Morning journal and courier., 1886-07-05
PoL1TENEss OF THE INDIANS.
How They Restrain Their Laughter
TIL a Rroper Time.

HOW AAeL ncBSFd1h
TIL a Proper Time.
[From the American Missionary
Some Indian school boys found their
teacher had very great aversion to frogs.
To them it was a continual source of
amusement to see her run away from
them. One day boy caught one and shut
it up in the table drawer. The teacher
entered the room. All were in order, but
when she opened the drawer the frog, glad
to gain its liberty, leaped out upon the
table and the teacher made great ado.
One of the boys in a gsntlemanly way
took up the frog, carried it to the door
and threw it out No sign of enjoyment
could be discerned in their faces. They re-
mained through school hours, retaining their
solemn dignity. Afterward as they told of
it they laughed until the tears came, laughed
over and over again as they remembered the
dismay of the teacher. Why did they not
laugh at first? They had not yet come into
the ways of white men enough to realize
that we would excuse rudeness in our pupils,
even under these circumstances, and they
consider it rude to laugh aloud or to laugh at
all at the expense of another in the others
presence.
An old woman who owned poor old
pony, which was almost dead from starva-
ton and hard work, had brought the pony
rally "skin and bones" While was in the
house 1 heard the woman making a great
outcry, and 1 ran to the door just in time to
see az immense flock of crows fly away. 1
said: ''What is the mattere' She replied
that the crows had come to pick her poor old
pony's bones while he still lived. She saw
the funny side of it as well as and laughed
very heartily.
When one of the young lady missionaries
asked an Indian woman for her 'Wakan sica
tanka' instead of her "Waksica tanka," no
one laughed till the teacher was gone. When
inquired why the dishpan was not given
the reply was, she did not ask for the dish
pan; she asked for "the great evil spirit, u
(the deviD and assure you no Indian woman
hears that story without laughing heartily.
Another teacher, meaning to ask for a tub,
asked for young man, and though to her
face they did not laugh, have seen whole
sewing school convulsed with laughter over
the mistake several times since.
When one of the ministers from the East,
attending one of our meetings, went up to q
group of Indians who could not speak OF
understand word of English, and tried to
enter into conversation, of course there was
no response. He said to me as l came up:
''Why do. they look 80 solemn" l simply
interpreted what he said to the Indians and
all laughed and said: "We did not know
what he said; why should we laugha' II
does not seem to occur to those asking the
question why they do not laugh, that they
have but little to laugh at in the presence Of
white men. They cannot understand US o.
our ways. Indian children are in the hous,
quiet and orderly; they sit and listen to hea1
older people talk, and if anything is sale
that is very amusing, SO much SO that the.
| feel that they cannot control themselves
l they put their hands on their mouths ant
run outside to laugh. Men will laugh gentl
| and quietly, and now and then you may hea
Il an old woman laugh long and loud; if o