, 1885-08-16
OUR INDIA M.


of the former is Washakie; of the latter,
Black Coal. The two tribes are but little
advanced in the ways of civilization,
though individual members of either
may be found who are intelligent and
educated. The majority roam at will
over the reservation hunting aud fishing.
As careless of time as Of the future. they
take no thought Of coming days, but run
a career as idle and happy as 1t is monoto-
nous and uneventful. Ration day" "
when the agent distributes government
supplies, and the annual hunt are red let
ter days in their lite calendar.
In a tepee, surrounded by his %iavorite
squaws, the correspondent met and talked
with Chief Washable, who has been
leader of his tribe for years. and who has
more influence over his people than any
other chief of the western Indians. In
appearance Washable is patriarchal. lie
is so years of age. He il six feet tall.
His form is erect. His mien is majestic.
With n line open countenanee, flashing
dark eyes, and with long white hair
falling over his shoulders, he looks every
inch a king. He was seated upon a pile
of furs and blankets. The air from the
neighboring mountains swept through the
tepee and tossed his white locks to and
fro. The squaws sat in silence, their
glances bent on the ground. The old
chief spoke deliberately and in English,
which he speaks %luently. Stripped Of
vcrbiage, the conversation ran substantial
ly as follows;
"How long have you been chief of the
Shoshones?"
For many years. My tribe was once
known as the Snake Indians. Since re-
moving to our present reservation we are
known as Shoshones.
In event of your death who will suc-
coed to the chieftaincy?'
My Youngest and only son, Richard
Wushakie. My oldest boy, James, was
slain early last spring by a white man.
Il do not care to speak of this" he
added after a moments pause. Silence
on this point, considering all the circum-
stances, best becomes me. The officers
at the fort can tell you all about the MUIR
der. The chieitaincy descends from
father to son, but the tribe confirms the
succession, and if the successor of a dead
chief is a bad man the Indians have the
power to reject him AMI select a good
chief.
is your tribe increasing or diminishing
in point of numbers2
I'VE are going backward. We count
only a little over one thousand. Oar
lodges are getting less. Once we were
strong. Our braves and women and
children could hardly be numbered Nm
all is changed. Disease came to u.
Death moved down our braves and car
ried away. II children. Yea, yes. all is
changed.
Are many Of the Shoshonc~ adapting
the ways of the white mani?
"Oh, yes; many braves now dres, ike
the white man and speak his tongue.
Some, too, have adopted his habits.
Many of our children are being educated.
We have schools at Fort Washakie and
elsewhere on the reservation which give
our youth a chance to learn the English
branches. "
Then, too, we have churches and
missions. EHiscopalians and Catholics
conduct these We are at peace, well
governed and satisfied.
Notwithstanding Washakie's lattcring
summary, there are those who CLAIM thatat
his death, (which can he only a year or
two, at least), will be the signal for war be-
tween the Shoshones and Arapahoes, who
occupy the same reservation. A bitter
feud has existed between the two tribes
for years. The iron hand and r~esolute
will of Washable alone keeps them apart.
Your correspondent saw Dick Washa-
kie. who will succeed the present chief,
his father. He is %, and a fine looking
Indian. Mounted on a pony, his face
daubed with red and yellow paint, his long
black hair adorned with feathers and
streaming in the wind, and clad partly in
European and partly in Indian garb, it
was easy to conjecture that he could not
control the tribe like the present chief.
Washakie's %proudest boast is that he
never raised an arm against the
white man. On the contrary he has
declared against war, and his u
sells have saved the lives OF unnum
bered white men. Since the death of
James Washable, who was killed in a
drunken quarrel with a white boy last
April, Washable has been less friendly to
the whites. He requested hat the boy
should be punished and sleep in the same
grave with his son, but this was refused,
and the old chief has since been in a bad
humor.
In truth, however, all the neighboring
tribes arc restless. Just now n grand
council is being held, in which the CLey-
ennes from Tongue river, the Southern
Utes, the Crows from Montana, and the
Bannocks from Idaho are taking part. 1t
may be they will decide to take the war
path and revenge real or fancied wrongs
with rifle or scalping knife. II so, there
will be small chances of escape for white
mem in the vicinity. One company of
United States infantry is stationed at
Fort Washable, but with this exception
the country for hundreds of miles is with
out protection.
Typhoid in New Jersey.
NEW JERSEY, Ang. l5.-Typhoid fever
haa made ia annaaranca In tho Naw