Among the Pueblo Indians . squaws, and so on, dancing to the time given by the drummer and the chanters. The scene presented was ghostly, the dimly-lighted, smoky atmosphere giving a certain weirdness to the shadowy moving forms. As the dance progressed some of the children, who dance quite as earnestly as their parents, joined in, and young and old went through the movements with great activity. The time of the dancing is regular for intervals, then there will be one or two beats left out, the dancers all the while keeping time perfectly with their feet. When the line, headed by two of the mo
Among the Pueblo Indians . squaws, and so on, dancing to the time given by the drummer and the chanters. The scene presented was ghostly, the dimly-lighted, smoky atmosphere giving a certain weirdness to the shadowy moving forms. As the dance progressed some of the children, who dance quite as earnestly as their parents, joined in, and young and old went through the movements with great activity. The time of the dancing is regular for intervals, then there will be one or two beats left out, the dancers all the while keeping time perfectly with their feet. When the line, headed by two of the most athletic bucks, had encircled the hall, the two lines faced each other, spread out, crossed over, then swung around and returned to their original positions. There is quite a perceptible difference in the dancing of the buck and sc[uaw: the former lifts his feet high from the ground as he goes through the tiresome motions that constitute his part of the programme, while the squaw simply shuffles her feet along, sway- 34. Co Sail lllDefonso. ing- her body from side to side, and holding out herhands as if offering something in prayer. The dance practice was over at midnight, when,well pleased with the novel entertainment, we returnedto the prairie schooner which had been drawn up infront of the house in which our dinner had beencooked at the little corner fire-place. vSoon all was still, and sleep reigned throughout thepueblo. On returning from the estufa the dancershad wearily thrown themselves down on pallets thatlay on the ground in front of the houses where theother members of their families were already resting,with the deep blue star-lit sky overhead for a the waning moon rose in all the majesty ofher silvery beauty, and as the mellow rays of lighttouched the prostrate forms of the sleepers, theyseemed to work a perfect transformation, softeningthe hard lines on many faces. We were awakened next morning at sunrise bv the governor as he stood in the centre o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidamongpuebloi, bookyear1895
