Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1849-03-02
Indian Incidents.

A pair of incidents have come TO our
knowledge respecting the Chippewa In
dians, now sojurning in the city, which
are so characteristic of the race that we
cannot refrain from presenting them to
our readers.
The first Of these has reference to one
of the women, whose name is Pum-md-
vay ge-one-no-qua, or Woman of the
Murmuring Stream. She is the wife of
the orator of the party, and, when she
left Lake Superior in October last, she
brought along her only infant, aged about
six months. On the arrival of the party
in Philadelphia the child was suddenly
taken sick and died. The grief of the
mother knew no bounds, and for several
entire days did she hang over the child,
ever and anon giving ulterance toa mo-
notonous wall, and decking its head with
all the m in her possession. All
this was noticed by Major Martell, who
conceived the idea of having a daguer-
reotype likeness taken of the child, and,
| this having been accomplished, the child
was deposited in a vault and the likeness
given 10 the mother.
On Monday night last, while one oftho
chiefs composing the Chippewa delega-
ton was relating a story to the writer of
this article, and in the presence o! the
entire party, an allusion was made TO the
nature Of death, which caused the child
less mother and her husband, as they sat
together upon the floor, 10 bow their heads
and weep. The story proceeded, but
we watched with intense interest the
movements of the bereaved mother
Then it was that we. saw her take from
her bosom las if unconscious Of the COM
pany present) the portrait alluded to-. and,
as she pressed it convulsively TO her lips
a number oftimes, she accompanied each
movement by this exclamation "Oh, my
poor child! my poor child!" She then
handed the picture to her husband, and,
as his keen black eye suddenly filled
with tears, he also kissed the picture a
number Of times, and, returning it to his
wife, he turned his face towards the sto-
ry-teller, as ifendeavoring to follow him,
while the wife Immediately dropped her
needle and hid her face in the lap of her
husband.
Amore touching picture of grief than
this we have never witnessed /; but Major
Martell tells us hat what we saw is only
a repetition of what he has seen a great
many times since he left Philadelphia
The unhappy parents, he tells US, are al
WAYS the first TO awake in the morning,
and they never resume their daily duties
without first putting their heads together
over the precious picture for the purpose
Of uttering an incoherent prayer. The
one idea which seems to absorb the mind
of the benighted Indian mother is this,
that she may yet return 10 Philadelphia,
and upon her own back carry the re-
mains of her offspring 10 the burial,
; place Of her fathers in the remote wilder
ness.
The second incidentto which we have
| alluded is of a very different character
from the above, and is as follows: Five
members of the Indian party already
mentioned lately went out in the after
noon to enjoy al airing. They strayeC
t over the Long Bridge across the Potomac
and, having been treated with a comfor
table glass ofliquor by some kind friend
\ they continued their walk until they
reached a pleasant wood on one of thu
hills looking down upon The Potomac
$ They had their bows and arrows will
: them, and succeeded in killing a rabbi
t and two or three small birds. Nigh
( came on, but instead ofreturning to thei
comfortable quarters in the city (for The
: weather was cold) these wild fellow.
S kindled a fire in the woods, and havin,
t enjoyed a genuine Indian repast and sun!
a number of strange songs, they erected
2 a few boughs over their heads, and Their,
enjoyed a sound sleep until the morning
f They returned to the city on the follow
ing day, apparently greatly benefited b.