The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-10-15
A DAY AT NIAGARA.
By MARK TWAIN.
CONCLUDED.
THE NOBLE RED MAN.

The Noble Red Man has always been
a darling of mine love to read about
him in tales and legends and romances.
| love to read Of his inspired sagacity
and his love of the wild free life OF
mountain and forest, and his grand
truthfulness, his hatred of treachery
and general nobility Of character; and
his stately metaphorical manner Of
speech; and his chivalrous love of the
duskv maiden; and the picturesque
pomp of his dress and accoutrement
Especially the picturesque pomp Of his
dress and accoutrement. When found
the shops at Niagara Falls full of dainty
Indian bead work, and stunning moe
casins and equally stunning toy figures
representing human beings who carried
their weapons in holes bored through
their arms and bodies, and had feet
shaped like pie, | was filled with
emotion. / knew that now, at last, /
was going to come face to face with the
Noble Red Man. Alady clerk in shop
told me, indeed, that all her grand array
of curiosities, were made by the Indians,
and that there were plenty about the
Falls, and that they were friendly and il
would not be dangerous to speak to
them. And sure enough, as | ap-
preached the bridge leading over to Luna
Island, l came upon noble old Son OF
the Forest, sitting under tree, dilligent.
" at work on bead reticule. He wore
SLOUGH hat and brogans, and had a
short black pipe in his mouth. Thus
does the baneful contact with our effete
civilization dilute the picturesque pomI
which is so natural to the Indian when
far removed from us in his native haunts
| addressed the relic as follows:
is the Wawhoo-W ang-Wang OF the
Wack-a- Whack happy? Does the grea'
Speckled Thunder sigh for the war-path
or is his heart contented with dreaming
of his dusky maiden, the Pride Of the
Forest? Does the mighty sachem Year,
to drink the blood of his enemies, or is
he satisfied to make bead reticules fol
the papooses of the pale face? Speak
sublime relic Of by-gone grandeur-ven
cradle ruin, speak
The relic, said:
IAN is it mesilf, Dinnis Hooligan
that we'd be takin for bloody 1njin, "
drawlin', lantern:jawed, spider-leggec
divil! BY the piper that played before
Moses, I'll ate ye!"
Invent away from there.
nv and bv, in the neighborhoed o
the Terrapin Tower, came upon a gen
tie daughter of the aborigines, in fringet
and beaded buckskin moccaslns anc
leggins, seated on bench with her pref
~ wares about her. She had jus
carved out a wooden chief that had
strong family resemblance to clothes
pin. and was now boring hole through
his abdomen to put his bow through
I besitated a moment and then adj
dressed her: :,
as the heart of the forest maiden
heavy ? Is the Laughing Tadpole
lonely? Does she mourn over the ex
tinguished council fires Of her race and
the vanquished glory of her ancestors
Or does her sad spirit wander afar to
ward the hunting grounds whittier hel
brave Gobbler of the Lightning is gone
Why is my daughter silent? Has she
aught against the pale-faced stranger
The maiden said:
"Faix, an is it Biddv Malone We dare
to be calm names! Lave this or IL
shy your lean carcass over the cathar
blonyard ".
| adjourned from there also: Con
found these Indians" / said, they told
me they were tame-but, il appearance
should go for anything, / should say
they were all on the war-path.
made one more attempt to fratern
ize with them, and only one. ] cam'
upon a camp of them gathered in tn
shade of a great tree, making wampun!
and moccasins, and addressed them IL
the language of friendship:
Noble Red Men, Braves, Crane
Sachems, War Chiefs, Squaws ant
High-vou-M uck,a-Mucks, the pale fac'
of.the setting sun greets you! You
Beneficent Polecat-you, Devourer-ot
Mountains-you, Roaring Thundergus
you, Bully-boye-with-a-Glass-E Eye
the pale face from beyond the grea.
waters greets you all War and pest
lence have thinned your ranks and des
troved your once proud nation. Poke
and seven-up, and vain modern eS
pense for soap unknown to your glorlou
ancestors, have depleted your purses
Appropriating in your simplicity tn
property of others has gotten you Int
trouble: disappearing facts, in you
sinless innocence, has damaged you
reputation with the soulless usurpel
Trading for fortyrod whisky to enable 20
to oct drunk and happy and tomahaw
vonr families has played the everias'
inc mischief with the picturesque pom
of your dress, and here you are, IN tn
broad light of the nineteenth centur!
gotten up like the ragtag and ooo1a
or the purlieus Of New York; re re
sbamel Remember your ancestors
Recall their mighty deeds! Remem oe
Uncas and Red Jacket!-and Hoi'
II ntonJ Horace Greeley Emu