Daily camera., 1901-07-01
WEIRD INDIAN DANCE
xotrhing Ceremonies In Memory Of
=, a Deceased Chief.
aideous Orgies and Horrible Self
lnhiction Performed BY . Band of
California Redmen-Danc.
ing In the Fire.

Diego county gave the widest fire
dance that has ever been witnessed
in this part Of the country near here
short time ago says u southern Cal
ifornia paper.
Ihe ceremonial was given to com
meInorate the death of Jose Clayto
prominent young chief of his tribe
who was killed last year. Big mourn.
ing ceremonies attended his burial
but none of them were so terrific as
the memorial orgies.
The dance was given at nine o'clock
at night in the large open square OF
the fiesta grounds of the village.
In the middle of the plaza "a great
fire of logs lighted up the weird
scene and threw a Pickering and un.
certain illumination upon the wild
and excited faces and figures of hun
dreds of squatting squaws and stand
ing Indians, all hideously and gro
tesque!y painted and all grimly watch
ing the places where the dancers
were concealed.
About 9:30 o'clock two great Indi-
ans emerged from the deep mysteri-
Gus shadows of the ramadas about
20 yards from the spectators, and,
slowly crouching and STOPPING as
they came. approached the fire, ut
tcring wild, strange gutteral cries.
They were naked to the waist, and
their great, dark. sinuous bodies were
painted hideously with a white paste.
They wore headdress of owl feath-
ers and n festoon of eagle plumes
draped from their shoulders to their
waists.
II their strange, savage, crouch
ing position they danced slowly and
solemnly about the fire three times,
bowling. kneeling and gesticulating to
it with barbaric cries and yells and
then disappearing in the shadows
whence they came.
An interval of silence followed, dur
ing which the fire played ftfully
| upon the set, tragic faces of the spec
| tators. The roar and cackle of the
| burning logs was the only sound in
thc great plaza
At last a solitary Indian leaped
from the shadowy ramadas with n
wild, unear,hly cry and circled about
the fire with mad yells and excited
turned with another strange cry into
the shadows.
He was followed by a band of Is In
dinns who emerged from the dark
ness crawling slowly on their hands
and knees. As they came they ut
tered strange, low gutteral sounds in
their throa,s. They. ike their pre-
decessors, were NAKED to their waists
and daubcd with streaked and white
paint. Their 1.-THE brown legs were
bare, but their loins were encircled
with short skirt of dark feathers.
They wore head dresses of black
crow feathers which fell to their
waists in dark festo0ns.
The procession of crawling Indians
was preceded by three braves, who
walked backward, and apparently
tried to herd the others back. AS the
procession slowly wound arourd the
fire ten of the crawling creatures
tried TO roll into the b!a,e, but they
were prevented by the herders.
When the band had made the cir
Gle Of the blaze three mes 1t came
to a hat ard fhe herders were hand
ed bowls of magic fluid by the med
icine men which they sprinkled upon
the heads and backs of the kneeling
savages with feathers.
During this ceremony not sound
was beard but low, monotonous
chant which the squaws had begun as
the procession halted.
After the sprinkling the band
/ leaped up and began n furious dance,
accompanied by yclls and shrieks of
maddened excitement. As the dance
/ grew wilder the chants grew louder
/ and more frantic. the women joined
| in the chorus, and for ten hours the
braves danced until they could hard
/ ly stand The women heaped up the
/ fire. the logs blazed up and illuminat-
/ ed the whole plaza, and the assembly
! Joined in the furious dance.
| For n half hour this continued, and
! then all but the original dancers
withdrew, led by old Sonone with his
medicine rattle.
Then came the most hideous part
] of the whole hideous performance.
I Suddenly, with deep grunts and gut
/ tural snarls of excitement. the whole
/ band sat down about the fire and
thrust their feet into the blaze.
The place was filled with the sick
ening odor of burning flesh, but not
one Indian finchcd or moved his feet
| from the fire.
The dance continued until the In
dians had danced the Goals out, when
they all fell on their knees where the
fire had been, and with frenzied e1-
ctemcnt beat it out with their un-
] hands