Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-03

He told us how he struck long dry lev
ell, and how thirsty he became, aud how
he searched in vain for pool or rivulet
OF water, and how he grew faugued, and
the game bag grew so heavy that he bent
beneath its weight. How the great drops
perspiratiOn gathered on his brow, and
at last with a ma jestic sweep he point
ed directly upward, and at the same time
burst into that glad tone again, which in-
dlcated that he succeeded in finding wa
ter. His voice was now pitched In It's
highest key, yet there was no harshness
or discOrd in the tones, TO jar upon the in-
tensely high strung news of the interest
ed listener. There was an instants pause
aud then | could observed slight lowering
oil MS voice as the sun started In It's down.
ward course.
Lower and lower it sank as the sun
neared the horizon line, until, depicting
mis- adventures in the darkness, his voice
was almost whisper. But the most
wonderful thing was the tone that his
rich voice assumed when describing the
rising OF the moon. never again expect
TO hear anything so expressive as the
tones OF the chiefs voice as he depicted
1t; so subtle, so natural, so weird aud UNI
earthly, that could understand him, al
though did not know word of the Ian
guage. Finally he wound up when he
got TO the point of his arrival. There were
MALI dozen complimentary grunts, and
then he resumed his seat. That piece OF
savage OratOry left an impression ON my
mind that will never be eiiaced, and the
simple fact OF his standing there for half
an hour, accommodating the tone OF his
voice and his expressive gestures to the
hour when the event transpired, which
he was relating, struck me AS as fine "a
performance as | ever Witnessed.
Collins tnid mo of several nnppdOtaA re-
lating to the peculiar traits of this inter-
esting people. One instance, remem-
Ter, was of ChipcO's offer 10 sell some ne
gr0es several years ago.
lie brought them along and said he
wished TO dispose of them.
why, Chief" said the man to whom he
made the proposal, negroes are free
now, and are not bought and sold as for
merly,"
ugh! who made 'em free2" asked the
disgusted chief.
"Why, the Yankees made them free.
The President has issued proclamation
to that effect"
"Ughi President can free If he wants
to. My niggers mine; keep 'em." And
he staiked away, carrying the darkeys
ahead Of him.
Some fellow, through curiosity, asked
him what his negroes were worth,
ugh! befo' the war wuti thousand dol
lar-nOw not wuff a damnl" he replied,
as he resumed his march toward the will
derness.
In hunting game those Indians were
very economical. If one went hunting,
he carried his gun empty, with the ram
rod sticking in the barrel. IL he spied "a
deer feeding, his first object was TO steal
up as closely as possible, and when he
could advance no further without start
ling the animal, he measured the charge
ofpOwder carefully, so as to get just
enough to throw the ball the required dis
lance, and by few deft turns he rammed
the bail noiselessly home, primed the gun,
and then, aiming at the head or neck, he
shot the deer dead in his tracks. He had
a twOfold purpose in doing this. Economy
was one consideration and securing his
game and making as little fuss as posi-
bic was equally as important.
IfpOssiDie they always shot their game
in the head rneck so as to make no hole
in the hide.
They dressed the skins and sold them to
the traders, and they well knew that the
latter would not pay as much for a hide
with a hole in it.
They were great hog raisers, and they
used TO drive in some old pOrkers for sale
that were of marvellous size. They always
drove them, and frequently a warrior
would start with single hog, driving
him through the wilderness a distance of
a hundred miles. Every time the hog
would grunt his keeper would grunt, and
If the sh0at took notion TO wallow in "a
puddle and cool himself, the Indian would
await his leisure with the most philosoph-
ic patience.
l learned great many interesting facts
about these remnants of the great south
ern tribes during my stay in the peninsu-
la, and found it a rich and ineXhausti-
bic field Of study for those interested In
aueh matfara