MIDNIGHT EXERCISES. 211 
By “strangers” was meant any Indians who did not live in the Kabin- 
apek village. He proclaimed thus for about a half-hour, using a vast deal 
of repetition, and then he descended. It was about half an hour yet before 
anybody responded, when the dancers began to assemble, gliding with slow 
and noiseless tread through the darkness. It was fully an hour before a 
low humming inside announced that the performances were about to begin, 
whereupon we bowed our heads half-way to the ground, and advanced sev- 
eral feet along a narrow, sloping passage, and found ourselves in the cir- 
cular arena of the assembly-hall. There were about sixty persons in it, 
squatting around in concentric circles, leaving a central space about 20 feet 
in diameter for the performers. There was a bright fire burning right at 
the entrance, and as there was only one other small air-hole at the opposite 
side the atmosphere was already horribly foul, and we had to stop in the 
passage and squat as low as possible to prevent ourselves from being stifled. 
The orchestra, eight in number, all young men, were squatted together 
opposite the entrance, four facing four. Between them was a hollow slab, 
serving as a kind of drum, to be beaten by a drummer with the naked foot, 
and each of them held in his right hand a little stick, split half-way down, 
to be used as a clapper in keeping time. The dancers were all young 
women, who stood in a curved row in front of the orchestra. All of them 
were decked out in their bravest apparel, and dancers and orchestra alike 
had a single ornament, which was the only thing aboriginal in their cos- 
tume. The long feathers of the yellowhammer (the sacred ornamental 
bird of California) were evenly laid together, butt to tip alternately, and 
strung on strings, forming a bandeau about 4 inches wide and 15 long, 
which was passed across the forehead and tied behind the head with strings 
fastened to it half-way back, leaving the ends to flop backward and for- 
ward over the ears. 
The orchestra hummed several little choruses, accompanied by the 
clacking of the sticks, before the dancers took their places. Then they 
sung a chorus, as follows: 
Yo-hi-o-he-i, (four times,) 
Le-lo-mu-he, 
Hu-di-go. 
In this the dancers joined, sometimes facing the orchestra, sometimes 
