The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-04-19

.mEta cCsDst or ooUETsaIF AND
-laEIR EoD or BUkIA4


hat whea a yoang fellow dons his lest suit
(Which is gonera1y set of With a calico
blouse. having large. flaming sleeves, and
his hat stuck full Of feathers, with two or
three yards Of scarlet ribbon hanging down
bis back, he would be about speechless by
the time lie arrives at the "old mans
mansion After dismourting from his pony
he taxes 8 position on the fence. and sits
there till he SEES his fair one at the 6cor.
when he gTins audihly, and if she dosfh
ikewise hetIkes it for granted that he is
welcome ami goes INTO the h5-se, which
generally consists Of one room and contains
all the family, and the en- he has to make
his speech. which n the furthcst amount
TO three ginnt< Ills Success depends yery
much upon an invitation to smoke by the
father OF the eoprte1 lass. Ii the "old
man las any respe,t for him he lights his
pipe. AMI ater taking a whit hanes ii TO
thelyoghg man, sh9 in ran tzkcs a Whit,
and 50 they proc ell, whif about. The
length Of ins they smell pcnds alto
gether on the esteem the lc.her has for the
beau. After a oer,ain number OF sreh
visits he finally mrs,ers NJ courage c.oegh
to sly. "Che-te-ha li-ae-la-ii-um-iniY p
which means in Engish, +" Hilyos haycme'
II she say5s Unh,i he is accepted; but if
she says ~Ky-yo," which means 8 No" he
takes himself oa. Dshe gives a grunt the
preparations ar5 made.
On the day appointed for The we ling til
groom arrives on u pony, All lea ing all
otAAr th4tlas a side sadie for tho b.i le.
On arriving at the horss, without dish olnt-
ing. he fastcns her ropy to thc fen c. AMI
then rides of a short-iisfance in the direc-
ion they arc to go. Shortly The bride steps
out, dressed in the height of fashion,
new taiieo Dress q waite pocket banker
chief around the neck, and n large rcd one
tel over her heal and ears, anI n pair Of
new shoes across her arm. Which She pais
on Just be,ors reaching the psrsou's. As
soon us she mounts her pony the man starts
on. and she follows from 80 10 200 yards be-
h'Ld. On arriving at tile parsonage h
gets off. ties his horse nad goes into tn
house and makes his brsn.css known. u,
this time the lady "a srives. ~disinoun.s. Sc
cures hcrhoree and goes to Ire house. ! ans
herself on the S DO OF il near the Gocr, and
patiently wits till some one discovers hcg
and bids her enter. All things being in
readiness. the minister. who IS ussa y n
white missionary, MOTORS the coup, 10
stand up. and performs ths ceremony in
English. which is about as Ineligible to
them rs Crock but when the minister
stops talking they depart, leaving the poor
clergyman without fee or thanks. They
usually go 10 the husbands parents, and
stay about u year before attempting the ar
duous duties of housekeeping" After
getting married a choctaw does as they do
in ~Indiana-that is, if he doesn't like the
squaw, he gets a divorce. which is granted
on the most frivolous pretext.
In case a husband or wife dies the Choc-
avs usually nave two funerals. At the
death oil the relatives and friends are sent
for. and on their arrival they commence a
series Of wailings and lamentations both
loud and long. The nearest of kin keen. up
their bowling and mourning during all the
first night and until noon of the next day.
The grave is dug in the house, generally in
one corner of the room, and, after the body
is deposited in it and it is filed up, the
surviving wife or husband must have a bel
made directly over it and sit and sleep there
for tho next six days. Any one not a parent
is buried outside of the house, somewhere
in the yard. During the six weeks of
mourning the women let their hair hang
over their shoulders and the men do
theirs up in a great knot at the back of the
AT the expiration of this time pre-
parations are made on a grand scale for a
grand ado. Two or three beeves are killed
and barbecued and a like number of hogs
are dressed and boiled up with corn. All
the knick-knacks which they know how to
cook are profusely supplied, and on the
appointed day a long table of rough boards
is erected and ON it the eatables are placed.
Just before eating this big dinner all the re-
lations collect around the grave. and for
half an hour they make the woods ring with
their howls.
At a given signal, however, this all ter
inmates suddenly, and rejoicing takes the
place of weeping and moaning. Tn women
10 up their hair and the men unite their
pigtails, and d rush is made for the dinner.
After the dinner general good feeling pre-
sails the survivor is congratulated on the
general get up Of the whole affair, and the
5est wishes are expressed that he or she
nay soon find another partner. which is
Usually lone in n very few weeks.
Ignorance and superstition still holds
sway over these poor people. The half
breeds are much more intelligent. Since
the war, or practically since the railroads
were run through their country, they are
really worse off than before, as stock men
have come in and bought mp mos. Of their
cattle. and, although they paid thcsl a faif
price. tho Indians spent the money foolsa'.
aaa now have neither CO, lie nor money,