The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-08-17
Among the Indians.

Miss Harriet Phillips, . missionary to
The Puebla Indians on recent visit to
her friends in Philadelphia thus dis
coursed upon the habits and peculiari-
ties of her wards:
sour buildings are of adobe. The
front is one plain wall, with a piazza
before it. We have no windows on the
outside and only one front door; it is
safer so. The windows all open into
an interior court. The buildings are
all only one story high. An Indian
house is not at all like the traditional
wigwam. The Spaniards named the
inhabitants of New Mexico and Arizona
Pueblas, they built regular villages OF
adobe. The Indians house is some
what like a round pyramid in shape,
| and has but one opening, and that in
the roof. The same opening answers
for door, window and chimney. Dur
ing the daytime ladder stands out
side, but at night the last one to mount
pulls the ladder up after him and down
inside with him. A bake-oven in the
daytime becomes a dog kennel at night.
after the girls have been with US
some months they look as nice as any
little girls. They are delighted with
white peoples clothes and readily learn
to make all they wear To put away
their dolls for the night every girl at
first drove tack in the wall above her
bed. tied a string around her doll neck
and hung it up.
1.-The boys don't take quite so kindly
to white peoples clothes as the girls do.
When we got lot of boys in we had a
great deal of trouble to induce them to
put on trousers. And the first night of
their arrival. when l went into the boys
dOrmitory, l found they had all gone
to bed with their trousers on.
"Indian children are. emphatically,
good children. They have pleasant
dispositions and seem perfectly innO-
cent, knowing nothing of the naughty
little tricks that sometimes spoil white
ones. They are smart and learn very
fast, and are quite as susceptible to
moral influences as other children. Ii
character is naturally silent and re-
served. Indians enjoy fun as much as
anybody.
IAN Apache, in full war paint,
stalked into our school one day. The
children were Immediately terrified,
and tremblingly told us he was bad
Indian They said an uncle of one OF
our boys had killed his brother and they
feared he had come for revenge. As it
was dinner time saw nothing better to
do than have the children march into
| the dining-rOOm, as usual. We keep
open house to Indians at all times and
treat them as distinguished guests, so
motioned to our Apache to take a seat
at the table. He sat down, terrible in
his war paint, and laid two loaded re-
volvers before him. The children be-
gan to tremble, Miss Verbeck, my as
sistant, turned pale and a panic seemed
inevitable. But l summoned all my
courage and said: Put those revolvers
on the window The Apache never
moved. The cook placed before him a
cup of coffee and bowl of soup. Take
away that coffee and SOUP / COM
manded, with my heart in my mouth,
adding to the Indian: You shall not
have them until you put those revolvers
on the window Trembling for her
life, the cook obeyed. When the Apache
saw his dinner removed he deliberately
arose, picked up his revolvers and
shall l ever forget that terrible
mOment?-quietly laid them on the
window. His dinner was restored to
him: he ate it in silence and then
picked up his property and walked out
without a word.
II did not see him again for years.
But on my way home, as | was waiting
in the train at Sante Fe my terrible,
| Apache, in all his feathers and war
paint, got into the car and walked its
whole length, as if looking for some
one. My blood ran cold. He stopped
beside me, Caves grunt of satisfaction
and broke into smiles. Then nothing
would do but 1 must vigorously shake
| hands. He then left the car and re-
turned with a dozen other braves, as
horrible as himself. He introduced
them all and all must shake hands.
| Immediately there was commOtion in
! the car and | found myself the cvnosure
of all eyes. But when my Indians left
l felt myself laughing over my old-time
adventure. | realized that had gained
the Apache's complete respect and
frightened him rs thoroughly as he had
frightened me.
I'VE had a lady with us once who
was afraid of every Indian she saw.
said to her: Don't let them see that
YOU re afraid of them But it was of
no use One night, having a very in
secure fastening on our door. to quiet
the fears of all the timid ones in the
house piled up all the tinware could
| find as a barricade About midnight,
when everything was quiet, we heard a
terrible rafting, combined with the
noise of the falling tinware and some
swearing. We were all very much
startled. But little quiet examination
revealed the fact that it was only a
harmless Indian, who had brought us
his daughter.
AT first we had some difficulty in
convincing the parents that our inten-
tons were good, but when they came
and saw the children well and comfort
able they seemed to think it all right.
One girl went home on 4 visit and then
sent us word that she could not come
| BACK again. reariul souiethliS wa
wrong we went out to the Indian vii
lage to make inquiries. Contrary to
our expectations. We found the mother
and grandmother delighted with OuI
pupils accomplishments. She had made
her father white mans shirt and pre-
sented it to him, properly done up.
Consequently her mother and grand.
mother thought she knew quite enough
she knew more than they did. SO OF
course she was ready to be married
And this was why she cOnld not come