Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-05-19
INDIAN GRATITUDE.
BY A. f. WALTERS.

I
tamishcd Indian made his appearance ot tbr
door and begged for something to cat. The
generosity of my nature WAS moved by thc
story oi his prlrations and wrongs, to all of
which ms WEAKNESS gave evidence He stated.
IN tolembIc good English, that he had been
ior two days on truitlcSs excursion for came :.
that he had an aged mother at home, whose
comfort and existence depended on his skill
Is huntcr and worst of all that he had killed
no game, that he could not bear the idea of
letting his poor old mother perish from hun
ger, although at present he did not know how
hc could remedy the matter.
Never rmind, brother" | said, in the kind
est manner, possible though my board is
not very pIcmtcous, what | have you shall
Willingly share, and after YOU have been sat
iSiicd, we will then consider what is best to
do for the relief of the furnishing mother IT
home \ flush of qualification overcast the
features OF the savage as he drew near the
table and sat down. He ate with an caecr-
ness which proved to me that his was no sham
complaint.
" White man not all devil" said the Tndi.
an, after a few moments silence and he locke j
at me with tear in his eye saw thot tho
expression came from his heart.
W hat 10 you mcan?' asked, "bv sucb
an unreasonable cxpreSS;3M." III, tb@n in.
formed me chat he b"l stopped at thc hut Of
white man only few miles north Of mo
and had begged for something to cat. but was
refused, and pot only refused but was insult.
CT and ab;sod BY the unfcclng occupant. He
described him SO well that | knew it was my
nearest ncghbor, Flint, with whom | had
but little dealings on account of his unsocia.
bility
Bad white man never come to good" CON,
tlnucd the Indian, "aud good white man never
come to bad
Indeed said T, there arc too many
who, surrounded by the blessings and luxuvics
OF life forget to administer to the necessities
of those who may have been less favored by
high heaven, and consequently are in want.
But brother, we should remember, that
though blessed to-day, tomorrow we may be
destitute, and dependent upon the charity of
others; and above all, we should never forget
or refuse to feed the hungry, clothc the naked,
and litt him up that is fallen"
| White man talks right" said the Indian.
while look of satisfaction beamcd from his
! eye; "good actions never forgot-ncvcr die.
| We do good, the Great Spirit scnds us GOOD
We do bad, Great Spirit sends us bad"
| Thus reasoned the poor wild savage, and
thought that his rcaSonngs were sound, and
| wished that all white men thought lust as
he dId, ana acted upon tho same principles in
thclr dealings toward one another Act rs if
they thought that, hereafter, they would be
Judged by their actions How much better
our world would be
The meal having been dispatched, turned
the subject of conversation toward the fam
ishing mother at home
Ah, yes ~ lie said, sprnging to his feet,
she must not die | must away; but if |
should Kill no game" he said, mournfully, as
he hastenod towards the door, then all is
over, and | could not live after that for then
evil ghosts would haunt me, and would die
and 90 to the world of evil spirits"
4" We must prevent such tragedies" I said,
/ yesterday | had the good fortune to shoot a
fine deer, and you can have the half of il as
well as not also portion of corn, and We will
set out Immediately. | will 20 with you and
help to carry the burden
then asked him where he lived, when he
informed me that his waewam was situated ON
the banks of the Platte, some fifteen miles
distant. | then tossed upon his back the
| half of the deer before mentioned, and shout
dcring sack of corn myself, we moved off.
Had been lucky enough to have possessed a
/ team Of horses it would have saved me a long
and tiresomc walk but the reader must rec
ollcct that on the wild prairics of the West,
the oX-team is Invariably used, because they
are easier maintained than horses
1t is needless to enter into detailed ac.
count of the journey. 1t suliccs to say, the
assistance came in time, and that the aged
and tamished mother was soon made happy and
cheerful. After some time spent with nv
savage, yet grateful friends and after rccciv-
ing manifold blessings and assurances Of a
return for my goodness, | returned to my own
home, revolving in my mind as | did so, the
novelty of the day adventure, and to what it
might hereafter lead. And | could not bit
draw contrast between humanity and inhrl-
manity, between in doing as we would wish to
be done by, and doing as we, too frequently,
are done by. And | could net help thinking
that the pleasure then enjoyed was moro
gratifying than that of my ncighbor Flint,
who had refused the poor savage even NOR
sci of food Although my ncighbor had ac-
cumulatcd wealth faster than ] by means of
his avariciousncss, yet | did not envy him. a
clear heart and good conscience is greater
blessing than them all. What little have
Is source of comfort to me and not of regret,
as 1T would be had L come by it dishonesty
we will now pass over a period of four
years, during which time serious difficulties
arose between the border settlers and the In
dians; in which many of the FORMER lost their
property as well as their lives Nor did es-
cape the common fury of the savagcs, but
with all my effects / was hurried away to the
hostile camp. Here [ met my unfortunate