The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-08-03
The Trouble with Indians.

There IS much interest manifested
among white people, Just at this time,
in regard to the habits of the Indians,
the wards of the government, in view
of the fact that the Apaches are scalp
ing everybody in sight down in New
Mexico. They are an interesting race,
these Indians are when they become
tame, but in a wild state they are ter
rOrs. 1t is the duty of white people to
teach the Indians many things which
they do not know. For instance, read
the following account of an interview
with Col. Ilges, an Indian fighter, IA
regard to the way Indians do their
counting:
Indians make love in a peculiar
way. A buck when his affections are
conferred upon a girl, will try to catch
her away from camp. He will throw
his blanket over her and slip under
meath with her. If she rejects his suit
there will be trouble underneath the
blanket, and she will escape from him.
But if she accepts him they will sit for
hours without saying a word or en-
gaglng in any affectionate demonstra-
tions. Indians, you know, don't kiss.
They manifest affection by a kind of
slapping of each other on the breast
and moaning"
1t would seem that with all the In
dian commissioners we have had to
teach Indians the ways of civilization,
that some attention ought to have
been paid 20 instructing them in the
United States star spangled orthodox
way OF counting. As long as Indians
are allowed to lassoo the girl, they
think they love, by throwing a blank
ct over their heads, and holding the
precious things in that way, Indians
are bound to be hostile and full of
hight. In such a case, if the Indian
wins the girl, he will want to fight. if
he has to sit for hours under an old
blanket with her, doing nothing but
pounding her on the stomach; and If
she rejects him he will want to go off
and scalp somebody. If the Indians
could be instructed in the art of kiss
ing and counting IN the right way,
they would not want to fight. These
fighters who r killing people, and
disemboweling them, and Draining lit
tie children, could be tanned easily by
love, the way white people love. Let
a buck Indian come off of Inc war
path and get In love with a girl, and
go to work to win her the way white
folks do, and there would be no room
in his mind for thoughts of murder
and revenge. If he sat up eight or
nine nights a week with his girl he
wouldn't have strength enough to get
On q war path without somebody
boosted him on. If he saw a war
path and got on it by mistake, he
would turn off at the first forks of the
road and hurry back to the wigwam
of his girl, and one look OF love from
her eyes would knock all the fight out
Of HIM. Shaping a woman on the
stomach is no way to express love,
and the Indian commission and agents
to explain it to these untutored
children of the forest. And how is il,
with all the Commissioners, agents,
missionaries, suffers and soldiers
that have been sent among
the Indians, that they have never
learned the poor Thugs to kiss?.
1t does not look reasonable that such
ignorance prevails among the children
of the forest, after all we have done
for them, though Colonel Uges may be
The kiss OF an Indian maiden,
If properly directed and reasonably
well performed, would draw a tight
ing, scalping Indian off Of a war path
as a mustard plaster would draw pain.
Let us teach the Indians so that In
stead Of tieing a girl up in a bag and
slapping her, they will touch her gent
IL, put their arms around her, hug her,
hold her IN their laps, stroke her hair
and kiss her, and display their affec-
ton like human beings instead of like
bears and Wolves, and when once
they have learned to love decently,
they will be safe to turn loose among
settlers. When the young Indian
learns TO 70 to he wigwam Of the girl
he loves, sit around and talk about the
crops and things till the old folks go
TO bed, and then put IA the time I'M
til acrniag ~hugging and kissing the
girl, and talking yer plans for the
future, and he goes to his wigwam a
little before daylight with bis heart
playing the snare drum on his ribs,
and crawls under 4 buffalo robe to
sleep all day and dream Of her, and
he feels as though night would never
come again % be q 20 back to her,
with an excuse 10 the old folks that he
wants TO borrow d gun r q dog or
something-Wken the young indian
gets it that bad. yOu can turn him
loose among r1en with long bair and
he won't scalp them. He VIII have
become d man lnsteadShf a wild beast,
and he wall begin to realize thaEotber
men have hearts full Of love for those
who ard aear 10 them. and he wouldn't
harm the hair 81 the head OF q SINGLE
one Of Gods creatures. Let the new
nAanfntafraHf6Ns va fa t4aeA y eL~A4 -
dsaps how 10 love each other with0uf
coFraliing and sitting under a blanket
days at d time without speaking or
kissing aud they can be civilized.
But as long as love, to them, S. 4
knock down and drag out affair. tl'og
are bound 80 light iuSt for fun.