Cleveland County herald., 1921-01-13


 tiie Il, ,,,s3 ir;e the danVe@ is per i. crally o1 ll;a Il tD see the an".chi iai;it l selogs ceremony. The roofs ot the squat stone houses are crowded. Moi children with scarcely stitch on them sit along the cOrnices with their brown legs hanging down. There are cow boys from all over the territory, report CTS from newspapers, scientists from the cities, and hundreds of Indians In brilliant and quaint costumes. It Is rare scene; lone fit for q salon pic ture," said an enthusiastic artist. The white people laugh, the dogs and chil- dren make tumult, while every one awaits the opening of the dance. At just about six o'clock, when the sun is dropped into the yellow desert away to the west, some one calls: Here they come" Instantly there is silence. Everybody knows that the antelOIc men--young athletic snake dancers-nre at last issuing from their stone chambers The braves are scantily clad, and on each leg is 6 small terrapin shell, in which are placed small pebbles, which rattle as the warrior moves, and make of him, in sound at least, human rattler The dancers are smeared with red white and black paints. Around e&ch brow is bound a flaming handkerchief, the upper forehead being painted a deep black, and the lower half with black and white bands.
 Live Snakes in Their Mouths.
 The band forms in circle and a sack of serpents is brought forth and is placed in the branches of cotton wood shrub known as the kisi just where 1t has stood on Moki dance days for countless generations. 4 chief, hideously painted, opens the sack and as each brave marches pas thrusts his naked arm within and jerks from it several writhng serpents, which he hands to the buck. The snake dancer bends and Seizes the snakes by their middle with his teeth, while he holds one or two serpentS in each hand. The serpents rattle, hiss and struggle while the human cap tors, gesticulating and stamping, join in q solemn rhythmic movement, In which, after each man has been sup piled with serpents, the whole band is soon participating.
 The MolIi women and the several hundred Moki bucks who do no< pir- tieipate in the dancing at first sit in Aa red.skinned spectators start low hum ming which gradually develops. Loud CT and louder rises the din of dis cordant voices until the women be- come. wildly excited, and leap to their feet. Meanwhile the dance goes on. The dancers glsten with per spiration and the paint on their bodies runs down their bare backs and legs. Some of the older ones, to show their prowess with venomous reptiles, carry three and five rGt- tlesnakes about with them. They weave the snakes about their heads, they coil them in huge balls and toss them up and down; they twine them about their neckS and tuck them be- tween the belts of their kilts and their nude waists, and carry them. held al the middle in their mouths. All this time they are hopping about the sun baked plaza. Now they circle about the kisi with their burden of serpents in their hands. Then at a signal by old kOpali, the snake chief, the danc- CTS form in rhrees, md with tine snakes wrirFling for Freedom tD hetr har0~ they march backward and forward. Another signal and they form in a row and toss the serpents to and fro. Then the dance starts anew. More clrcling, marchings and c0unter-marchings in ones, twos and threes. Occasionally a reptile wriggles itself loose from an Indians hand. It is. however, instant ly picked up like so much rubber hose
 An Hour of Horror.
 The snake dance lasts about fifty minutes. At It's close the Indian spec tators have risen to their feet, and are l weaving their arms and bodies back | and forth in time to the rapid chorus | they are shouting over and over again. l The dancers are dripping with per spiration. The white visitors are dazed | al the incredible scene. No one who has not seen it would believe these men can be so thoroughly indifferent to the serpent'S venom. Several of the dancers reel and stagger, but catch themselves as they gyrate with the tangled snarl of serpents in their hands.
 Suddenly at a signal from wrinkled Kopali the dancing ceases and the high snake priest advances to an open place. He solemnly sprinkles meal in 1 ring, denoting all compass points to | which serpent messengers are to con. vey the Moki petitions. At another signal the rattlesnakes are thrown in a heap within the circle. Meal is hastily thrown upon the wriggling heap, while a gutturai invocation is pronounced. In moment each of the dancers snatches several of the serpents in his hands. and starts at full speed for the narrow | trail which leads down from the mesa