The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1877-02-15
DAILY LIFE OF AN INDIAN.
BY JAMES PARTON.

Indian country was a mercantile house in
Kansas town devoted to the sale of arti-
| cles used in trading with Indians, such as
blankets, beads, paint kettles and knives
1t was an extensive establishment, the bust
ness of which amounted, perhaps, to a quar-
ter million dollars year. A member of
this firm, knowing that [ Was a stranger,
showed me a curiosity which was usually
kept in the iron safe as thing too precious
to be left around loose 1t was a ,ron,an s
scalp, the hair being long, soft, silky, and
of beautiful light brown color, parted in
the middle as when worn by its original
proprietor. The noble Indian who had rob-
bed lady of this her ''crown of glory" had
lined it with piece of soft decr-skin, which
he had stitched with various colored silks,
and adorned with red and white beads
The most sentimental lover of the red
man would have been somewhat shaken in
his faith, or disturbed in his feelings, by
the sight Of this trophy For my own
part, not being fond of our brethren, L re-
garded it with unspeakable horror, aud
could not but long for the day when a race
capable of capturing and che,fshing such a
prize would no longer exist upon earth |
tried to get it to add to the precious collec-
ton Of our New York Historical Society.
But the owner was insensible to my bland
| ishments. 1t had been presented to him
by young officer of cavalry, who had
taken it from an Indian lodge, and he could
not think of parting with it.
Besides" said he, eve want to keep it
here on the frontier to show the sentimen-
tai phiIanthropists."
| This introduction to our red brother was
not calculated to give favorable impress
sion Of him. \ day or two after, having
gone in the meantime some hundreds of
miles further west, stopped at a town
near Which large Indian tribe were gath
| cred to receive their annuity, and [ discov-
cred that most Of the merchants and store
! keepers were gone off to the Irdian camp
to collect the debts owed to them by the
! Indians. | was astonished to learn that
! the credit of the Indians was good with
/ the west rn storekeepers, who were in the
habit of giving them credit for hole year
But 90 the Indians pay?'' l asked.
"Alnost always was the reply. "They
always il tend to pay, but occasionally a
/ gambler will make one Of them drunk, and
win all lis money away before the Indian
/ knows W at he is about But as the mer-
! chants axe point of being on hand when
! the IndiaI receive their money, they COM
monty their share of it."
These were the two facts which learned
about Ii dians on the frontier. They do
l. !.
for us to understand how people who
have a S nse Of honor, who pay their debts
and wEo mean always to keep their work,
can also | e capable of crime so dastardly
as tearing a scalp from womans head.
| But so it is The Indian, like the white
man, is inexplicable blending of weak
ness ard trength, Of kindness and cruelty,
of nobility and meanness. The late Gen
eral Hor ston, of Texas, was so fond Of the
Indians ii at he joined a tribe, and l have
had the easure Of hearing him testify to
their ami; bic qualities and dignifed char
acter. Cf late years the Indian has found
a dcf-nder i'll the famous poet Of the far
west, Joa JUN Mile, who expatiates elo-
quently upon their simple habits, their gen
eral hospi. ality, and their lofty demeanor
Recently, too, one Of the Quaker gentle
men employed by the present administra-
ton as a teacher of Indian children, has
written an account Of his life and adven.
lures among them. If any one wishes tc
know what Indians are now, and how they
now live, he could not do better than read
the Quaker among the Indians" by
! Thomas Battey 1t is work Of real value
An Indiun is good deal of an aristo
crat in his ways. For one thing, he is not
an early riser, as he is very apt to prolone
his pleasures far into the night. Like his
brother aristocrats in Europe, he is great
turner of night into day, and is seldom in
hurry. When an Indian and white
force are marching together, the Indians
are never ready to start at the appointed
time When they are on the march alone
they will sometimes dawdle away the time
till eleven O'Clock and if they do make an
early start, they will take incoming OF
several hours. In the winter the camp will
rarely be astir before nine.
While the men lounge about dressed Ill
an airy morning costume Of single blanket,
chatting from lodge to lodge, the women
are busy preparing breakfast which is a
lively and social meal. Each wigwam con
tains on an average about six inmates.
While they are at breakfast they sit on the
mating, tailorfashion, around the fire,
which is made in hole dug near the mid
die of the lodge. A piece of board about
foot long, or else a thick piece of hide, is
placed before each person to serve as plate.
A steaming kettle of boiled meat hangs over
the fire, from which the woman of the
house takes with her fingers piece for
each member of the family, and places it up
on bis board. She gives bread to each, and
commonly, in these degenerate times, a
mug of coffee Knives and forks are not
in use among them, and they tear their
meat to pieces with their teeth and fingers.
They are in no hurry to get the meal over.
On the CONTRARY they DroiOng ID and en-