The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-04


cts fashioned from old cracker cans, while the
current OF the stream is utilized for power. TIE
scheme Is as primitive as the days of Noah yet
NOT less than 10 COO gallons Of water are distrlb
otea on the bottom every twenty four hours
with result of potatoes, corn, and vegetables
tnat cannot be beat in any of our Eastern
gardens and farms The same system Of irrica-
lion applied TO the entire valley of the Little Big
horn alone would afford sufficient crops to
maintain all the Indians upon this immense
Crow reservation embracing the country, as the
Indians themselves describe the boundaries
from the Bowler river, along the hEse Hf the
Big Horn noun tans, to Tongue river
The Crows number about thirty foGr hundred
people, as registered at The agency, which, two
years ago. was removed from the Sweetwater to
Its present location, on the Little Big Horn,
about eight or ten miles from the post. Henry
d. Armstrong is the agent IN charge. The new
ness of the agency accounts for the unfinished APP
pearance of things, butas far as possible the agen-
cy has apparently been we'll administered. The
Crow people call themselves ''Absaraka," which
WI! recall to all Indianians, at least, Mrs Car
rngtons book" AbSaraka, or the Home Of the
Grows record Of the experiences endured and
enjoyed when the General was stationed IN this
country. Major Armstrong reports that OF the
$500 Indians under his charge, about GEO. or
f63 separate families or lodges are living upon
alotmcnts and cutivating the land more or less.
From the expressions of the chiefs IN council,
yesterday, il would seem possible to soon place
all the tribe on individual lands and make farm
ers of them If the government would set about
the work earnestly. \ ditch has peen cut eight
miles in length, at a cost of 500, 0C0 which will
irrigate 4.500 acres, This, for the present prob
ably will afford all the land that the Indians can
DO induced to till, but the expression is general
that if the government will give them bitches
and help them with animals and mpements
they would be glad to 90 upon family allotments
and live like white men" The agent reports
this disposition very general and earnest. and
remembering the unbroken friendship the Crows
have ever maintained for the whites. it seems
quite reasonable and probable. One element in
3eveloping this feeling is the influence exerted
by the children who have been sent to
Carlisle to school. There is one In
dian here who has recently returned from
the school after ten-years' stay, John Wesley.
lie is bright intelligent. good natured young
man, talks good English dresses entirely as
white man, and is at work farming on his own
account His influence is very perceptible and
if there were more like him, the result would
be good While sitting in tho agents Office an
old chief came to me with a photograph of five
young Indians, one of whom he pointed out to
me as his daughter, with no little pride. He
then handed NE letter dated in April last
written very legibly, but in sort of pigeon
English, in which the girl exhorted her dear
father to abandon Indian ways and to adopt the
white man ways. l saw many such letters
among the head men, The effect Of this educa-
tlonal work must be potential in the future
luton of tho tribe. There is school at the
agency, in which twenty six pupils enrolled
but the effect Of these local schools is not
GOOD for obvious reasons, as to take the chill
dren East Here they surrounded by the old
habits and circumstances of life under constant
pressure to relapse into old customs, while at
Carlisle and Hampton this environment is en-
tirely different. 1t is the uniform and universal
testimony of all who have lived among Indians
and studied the Indian problem on the ground,
that the true and easiest solution of it is through
the breaking up Of tribal relations, the
settlement Of the Indians upon their own allot
ments of land, the medication Of habits Of
industry by patient teaching and example, and
the education OF the young in such institutions as
those at Carlisle and Hampton. That this is the
prescription needful for such Indians as arc
Iound on the two reservations | have visited is
bevond question.
The council with the Crows was quite different
from that with the Yanetonnais The Crows
are not so advanced; they were much more sur
~ and defiant; their dress was moro primitive;
their faces and hair painted and clayed to
much greater extent, and altogether there
was much more decided aboriginal flavor here
than on the Missouri The question to be in
quired into here WAS as to a lease of about three
millions of acres of land, made to Blake and
Wilson, and which, it is claimed, had been pro
cQred through undue dGress upon tho Indians.
An attempt made to talk with few of the
head men individually. but so the land
matter was touched, each, with one accord, de-
Clined to say word except in public council.
SO one WAS called, moro than one hundred In
dams being present The same formalities of
pipe smoking were gone through, and then there
long wait until the spirit moved any
to talk. Finally one man'aroSe and said he want
ed all who spoke to speak one way, which was
received with tremendous applause. In obedience
to this, "Bulln nose" Takes wrinkles" Cray
Head and two or three other Of the chiefs
staked to the front 1t was evident they
under the impression that the commission visited
them to secure some sort of reduction Of the
reservation, and with this idea in their minds
they were short and sharp in all they had to say.
Their land was small; they did not want to part
with any of it; it was their property, and they
AL, - e Il. 80
the beginning shook hands with all the white
mon, and two three laid their hands upon
Senator Harrison's head--a form of oath with
the Grows, but which looked like sort of
''bless you my child" form of conservation or
adOption-but they were so worked up in their
talk that they omitted the courtesy at the end
stalking back to their seats, among the ap-
proving ''ughs' of their brethren. There no
use i'll prolonging the council, and it speedily
adjourned. number of squaws and children
were about, among them young Gros Ventres
squaw, married to Crow, who almost posi-
lively good looking She had little girl of four
or five years of age, who dressed in a beauti-
ful dress OF elk skin, studded with elk teeth.
The Indians only use two teeth from
each animal in this ornamentation, so
that this dress represented large number of
animals and was very valuable The Crows are a
rich people. This reservation seems to be covered
with droves Of ponies. / asked one chief about
how many there were, and his answer indicated
that they were as the stars for multitude. The
Crows are an immensely large people; one of the
chiefs stood fully six feet eight inches in his
moccasins. while the whole council, it seemed to
me, would average six feet. They are broad
shouldered, with very marked features, and
when dressed and painted as they We're in coun-
ell, the scene was as picturesque as those mag
NATIVE ones in which the good William Penn is
seated in the mid lie of surrounding group
swind!ing the children of the forest out of their
lands by presents of few gaudy glass beads
and for which he has been embalmed in history
as noble. Christian white man.
This visit to the Grow agency practically ends
the work of the committee, although the three
senators may visit the northern tier of agencies,
simply for personal observation The trip while
full of interest, has been one of hard work 1t