tribes. Elaborate ceremonies were carried out, in which all of
the details were highly symbolical, and some of their curious and
picturesque superstitions were responsible for acts of cruelty
and vengeance, which in many cases were foreign to their natural
disposition.

DANCES.

Dancing was an important part of all religious observances, and
was practiced purely as a ceremonial, and never for pleasure or
recreation. Both men and women took part, the men executing a
peculiar shuffling step which involved a great deal of stamping
upon the ground with their bare feet, and the women performing a
curious sideways, swaying motion. Some of the dancers carried
wands or arrows, and indulged in wild gesticulations. They
usually circled slowly around a fire, and danced to the point of
exhaustion, when others would immediately take their places. The
ceremony was accompanied by the beating of rude drums, and by a
monotonous chant, which was joined in by all the dancers.

The great occasions for dancing were before going to war, and
when cremating the bodies of their dead. The war dance was
probably the most elaborate in costume and other details, and of
recent years the Indians have sometimes given public exhibitions
of what purported to be war dances, but these performances, like
everything else which they do from purely mercenary motives, are
very poor imitations of the originals, and it is doubtful if they
have ever allowed a genuine war dance to be witnessed by white
men.

FESTIVALS.

The various tribes in the vicinity of Yosemite Valley are
accustomed to hold a great meeting or festival once a year, each
tribe taking its turn as hosts, and the others sometimes coming
from considerable distances. At these meetings there are dances
and other ceremonials, and also a grand feast, for which
extensive preparations are made. Another feature of the occasion
is the presentation of gifts to the visiting tribes, consisting
of money, blankets, clothing, baskets, bead-work, or other
valuable articles. These presents, or their equivalent, no matter
how small they may be, are always returned to the givers at the
next annual festival, together with additional gifts, which, in
turn, must be given back the following year, and so on.

At these gatherings an Indian is appointed to secure and keep on
hand a good supply of wood for the camp fires, and every day he
spreads a blanket on the ground and sits on it, and the other
Indians t