St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-09
THE ABOREGINES.
Indian Inspector Gardner AaiAs
About the Red Man.


r. S. Gardner, United States Indian IN
spector, came to st. Paul yesterday on MS
way home to West Virginia from long
tour of the Indian reservations OF the
country. He said to aGLOBE reporter that
during his trip, since last August, he Hau
visited nearly every state and territory west
of the Dakota line, and had looked mo nearly
all the offices in that territory. lie peHeF6u
the Indians were all right and dong wen.
Those in the British possessions, he
believed, who were just now making
trouble for the government, would prove
an elephant on the hands OF the DOMINION
government. They had, he said, learned
enough of civilization to know when they
were being imposed on and ill-trcated, and
to resent it. and that until the government
was ready to deal squarely with them they
would continue to make trouble. Col. Gard
her says he is
THE OLDEST INDIAN INSPECTOR
now in the service of the United States,
having been appointed in 1879. During all
that time he has been travelling so con-
stantly that he has been at home not more
than 100 days in all. He has seen every
agency and is posted on every redSkln OF
any note in the country. Although he has
Il
been among Indians so frequently, he can
speak but few words of the aboriginal
tongues. and always converses through an
Interpreter He had noticed considerable
Improvement among the Indians since he
began his duties and believed that the
whole Indian question could be reached III
the one word education"
QUEER IDEAS.
sIT1l,o-- l,o1-o oman, f6ooc on cOma thiOUS y
he said. land one of these is that they
should be paid something for sending the
Young bucks and SQuawS to school. Some
will send them for nothing, and others ask
SO a head. They learn rapidly, as rule,
and, like the Chinese, are great imitators.
On my visits the pupils frequently
wrote little notes of welcome. They
call me in one tribe La KOta TOnka,
the Big INDIAN who brings them mes
sage from the great father at Washington.
Another good thing was the movement
inaugurated by the last congress, making 1t
a law that any Indian committing a mis-
demeanor shall be tried by the same court
as a white man. Heretofore an Indian
would be tried by Indians, and, whatever
the penalty might be, he would pay it with
a few ponies.
''Another good indication is that they
are learning to acquire and hold property.
This keeps them from following their tradi-
tional fondnesS for going on the war path,
and are less apt to be willing to commit
depredatiOns."
Col Gardner says that polygamy is get
ting scarce among nearly all the
Indian tribes and the custom heretofore in
vogue, of each brave having on an average
four wives, has gradually died out. The
old bucks are allowed to continue their life
as they begun it. but it is a crime for the
young man to take more than one wife.
The marriages are made by the sale of the
young sQuaws, the mother Of the latter do
ing the trading and fixing the number Of
ponies the daughter is worth.
NOT DYING OUT.
Mr.. Gardner also says it is a mistake to
suppose that the tribes are gradually dying
out Nearly every tribe is holding its own.
Their number is not known, as it is almost
impossible to take a census of them. The
Nayaioes, the blanket-makers, say they
have lived in Puget Sound for fifteen gen.
eratiOns, or during the lives of fifteen Old
men, each being reckOned as living seventy
five years.
During his stay in Washington territory
last January Col Gardner negotiated the
purchase Of the right-of-way for the North
ern Pacific railway. 1t included 1,064
acres and the purchase price was SIS per
acre. At the time the trade was made a
big pow-wOw was held, at which there were
present, beside the railway officials 1877 In
dians.