The ruined "Casa Vieja." — In this communal house were once kept as well-guarded sacred relics 

 the scalps of enemies conquered centuries ago. These were brought out only on the occasion of the 

 annual Scalp Dance. All that now can be learned from the Picuris is that these trophies have mys- 

 teriously disappeared 



each side respectively, and the point at 

 which they passed each other determined the 

 progress of the race. As a racer ran the 

 course and returned to his side, his place 

 was taken by another racer, and so the 

 game continued with its interest centered 

 around the point at which the dancers passed, 

 this point moving first toward one goal, then 

 toward the other — reminding one of the yard 

 gains of a football team. Each racer ap- 

 peared with different bodily decorations. 



Some had streaked their bodies with red, 

 others had made themselves grotesque with 

 white clay in fanciful designs. 



The governor of the pueblo kept score by 

 marking the progress of the race with large 

 leafy branches. The governor of the Picuris 

 carries two silver-headed canes. One 

 was presented to seme former governor by 

 President Lincoln, whose name is inscribed 

 on the head. This has become the only 

 mark of the governor's office. The other 



Once so many Picuris warriors took part in the dances that five sacred chambers, or kivas, were 

 needed. In 1917 the ceremony, which formerly lasted from sunrise to sunset, was performed in scarcely 

 thirty minutes, and the few participants disappeared into only two of the kivas 



31U 



