At 8 p. m. about one dozen men were collected in the Móñkiva, among whom was Lésma playing a flageolet. The hatchway was guarded by a tyler, and for a nátci there was placed there a wicker skullcap ornamented with a pair of imitation mountain-sheep horns (plate CX), Two hours later the room was densely packed with naked men, their bodies undecorated, wearing small eagle plumes attached to the crown of the head. Two women were present. Anawíta, chief of the Kwákwantû, sat alone on the southern side of the main floor which was clear in the middle, and twelve chiefs, among them Címo, Súpela, and Tcubéma, sat opposite him. Ten novices from the other kivas entered gorgeously arrayed in white kilts, brilliant crowns of feathers, white body decorations, bearing an imitation squash blossom, with spruce sprigs in their left hands and corn in their right hands. As the chiefs took their places Lésma sprinkled the floor of the room near the ladder with moist valley sand, about an inch deep. The novices stepped from the ladder upon this sand and passed up in front of the chiefs, then squatted before them facing the south, their kilts having been lifted so that they sat on the cold floor. Anawíta then crossed over to the south side of the room and seated himself at the east end of the line of chiefs. At the west wall of the kiva a strange altar had been erected. Lésma had piled against the ledge of this part of the kiva a stack of corn, two or more ears of which had been contributed by the maternal head of each family in the pueblo. At either side and in front of the stack of corn shrubbery had been placed. In the space between the top of the corn pile and the roof wands were placed, and to these wands had been fastened many artificial flowers, 4 or 5 inches in diameter, set close together but in no regular lines. There were over 200 of these flowers of different colors, dark-red and white predominating. Nearly in the center of this artificial shrubbery there was a large gourd shell with the convex side turned toward the audience and having an aperture about 8 inches in diameter in its center. Through this opening had been thrust the head of an effigy[42] of Pálülükoñûh, the plumed-head snake, painted black, with a tongue-like appendage protruding from the mouth. When all the assembled priests were seated a moment of solemn stillness ensued, after which Súpela arose, cast a handful of meal toward the effigy of the snake, and said a short prayer in a reverent tone.[43] Then the head of the snake, which was manipulated by an unseen person behind the altar, was observed to rise slowly to the center of the aperture, and a mellow sounding roar like a blast through a conch appeared to come from the mouth, while the whole head was made to quiver and wave. The sound was of short duration, repeated four times, and then the head reposed again on the lower rim of the ground shell. Presently was heard a sound as of a scapula drawn across a notched stick six times.