The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-10-01
TIL e PR Il s 8
THE NOBLE RED MAN.
BY MARX TWAIN.

q
,'ose are silver ornaments; and on his arms
and wrists and ankles are broad silver bands
oud bracelets: his buckskin hunting suit Is
oallaDtly iriI ged and the belt and the mecca
SINS wonderfully Powered with colored beads;
and when rainbowed with his war-paint, he
stands at full height, with his crimson blanket
wrapped about him, hisquiver at his back, his
bow and tomahawk projecting upward from
his folded arms, and bis eagle eye gazing at
specks against the far horizon which even the
paletace's fied-olass could scarcely reach, he is
being to fall down and worship.
HIS language is intensely fisurative. He
never speaks of the moon, but always Of the
"eye of the night" nor OF the wind as the
wind, but as ''the whisl er Of the Great Spirit"
and SO forth and so on. His power of conden
sation is marvellous. IN some publications he
seldom says anything but ''Waughp and this
with page OF explanation by the author, re-
veals a whole world Of thought and wisdom
that before lay concealed in that one little
word.
He is noble, he is true and loyal; not even
imminent death can shake his peerless falth-
tulness. His heart is a well-spring OF truln,
and of generous impulses, and OF knlgntiy
magnanimity. With him, gratitude is lellg-
ion; do him a kindness, and at the end OF a
lifetime he has not forgotten it. Eat OF his
bread or offer yours, and the bond fhospi-
ldilby ID SCdiCu"n bOlth NhiNi Ao AOAS'Ni Ah'i
Liable with him.
He loves the dark-eyel daughter Of the for
est, the dusky maiden of taultless form and
rich attire, the pride of the tribe, the all-beau
tiful. He talks to her in low voice, at twi-
light, of his deeds on The war-path and in the
chase, and OF the grand achievements of his
ancestors; and she listens with downcast eyes,
Swhile a richer hue mantles her cheek"
Such is the Noble Red man in print. But
out on the PLAINS and in the mountains, not
being on dress parade, not being got up to
see company, he is under obligation to be
other than his natural self, and therefore:
He is little, and scrawny, and black, and
dirty; and, Judged by even The most charl-
table of our caDons of human excellence, is
thoroughly pitiful and contemplate. There
is nothing in his eye or his nose that is at
tractve, aud if there is anything in his hair
that-however, that is feature that will not
bear too close examination. He wears no
feathers in his hair, and no ornament or COW
ering ON his head. His dull-black- fowsy
locks hang straight down TO his neck behind,
and in front they hang just to his eyes, like
Gu, tan, beng cut straight across the fore
head, from side to side, and never on top. He
has no pendants in his ears, and as for his
however, let us not waste time on unimpor-
tant particulars, but hurry along. He wears
no bracelets on his aims or ankles; his hunt
LIZ quiz 10 S,liiAiibiy pub Hot
ally ;whsn he does not sear his disgusting rab
bit-skn robe, his hunting suit consists wholly
OF the halt OF a horse blanket brought over in
the Pintaan Mayilower, and lrayed out and
frineed in inveterate use He is not rich
enough to possess belt he never owned a
moccasin or wore shoe in his life; and truly
be his nothing but poor, filthy, naked,
scurvy vagabond, whom ID eX:erminate were
charity to the Creators worthier insects and
rantilpc which bn Sill "
tact with the white Inan has given the Noble
Son of the Forest certain cloudy impressions
OF civilization and aspirations after nobler
life, he presently appears in public with one
boot on and one shoe sh,rtless, wearing, ripped,
patched and buttonless pants which he holds
up with his lett hand-hs execrable rabbit
skin robe flowing from his shoulders-an old
hoop-skirt on, outside OF it-a necklace of
battered saidlne-boXes and oyster-cans repos-
ing on his bare breast-a venerable flint lock
musket in his right hand-a weather-beaten
stove-pipe hat on, canted "gausy" to star
board, and the I'D off and hanging by thread
or two; and when he thus appears, and waits
patiently round q saoon till he gets chance
to strike 'swel' attitude before looking
glass, he is good, fair, desirable subject for
determination If ever there was ones
There is nothing fgurative, or moonshiny,
or sentimental about his language. 1t is very
SIMPLE and unostentatious, and consists OF
plun, Straightforward lies. His wisdom
conferred upon an idiot would leave that wild
ow helpless indeed.
He is ignoble, base, and treacheroas, and
hateful in every way. Not even imminent
death can startle him into a spasm of virtue.
The ruling trait of all savages is a greedy and
consuming selfishness, and in our Noble Red
Man it is found in its amples. development; his
heart is cesspool of falsehood and treachery,
and OF low and devilsh instincts With him.
gratitude is All UNKNOWN cIruururI ,-urs,a--a--~-.
one does him kindness, it is safest to keep
the face toward him, lest the reward of an ar
row in his back. To accept of favor from
him is to assume debt which you can never
repay TO his satisfaction, though you bankrupt
yourself in trying. To give him dinner
when he is starving, is to precipitate the
whole hungry tribe upon your hospitality, tor
he will go straight End fetch them, men,
women, children, and dogs, and then they
VIII huddle patiently around your door, or
fatten their noses against your window, day
after day, gazing beseechingy upon every
mouthful you take, and unconsciously swal-
lowing when you swallow! The scum of the
earth! G
And the Noble Son of the Plains becomes
a mighty hunter in the due ano proper sea-
Son. That season is the summer, and the
prey that a number of the tribes hunt is crick
cts and grasshoppers! The warriors. old men,
women, and children, spread themselves
abroad in the plain and drive the hopping
creatures before them into ring of fire. /
could describe the feast that then followed
without missing a detail if l thought the
reader would stand it,
All history and honest observation will
show that the. Red Man is a skulking coward
and windy braggart, who strikes without
Warn1nS-usually from an ambush or under
cover OF night, and nearly always bringing
force OF about five or six to one against his
enemy; kills helpless women and little chill
dren, and massacres the men in their beds:
then brass about it as long as he lives, and
his son and his grandson and his great-grand-
son after him among the heroic deeds of their
ancestors. regiment of Fenians will fill
the whole world with the noise of it when
they are getting ready to invade Canada but
When the Red Man declares war; the first in
timation his friend the white man whom he
supped with at twilight has of it is when the
i-whoop rings in his ears and the toma-
hawk sinks into his brain.
In June, seven Indians went to a station
on the Plains where three white men lived,
snd asked tor food; it was given them. They
stayed two hours, eating and smoking and
taking, waiting with Indian patience tor their
customary odds of seven to one to offer. and
rs soon as it came they seized the opportunity:
that is, when two of the men went out. they
Killed the other the instant he turned his back
70 DO some solicited favor; then they caught
The other escaped.
The Noble Red Man seldom goes pratine
loving ioohshness to splendidy caparisoned
blushing maid at twilight No: he trades a
crippled hOrse, or a damaged musket, or a
uog, gallon OF grasshoppers and an ineffi.
Gent Old mother Tor her, and makes her work
ike an ablect slave all the rest OF her lie 10
.4a I. r