Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-05-26
THE POOR INDIANS.

Early in the week Eve Grow Chiefs
passed through here on their way to
Washington. I went down to see
them. They were as fine looking
children of the forest as I ever saw.
They wore buckskin pants, with over
skirt of same The hair was worn
princess, held in place with Frazer's
axle grease and large mother of clam
shellbrooches Down the back it was
day, only the hair was coarser.
When an Indian wants to crimp his
hair he has to run it through rolling
mill first to make it malleable. Then
the blacksmith of the tribe rolls it
up over the ordinary freight car coup
ling pin, and on the following morning
it hangs in graceful Saratoga waves
down the back of the untutored saw
age.
I said to the interpreter, who SEEM
ed to act as their trainer: mo doubt
these Crows are going to Washington
to try and interest Hayes in their
caws"
hc SuNC q loWy RuhkihB inoSus
mo" said he with merry twinkle
of the eve, as he laid his lip half way
arcoss a plug of Government tobacco;
"as spring approaches they have de-
cided to 90 to Washington and ram
sack the Indian Bureau for their gauze
Schurz"
I caught hold of car seat and rip
pied till the coach rang with my mirth-
full, silver laughter.
These Indians have high, express
sive cheekbones, and most of them
have strabismus in their feet. They
had their paint on. 1t makes them
look like chrome of Powhatan' mash
ing tie eternal soul out of John Smith
with Bologna sausage.
One of these chiefs, named Raw
Dog -with-a- -Bunion-on-the-Heel, / think
chief of the Wall-Eyed-Skunk- Eaters,
looked so guileless and kind that l ap-
preached him and said that no doubt
the warpath in the land OF the setting
sun was overgr own with grass, and in
his mountain home very likely the
beams of peace lit up the faces Of his
tribe.
He did not seem to catch my mean
ing.
/ asked him if his delegation was
going to Washington uninstructed.
In reply he made short remark,
something like that which the short
stop of match game makes when
hot ball takes him Unexpectedly be-
tween the gastric and the liver pad.
Somehow, live Indians do not look
so picturesque as the steel engraving
does. The smell is not the same,
either. Steel engravings of Indians
do not show the dccalcomania outline
of frying pan on the buckskin pants
where the noble red man made mis-
step one morning and sat down on his
breakfast
A dead Indian is a pleasing picture
The look of pain and anxiety is gone
and rest, sweet rest-more than he
really needs-has come at last. His
hands are folded peacefully and his
mouth is open like the end Of saw
mill. His trials are DER. His swift
foot is making pigeon toed tracks In
the sands of eternity.
The picture of wild, free Indian
chasing the buffalo may suit some, but
like still life in art / like the pic
ture of road-shouldered, well.formed
brave, as he lies with his nerveless
hand across large hole in the pit Of
his stomach.
There is something 80 sweetly sad
about it. There is such nameless
feeling of repose and security on the
part of the spectator.
Some have such sensitive natures
that they cannot look at the remains Of
an Indian who has been run over by
two sections of freight; but ! can.
Somehow / do not feel that nervous
distrust when l look ut the red man
with his esophagus wrapped around
his head and tied in a double bow
knot, that do when he 10 full of the
vigor of health. When train Of cars
has jammed his thighbone through bis
diaphragm and hattened his head out
like a soup-plate, feel then that l can
trust him. | feel that he may be re-
lied upon. / consider him in the char
acter of gbastly remains as . success.
He seems ut last 80 In earnest and as
though he could be trusted with large
sums of money.
When the Indian has been mixed
up 40 that the closest scrutiny cannot
determine whether the head adjourns
and the thorax begins, the scene Is 80
suggestive of unruflled quiet and calm
and gentle childlke faith that doubt
and distrust and timidity and appre-
hension fee away like the devil.-Den-
ger Tribune.