Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-01-20

and all guess for they dIdn't have
much else. They used to stir up an ant
hill-big ant Ii lis in that country-big
as q bale OF hay-and collect tho ant s
on q stick like swarm OF bees on a
limb. Then they would cook 'em and
grind them into sort OF flour. They'd
eat grasshoppers. I've frequently seen
their jaws dripping with green grass
hopper in ce. Well. one day Carson
and saw an old Digger pulling swamp
weeds and eating the tender part near
the roots. Ki. told me to II him.
wouldn't do it and told Kit that il he
wanted him killed to kill him himself.
Kit was about to do so when | stood be-
tween him and the Indian and told him
that would blow load plumb through
him if he tried to kill the Iud an. He
was mad and didn't speak to me for
some days, but he didn't kill the In
dian"
Frank T. Blair. aman about my age,
was in our party" Mr. Ward cont n
ued. Il knew him like book and he
was n square man. One time our trap
ping party-there were six or eight of
us-was in bad way. The Indians
had got all our horses and all our pro-
visions. We had nothing TO eat and
nothing to get food with except our
guns. So two OF the party would 90
out hunting along the line and bring
In hat l. 81.
would divide everything they got
Jackrabbits mostlv-and some would
Mt. Kit Carson was one OF those who
wouldn't He would sit down behind
n sagebush after killing u rabbit and
eat the whole rabbit himself We used
flint and steal to start our fires with in
those DAYS. But Frank p. Blair was
one OF the men who would whack up
every time. lie was square man. |
don't just exactly remember what was
the end Of that trapping trip. 1t was
long. long ago.
You see, these trading-posts. which
men like Duston established. were for
titled. Where timber was plenty the
/ traders built block honses and palisades.
In tho southern country, where there
were Mexicans and Spaniards. the forts
all the posts were called forts-were
made OF adobe brick. The Mexicans
understood the making OF these sun
dried brick and used to work cheap. |
know OF one instance in which they
worked for ST. a month. They made
about $50 bricks day apiece They
! were paid off in 'domestics' at about IS
cents or 81 a yard. So it took whole
month to earn shirt They didn't
care. When tho whites went among
them they were the happiest people |
ever knew. After they had been paid
off they would light cigarette. take
their stuff for shirt and go to the
monte table and lose il. Then they
would gamble away their garments
everything except their breeches-and.
bare to the waist, would light another
cigarette and 90 away smiling. The
whites taught them all the bad they
ever knew"
What kind Of people were the In
dams in those days2"
The best people ever saw" was
the prompt reply "They never knew
any wrong except what the whites
taught them. They naturally taught
each other oil the evil they knew.
They were honest as the day and faith
ful unto death when they had protested
friendship for you. l have known
Indian. who professed friendship for
me to kill other Indians who wanted
TO do me harm. Brother would kill
brother. No book ever written or any
thing else ever published has done JUS
tee to the Indian character. The vice
and deviltry of the whites has made
them what thoy are"
When asked as to what he regarded
as good Indian policy to-day. Mr..
Ward turned his gray eyes on the ques-
toner and said that the most humane
policy that the government could pur-
sue now was to send troops among the
Indians and kill them whenever and
wherever found.
"Why do | say that? Why. because
they have no chance to live. The gov
eminent has taken from them all the
best lands they hal and has placed
them on reservations where they are
incapable of raising enough to eat and
where they are gradually starving to
death. 1t would pay tho government
to hire men 10 60 among the Indians
and marry the squaws. Not three out
of the ten half-breed children would
live. You can't cvilize an Indian.
You may educate him and send him
back among his people, and he'll die.
sure. don't know of any living grad
yates OF the Indian schools No, sir,
you can't deprive an Indian of his free
dom and expect him to live."- Omaha
!