Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-29
AT A BUFFALO DANCE.
The Indians Barbaric Festival on the
Outskirts of Civilization.
PERFORMANCE OF A SAVAGE RITE.
Alice LongfslloW's Generosity to an Ab.
original Protege.
HIS TEARslss FOB A ROWING LIFE
rcoRnEsPoNDEscr OF THE DIsPArcH.l

~. I.s
September 14-The old Four-dee road,
which leads to the Oklahoma country and
to Texas, keepswell trodden. The ruts and the
rayines are being smoothed out and toned
down by the process of civilization and by
the adherence of this people to their old
heathenish customs; for away off in a
secluded spot where the Black Bear creek
winds quietly by over nice pebbled bed
they have pitched their tents. and are hold
ing four days feast and dance. The ex-
tension of the Santa Fe Railroad, which
cuts through their reservation, the influx OF
the boomers and the general tide of immi-
grafton impresses these Indians with the
fact that they had better make hay
while the sun shines; that their
feast days and nights Of hilarity are draw
ing to close. And SO they are entering
into this, the last big feast of the year, with
an earnestness and zest unknown to them
in the everyday affairs of life, but which
would show off well In the hay field or in
the cultivation of their crops. They realize
with sorrow that the buffalo is no more
They have preserved some of his robes, tails
and horns, and with faces as long as your
arm, they don these and play buffalo. And
as we in our younger days, in imagination,
found quite as much pleasure as we do now
in realization, perhaps these ignorant peo-
pie can find in this monkey-looking affair q
pleasure. though they may bewail the loss
of the inspiration Of those old days.
1t is hard to give up old customs, old
traditions, especially if>the adherence to
these means life Of ease. We are all in
pursuit Of that which will make us happy.
We do very little save from selfish motive.
If help the poor, befriend the friendless,
or sympathize with the sorrowing, it is be-
cause they have touched my heart and I
will not feel good until do something to
relieve myself OF the burden of the thought
that might help them bear their sorrow,
Tighten their hearts or appease their hunger.
We judge the Indians too harshly. We ex-
pect too much from them. They were created
Indians and Indians they will always
be. When the race has become SO thor
oughly amalgamated that the white blood
will predominate, then you will have the
civilized Indian. When this country is
opened up to white settlement and the In
dians are compelled to live as civilized white
people, there will be few consumptive
full blooded Indians left; but the vast ma
jority of those who can live in civilized
State will be half-breeds, or those in whose
faces no Indian blood can be traced. The
romance connected with the Indians is fast
disappearing. The beaded regalias, the
paint and feathers which adorn stout, hand
some physiques all lose their charm, even
on acharming moonlight night, in this pretty
country when we know that these who are
rigged up In thisstyls playing the monkey,
are English-speaking Indians, and intelli-
gent enough almost to vote. The Otoes are
smart. They are mixed great deal with
French blood, but they will not give mp
their old Indian customs unless compelled
to do so. The most intelligent ones who
know better and are less superstitious than
the others take part in all of their festivities
for fear of losing their influence with the
tribe. Let me cite you an instance Of the
strong influence of Indian blood in an edu-
Gated Sac and Fox quarter-breed Indian.
PKoTEGE OF A POETS DAUGHTER.
A few days ago afine-Iooking, intelligent,
spectacled young Indian stopped here en-
route for the Sac and Fox Agency to accept
the position Of principal teacher there. He
has attended the Hampton School in Vir-
ginia, but left there to take q normal course
in good school at Cambridge, Mass. He
has enjoyed privileges that few young
white men have enjoyed, and which many
would feel proud of, as this young man
does. He told me he had q great friend in
the East, and one who has paid his expenses
at school and who has entertained him at
her illustrious home during the winter
months. This great friend and benefactor
is Miss Alice Longfellow, daughter of the
writer of "Evangeline" and the "Courtship
OF Miles Standish." This young Indian
man has enjoyed the privileges of Longfel-
lows study, and no doubt on many 9
rainy day like the one the great
poet wrote about he has taken out
his manuscripts aud read the poets
thoughts, many of which never found their
way in print. With all these grand privi-
leges, and the surety Of their continuing,
for Miss Alice Longfellow has offered to
pay his expenses at school for years to come,
and the outlook of a prosperous and happy
future in the profession he has chosen, yet
he says that when he is sick or disheartened
he feels like throwing all aside, donning the
blanket again and going back to life Of
ease and flthiness. This is the Indian.
They need strengthening support. They are
helpless when left to themselves, and readily
fall back and into the old ways when among
their people. Very few Of shese returned
students from Eastern schools reform their
people. It is the old law of easier to fall
than rise, SO they fall back into the old way
and are even worse than those who have
never been to school.
The Four-dee road received its name in
this way. The first ranch on it was owned
by two men whose names were Four and
Dee. To shorten it and make it odd their
brand was an old-fashioned clutched
by capital D. About II miles from the
agency, on this well-traveled road, the In
dians have selected their annual feast
ground. From the leveled circle on the
knoll like common race course where the
fantastic dancing is done, Black Bear
Creek bounds it on the north, the railroad
on the west, the timber of another small
stream on the south, and the rolling peace
full prairies on. the east. Within the toOt of
civilization and hemmed in and bounded by
the rules and regulations of the ultimate
civilization Of the Indians the heathenish
dancing and feasting still go on, the plows
are laid aside and the hay "waiteth for the
mower" "Heap too warm 10 cut hay"
they saw, but not too warm to dance from
sunrise until sunset, on the open prairie,
without the least shade of covering for their
blackt thick scalps. Intelligent Indians,
English-speaking Indians, but obstinate
and unprogressive, loving the old way be-
cause they have the privilege OF doing so
and retarding the progress of the young.
Must is good master, and must should be
rigidly applied to these wards of the nation.
PREPARING FOR THE DANCE.
The preparations were for big dance by
three tribes-the Kaws, Otoes and Osages-
but the Osages were ordered home. The
circular spot, probably 200 feet in circum-
ference, where the dancing took place, was
guarded by two bright American flags.
Directly opposite was withered cedar tree,
and under it were four almost nude Indians