Last Dance of the Picuris 



FoKEWORl). — Taos and I'iciiris. the most nortlirastciMi of llic Xcw Mi-xiiaii imclilos. unlike l]\v otln-rs arc 

 uot in the valley of the Kio tirandc Imt at tlic eastern base of nionntains wliieli are really the southern ex- 

 tension of the Hoekies. They were first described by Alvnrado. licntcnant of Coronado, commander of the 

 Spanish expedition of l;'i40-4'2, which was sent into the north from Mexico to search for the "Seven 

 Cities of Cibola" with their reputed stores of wealth. Picuris early became the seat of the Franciscan 

 mission of San Lorenzo, but when in HiHO the Indians made their Ki'<'iit revolt against Spanish dominion, 

 the Picuris killed their missionary, Iniriieil the elnireli, and for a lime aliaiKloned llie imelilo. Hy reason 

 of their pro.\imil\ lo the .lic.-irillas in later limes, the I'ieui-is have a ecinsideralili' inrnsioii of Ai)aphe 

 blood. Annual fientas, curious niixlures of Clirisliau and pa};an iiraeliees, ai-<> held al almiisl all of the 

 pueblos. — P. E. GODDARD. 



PKTRIS is situatoil aiiiono' tin' iiiouii- 

 tain peaks of Truches, in iioftliiTii 

 New Mexico, iiioio than eiyht thou- 

 sand feet above sea level, the highest Imlian 

 village in the Southwest. Many travelers in 

 this strange corner of the United States have 

 looked toward the purple-veiled mountains, 

 little realizing the great drama that was 

 being played there. Difficult of access and 

 far removed from other pueblos, this village 

 has been visited by few Americans, and is 

 the last to feel the effects of civilization. 

 It is said to have had three thousand vigor- 

 ous inhabitants not so long ago ; now it has 

 only one hundred and twenty-three. Of 

 these, the older men, who still possess a 

 flicker of the fiery spirit of the tribe, are 

 fast disappearing, while the young boys, who 

 are being educated in the American schools, 

 are losing reverence for their native relig- 

 ion and the customs of their people. 



But it was not many years ago, say the 

 historians, when this village of Picuris, be- 

 cause ' of its location in the rugged moun- 

 tain tops and its highly defensible position 

 against enemies, was very powerful. When 

 the Spaniards conquered the Indians of New 

 Mexico, the Picuris were the last to submit. 

 Later, in the great Indian revolt, these In- 

 dians were the leaders. And when the 

 Spaniards reconquered the Pueblo Indians, 

 the Picuris moved to the plains of Kansas, 

 but finally returned to their original home 

 near the skies and near the burial mounds 

 of their ancestors. 



During the summer of 1917 there was talk 

 in the Southwest about a revival of the once 

 famous Scalp Dance which was to be given 

 at Picuris. A number of writers and art- 

 ists sacrificed considerable personal comfort 

 in the hope of witnessing this weird cere- 

 mony. A long hard ilri\c over forty miles 

 of "going up" mountain roa<l, an<l a bed 

 on the groun<l, were only part of the sacri- 

 fice. There was no Scalp Dance, however. 

 The Scalp Dance is no more — and never will 

 be danced again. 



Ill this \iliag(' (if I'icuris was a castle 

 (tilled "Casa X'ieja," a guarded communal 

 house, in the tower of which, history relates, 

 was a collection of bloodstained scalps of 

 enemies conquered hundreds of years ago. 

 These had been cherished as sacred relics, 

 gruesome rcMiiindors of the days when the 

 stalwart I'icuris were brave warriors and the 

 fear of invaders. 



When I visited Picuris I expected to see 

 these bloody trophies carried in the dance 

 procession. But I was disappointed. The 

 "Casa Vieja" is in ruins. It is now only 

 a fallen pile of adobe. The old men of the 

 village when asked about the scalps said, 

 "Quien sabe," and shook their heads sadly. 

 The young boys who had learned to speak 

 English seemed ashamed, and professed 

 ignorance of any such feature of the dance. 

 Inquiries were made throughout the day of 

 the dance, but all that could be learned was 

 that these trophies had disappeared myste- 

 riously about three years ago. 



Instead of the Scalp Dance, the Picuris 

 Indians, on August 10, danced in celebra- 

 tion of the annual fiesta of San Lorenzo, 

 their patron saint. Early in the morning, 

 crowds of native Mexicans in horse-drawn 

 caravans, and reckless riders galloping their 

 horses, began filling the plaza in front of the 

 old church. This is said to be the only old 

 Spanish miss-ion church of the Indian pueb- 

 los that was built liy the ancient system of 

 construction, that is, by preparing a mortar 

 of adobe earth and pouring it into molds to 

 form the walls. After the church services, 

 a statue of San Lorenzo was carried at the 

 head of the jirocession of dancers, each 

 dancer kissing the garment worn by the 

 image. After many blows on an ancient 

 bell and many volleys from old muskets, the 

 Indians marched from the church to a high 

 mesa where the races were to be held. Here 

 the twenty-six dancers separated into two 

 groups of tliirteen each which were sta- 

 tioiHMl at the two ends of the race course; two 

 iMcii started at the same moment, one from 



;j09 



