The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1877-02-15

eager tney may De TO put MN through a
course of questions, they never even ask
his business until he has rested and taken
food
They are not very particular about their
diet, and have scarcely any notion of clean
Illness They prefer buffalo, antelope, or
deer, but if they cannot get these they will
eat dog, wolf, pony, or mule. They are
vast numbers of small tortoises on the wes-
tern plains, which the Indians eat with a
relish. They throw the tootoise into red
hot ashes on his back He dies without a
struggle, and is fit to eat in few minutes
After breakfast, if there is any tobacco pro-
durable, the pipe is introduced and passed
from mouth to mouth and during this
ceremony the women withdraw, and the
men discuss some important matter.
| Breakfast over, aud the smoking con-
cluded, the Indians proceed to the business
of the day, which has been talked over and
settled upon the evening before by the
chiefs, and announced to the whole camp
in the morning.
'An old man" says our Quaker author,
''walks out in front of his lodge, and, in
deep, stentorian tones, announces the plans
for the day, as agreed upon the evening be-
fore"
Perhaps the business of the day is to re-
move the camp higher up or lower the
stream to place where there is better
grass or nearer fuel Their wigwams are
so simple that in an hour they can be taken
down put upon the backs of PONIES and
mules, with all their contents, and the Who'll
village carried off. After short march,
another hour suffices to erect the village in
a new place. The place only is changed
There are the same people, the same lodges,
placed in the same order, all opening to-
ward the East, and each chief is again sur
rounded by his own people. While the
women are arranging the WI igwams, the
men go about the routine of business as
though nothing unusual had happened.
The business of the day may be buff1la
hunt, which employs the whole camp, and
which is conducted under strict regulations
They do not intend to waste buffalo, nor do
they ever indulge in mere lust Of slaughter
First, the active men of the tribe 60 out
upon the plain and quietly form IA ring
round a herd, and no one may chase 4 buf
falo past this ring on pain Of having his
horse shot down by the ring-keepers, To
this day tie Indians chiefly rely upon the
bog and arrow to bring down the burly
monarch # the prairie. The hunter on
his pony gets as close as he can to the
animal and usually succeeds in piercing his
heart with an arrow. When the master Of
a wigman has killed as many bufaloes as
the women of his family can take care of,
his days work in done and theirs begins
The women skin the bufaloes, cut them
up, pack the meat upon ponies, convey 1t
to camp and cure it. The curing is done
by cutting it into thin sheets, and drying
it in the sun upon poles it is then packed
in buffalo hides, in parcels of about hun
dred pounds each. Commonly, the day S
work is over by three or four in the after
noon, when the young men and warriors
indulge in games Of chance, accompanied
by singing and drumming, often continued
till daybreak the next morning.
"In large camps" says Mr.. Battey, "of
one hundred to two hundred lodges, seldom
a night passes without the sound of the drum
being continued until long after sunrise"
Indians, indeed, in nothing so much re-
semble the aristocrat as in their devotion
to sport so that in reading of their daily
life we are continually reminded of the
Prince Of Wales, and the sporting squires
and lords of whom we read in English
novels. The girls and young women have
their regular ball play in the afternoon,
when they put on ther best attire and play
games of ball in sight of the young wor-
riors, who are often captivated by the grace
and agility of the players.
Night, however, is the Indians time for
pleasure The children have their even
ing dancing fires, round which they dance
and play, drum and sing until very late.
The young men gamble aud the old men
gather in the wigwams, telling stories, talk
ing over the affairs of the tribe, and arrang-
ing plans for the next day. They have no
notion for regular time of going to led
and the young children do exactly as they
like in this respect. One of the greatest
difficulties the white teacher experience is
to keep the children quiet at night. The
Indians are foolishly fond of their children
and rarely attempt to control them. If
the youngsters 90 to bed early, each wrap
ped in his blanket, they lie and talk awhile,
then sing, laugh, get up, 90 out Of doors,
prowl about the camp, stirring up ether
children, come back, poke the fire wrap
themselves up in their blanket again, lie
down once more, talk and sing, and so keep
it up until they are all tired out and drop
asleep. Our poor Quaker schoolmaster
| found the nights more trying than the
days If one of the boys becomes unbear-
ably troublesome, the usual way of bring
ing him to reason is this On some occa-
sion wi en- the principal men are together,
and the offending lad is present, each chief
assails him in turn with sarcastic remarks
to which he is obliged, by Indian etiquette,
to listen in silence and not to 90 ont of
hearing. This treatment is continued un-
til the lad mends his ways.
| Thew are n strange wild people as wild