New-York tribune., 1878-11-23


grunting monosyllabic dissatisfaction at the bar
gains offered them boys with bows and arrows
practising at apples as targets; occasionally
dusky and rather good-lOOking Indian maiden out
of Cooper's novels and here and there dignifed
brave wrapped in his blanket gay with bright colOrs
stalking about moOdily with what was clearly in
tended to be naughty Inconsistencies of every
thing but himself. To this add the rude melody
for it was sort of mournful melody rising at times
from dismal monotone to startling fierceness of
wailing-cOmng out of closed tent where they
were making medicine" over some unfortunate
invalids, and you have the sights and noises that
greeted our entry into the camp The scene was Tor
a few moments rather confusing TO the senses. We
were dozen white men among 200 or more Wild
Indians who, few months ago were on the war
path looking for Just such scalps onrs and taking
them wherever found with sharp knives, and no
ceremony but war-whoop. They were unarmed to
be sure but so were we, and had they been so dis
posed they could have made short work of us with
their primitive bows and arrows, or with clubs ana
stones The oldest and dirtlest of the squaws-and
some of them looked to be at least hundred. with
faces wrinkled like burnt leather and grimy with
a century's accumulatIons of sol-were cordial
uncOmfortaby cordial, indeed-n their greetings.
They Insisted on shaking hands and laughing
bear-eyed, toothlcss laugh, IN accompaniment with
their unvaryng How which made us want To
wash our hands at once and forget, soon as pos
sible the responsiveness OF their open countenances
These whom we would have been quite as wei
satisfied to observe at a distance giving them crcdl'
for the proprietorship of the soil without ocular
demonstration that they carried 1t on theH
persons. we're the only who sought u.s.
The cleaner and more comely looking. the
Younger warriors and braves and the maldens.
neither came near us nor exhibited the slight
est curiosity concerning us. The few braves with
whom we had the brief communications that could
be enioyed through the interpreter Challey-a
brothcr-in-law of Chief Joseph-we were Obliged
to 90 after; and then we found them sulleh ana
uncommunicative. Perhaps this was because Ike
the needy knife grinder they had mo story 10
tell . or It NAV have been the mastery inactivity
called laziness. or the naughty and sclf-consclouS
arrogance of the noble red man, lord OF the SOIL
However that may be- the fact was that
hundred or more of the braves lay in their
tents during a visit which must have been
very unusual event in the camp
without manfesting the slightest curiosity 10 see
us or inquire the cause of our coming among them
ROMANCE ASD REALITY.
rather think they despised Those whom we
saw seemed more moved by contempt than curiosity
Chief Joseph was absent, having gone West with
the Indian Commissioner to look for healthier
campinC-ground. His brothcr-in-law above men
toned acted as interpreter but he speaks only few
words of English, and even these he seems To he
ashamed of. These Indians, as understand, refuse
as a matter of pride to learn English; and thought
could see in the bearing of the poor devil OF an IN
terpreter and in the way in which he was treatcdby
the braves that he was looked down upOniOr his ac
compshment, little as it was, and felt it himself
to be disgrace. There was wore of the ordinary
mendcant in his demeanOr than in the others. He
complained TO me that their guns and horses had
been taken away from them; that the camp was
unhealthy and the people sick; and that
there was no game, and they could get nothing TO
eat. / knew he was lying like an ordinary beggar
when he said he could get nothing to eat foc Gov
ernment issues ample TatiOns TO them, of which we
saw plenty of indications. handed him, neyerthe-
less. silver quarter, which his hand closed on
slowly and surely as he gave me look which con-
strued as an indignant TeproOf at the small
ness of the gratuity. None of the rest
came so near actual begging. and we offered
them nothing for fear of being visited with
their indignant at the insult. The nickels
and dimes which some of our party set mp as targets
for the bow and arrow, fired at only by the
smaller urchins while the older ones looked on at
the sport The dignity with which two youths of
about sixteen let a quarter that was thrown up to
be scrambled for by the crowd of boys drop IN front
of them and declined to stoop to pick 1t mp was
rather impressive. These two young fellows were
actually handsome, and of such an intelligent APP
pearance and dgni6cd, manly carriage and deport-
ment that | was curious to know more about
them But | failed to find out anything and had to
come away with a dreamy and unsatlShcd
notion that they were of noble lineage,
helrs, perhaps, to the chieftancy, nourlshlng
youth sublime, with hopes OF great career and
many scalps. They were COopers Indians beyond
question. 1t was easy to idealize and weave a
romance round them. There was one other of this
sort cousin of Chief Joseph, really splendid
specimen of the Indian of romance He had fine
olive complexion. with regular features and the
characteristic high cheek bones; and as he stood
with his blanket folded around him. his beaded
buff moccasins and leggins showing below 1t,
and his long, black hair bound with a
gaily colored handkerchief, he seemed posing
for a statue. His general appearance and
his attitude, clearly unstudied and unconventional
but wonderfully picturesque, made him the most
striking figure in the camp,
But the number of this sort Of noble red men was
small Yellow Bear, Of the chiefs, whom we
saw in his tent, surrounded with signs of his supe-
rior station. IN the shape of frs, buffalo robes and
trinkets of one kind aud another for savage adorn
ment, is a square-taced fellow. with unintelIi
gent countenance, whom it would be impossible to
dealize into anything heroic. The same is
true of Yellow Bull, whom we found trading for
molasses at a wagon, and who was introduced to us
as having been, like Yellow Bear. a stead
fast friend of the white man, and a per
sistent opponent of the war policy of
the tribe, which both these chiefs persisted
would end only in disaster Candor compes me
to say that the especial friends Of the white man
are not by any means attractive in their general
appearance as the others who do not vaunt their
friendship for the white man, but who very likely