Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-08-28
BOHEMIAN, MONTANA TERRITORY FRIDAY, AUGUST 28 1874

superintendent Of any neglect OIL the
part Of the employees to charge for
commodities or services
(No inattent:on Of this kind obser-
''Don't throw stones down; they
may hit people below
''The prolrietors will not bc respon-
sible for parties who jump over the
Falls.'
More sllirking Of responsibiity-it
appears TO be the prevailing thing
here.
l always had high regard for the
signors Of the Declaration of Inde-
pcndcnce, bat now they do not really
seem to amount to much alongside
the signers of the Niagara Falls. To
| tell the plain truth, the multitude of
signs annoyed me. It was because l
at last that they happened to prohibit
exactly the very thing l was just
wanting to do. l desired to roll OH
the grass; the sign prohibited it.
! And / was just in the act of throwing
a stone over to astonish and pnlyerize
such parties as might be picnicing
below, when sign l have just men
toned forbade that. Even that salts
faction was dcned me (and | a friend
less orplap.) There was no resource
now but to seek consolation in the
flowing bowl. ! drew my flask from
my pocket but it was all in vain. A
sign confronted me which said:
"No drinking allowed OH these
premises"
On that spot I might have perished
Of thirst but for the saving words OF
the honored maxim that fitted through
my memory 1T that critical moment.
All signs fail in a dry time.' Com
mon Law takes precedence of the
statutes l was saved
The noble Red Man has always
been darling of mine. / love to
read about him in tales of legends and
rulnances. l love to read about his
inspired sagacity; and Of his love of
the wild free life Of mountain and
forest; and his grand truthfulness !;
his hatred Of treachery; and his gen
eral nobility OF character; and his
stately mctaphorical manner of speech;
aud Iii, chir"lroae Love for his dusky
maiden; and the picturesque pomp
OF his dress and accousreHeht. When
l found the shops at Niagara Falls
full of dainty Indian bead work, and
stunning moccasins, and equally stun
ming toy figures, representing human
beings who carried their weapons i'll
holes bored through their arms and
bodies, and had feet shaped like pie,
I was flied with emotion. knew
that now, at last, was goaing to
come face to face with the noble red
man. A lady clerk in the shop told
me, indeed, that all her grand array
Of culiOsitics were made by the Indi-
ans. and that there were plenty abont
the Falls, and that they were friendly,
and it would not be dangerous to
speak to them. And sure enough, as
approached the bridge leading over
to Luna Island, came upon noble
old son Of the forest sitting under a
tree. diligently at work on a bead rcti-
c,lc. lie wore a slOuch hat and bro
gans, and had a short black pipe III
his mouth. Thus does the balcfui
contact wit, onr eifcminate civilization
dilute the picturesque pomp which is
SO natural to the Indian when far re-
moved from his native haunts. l ad-
dressed the relic as follows:
1.Is the Wawhoo- Wang-wang of the
Whack a. Whack happyi. Does the
great Speckled Thunder sigh for the
war-path, or is his heart contented
with dreaming of his dnsky maiden,
the Pride of the Forest7 Does the
mighty sachem yearn to drink the
blood Of his enemies, or is he satlsfled
to make bead reticules for the pa
pooses of the paleface! Speak, sub
lime relic of bygone grandeur-yener-
able ruin, speak"
The relic said:
uAn' it is meself, Dinnis Hooligan,
that ye'd be takin' for bloody lnjun,
We drawlin' lantern,jawed, spider.leg-
ged divil! BY the piper that played
before Moses, I'll ate YEP
Iwent away from there.
By-and-by, in the neighborhood OF
the Terrapin Tower, | came upon
gentle daughter Of the aborigines' in
fringed and beaded buckskin mocca-
sins and leggings, seated on bench,
with her pretty ware about her. She
had inst carved out wooden chief
that had a strong family resemblance
to a clothes-pin, and was now boring
q hole through his abdomen to put
his bow through. l hesitated mo-
ment and then addressed her:
aIs the heart Of the forest maid
heavy! Is the Laughing Tadpole
lonely? Does she mourn over the
extinguished council-fire Of her race,
and the vanquished glory of her an
cestors9 Or does her sad spirit wan
der afar toward the hunting-gronnds
whittier her brave Gobbler of the
Lightnings is gonel Why is my
daughter silent; Has sac aught
against the paleface strangerg
The maiden said:
uFaix. an is it Riddy Malone ye
dare to he calm names! Lave this,
or I'll shy your lean carcass over the
ye snivelling blaeyard!n
Mlionrned from there also
"Confound those Indians" | said,
'.they told me they were tame; but,
if appearances should 60 for anything,
[ should saw they were all on the war