River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-09-02
WHEN INDIANS LAUGH.
A Custom That is Strictly Observed
Among the Redskins.
Some Indian schooI-hovs found thei


Some Indian school-boys found their
teacher had very great aversion to
frogs To them it was 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 gentlemanly 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
remained through school hours retain
ing .Ieir solemn dignity. Afterward as
they told it they aughed until the tears
came, laughed over and over again as
they remembered the dismav 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 the expense of an
other in the others presence.
An old woman who owned a poor old
pony which was almost dead from star
vation and hard work. had brought the
pony in and tied him TO the fence He
was literally skin and bones" While
| was in the house | heard the woman
making great cutlery, and ran to the
door just in time TO see an immense
flock of crows fly away. / said, What
is the matter?" She replied that the
haI 70 ,,ial, hof oil
pony's bones while he still lived. She
saw the funny side of it as well rs |,
and laughed very heartily. When one
OF the young lady missionaries asked an
Indian woman for her ''Wakan sica
tanka," instead of her "Waksica tan
ka," no one laughed till the teacher was
gone. When | inquired why the dish
pan was not given, the reply was she
did not ask for the dish-pan. she asked
for "the great evil spirit (the deyiD,
and | assure you no Indian woman
hears that story without laughing heart
ily. Another teacher meaning to ask
for tub asked for young man, and,
though to her face they did not laugh, |
have seen a whole sewing school con-
vulsed with laughter over the mistake
several times since. When one of the
ministers from the east attending one
of our meetings went up to a group of
Indians who could not speak or under
stand word of English and tried 10
enter into COW rsation of course there
was no resp, use. He said to me as |
came up: why do they look so sol
emn?" | simply interpreted what he
said to the Indians, and all laughed
and said: 1--WE did not know what he
said; why should we laugh?" 1t 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 can not
understand n or our ways. Indian
children are in the house quiet and or
DERBY; they sit and listen to hear older
people talk, and if anything is said that
is very amusing. so much so that they
feel that they cannot control themselves,
they put their hands on their mouths
and run outside to laugh. Men will
laugh gently and quietly, and now and
then you may hear an old woman laugh
long and loud; if so, same relative will
say aside: Hear how she laughs. like
a white man; she is unwomanly." They
are very social people, and around the
campfire one may hear many legends
and fables, hear many old war-songs and
nursery rhymes. Missionary.