Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-04-13
An Indians Opinion of Americans

Many of our readers will remembe
seeing or hearing of the famous In
dian Chief Irataba-head man of thu
great Mohave tribe-while on late
visit to the principal cities and notabil
tiles Of the Atlantic States. The Mo
HAYES are considered the most war
like tribe of red-men in Arizona. Fol-
several years they gave our troops un
der General Heintzelman great deaI
of hard fighting. Finally a treaty
was made, under the terms of which
they have since preserved amicable
relations with the whites.
1t is only recently that Irataba hal
returned to his hunting-grounds. Flo!
lowing the example of Dickens, Mrs
Trollope, and Basil Hall, he now ven
lures his own opinion upon our man
ners and customs, as they appeared tc
his mtutored mind. A correspondent
at Arizona writes in relation to lrata
ba's return as follows:
Seeing the chief a short time since,
| talked with him Of his travels, and
being anxious TO know how our ways
of civilization impressed his uncultiva
ted nature, | said: Irataba, what
do you think of Americans ?" He put
his hand on my shoulder, gave whit
at his pipe and said, slowly: You
To-nightum, (the name he calls me
by lrataba heap see 'em Mericanos
'Mericanos too much talk, too much
eat, too much drink no work, no raise
pumpkins, corn, water-melons all time
walk, talk, drink-no good" The OLD
chap had seen the big restaurants al
ways full of hungry people,. coming
and going, and heard the incessant
clatter of dishes from morn till mid
night, and thought it was the same peo
Pile eating oil the time, and with even al
Indians appetite, it "got him"
Then again, at the large hotels in
New York, Philadelphia, Washington
and other places which he visited, he
saw men buzzing each other and but
tonholinG by the hour, and ne was
shrewd enough to observe that half the
time the talker was boring the other
to death-that he neither listened nor
cared for what is told him. And this,
too, rather contlicted with the Indians
native idea of politeness. And then
he saw the same men standing at the
bar drinking round after round by the
hour, still calling for more, until they
were unable to stagger home and
these he put down as fools, for when !
asked him what he meant by saying
"'Mericanos too much talk, too much
eat, too much drink?" the old chief
shrugged his shoulders, and, looking
very wise, said: "To-nightum, Ira
taba see 'em heap talk, heap lie, heap
eat, heap sick, heap drink, heap damn
fool--no good"
All our philosophy, from Lord Bacon
down, does not embody any more than
this old chief had discovered on his
first glimpse at civilized life. lie has
resumed his place at the head of his
tribe, and, laying aside his gray uni
form and brigadier's ehapeaa, which
were presented him, has donned the
primitive iig-leaf of his tribe, and
seems as happy and contented as Di
ogenes in his tub.
He returned, safe and sound, to his
own people at home, and his reception
was that Of a father by his household.
The warriors gathered about him night
after night in eager groups to listen
to the wonders he had seen, and the
pcrils he had encountered, in his long
journey. Much he told them which
they could not comprehend, and being
told by any one else they would openly
have doubted, but it was enough that
Irataba had seen it, and Irataba told
it. You should have seen them when
he told them of the ride he took on the
cars from New York to Washington
the big wagon that went without hor
SEES or mules only a little iire-and
never stopped all night. 1t was, tc
them, what Sinbad the Sailor" and
Aladdin's Lamp" were to us, in oul
first readings.