Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1901-06-13
AN INDIAN FIRE DANCE.
cruesone Ceremonial Reformed n
CoAncmoration Of the Death
Of . Noted Chief.


The Mesa Grande Indians Of San
Diego county gave the widest fire.
dance that has ever been witnessed
in this part of the country near here
short time ago says southern Cal
ifornia paper.
The ceremonial was given to COM
memorate 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 -
the memorial orgies.
The dance was given at nine o'clock
ut night in the large open square Of
the fiesta grounds Of the village.
In the middle of the plaza q great
fire Of logs lighted up the weird
scene and threw Pickering and un-
certain illumination upon the wild
and excited faces and figures Of hum
dreds of squattlng squaws and stand
ing Indians, all hideously and gro
tesquely painted and all grimly watch
ing the places where the dancers
were concealed.
About $3.50 o'clock two great Indi-
ans emerged from the deep mysteri-
GUS shadows of the ramadas about
90 yards from the spectators, and,
slowly crouching and STOPPING as
they came, approached the fire, ut
tering wild, strange gutteral cries.
They were naked to the waist, and
their great, dark, sinuous bodies were
painted hideously with white paste.
They wore hcaddress of owl feath-
ers and q festoon Of eagle plumes
draped from their shoulders to their
waists.
In 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 fitfully
upon the set, tragic faces Of the spec
tators. The roar and cackle Of the
burning logs was the only sound In
the great plaza.
At last solitary Indian leaped
from the shadowy ramadas with a
wild, unearthly cry and circled about
the fire with mad yells and excited
gestures, three times, and then re-
turned with another strange cry into
the shadows.
He was followed by band Of IS In
dams 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 threats. They, like their pre-
decessors, were NAKED to their waists
and daubed with streaked and white
paint. Their 1.-THE brown legs were
bare, but their loins were eneircled
with q short skirt of dark feathers.
They wore head dresses of black
crow feathers which fell to their
waists in dark festoons.
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 around the
fire ten of the crawling creatures
tried to roll into the blaze, but they
were prevented by the herders.
| When the band had made the cir
Gle of the blaze three times it came
to halt and the 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 heard but q low, monotonous
chant which the squaws had begun as
the procession halted.
After the sprinkling the band
leaped up and began q furious dance,
accompanied by yells 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
~ 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 half hour this continued, and
then all but the original dancers