Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-07-22
Politeness of the Ins.ians.

American Missionary.
Some Indian schoolboys 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 a 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 a great
ado. One of the boys, in gentleman.
ly way, took up the frog, carried it to
the door and threw it out. Nc
sign OF enjoyment could be
discerned in their faces. They
remained through school hours
maintaining their solemn dignity.
Afterward as they told of it they
laughed until the tears came, laughed
ever and over again as they remem-
bered the dismay OF the teacher. Why
did they not laugh at first? They had
not yet come into the ways of the
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 a poor
old pony which was almost dead from
starvation and hard work, ha6
brought the pony in and tied him &c
the fence. He was literally skin and
bones" While | was in the house
heard the woman making great out
cry, and / ran to the door in time to
see an immense flock of crows fly
away. said: what is the natter"
She replied that the crows had come
to pick her poor old pony's bones
while ne still lived. She saw the funny
side of it as well as land laughed very
heartily.
When one of the young lady mis-.
sionagies asked an Indian woman Tor
her 'waka sica tanka,' instead of her
"wasica tanka," no one laughed till
the teacher was gone. When inquired
why thu dishpan was not given, the re-
ply was, she did not ask for the dish
pan; she asked for "the great evilspir-
it" 1.-THE DEVIL, and | assure you no
Indian woman heard that story with
out laughing heartily. Another teach
er, meaning TO ask for a tub, asked for
young man, and, though to her face
they did not laugh, have seen a 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 a groun of Indians who
could not speak or underst md a
word of English, and tried to enter
into conversation, of course there was
no response. He said to me as came
up: "Why do they look so solemn"
l SIMPLY interpreted what he said to
the Indians, and alllaughed and said:
ave 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 little to laugh at in the presence
of white men. They cannot under
stand us or our ways. Indian
children are in the hcust
quiet and orderly, they sit ano
iiSten W nttr oIuer pcopte tdih, anu
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, some relative vii
say aside Hear how loud she laughs
like white man; she is unwomanly."
They are very sociable people, and
around the campfire one may hear
many legends and fables, hear many
old war songs and nursery rhymes.