Show saw nothing pretty in hopi snake dance the only ceremonial indian dance of which I 1 know the date or the date Is the snake dance which comes in august near the last of the month mr writes la adventure magazine the themselves never know the exact date until near the time as tt Is fixed liy the time when a shadow hits a certain point on the mesa the priests watch and when a certain shadow touches this particular spot then they know the dance must be held a certain number of days later this makes it vary from year to year by a few days this dance Is held cither at or ralpl though at times it occurs at or it Is the number of a nine flay ceremonial which they believe brings rain the snakes are caught and brought in after much mummery the whole ceremony Is a disgusting pagan rite where men bold live snakes in their jaws and go dancing around the plaza they drink an emetic of strong potency and all stand in a row and vomit violently over a cliff bahl |