The true northerner., 1878-11-22
Indian Children.


Indian Children.
Indian babies are never placed in
rocking-cradles, and lullabies are never
sung to soothe them to sleep by their
drudging mothers. Tied upon straight
board in early infancy, they are sus-
pended from poles and trees. In this
position they often remain for hours i'm
the sun, and are taken down only to be
fed.
When first pinioned to the board.
they cry piteously, but after time seem
to become accustomed to their captivity
and remain quiet. 1t is this kind of
cradle that makes the Indian so straight.
The appearance of these little ones is
striking and peculiar. They have
brown skins and quaint little faces, and
although their bodies are rendered al
most immovable, their sharp black eyes
seem to flash out the incipient treachery
and cruelty they have inherited from
their parents.
An Indian mother has but little ten
derness, and, when she concludes that
her "pappoose has been nursed for a
sufficient length of time, a piece of meat
Is IOrceu INTO une mouth.
Relief from the confinement of baby
hood comes to the children when they
are large enough to creep; and it is sur
prising how soon the use of their limbs
is found. They at first tumble about in
the tepees and play with the dogs, but
they are on foot at an earlier age than
white children, and use a bow and ar
row before white babies learn even TO
put on their shoes.
Indian girls receive but little atten-
tion from their fathers. Their mothers
instruct them in cooking, curing skins
and other wigwam duties, and are
proud of what they accomplish.
The life of an Indian boy is all sport
and pastime. He is much petted by his
father, and roams and hunts at will
His bow he makes of hard wood and
strings it with rawhide. His arrows are
blunt and are made of cottonwood, and
carried in quivers made of pieces of old
blankets or flannel.
Larger boys use the old bows of their
fathers, and sharp arrows made of wild
cherry, and winged with feathers tied
on the end with sinew. The head is
split, and sharp piece of stone or iron
is inserted, and secured with strings of
sinew.
The Indian boys delight to paint
themselves as the warriors of their tribe
are painted, making their faces and
bodies hideous in grease and dry color.
Red, yellow and green are the favorite
colors, and are daubed on in the most
inartistic fashion.
Nicknames are common among the
red boys, and usually originate from
some deed they have done. They never
bathe for cleanliness, but they delight
in swimming, and have matches, when
some favorite plaything is offered as a
prize.
The boys often swim their ponies in a
race, clinging to the names or tails, or
placing their hands on the ponies
necks, and swimming by their sides.
They swim the Missouri, South Platte
and Arkansas rivers, Notwithstanding
the swift currents of those streams.
Each Indian boy, whose father can
afford it, has a pony, which is seldom
shod, never curried or taken care Of,
but mercilessly ridden in the race or
hunt. When around camp, the horses
are left in a herd and watched by the
squaws. The animals feed in summer
on what short grass they can get, and in
the winter eat bark and twigs and the
dried buffalo grass.
Gala days come to the little Indians,
and that of the sun-dance is one of great
sport and feasting. They have foot
races, pony-races, game of throwing
tomahawks, and shooting at marks with
bows and arrows.
The fastest ponies are always chosen
for the race, and their names and tails
fancifully decorated with colored feath-
ers, and the saddles are ornamented
with beads and porcupine quills.
The riders have painted faces and
feather head-dresses. The feetest po-
MES have long feathers tied in their
tails, which indicate speed thus: One
feather near the end of the tail is fast
runner; another in addition, at the mid
die of the tail, is medium, and one add
ed in the top of the tail is very fast
! More than two feathers, however, are
seldom seen.
When racing, the boys ride in many
ways. Some hang over the ponies
sides; others lie on their horses backs
and few, to make sport, ride with their
backs toward the horses heads
Hunting animals and small birds with
the bow and arrow is favorite pastime
Parties are made up and sides chosen
Armed with their small bows, and q
culver full of blunt arrows, they Kill
gophers, prairie-dogs, sparrows, horned
toads and other small game.
The prairie-dogs and gophers look
like young woodchucks. The former
are the larger, being little larger than
full-grown rat.
!, Nearly every Indian boy has a dog
Most of the dogs are great fierce ami
mails, that look like wolves, and, although