The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-07-26
FEMALE SIOUX.
Customs of the Indians With
Whom We are at War.

Now that we at war with the Sioux
Indians the following from a cores
pondent will be read with interest /:
They have keen sense of the ridiculous,
part cularly the women, and somewhat
Of humor. [ think it was running An
| telope who said that when he first heard
of 1t he was much surprised that the white
men killed their Saviour, but now that he
knew them better he had changed his
mind. | recollect once, when a friend
and myself were standing too near a cir
Gle where they were having a squaw
dance, two hags, whose heads were sill
vered by well nigh century, threw their
arms around our necks, and, drawing US
into the circle, compelled us to join in
their gyrations, much to the hilarity of
the rest. But of all objects of study the
women are the greatest, from the pretti-
est, good natured young girls ofseventeen
to the toothless old hays, who, in this
very tribe, have been known to come on
the battlefield after the fight to kill the
wounded. Much righteous Indignation
has been expressed by American writers
with regard to the servile labor which is
required Of the women among the Indian
tribes, and this criticism is but to be ex-
pected from people whose habits of
pampering their women exhibits itself in
the absurd etiquette which requires that
u gentleman must offer to carry parcel
for lady, if it be but an ounce weight,
and is now resulting in the cry of
''women's rights" But these Indian
girls are the happiest set l have ever
seen, and if the old women are bent
from being hewers of wood and carriers
of water, the men do their part in
hunting and fighting. The girls are at
once both modest and bold. They will
stand and gaze into your windows for
quarter of an hour at time, but having
ventured to hint to one of them that her
ways were most winning, the poor child
was so overcome that she ran away, hid |
her face in her robe and refused to be
comforted. The manner of love making
among them is strange. When afflicted |
with Cupids dart the young men 90 |
about wearing their blankets in such a
manner as to cover up all the head ex
cept the eyes, and having spied the OBJ
iect of their affection, they slip up be-
hind her quickly, throw the blanket
over her head also, and, holding her
tightly around the waist, compel her to
listen to the soft accents of love. In |
case of popular belle, they will some
times range themselves in a line at the |
door of her wigwam, and when she comes
out pass her from one to the other, as
she in turn Gisburdens her surcharged |
heart They have been known to keep
a girl this way all day long. Lastly,
the language of the Indian is we'll known
to be picturesque, and no one can appre
cate the grace of their oratory without
having seen it, and even in ordinary con
Their gestures are profuse. 1t
is the very poverty of their language
that makes it sound poetic; thus for
''the ship SAIL" having neither the /
word "ship" nor "sails," they say |
''the wind makes the boat run on the |
water" thus bringing in two of the natu
raj elements in that one sentence. 1t is
that when we sometimes ex
press age by so many summers, they
always say winters, and when we say $50
many days since" they say $50 many
nights, or sleeps"