ortress are seven
circular mounds, which at first suggest the idea of being the work of
mound-builders. On further examination they prove to be the sweating
chambers or Turkish baths of this curious people. Of these chambers, the
largest appears also to serve the purpose of a council chamber and
mystic hall, where rites peculiar to the tribe (about which they are
very reticent) are performed.

The Pueblo Indians delight to adorn themselves in gay colors, and form
very interesting and picturesque subjects for the artist, especially
when associated with their quaint surroundings. They are skilled in the
manufacture of pottery, basket-making and bead work. The grand annual
festival of these Indians occurs on the 30th of September, and the
ceremonies are of a peculiarly interesting character.

Jesuitism has grafted its faith upon the superstitions of the
Montezumas, and a curious fruitage is the result. The mystic rites of
the Pueblo Indians, performed at Pueblo de Taos in honor of San Geronimo
(St. Jerome), upon each succeeding 30th day of September, attract large
concourses of people, and are of great interest to either the
ethnologist, ecclesiastic or tourist. A brief description can give but a
faint idea of these ceremonies, but may serve to arouse an interest in
the matter. In the early morning of St. Jerome's day, a black-robed
Indian makes a recitation from the top of the pueblo to the assembled
multitude below. In the plaza stands a pine tree pole, fifty feet in
height, and from a cross-piece at top dangles a live sheep, with legs
tied together and back down. Besides the sheep, a garland of such fruits
and vegetables as the valley produces, together with a basket of bread
and grain, hang from the pole. The bell in the little adobe chapel
sounds and a few of the Indians go in to mass.

A curious service follows. A rubicund Mexican priest is the celebrant,
while two old Mexicans in modern dress, and a Pueblo Indian in a red
blanket, are acolytes. When the host is elevated, an Indian at the door
beats a villainous drum and four musket shots are discharged. After the
services are concluded, a procession is formed and marches to the race
track, which is three hundred yards in length. The runners have prepared
themselves in the estufas, or underground council chambers, and soon
appear. There are fifty of them, and all are naked except a
breech-clout, and are painted no two alike. Fifty other runners to
contest with the