270 Kansas Academy of Science. 



the shouting of the breathless spectators, the chief snake priest 

 placed a wreath of pinyon twigs on his head. Triumphant and 

 panting, he then left the roof of the estufa. 



Immediately following the race, a horrible, blood-curdling cere- 

 mony begun in the estufa. There some of the snake priests, dressed 

 in fantastic garments, stood a moment over the jars containing the 

 slimy, wriggling, crawling snakes, sprinkled the yellow powder to 

 the four corners of the earth, and muttered half audible incanta- 

 tions. Then, as they uttered a low, rattling noise, they took the 

 reptiles from the jars and passed them to six other snake priests, 

 as we would hand a bunch of shoestrings to another person. The 

 latter priests squatted about a large bowl containing a dark red, 

 medically prepared liquid in which the snakes were to be washed. 

 As soon as the passing of the snakes commenced the musicians 

 began a low, humming chant, the roughly handled snakes hissed or 

 rattled, the big drum measured out the time, and the squatting 

 priests beat it with their writhing snakes. This humming, rattling, 

 hissing and drum-beating grew gradually louder and louder, and 

 wilder and more barbaric and ferocious, until it burst into a fiendish 

 shrieking and howling. Just as the excitement had reached its 

 height the squatting priests grasped the snakes by their necks, 

 thrust them into the liquid, drew them out again, and dashed them 

 furiously upon a sanded circular plat called the snake home. 

 Around this snake area stood three other priests with snake whips 

 to prevent the hissing, rattling, infuriated reptiles from coiling as 

 they fell. This they succeeded in doing by a process of rolling 

 the snakes about in the sand. As the snake bathing progressed 

 the fanatical excitement grew more and more intense. The low, 

 murmuring song broke into wild, hideous, unearthly shrieks. The 

 six priests grew more wild and fierce. With red-stained hands 

 they vigorously dipped snake after snake and dashed it furiously 

 down upon the sand till all the snakes had been washed. 



The snakes were then put back into the jars and carried to a 

 level spot about two miles up the river from the village. Follow- 

 ing them when they set out danced the antelope priests, much in 

 the same manner as a baboon trips about in a cage. Their almost 

 naked bodies were streaked with white paint, as were also their faces. 

 Eattles of various kinds were tied to their knees. Embroidered 

 dancing skirts of white cotton hung about their loins. Necklaces 

 encircled their necks and extended nearly to the waist line in front, 

 and coyote skins were suspended from the waist-belt at the back. 

 The chief antelope priest, bearing the sacred symbol of his frater- 



