The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-12-25
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE
INDIANS,

The Indians live out West. The people
out West wish they lived out East.
There has been some talk of taking up n
subscription and hiring them boarded
at Newport, Long Branch or Pittsfeld,
Mass. We hope the plan will perish in
its immaturity, Those places are well
supplied with first families now. The
Indians came TO this country some time
ago. There being no white men here at
the time they were not so variegated as
now.
The Indians are of two sexes, and this
accounts for the fact, in part, that there
are Indians here. The original Indians
are all dead. Some think it would be
an improvement upon the condition OF
the human race if the descendants would
initiate their progenitors as rapidly as
possible. Some of the Indians are now
looking for the return of the spirits of
their ancestors. If their expectations
are realized, a dead Indian will be a
good deal more lively than a live one
The first Indians owned large farms, but
they were foolish enough to let the
white men come in and carry them on,
and the result was the same as in modern
times, the hired men took the land for
their wages. 1t has been q bother ever
since to know how to get rid of the
original proprietors in civilized way.
The people of the United States, in their
collective capacity, are very anxious to
preserve the Indian. As individuals.
most have desire to see their numbers
grow beautifully less.
In the first relation there are good
many interests involved We need
same excuse for an army. and without
Indians we could not have Indian agents.
There would be no suitable place to dis
pose of our surplus philanthropy, no far
of region where we could lay out our
sympathy. If there were no Indians
there would be no law against selling
them whiskey, and If there were no such
law, the occupation of lot of poor
white devils who have nothing to do but
to break the law, would be gone; their
occupation gone, the government would
have to hang or impTison them for
something else. II is with Indians very
much as it is with reformers by profess
sion, the less people know about them
the better they like them. They are not
a handsome people. II there is any dis
tinction in comeliness of feature the
male sex has the advantage. We never
could understand how the young bucks
could look the dusky maidens in the
face and tell them that they loved
them,
They evidently follow the trail during
the day and do their counting by the
dim light of the moon, In some features
of civilization the Indians have advanced
beyond the whites, the women do all the
hard work. This affords an opportunity
for the men to form cultured class.
Some of the fruits of this culture we
have already seen in the magnificent
orations sent TO the great father at Wash
ingtOn. We are now looking to them
for some poem that shall smack Of our
native soil.
The Indians do not wear great many
clothes, and you can usually tell when
I there is one of them about. The gov
eminent supplies them with something
like horse blankets, marked ~. S." as
much as to say, ''you belong TO u.s."
These they fold into graceful and fan
tastic forms and throw them over their
shoulders, and on their native heath are
monarchs Of all they survey. The gov
eminent also supplies them with guns
and powder and shot This is TO enable
them to protect themselves against the
white mems chickens, cattle aud horses,
An Indian is hardly ever safe when
wandering around alone far away from
his home.
White men who understand their bust
ness can make handsome thing as
Indian agents. 1t may DO that some Of
the old tricks are played out, but lie has
not much wit who cannot invent new
ones. Indians have some unpleasant
habits, both In peace and war. They