St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-04-05
.Glte GaIedunia1t.
ONE LITTLE INJUN.
Christian Union.

pretty close to my mother. She doe
not often like to face a respODsibilit,
h of nv size, but she will shoulder il an
time, and so we are bound together b.
the strongest ties.
When | am at home live in a wig
wan which mother and built. w
made it of poles, covered with bari
and skins. We built it together
H Mother did the work, and | backed
her up heavily and between us boil
we pulled through without interrupt
ing father, who was busy sitting
hrOund basking in the sun and smOk
ing. My father is bound to bask in al
he sun there is, no matter how mucl
ime it takes to do it; and he is just al
ambitious about the smOking-he il
bound to do it all himself, and he does
not want mother and me to NEEDLE
with it; and it is good deal the same
with eating. He works at baskinG
and smoking and eating nearly all the
time " hen he is not sleeping, unless
there should be a war or a hunt then
he goes off with a gun. 1t gives a
OOk of luxury and repOse to our wig
wan to see father sitting out against
he warm side of it watching mother
and me work. Without this our home
would seem cold, stern, and uninvit-
ing.
|H Mother and | do all the rest of the
work we plant and hoe and harvest
the crops ; we grind the corn between
stones or pound it in mortar then
we make it into cakes aud roast them
II the fire for father to eat. Mother
lOes it, but | keep right around after
ler, and see to- it all.
Sometimes we have nothing to eat
roots, berries, acorns, everything
gives out. My father can shoot no
Squirrels, my mother can get no corn.
Then we start for the Agency, to get
ations. 1t is a long tramp, but don't
mind it, for mother does the walking.
Ne form procession of two - a
lOuble-header. Mother heads the
rOnt and head the rear. As the col
hmm moves forward | go ahead back
Yards, like born leader of the hind
hOst, and | pass everything on the
load that is not going my way. OF
course | can't see what am coming to
Pill | am going away from it.
The first thing | notice is our wig
am and cornstalks and beanpOles.
hey are large at first, then they get
Bigger than n mosquito, and then they
hde quite away. SO all our village
gOes from sight, and the sky gets big
ind empty, and the earth has no end.
length we come to things - horses,
nules, bitches, rivers, trees, houses.
Dne by one they bounce upon me from
Ground mothers shoulder. They all
begin big and strong, and they go
faIn
Zee is going away from me. | don't
know what is coming, and l can't
Dodge it till it is past. That is what
comes of going ahead backward.
My people are pretty much like me.
he old Mother Government straps
hem upon board, and shoulders
hem around from one place to an
bther. If she hears them moan with
hunger, she feeds them; if she sees
hem shiver with cold, she blankets
hem; when they shrek and kick with
Rage, she beats them. She lets them
i've on the hind side of somewhere till
somebody else wants it; and then she
bundles them off to the other side of
hOwhere, which nobody wants.
My people, like me, are going ahead
backward. Once they had all Ameri-
ca to hunt and fight in; now they
nave only Il small portion of the land
where they can stay. The father of
pill my fathers could shoot an arrow
Right through bison; but his son
fOuld only kill bear, and the bear
killers son could only kill deer, and
the deer-killer's son shot foxes, and
he fOx-killer's son shot squirrels, and
he sqnirrel-killer's sOn-that is my
self-can only catch flies. All my
people started in ''big Injun," but
they are coming out little papOose.
' White men who stay at home and
make books say my people are dying
but but white men who look around
hnd count, say my people are living
On, as many-as ever. oh it is chaps
ike me that keep the Indian question
going. There are thousands upon
thousands like me, bright eyed and
brown skinned, lusty young braves, at
his very minute cutting our eye-teetll
pn our knuckle- bones and tOughening
bur lungs on Young war-whOOps but
we are always on the hind side and
looking backward.
They say there are white babies who
Rre carried upon their mothers hearts
Ind next to their checks these babies
always look forward, and everything
tarts small and grows large and
ZONES toward them, and they can
catch it if they want it. These babies
have their eyes and ears strained tC
#lind out what is coming, their fore
beads bulge ont To meet future events
and their noses are sharpened upon
them as they whiz by. SO these babies
grow to be strong men. They talk
with the lightning; fire and water are
their horses, and smoke is their ban
Hner. The forests and the mountains
bow down to them.
o old Mother Government, take up
#my poor people and bear them upon
thy heart Feed them with the milk
zpf human kindness; give them jus
tice, and teach them. by example, the
Jaw of love. Then shall my people
lift up their heavy hands; they shall
look forward, and not backward, NJ
and not down, and lend hand."-
Margaret L. Ditto.
WifeIy Pride.