Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-08-13
The Canadian Hospitality.

each person, and soup plate for me.
We sat down, ten of US about the little
table, large enough for only four.
| They sat almost spoon fashion, getting
only one shoulder and arm up to the
table. A milk-pan filled with pea soup
with bread broken into it stood IN the
middle of the table; and after helping
me to plateful they began to eat from
the pan; each one filled his spoon,
drew it across the edge of the pan, and
then carried it to his mouth. 1t was
an odd sight to see those nine arms so
actively and irregularly converging at
the pan, and then Withdrawing from
the skirmish to re-appear at once. 1t
was rather q shadowy supper, with
he light of only one small lamp. But
the eating was not ill-mannered or un-
tidy. When the soup was finished,
one of the girls wiped all our spoons
on towel she had across her knees,
and pan of bread and milk was soon
dispatched as the soup had been.
After supper the men withdrew to
chairs along the wall, while the women
resumed their work about the little
lamp on the table. Some of them
sewed and knitted, one peeled potatoes
for breakfast, and the young wife
stropped razor with some persistence
and much awkwardness. " hen it
was sharp she brought forth other inn
plements, and then beckoned to her hus-
band, saying, in rather commanding
tone, Come, now" lie slouched to
the table and sat down in her chair
She went at him, unbottoned his shirts,
gave him most thorough scrubbing
with coarse homespun towel, and
then lathered and shaved his chin,
and he took it all very quietly too.
The young women afterward retired to
the corner of the room and performed
as nearly as possible the same kind of
toilet. Meanwhile we chatted about
the United States and the revl-
val of business there. One of
the sons had passed two years
working in brick-yard nj Haverstraw,
and, like many of his countrymen, he
had returned with some heretical ad-
miration of our more progressive civili-
zatiOn. Emigration to the United
States is energetically opposed by
church and state, so IN praising the
wonders of New York | became an en-
issary of the devil, which increased the
interest of my position. The young
man kindled at once, and felt impatient
at the skepticism of his parents, but he
showed this only by faint expression
of hopelessness; and the opposition of
the old people, though quite positive.
was equally silent and considerate |
soon relieved them by drawing their
attention to my fly-rod, gun, and other
accoutrements; and it relieved my own
conscience to abandon thus the charac-
ter of an unwelcom emissary. AT an
early hour in the evening the old gen
tleman turned to me and said, with
very practical air.
well, now, we're going to pray to
God. What'll you do?"
"All right, sir, 90 ahead, and I'll
listen to you"
They all knelt here and there about
the room, each erect on his knees,
facing the black cross on the wall; the
mother said the prayers in rapid
monotonous voice, and the others re-
piled with equal rapidity. After this
audible service they still remained
kneeling for long time while each one
finished his chaplet independently; then
each one arose and went off to bed
There were fourteen in the family;
about half of them went into the next
room, where there were but two bed
steads. But they drew out trundle-
beds from under these, raised the lid
of large chest, opened the hollow seat
OF bench, and then packed themselves
away IN these receptacles. They spread
q builalo-rObe and some blankets on
the floor for me that first night.
81 ask your pardon, SIR" said M.