Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1868-07-22
DECAY OF THE CROW TRIBE OF
INDIANS.

Inc Grows are poor, possessing but few
ponies, and the few they have are poor in
| quality and rapidly decreasing in numbers
other Indians are constantly stealing from
them, and they can neither buy nor steal
enonssh to make UP for their losses. n
Ab-sa-reo ka chief who possesses dozen
ponies is called in his tribe wealthy. The
men are Ignorant and slothful,. and look
upon labor as degrading and only fit for
women Riding their ponies after buf.
taloes and stealing horses from ncighbor-
ing tribes is the extent of their labors;
and In such exercises they find great pleas
ure. They compel their women to do all
the labor, and often reward the overwcrked
creatures with neglect and cruelty. The
squaws are sometimes sold to the whites,
aud pretty one may be got for pony.
fsOne OF the chiefs offered me his daughter
in exchange for my horse. She is young
and pretty, and thought her cheap st
the price, bat for reasons known to dis
Greet husbands, / declined his generous
offer, Almost all of the women are filthys
degraded and obscenely vulgar. 1t would
be difficult to find dozen virtuous women
in the whole tribe. They barter their
persons IN the same way, unconscious Of
wrong, as they sell buffalo robe, and
think few cups Of sugar pays them well
tor either one or the other. They rarely
reach the age of fifteen years before taking
husbands, and some marry as early as
thirteen years: 8u ealHre--- rf.a.ei4
"They consider no part of an animal too
filthy for them to eat When buffalo IS
killed, the entrails are torn out and thrown
on the ground near the carcass,an the feast
is prepared The pappooses thrust their
faces into the heart and liver and eat With
theyim of hungry wolves. The squaws wipe
the paunch over the grass and tear it into
strips a foot long and two inches wide
these strips are tied into bunehes of knots
and swallowed without much chewing
ceremony. The large bones are brokens
and the marrow, dug out with the finger,
goes down with the paunch. Cartilage,
almost as hard as. bone, is chop
p d a little withia knife,'q and in large
chunks passes away The muscle is cut
into large strips one end of strip is put
into the mouth and drown in with the
tjugne: and, snake-like, it slips down into
the great vat. The animal is eaten an-
cooked Andfin their haste they soune-~
times eatthe flesh while it is yet quiyeriug,
with life. A dozen Indians can finish a
buffalo at one sitting On Tongue river I
saw a little squaw put herself outside of at
least fifteen pounds Of buffalo, which per-
formance made wonderful change in her
personal appearance.
Stealing with them is an accomplish
ment and not virtue Nothing within
their reach is safe. Notlong since one of
the gentle maidens walked into my tent,
smoothed her hair with nay tooth brush
and quenched her thirst with the water
in my washbowl. On taking her Departure
she very skillfully relieved me Of a mum.
besl of articles of-no value to herself,
but very useful to myself, among them
my soap. ae6rza ,.a.s .,;,. 4-esa7.
The Crows possess thousands of dogs,
but, unlike other tribes, they do not eat
them. They hold them in superstitious
reverence, canathem u5.good medicine"
and love them almost as much as theyodo
their chi ldren. E,-.-.--. -. ...--s....s
They are cross between the wolf and
a dog. and are of all sizes and colors.
They never follow the men, but remain
constantly with the womepg tits an
everyday sight to see an old squaw with
twenty or thi ty dogs following at her
heels. Not long since I rode out to one
of their villages which they had pitched
3 !. 3 4
the tepees, hundreds of these savage dogs
rushed towards me, swapping and bowling
like angry devils, and kept up their infer
nal music until I went away. The squaws
we're drying wild plums and cherries on
the ground among dry buffalo chips. The
pappooses were perfectly naked, and
danced around me crying sugar, sugar"
I had no sugar to give them. but fang at
them handfuls Of dried apples.
~ a.EJ2 &ils #FfT 9Jtz-e -0oii