The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-03

Al VAC OtsISl 4 W q Ludt HC 40 ~ LIZ
means the favorite spokesman. The Indian sign
of approval is o gutteral ugh" 'ugh."s The
infection Of the voice and the heartiness of the
expression indicate whether the speaker has
touched the key note. When White Ghost, with
decision, asserted that he had never consented to
the sale of a part Of his land. and did not now
want to part with any of 1t. there were a lew
approbative gruuts; but elsewhere his polished
and suave speech evoked no Comment. After ne
had concluded, an old chief, Running Bear, said
to be l03 years old, almost blind, was
led to the front to give the boundaries
of the hunting grounds formerly oc-
cupied by the tribe. 1t was OF interest TO hear
him try ard describe the boundless tracts over
which he and his colleagues had roamed after the
buffalo, and elk, and antelope, and deer, and to
hear his lament over the steady encroachments
of the whites, until now nothing was left but a
piece of land ''the size of my mcccasin"-but,
unlike Moses, the natural force of the old man
had greatly abated; physically and mentally his
powers were in decay, and the poor old veteran
Jagged superfuous. Then strobe to the center a
figure that recalled the lines of the Seminoles
Strike with your serried columns,
l VIII not bend the knee"
Tt was Drifting Goose" the favorite chief.
When he spoke there was no air of obeisance; he
is a strong, typical Indian, with the courage of his
convictions, and those convictions very decided
that the white man should live up to his bar
gains. The ethics Of Drifting Goose were based
upon DO uIto others as you would that others
SuOulO 10 ttltO you, anu Will UittSF SdICdStb uc
applied them to the whites who wanted to
to release to the Indians. Drifting
Goose's speech woke the echoes; there were
"ughs," 'ughs," from every quarter, and at one
or two points they were SO hearty and unani-
nous as 10 sound not unlike the cheers at a last
grand rally: Other speakers were, Bull Ghost"
Hog Back" "Wheezee," white Shield"
Lone Hand" and the like. Their trend was in
one direction; they did not want their lands
taken from them, especially without compensa-
ton; yet nearly all spoke with feeling of their
desire to found homes for themselves and fami-
lies, and to approach the methods and habits of
the white mans life. "Wheezee' was the last
speaker. He is an old chief, who is a very
devoted friend of the schools apd a devout com
mnnicant OF the church. He pleaded for his
home and his children with a p~laintive earnest
ness that was touching in the extreme. The
talk of all the Indians was full o fimagery. One
Of them said his people were like birds in their
nests, the confines of which had been narrowed
and narrowed until they bad scarce room now
to rear their young. Another said that he and
his people had been coerced into
signing away their land because they were
made to feel like the dead leaves Of the
forest, liable to be scattered by the white mans
breath. | was greatly interested in the council,
and sorry when it terminated, as it did after
several hours duration. 1t was Il picture to be
long hung on the walls of memory, to see a chief
in his eyes that far away look, bred by genera
tions of freedom in a limitlesS area of country
pleading with an earnest solicitude, in which
there was a prevailing undertone of sadness.
but now aud then flashes of defiance, like the ftful
and dying CLEANS of lightning feebly lighting
up the fading outlines Of a summer storm-cloud
which had expended its force. When "Wheezee"
had finished his talk Senator Harrison again
addressed the Indians. adjourning the council,
and then the hundred and a half of fantastic
ally dressed figures quickly disappeared over the
benches of the reservation, the gaudy colOrS of
their blankets and the outlines of their forms
mingling with the hues of the skies, tinted with
the colors Of the descending sun. After dinner,
in the cool of the evening, we drove FIVE or six
miles to the farm of Drifting Goose. He is
the most thrifty Indian farmer on tbs
reservation. His allotment of land has been
selected with great ~shrewdness. On the banks
OF a creek, it is well watered, and is blessed with
a fair amount of timber, two desiderata not
always found in this country of magnificent
deserts. Drifting Goose has fully fifty acres
under good cultivation. He lives in a good two
story frame house, furnished by the government,
but outside are a half dozen tepees in which the
Indians still prefer to live. ''Drifty"-as he is
called for SHORTS a polygamist. He has three
wives, and a numerous family has grown up
about him, including several grandchildren.
Ono OF his sons wives was a fairly good looking
squaw, bearing a young babe in her arms, and
she accepted the compliments of her visitors to
the sleeping pappoose withfully as much conscious
pride as would her pale faced sister. Inside one
of the tepees were two bright eyed Indian girls
who peeped through the opening with childish
mischief, revealing to US their play with dolls,
showing the one touch of nature that makes the
whole world kin. A younger sister was sick with
some sort of fever. She was much emaciated
with disease, and but Teebly responded to the
sympathy offered her. She was in care of her
grandmother. who sat by her side, trying to
coax her into drinking a tin-can of repulsive-
looking tea. Laughter and suffering are
universal. so that, looking into the elfsh eyes
of the two who were playing with the dolls, and
into the wan and worn face of the little sufferer,
all differences of race and complexion were
forgotten. shall never forget the last
look at that Indian family as we babe them
goodbye and passed under the brow of the rise
upon which they had pitched their home.
The morrow was Sunday. Up fairly early,
and breakfast over, the church bell called to a
service at once unique and impressive. The little
Episcopal Church was comfortably filled with
young whites and a score Of natives. The SER
vice was in joint English and Dacota. No city
in the country saw one more devout and impress
sive on that Sabbath morning. Wheezee was
there with his wife and children; there were a
dozen Indian women, neatly and cleanly dressed,
and enveloped in the everlasting wooden shawl,
despite the intense heat of the day. There were
four or five young men who participated with
intelligent interest, uniting in singing the Venite
and in reading'the gospels with a decorum not
sometimes seen where, under vaulted arches and
through lOng-drawn aisles, white civilization
meets in like service. After the morning prayer,
Bishop Hare talked briefly and we'll to the sim
pie people among whom he labors with such
untiagging zeal and devotion. He referred to
the time when he first visited the agency, when
there was not a building on the site. He told
of the successive steps of Development, until
now they could meet In a beautiful chapel that
would be a credit to any congregation east o. the
frontier. Then came the confirmation of a class
of five converts. four young women and one young
man. 1t would be a stony heart indeed that
could look unmoved upon the scene presented at
that altar as the consecrating hands of the
prelate sealed this Indian ~quintette to a Christ
ian life. After confirmation the communion
of the Lords supper was administered to white
and Indian alike, in one common sacrament
blended. And thus ended our visit to the Grow
Creek agency.
AS a matter of curiosity I append the chorus of
Happy Day. which was the confirmation hymn
sung iii the Dacota dialect. Those who know
the English words can readily understand the