584 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



called the cacique, who, besides being the oracle of the tribe, is their 

 temporal as well as spiritual ruler. No outward personification of 

 their Divine Being is made use of ; but, entering their estufas (tem- 

 ples) with a hueno corazon (good heart), they simply pray for some 

 blessing, looking to no visible object as a medium of intercession be- 

 tween themselves and their God. Although for a time they outward- 

 ly observed the religious teachings of their conquerors, inwardly they 

 maintained the belief of their race in the infallibility of their tradi- 

 tions, and soon repudiated the creed pressed upon them, returning to 

 the worship of the source of light — the sun — as their only true God. 

 But not only here were the Jesuits expelled ; they were also driven 

 out from the pueblos of Jemez, Acoma, and Saguna, as the ruins of 

 the churches testify. However, at a few points the Jesuits still hold 

 sway, as, for instance, with the Isletta Pueblos on the Rio Grande, 

 while with the Mexicans of New Mexico the Jesuits are everywhere 

 in full power. In times of great drought, and during festivals, the 

 cacique orders the celebration of the cachina, a sacred dance. For- 

 tunately, it being a holiday with them at the time of our visit, the 

 rare opportunity was afforded us of witnessing this unique, interest- 

 ing, and most beautiful though heathenish custom, of which a sketch 

 was made on the spot. Some twenty-seven persons were engaged in 

 the ceremony. When first seen, the participants were standing in a 

 row, their faces toward the sun ; they were gayly dressed, as will be 

 evident from the description of the three styles of costume worn on 

 the occasion, and represented in the engraving. 



No. I. represents a dancer — costume, light-blue mask, horse-hair 

 beard, necklace of black wool and beads, wreath of hemlock as a waist- 

 band ; short white skirt, with fancy border, held at the waist by a 

 green and black sash, to which was attached a bunch of long, white 

 strings, hanging to the ground along the left leg ; a land-turtle's 

 shell, pendent from the left garter below the knee, contained pebbles 

 which served a purpose similar to the castanet of the Spanish dancer; 

 hemlock around the ankles, yellow eagle-feathers in the hair, and a 

 fox-skin suspended from the waistband, complete the make-up. 



No. II. rej)resents the captain, who was attired thus : Yellow eagle- 

 plumes in the hair ; blue tunic, white under-garment. with fancy side- 

 piece inserted, and blue stockings ; in one hand a staff was carried, 

 the other holding a vessel containing flour. 



No. III. represents a female dancer (character taken by male) ; cos- 

 tume, a white scrape, with black border interwoven with fancy colors, 

 and a blue gown ; otherwise, the attire was that of No. I. 



The male dancers stand in a row, the female (males assuming the 

 character) facing them and chanting a low, solemn strain, keejjing 

 time with the right foot. In the intervals between the songs, the 

 leader scatters flour to the four winds to appease the anger of their 

 Divine Being, and induce him to send water from heaven. December 



