The Parker post., 1917-08-11
INDIANS HOLD
BIG POW-WOW
WEIRD EXERCISES COMMEMO-
RATIVE OF THOSE WHO HAVE
TAKEN THEIR DEPARTURE TO
HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS.

The Indians on the reservation
had their annual cry this week
y commencing Sunday morning and
lasting all day and throughout the
night until o'clock Monday morn
ing. II was a holiday for the In
dams and many of them-about 800
from Needles, Fort Mohave, Yuma
and other places were present.
This occasion has much of the
same moral significance as the day
we observe and is, in effect, the
Mohave Indians Memorial Day."
observed in their own peculiar man
ner, but facetiously called the ''an-
nual cry" 1t is said to be founded
on their traditional code of ethics
which forbids, as deleterious to we'll
being, the practice of constantly
grieving over the death of near
relatives or friends. After the fu-
neral of deceased Mohave, accord
ing to their rule, all mourning stops
and even the name of the dead is
never thereafter mentioned, but a
~1day is set apart for this purpose
when all mourners may give vent to
their pent-up feelings and lament
in a manner that would cause the
most lamentable lamentations of
Weeping jeremiah of old to pale into
insignificance. 1t is for this reason
that the death of one of the tribe is
seemingly treated with stoical in
tives and friends of the deceased,
when as matter of fact it is not
because the bereayed ones do not
grieve but for the simple reason
that 1t is not considered the proper
thing to give free rein to ones per-
sonal feelings at all times-a bit of
aboriginal philosophy which, it
must be admitted, carries with it
the true ring.
These memorial exercises were
held at point about a mile and a
half below the old agency, where a
large brush canopy had been erected
and other arrangements made for
the occasion, and many white Wis
itors from town were present during
the day and evening.
Beneath the huge canopy several
hundred men, women and children
sat or lay in every conceivable posi-
ton, grooming in unison a wild and
weird lay, while the older members
OF the tribe in turn eulogized in a
loud voice the memory of different
ones who had gone before, extolling
their prOwess and bravery, their
talents and virtues, the speakers
voice being frequently drowned by
. loud lamentations as mournful as
the last wall Of the dying soldier on
the field of battle, and as soulful as
Bartimeus' cry to Jesus in the flesh.
The scene was very interesting,
reminding one forcefully Of an old
time back woods camp meeting, and,
at the same time, it was not unlike
the imaginative portrayal of the
inferno-a group of woebegone pill
grims consigned to hades and just
disembarked on the off-side of the
River Styx, the horde of dogs skulk-
ing thereabOuts in the semi dark
ness, serving to complete the picture
as the phantom pack that watches
and waits about the portals of hell.
Another feature Of interest was a
- war dance at night in which about
a dozen braves, under the leader
ship of a chief, participated They
were all stripped down to the cop
per- and each carried a feather
bedecked spear while the chief car
ried a bow and arrows. A huge
camp fire had been built TO throw
light upon the scene, and at the
word Of command these warriors,
with war whoops, trotted back and
forth, at times forming into figures
Of an aboriginal lancers' quadrille
This was kept up for four or five
hours and was the crowning feature
OF the occasion. At the conclusion
thebfg brush canopy, which had
served it's purpose during the day,
was set afre and the sweating war
p riors, after dancing around the fire
several times, cast their weapons
into the flames and darted off to the
river where another mysterious
though momentary scene was en-
acted. AS each warrior reached
the bank of the river he stood for a
moment "boxed the compass" or at
least faced the four cardinal points,