6l6 " FEWKES 



hanging blankets before the fire, the actors packed tlieir para- 

 phernalia, gathered their effigies and quietly left the room. 



The accompanying plate (pi. xxxiii) represents this fifth act, or 

 the struggle of the ' mudheads ' with the serpent effigies. The 

 framework which is supported by two men is decorated with zig- 

 zag symbols representing lightning ; the row of semicircular 

 bodies on the crossbeam symbolizes the rain clouds, from which 

 descend parallel marks, the falling rain. Each of these six semi- 

 circular rain-cloud symbols is of different color, yellow, green, 

 red, and white, corresponding to the supposed colors of the car- 

 dinal points, and all have animal designs representing frogs and 

 birds painted upon them. The manipulators of the serpent effi- 

 gies are hidden from view by pine or cedar boughs inserted into 

 a log on the floor, which is covered with figures of rings, sym- 

 bolic of the earth. At the right of a median vertical line a serpent 

 effigy is seen protruded through an opening, above which is a 

 circular flap raised to a horizontal position. The serpent effigy 

 on this side is searching for a youthful ' mudhead,' who has 

 crawled below the disk. The left hand serpent is represented 

 in conflict with an adult ' mudhead,' who has grasped it 

 about the body and neck ; the serpent appears to be biting at 

 its opponent. We are looking at this strange contest from the 

 raised spectators' floor of the kiva ; the miniature cornfield 

 which one of the serpents knocked down a short time before, 

 has been removed, and the clay pedestals, w^hich remained, 

 are distributed among the spectators. The wierd effects of 

 the light from the fireplace in the middle of the room have been 

 brought out by the artist, Mrs. Gill, who has successfully drawn 

 these screens from my kodak photographs and sketches. 



Sixth Act. 

 There was yet another exhibition of serpent efligies in this 

 continuous performance, and the actors were announced in much 

 the same way as their predecessors. Thev appeared shortly 

 after the departure of the Spider-Woman and her associates, 

 and arranged their paraphernalia in the darkened room, holding 

 up an additional hhinket to conceal their preparations. When 

 the blankets were dropped from before the fire, a miniature 



