978 TUSAYAN FLUTE AND SNAKE CEREMONIES [ETH. ANN.19 
in a crypt on the northern side of the mesa. As these jars must not 
be profaned by any secular use, they are deposited in a special cave, 
as is the figurine of Talatumsi used in the New-fire rites. 
INFLUENCE OF WHITE SPECTATORS 
The number of white spectators of the Walpi Snake dance in 1897 
was more than double that during any previous dance, and probably 
two hundred would not be far from the actual enumeration. An audi- 
ence of this size, with the addition of various Navaho and the residents 
of Walpi and neighboring pueblos, is too large for the size of the plaza, 
and it became a matter of grave concern to those who are familiar 
with the mode of construction of the walls and roofs of the pueblo 
whether they would support the great weight which they were called 
upon to bear (plate tv). Happily these fears proved to be ground- 
less, but if the spectators increase in number in the next presenta- 
tions as rapidly as in the past, it will hardly be possible for the pueblo 
to accommodate them. 
The influx of white spectators has had its influence on the native 
performers, for, when gazed upon by so many strangers, some of the 
Snake men appeared to be more nervous, and did not handle the rep- 
tiles in the fearless manner which marked earlier performances. ‘The 
older members of the fraternity maintained the same earnestness, but 
the more youthful glanced so often at the spectators that their 
thoughts seemed to be on other subjects than the solemn duty before 
them, and they dodged the fallen reptiles in a way not before seen at 
Walpi. A proposition to perform the dance at Albuquerque, New 
Mexico, in 1897, was entertained by the young men, but was promptly 
refused by the chiefs. Germs of a degeneration of the religious char- 
acter of the Walpi Snake dance have thus began to develop. When 
the old men pass away it may be that an attempt to induce the Snake 
priests to perform their dance for gain will be successful; but when 
that time comes the Snake dance will cease to be a religious ceremony, 
the secret rites will disappear, and nothing remain but a spectacular 
show. 
UnusuaL FEATURES 

During the public exhibition of the Walpi Snake dance in 1897 
several of the priests carried a tiny snake with the head protruding 
from the mouth like a cigar. Kopeli explained this by saying that he 
had found a brood of young snakes, but that they were not put in the 
cottonwood bower on account of their small size and the consequent 
difficulty in finding them. They were therefore held in the perform- 
ers’ mouths from the time they left their kiva. 
The author’s attention was called by one or two of the spectators to 
the fact that one of the Snake priests was bitten during the dance, but 
when the chief was asked for the name of the man bitten no information 
