Evening star., 1926-11-07
Weird Ritual Observed at Poisonous Snake Dance in

the first sun rays, about half-past
4. the race began. We reused to
wild shrieking of automobile horns.
which was our rising he'll, and in fve
minutes were" on our way. helters
skelter. to the rim of the mesa at the
town.
Here were already gathered. in bril-
| liant bla nkets against the chill, the In
| dians. They stood on the rocks In the
early rose of the dawn, alone or in
| silent groups of twos or threes. grave.
watchful and wonderful to the eye.
No words, no painting. can ever tell
the exquisite pathos of that picture
I the rose-a nd gold dawn. the purple
| desert far below, and on the ancient
rocks these immobile. brilliant fig
ures. diving survival of a lost civiliza-
ton. direct descendants perhaps of
MonteZuma.
This race is a race of the young
men. In the cool. sweet air of the
dawn they leave a spring far out In
the desert and run toward the mesa
ton. where. at the head of the trail,
priests are waiting to receive them.
Running Is a part of the Hopi boys
training, and they run like deer
At last we could see them, tiny
moving dots in the far distance. Now
| they were close beneath, and the
| faint jingling bells rose to our gray
heights. Almost nude, their long hair
| flying, in great. easy leaps they
| climbed the trails to where the priests
stood waiting.
The winner was sprinkled with sa-
cred meal and an amulet. The others
| went on, to deposit prayer offerings.
A few moments later we saw the
winner again. Carrying the meal and
| the amulet. he ran down the trail and
| out over the desert. where, we were
| told, to bury his prize in his cornf1eld.
| for success to his crops.
| 1t was very hot that afternoon. On
! the edge of a roof. where no snake
/ could climb. l sat and watched the
| crOwd-archeologists and students of
| Indian life, miners and cow-punchers,
traders and teachers from the reser-
vation schools. ranchers and business
men from Arizona and New Mexico,
| all Of whom hal come over the desert
at least $50 miles, from Winslow,
| Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon. for
| this half hour or less Of primitive re-
| ligious drama.
The crowd suddenly h,lshed. The
| priests were coming. Before we could
see them we heard the ceremonial rat
| ties. Nervous women on the ground
drew back into the crowd. holding
their skirts tight about them. and the
complacent, lucky ones on the roofs
watched and grinned.
OF the snake dance itself much has
been written-the stamping of the
weirdly dressed and painted priests
on a plank covering a hole In the
ground which presents the entrance
to the underworld, and which an
nounces to the gods of the underworld
that the supp}cation Is about TO be
made; the low monotOnous chanting
before the kisl. A sort Of cottonwood
bower where the snakes lie in las
Of baked clay; the bringing-out from
the kisi of the snakes, and that blood
curdling procession Of the snake
priests round the plaza, the snakes
held between their teeth.
| ~ *+
|nUR interest was centered on the
three small boys who, in paint
and feathers. were new hereditary
priests. and who. like the others. held
the poisonous reptiles. Poor little
novitiates, so much concerned about
keeping step and observing the proper
decorum, and so Indifferent. appar-
emily, to the death that writhed and
curled in their small arms.
| They never die. 1t is said. Yet
would we know. perhaps, II they did
die? l sometimes wonder For one
small child was bitten several times.
He bore 1t for a time; then he spoke
to the chief beside him, and his snake
was taken. Either frightened or ILL.,
he lost his step In the dance and
| could not regain it. But he stayed to