Morning journal and courier., 1882-08-31

 sound cries. An Indian woman sang a recessional with considerable sweetness and expression. black headed young5ter with
 white vestments and red stole, acted as cen ser boy, swinging the cenSer with an indiffer
 ent, ierky. machine like motion that was 1T resstably comical The seats were well filled with Indians of all ages, from the papoose hung on it's mothers back to an old crone Who am sure, could not have been less than
 147 years old. It may be worthy of mention that here, parts of the civilized
 world, the majority of the men considered that it was necessary for them to stay at home and rest so that the women and chil- dren largely composed the congregation The sisters, as bright, energetic, cheery- faced women as can be found anywhere, showed us with evident pride the work done in various departments by their scholars, one the neodlework of the girls, another the pen manship of the young aborl8lnes, and third some carpentry done by an older boy.
 A building for older boys has just been completed, with the stone foundation entire
 ly laid by young Indian, and some of the others acted carpenters assistants. We
 visited two sick Indians to whom the agents good wife was carrying some delicacies and
 needed assistance, and while waiting amused
 ourselves by giving youngster standing near q half dime. Presently several more ap-
 peared, but we kept on with the good work
 until squaw came forward with papoose
 on her back dragging squalllng boy by the
 arm. Then we thought it time to stop our
 gifts.
 The Indians are subject to lung and throat
 diseases, and more die of consumption than
 from any other cause. This is probably due
 to the great change undergone by them in
 conforming, even as they do, to civilized life.
 Among the wild tribes, I was told consump-
 ton is rarely found. They still cling to their
 wigwams, called here, "tepees," for
 summer use, although most of them have
 well plastered log houses. Their fondness
 for ornament and bright colors is still appa-
 rent in the brilliant scarlet plaid shawls of
 the squaws, often worn over the head, from under which their dark eyes glean with natural brightness and thsir tawny, sunken
 faces appear doubly hideous. Not infre- quently you see little girls blazing like fla
 mingoes in some curtain creton with huge towering vines that would puzzle a botanical
 professor to classify. One of the most com
 ical figures around the agency is an old war rior whose Indian name signifies Holy Ghost" He ordinarily has a dirty gray blanket wrapped around him. huge pair of undecorated deer-skin moccasins encase his pigeon toed feet and an old felt hat of most generous dimensions around which is tied band of gold lace and through hole in the top of which goodly bunch of cocks feath CTS stand rampant, surmounts his shamblng figure. I have ceased to believe in the pos sibility of the charming Indian maid of fic- tion. For several days business CD dull,
 so I devoted myself to making critical obser yations (of course from purely scientific standpoint the attractions of the numer-
 ous specimens of Sioux maidenhood who
 came to the agency, and feel it my painful duty to tear away the roseate veil that has so long hidden the reality from trusting world. A more absolutely unattractlve and utterly hideous collection of females cannot be found, Why! an equal number of negresses would appear in comparison band of Cir | cassian beauties Some of the half breed | girls, however, are really quite pretty and l seemed intelligent. Tbey have deep, rich, half hidden color glowing through their l brown cheeks that would have furnished
 worthy study for Titian's skill.
 l In answer to my question an officer at the | fort said that no further difficulty with these | Indians was expected, but that next year, l when the monthly allowance of rations is to
 be stopped, it was barely possible that there might be outbreak, or few might steal | away to ioln some of the rowing bands in the
 south of the Territory Three years ago
 plot to kill the entire garrison and the whites | at the agency was discovered. The Indians | planned to set the hay stacks around the cav | airy stables fire, and while all the troops | were occupied in extinguishing 1t to steal into
 the garrison seize ali the guns and ammuni | tion, and, when no resistance could be made, | to slaughter every white person. Had they l been willing to spare the Indian agent, Major | McGloughlin, and his family the plot would l have been successfully carried out, but some 1
 agent, and when the younger braves refused l to spare him they declined to act with the | others and communicated the design to the
 agent. The couspirators soon noticed the
 extra vigilance at the fort, and the attempt l was not made. The plot was we'll laid, and | shows how closely they must have watched | the soldiers. for only when fire alarm is | sounded does the whole force leave the fort, 1 and that, ,too without arms
 l Bugle calls sound here from morning to
 .l,Ix hot i three companies of Uncle Sanl's little army l are at hand. One of the cavalry companies | was that destroyed in the Custer massacre | and several men here in Major Reno's | division at that time They show, with con- | siderable fondness, a horse that escaped from
 that deluge of blood, aud tell many inter 1 estlng incidents of the expedition. | After the decimation of the company there | were many young fellows eager to volunteer
 for it, who became known as Cluster s | Avengers" At the time they gloried in the title, but now, after several years of the
 hardships of army life, all their boyish en-
 thusiasm is gone, and a reference to Gus
 ter's Avengers" is apt to call forth emphatic
 language a sheepish silence It does not
 take long residence here to realize that a | soldiers life is no play. They cultivate a | large garden, put up telegraph lines, drive l wagons and stages cut ice and perform many
 other menial tasks besides attending to their
 moro soldierly duties. They were practicing
 at the targets with rifles, carbines and pistols
 to determine who should represent the post
 at the army rife matches when l was
 there and the scores were exceedingly
 good when it is considered that they
 shoot with the Springfield rifle
 The amusements of the troops seemed prin-
 cipally to be bathing in the deliciously invig-
 orating waters of the lake fine a beach as the south shore of Long Island can boast
 of, or catching the big pickerel that fill the lake, or drinking the worst of beer, which Il
 the only drink allowed them at the post tra
 der's This post traders house was the ear ) lest building Aere, and was built with view to defense as the heavy log walls, high stock ade and small square windows testify. Th officers have little to do outside of regulation duties and seem to find time hanging heavll, on their hands, if one may judge solely b.
 appearances This is not, like some of tho } posts, a gay one, where ladies so abound as t. , make life round of gaieties, and the few la l dies here do not fail to lament the presen , dullness and yearn for some of the trans . ferred ones. Certainly the courtesy an l kindness of the officers and their ladies t l strangers is such to mako sojourn her 7 [, something to be remembered as a red lette
 event, and (after the manner of the ancien romance writer) all 1 can hope is that you 5 gentle reader, will leave this with regrr something akin to that we felt at leavin 8 Fort Totten. E. A. B. 7 The annual fair of the Fairfield County AS ricultural society will be held week afte