The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-01
DUST, STORMS AND INDIANS.
Experiences Of Tender-Foot with the CHI
mate of Nevada School Among Piutes.

Correspondence of the indianapolis Journal.
LovELocKs, New, June "a -Lovelocks, New.
is a small town on the Humboldt river. The
valley, level as floor, moderately fertile ty the
river and where irrigated, ends on all sides in
desert that slopes up to the mountains
AS sat down to write noticed queer ap
pearance on the other side of the valley and
am watching it, a whirlwnd the apparent
size of my pencil, held at arms length, and
reaching 45o high. with dense cloud Of dust at
the bottom 1t does not go straight up, but
bends with the wind. Now it is growing shorter.
They tell me we always see them in summer
have seen several small ones, but none so tall.
There it has disappeared! Last Saturday we
had dust-storm. A yelowish- gray cloud rose
in the south, spread slowly, with
queer, whirling appearance at each end.
1t spread till it covered all the south.
A fresh, damp wind blew on us
from the south. The cloud crept closer. till it
reached the zenith and covered half the sky.
Soon the wind roared; there was asmell of dust
in the air, and soon we were obliged to stay be-
hind closed doors and windows, the air SO full of
dust as to be almost sitting, while the wind
roared like a tornado. Half an hour of this and
the cloud gradually passed to the north: the dust
disappeared, but it turned so cold had cot
wraps enough to be comfortable. There are two
more whirlwinds. Going to the door / can
count five, not so tall as the first.
but all but one much larger round
That one looks like path up the mountain, now
it is pencil length abovel Now it has disap-
peared Now all are gone! / wish they would
come on the shady SIDE but 1 always see them
between me and the sun. In the middle of the
plain is small mountain the Indians call
Sleep-from mosq uitoes, because when they be-
come uncomfortable, as they do here, the Indians
used to go up on this mountain and camp at
night to get sleep.
l am visiting an Indian school among
the Piutes, or ri Utes it is properly,
that Miss E. P Peabody has helped, and
from which she wishes report. / never
saw children more eager to learn. Every
word is listened to with such ntentness, and
often repeated several times There goes an
other whirlwind.) Some can say Miss Dye"
and "Miss Nicholson" and point out Indianapo-
lis on the map as the place where many good
people live. All know good deal of Boston and
Miss Peabody. Sarah Wennemucca, a Piute
Indian, had the schoolhous built with money
sent her by Miss Peabody. and began her sch DOL
Jan. 10, 1885, Some of the children know
a few words of English; come none; not
one had ever been TO school day. Most of them
have to come mile and hale from town. They
are taught by ful-blooded Indian, who never
had but two months schooling in his life. Yet
the older ones have finished the first reader
so thoroughly that have put eight OF them into
the second. They print well, make figures well,
write so ono can read it, and copy written words
very we'll. They have benches without backs
no desks-oniy six first readers no copy nor
writing books, some pasteboard states that
are all worn out; l have added some
second readers and states. Their obedience is
perfect. their manners to their teacher and each
other kind and respectful. though sometimes
they are irresistibly funny. They very shy,
so much so that it is a great effort for them to
read alone. When call on one to read, he asks
the one next to him to read, too.
The teacher is very strict, and expects great
deal of hard work. and gets it, too. Few white
children would accomplish what these have in
six months, considering that they must learn the
language as we'll as learn to read and
such children as those on Jones street, South
Side, who have lived out doors and whose par
ents are illiterate The teacher says the reason
Indians are so afraid of white teachers is that
they know white teachers whip their children,
and Indians don't like that. Indians rarely pun
ish their children; they coax them. There is
another whrlwinG! Two of them! There is
another! Three framed in the doorway!) How
l would like to see these children with the helps
the children of Indianapolis have-the Piute
teacher supplemented but not superseded, by a
competent white one, who could help them to
knowledge, and learn wisdom from Sarah, who
is certainly of the wisest women l ever saw.
/ have been here week, but at first it was al
most impossible to approach them, they slip
away from me like quicksilver. That reminds
me. A little Indian girl here is sick with some
thing like consumption and Spaniard gave her
half teaspoonful Of quicksilver, Just see
it in the thermometer and left bottle full to
be taken. wouldn't let her take it. There
must have been gill of the bright, heavy, sill
yer-colored fluid in the bottle, and it seemed to
me it would kill her. Who knowsg
ALICE CHAPLIN.