Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-11-30
4 PIUTE FEAST.
4 Degraded Indian Tribe Preparing
for Winters Starvation.

Humb bOIdt and IN the sink of the Car
son preparatory to make for the towns
mining camps, as is their custom in
the winter, says Reno letter to the
New York Sun. The winter promises
to be hard one for these peculiar
creatures, but they are making the
most of the provender now to be had,
in the hope that the fat accumulated
will be sufficient to last them through
the long cold spell. Improvident as
the race is, every member knows that
when winter winds begin to howl
down from the Sierras the red mans
period of fasting is near at hand.
The feast now III progress is not one
that would tempt sensitive eastern
palate Two or three families owning
large copper kettle between them,
combine in preparations for the ban
quet. The kettle is half filled with
water, and roaring fire is built be-
meath it, At night, when the men,
women and children have returned
from their foraging xfeditions. every
thing that they have not already
devoured is thrown into the boil
ing water, In this way, fish,
ducks, ground squirrels, wild
rose berries, grassnuts, pinenuts,
and every other article of diet suitable
to the Piute taste find their way pro
miscousl y into the pot. The master of
ceremonies make no pretense OF pre-
pairing the FISH, ducks, or chipmunks
for a feast. They are thrown in just
as they are captured, heads, entrails
and tails, and the whole mass of meats
and vegetables and fruits is allowed to
boil and bubble for hours, the pros
pectlve banqueters sitting or standing
near and inhaling. with evident relish,
the appetiZiny odOrs. This sort of
thing will be kept up as long the In
dians can find supplies or until the
weather becomes too severe to permit
of such out door feasting. The Piute
soup and hash is described as very
fattening, and it is expected that when
the Indians make their appearance in
the towns and camps they will be in
fine condition.
The Piute is not an impressive
character. Civilization has done its
worst for him. He had learned all
the bad and none of the good. He
dresses i'll prevailing style of the min
ing camps, with flannel shirt and
broad trimmed hat In the spring.
summer and fall he hunts, fishes,
and picks berries, and disposes of his
surplus stock to the whites. He is an
inveterate gambler, a hard drinker
when he can get liquor, and when
drunk is Il tiend. The tribal relations
or the Piutes have been broken up,
although they still recognize a nomi-
nal chief. They roam aimlessly over
the country from place to place, beg
ging and stealing, and living the
Lord only knows how. In the winter
they are the scayengers of the state.
They know the location of every
swill barrel, refuse heaps and ash-pile
in Nevada, and never a day passes
that they do not make the rounds,
always finding something to repay
them for their trouble. One Cf them
recently came rambling up to an ash
barrel which. the owner remarked to
a bystander contained nothing that
even Piute would deem of value.
The red man poked around in it for
time, and then tipped the barrel
over, cmptying most of its contents
on the ground. The owner had some
misgivings, but he still laughed, and
said the "Ingun" would find nothing
there. Pretty soon the fellow picked
out som thing and put it in his peck
ct. The owners curiosity was aroused.
Walking up to the redsKin he asked:
You don't find much in there, do
YOU"
''Mebbe, " said he, heap catch 'em
toback.'
He had found one or two ancient
tobacco guilds in the ashes and did not
despair of picking out a few more. So
they go from the back doors of the
pest house to those of saloons and
slaughter-houSes, gladly appropria-
ting to their own use hundreds of
things which the white man has dis
carded as useless. To most people the
Piute is the personification of joke.
A more solemn mortal than he can
hardly be imagined, but his quaint
ways, his imitation of the white man,
more especially the bad white man,
and his queer assumption of the airs
of civilized life make him very pic
turesque object when he does not rem
der himself a nuisance, as is quite apt
to be the case.
1t doesn't take great deal of silver
change to start big gambling game
among the Piutes. If a crowd of fif
teen or twenty can raise SIS or $50 in
silver the sport will be kept up for
hours. These gambling spells take
on the nature of a tournament and
last sometimes for weeks, attracting
the red sports from all parts of the
state. They meet in the daytime on
the sunny side of their wlckiups, from
which they extend wings by tying
blankets on poles to break the force of
the wind. The gamblers place two
poles on the ground about ten feet
apart and parallel with each other,
and seat themselves on the ground
cross legged outside the poles. There
are generally six or eight bucks on
each side and the stakes are stacked on
the open ground between the
poles. The game they play
is incoRprehensible to the white
man, but it seems to be rothing more
than guessing by one buck in which
hand another holds some shells.
While this is in progress the players
sing monotonouS chant and sway
their bodies to and fro. When night
comes on, Sage-brush fires are lighted
and the games often last until morn
ing, the squaws and children standing
near, as deeply interested in the game
as the players. No game can be play
ed without the dismal accompaniment
of chanting and no wierder sights can
be imagined than those to be witnessed
in one of these protracted day and
night tournaments. 1t was at one of
these festive gatherings that one of
the wives of Chief Nachez gave birth
to twins, and the proceedings were
broken up in the expectation that, IN
accordance with the traditions of the
race. one of the new corners would be
given up to be killed. The mother,
however, begged so piteously that the
life of her offspring be spared that
Nachex concluded to let them both
live, and the disappointed redskins re
sumed their gambling.
The Piutes have no enemies but the
Washoes, tribe even more degraded
than they Reports frequently gain
currency that the two nations are
at war, and that dreadful bloodshed
has resulted. These stories usually
originate with the Piutes, who are un-
ro,,sn1n,a l,1a laro an1 Soor,, n an iar