The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-04-19
FRONTIER SKETCHES. mo. 2.
BY y. o. s. EEnxA.


skillful professor of animal magnetism,
not even old Mesmer himself, could get
a wink of sleep from me that night but
while rejecting upon the impossibility
Of the thing, aud lulled 10y the fascinat-
ing tones Of the environing coyotes, I
absolutely fell into as sound and refresh
ing a slumber as though reclining on
the couch Of king.
Morning, and our fetters being sun
dered, we were allowed to wrestle with
small piece Of the hspless equine vic
tim of the previous evening, then or
dered to mount our horses and proceed
on our journey.
My companion was morose and ap-
parently much depressed in spirit, but I
had lived so much in the ideal world
that 1 tried TO view the whole proceed
ing as a thrilling adventure that would
last but few days, at most, and per-
haps by its thrilling denOUemcHt make
Of me hero, the envy Of my plodding
associates whom / had left behind me.
Many were the efforts made during
the day to be cOmpanionable, but my
pigeon English was lost on the duh ears
of my auditors, aud my vigorous panto-
mime on their eyes, and failed to in
crease my stock Of knowledge in any de-
gree. 1 have thought, though, that
man Of spirit prefers being "snubbed"
TO not being noticed at all, and just to
that degree was greater Difference shown
me than to my companion during the
day.
After travelling in a southerly diree-
tion for eight days over a country al
most entirely destitute Of timber, a
most beautiful spectacle suddenly pre-
sented itself Before us was a smooth
and delightful valley, through which a
river coursed along, bordered by just
trees enough to relieve the eye without
concealing any Of its beauties, while on
the opposite bank Of the stream a popu-
lous Indian village rose to view, in all its
native rudeness. As we descended the
long wave Of prairie that overlooked
this charming valley, we could see that
in the village all was hustle and confu-
sion, and soon, as though by one i'm
pulse, men, women, children, and dogs
all came hurrying toward us. Phpbus,
what rabble! / thought the war
party with which I had been travelling
for over a week approached the Eden
istic costume near enough, but these
approached even nearer that primitive
simplicity Of dress. Indeed, think /
am in the bounds o. truth when I assert
that l had seen a single peddler in the
old Buckeye State carry more dry good.
on his back at one time than the three
hundred fashionably dressed savage.
displayed as they came joyfully toward
Us. But what more does any one aspire
to in the way OF dress than to be in
fashion? But the two parties meet, and
while mother, sister, wife, and sweet.
heart seek out their favorites, and in
cultural gibberish shower down a deluge
Of congratulations upon them, they
, turn to exhibit Boggs and myself as the
+ trophies Of their valor; but 10! Bogg:
was not; at least he was not visible
There / sat, the dignified cynosure o.
all; but Boggs' native modesty seemed
to have revolted at the idea of being
lionized, and he had suddenly retired tC
obscurity. At this juncture a negro
black as ebony, saluted me in Southern
plantation language, and wanted L
know "whar de odder white cuss" was
But I was totally ignorant as to wber
or how Boggs had managed in the broad
j light Of day and in the open prairie t
elude the eagle eyes OF our swarthy cap
tors.
Proceeding toward the village by th,
side of the negro, ventured to ask {,
what tribe of Indians I was indebted fo
the honor Of an escort over the pictur
esque country 1 had so recently trav
ersed, and the grand reception given IN,
on my arrival at their beautiful village
But he deigned no reply further thar
that 1--WE belongs to tribe that lubs d,
whites like pussy cat lubs hot soap.
But to the village. The lodges wer,
distributed over the ground at irreguIa
intervals, but possessed an air Of neat
ness and regularity about them that
1 have never since seen in an Indian
E town. They were OF conicaI shane
= twenty or twenty-five feet in hight, anC
= OF about the same diameter on th,
ground, the material used in their con
struction being poles, buffalo hides, anC
rushes. The poles were planted firmly
q in the ground, and then bent over so a.
; to converge to point, forming a shelter
from the driving rains OF that region
Like all primitive habitations, they
were built solely for shelter from sur
and rain, and were by no means impos
ing specimens Of architecture; nor die
Z they contain g single article Of furnitur,
that the civilized consider so necessar,
to comfort and convenience. 4 shor
look around the village dispelled from
2 my mind all the romance Of savage life
as my ten days intercourse with som,
r Of its citizens had of their native dig
nifty Of character, and began TO lon,
} for congenial company and for tn,
blessings Of civilization that I had $,
eagerly thrown aside. In fact, seeing
e to my astonishment, that little or no eff
s fort was made to recapture Boggs, be
. gan to mediate making my stay anon,
the Indians quite . short one; not tha
was badly treated, and after a while