Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-28
THE PRINCESS wINNEMUCCA.
Returning as Lecturer to the Home o
the Piutes,

Returning as a Lecturer to the Home Of
the Piutes,
Sarah Winnemucca, daughter of old
Chief Winnemucca of the Piutes, and
sister of the present Chief Naches, says a
Virginia New letter of Sept. 10, has
been here for several days, and she deliv-
cred lecture the other evening. She has
been in Boston and vicinity for a long
time and has been made much of in that
city by the people who are inclined to
Honize somebody continually.
Sarah is no longer the gay young thing
who used to be known to everybody on
the Comstock. She stole away from her
old fathers wickiup many years ago and
came down among the whites to live. She
was then q bright little girl with irregular
features and straight black hair. She was
dressed in the costume of her tribe, which
consisted of about the poorest stuff that
could be found anywhere, and the least
of it that frontier etiquette would permit
of. A white family took her in and cared
for her, giving her calico dress,
of which she was very proud. Soon
afterward she got some stockings
and shoes and sun-bonnet. She worked
in one family after another, going to
school when she could, and in this way
earned a living and obtained the rudi-
ments of an English education. When
she grew to womanhood she ceased work
ing in kitchens and took in washing. By
this means she earned enough money to
buy herself such books as she cared to
read, and in the course of time she be-
came a very intelligent woman, fully
posted on English literature, clever
speaker and writer, and conversation
alist of great ViVacity.
Certain Boston travellers becoming in
terested in her, she was induced to go to
that city some years ago, and since then
she has passed most of her time there.
| Among the impTessionable BostOnese she
has been accepted as a type of the modern
| savage, and, seeing in her much to adj
mire and wonder at, they have been gen.
erOus with money, sympathy, tracts, and
| old clothes in their dealings with her
| tribe.
Instead of being proud of her and CRATE
full for what she has done, the Piutes re-
gard her with suspicion. They know
that she has adopted the garb Of the white
| sisters, and it is even suspected that she
uses soap and a comb and brush occa-
sionally. To the genuine Piute these
| things are inconsistent with the tradi-
tions of the race. They came to look upon
| her as lost one when they saw her vol
UNFAIRLY at work in the kitchen and over
| the washtubs OF the whites. Her old
| father, who, though a mighty chieftain in
his own estimation, was not above fishing
around a swill barrel for something to eat,
and who always banqueted on cold victuals
passed out of back doors, could not re-
strain feeling of contempt for his fair
daughter, who insisted upon working like
a slave. She was regarded as a little
queer by everybody. The ordinary Piute
never cared to speak of her. Chief Naches,
her brother, does not recognize her to this
day. He cast her off years ago, and holds
himself much above her still. Since che
has been here this time he has made no
effort to see her, and she probably will
not undertakes hunt him up.
The people of Boston will be panied to
know that Princess Sarah's people and
the white residents of the COmstock are
not so much interested in hearing about
them as the Bostonians are in the stories
which Sarah tells of life in the Sage Brush
State. Her lecture here on "People Met
in the East was SHINY attended, not a
single Piute being in the audience, though
many of them are marching around
the poker shops with Boston clothing on,
When Sarah determined to lecture in
Boston, it was agreed that, in
order to highten the effect, she must ap-
pear in her native costume. The kind
ladies who suggested this did it with the
purest motives, but the Indian girl was
insulted, and it took some time to
Strengthen matters out, She explained TO