This is the Mescalero Dance of the Gahe, spirits who live in the sacred mountain and come forth to drive away sickness and evil and bring good fortune. Impersonators of the spirits wear black hoods of buckskin, sometimes adorned with strength-giving abalone shells or turquoise. Towering headdresses, painted with sacred symbols -- a cross or star -- have horns of yucca to symbolize game protected by the spirits; eagle feathers float form streamers tied above the elbow.