cover the secret Of this wonderful an
tidote Of the Moquis. The revelation
OF the secret Of this deeoction, which
appears to be a veritable neutralizer
OF the venom Of a rattlesnake bite, Is
punishable by death. II is known
only to three individuals of the tribe
the chief priest, the neophyte who
Is training TO succeed him and the
eldest woman.
Every year for several days before
this Rrewsome ceremony those who in
tend to participate subject themselves
to q strict fast, which is not broken
until the conclusion of the rites Dur
ing this period the secret antidote IL
freely administered by the medicine
man.
Meanwhile the dancers are busily
engaged in hunting and capturing
hundreds of rattlesnakes on the desert
below the crest of the cliffs. The way
these reptiles are caught is most ex-
traordinary.
The hunters are armed with wisps
On discovering a little brother"
coiled, angry, kissing, ready to strike,
they reduce him TO quiescence by
gently stroling him with these wisps.
When these caresses have mollifed
the enraged reptiles they are dex-
terously thrust into leather bag and
imprisoned in small corral, where
they are kept to the day OF the dance.
The ceremonies last seven days. For
the first three the dancers, famished
and faint from their continual fasts,
work themselves Into an absolute fren-
~ of religious fervor Their chant
ings and the doleful music of their
barbaric instruments add to the mys-
ticism and terror Of the performance.
But the awful climax comes Son the
morning of the fourth day, when, rigid |
and well-nigh cataleptic, haggard,
staring, frothing at the mouth, the
half-naked braves, with sinister and |
awful cries, rush into the mass of
squirming, wriggling serpents, and,
seizing fat, writhing body in each
hand, leap forth and renew their
dance
Round and round in this demoniac-
al dance they circle, coiling the snakes
about their arms, their necks, their
thighs The serpents swing to and
fro. twisting and curling in frantic
endeayor to strike their captors with
their wicked fangx.
Droning through this grisly spec
tacle goes the monotonous and mad
denin9 tum-tum-tum of the strange.
unearthly music. only accentuating
and emphasizing the hideousness Of
the ceremony.
At last arrives the frightful finale.
The serpents are cast upon the floor
of the rocky cl,h, where they coil and
writhe and struggle to escape. Sud
denly the, bravest Of the braves darts
forward, and, bending down quickly,
catches a loathsome wriggling mass
in his mouth. This Is the signal Cor
the others. The drums beat pande-
of horrid sounds, and with
the yells of devils from the internal
regions on a furlough each dancer
serpent in his mouth and
staggers to and fro, sickening and
the paleface lockers on.
After the end of this spectacle is
reached the snakes are carried down
the cliff and set free to glide to their
homes in the sandy desert. while the
Indians, who have repeatedly been
bitten during the performance, return
to their homes, apparently none the
worse for the marks of affection they
have received from their "little broth
FRS" of the plains, and confident that
The great serpent deity is placated
ind that for the coming year the rain
will descend and the sun will shine
nd the corY, will crrOxx-N Y Herald