Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-14

%SSAMjW dian pony 2,4OO
~ ~ miles in q single
season. There is an
Elaine Gooddls. ever fresh charm
about selecting new camping groend In a
spot different from any that we have called
our temporary 'home" before. It is pleas
ant to stretch oneself on rug or lu1u-
rious cushion of grass and idly watch the
feeding and rubbing down" of the tired
horses, the pitching of the "teepee," the
building of a Gipsy fire and deft prepare
tion of an al fresco meal; or even, if unusu-
ally hungry, to assist in these preparations.
My cook kept everything clean and
orderly, and my driver delighted in adding
to the simple bill of fare at every oppor-
tunity fat prairie chicken or a string of
delicious fish. If there were any Indians
in the neighborhood of our camp, they
usually claimed a relationship with some of
us, and on the strength of it, brought OF
| their humble best and were in turn invited
to share our rustic meal.
The Passports to Indian Confidence.
Anyone who travels through the Indian
| countries with the desire to study native
customs and character, must divest himself
| of all prejudice, travel with Indians as
| simply and unpretendingly as possible,
proclaiming by dress and manner a willing
ness to accept life for the time being on
similar terms with those on which it is
taken by the people whom he wishes really
to know. A pair of moccasins, a fondness
for one or two genuine Indian dishes, good
horsemanship, and an acquaintance with
the tongue of the people, are all excellent
passports to their confidence. That conf
dence once won, the rest is easy.
My journey on the plains covered more
than six months and ended with the be-
ginning of the sad winter of 1S90-91 in
Dakota. Nothing that occurred during
that winter has shaken my personal conf
dence in the much tried people, nor lessened
my sympathy with them; and, although
fully realize the fact that recent events
have unsettled and embittered the minds of
some of them to perilous extent, I believe
that they are far more sinned against than
SHINING. I shall not hesitate to trust
myself among them again with as little fear
and as much freedom as during that ever to
be remembered summer.
Dakota's Freaks of Temperature.
Foremost among the charms of the Da-
kotas is the exhilerating climate. The dry,
in themselves to make life worth living,
and the reward of free exercise in such an
air is an almost superbundant energy and
vitality. To me a feeling of languor is
absolutely unknown there, even on the hot
test midsummer day. I have walked and
ridden in safety and comparative comfort
with the mercury at 114o in the shade
and there was no shade, except the narrow
strip on the north side of building. The
same may be said of the occasionally severe
cold of winter, when one can thoroughly
enjoy brisk walk in a temperature of 400
below zero, provided the wind does not
blow.
Another source of, the keenest enjoyment
is the exquisite and subtle variety Of prairie
landscape.
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful,
For which the speech of England has no
name
The prairiesl behold them for the first,
And my heart swells, while the dilated eye
Takes in the encircling vastness.
pity that American whose undeveloped
taste complains of m onotony in a scene like
this 1t has much of the infinite grandeur
of ocean, with a softness and human quality
peculiarly its own, and the fine harmonies
of coloring in the grasses at certain seasons
would delight the eye of an Indian or
poet.
Delights Of the Indian Character.
That charm, however, which surpasses
even the vitalizing climate and the inspir-
iting landscape is to be sought in the nature
of the Indian. There is something inde-
scribably soothing about the repose, the de-
liberation of it-something in striking con-
trast with the over-excitable, over-hurried
modern temperament. Indians are such
pleasant, restful fellow travellers, such cor
dial, unpretending hosts-giving of their
best without unnecessary circumstance or
delay.
On the LIST Of July all the Indian schools
are closed. and vacation begins for teacher
and pupil, but not for the supervisor. My
first care was to hold o teachers institute
for all the teachers on the Pine Ridge Re-
serve. Although their schools are scat
tered on a radius of 80 miles, they were at
that time all gathered at this agency. This
was the first meeting of the kind ever held
in an Indian reservation, so far as now,
and the discussions provoked unexpected
A teacher accustomed to all the |
modern helps-the institute, the educational |
preciate the isolation and discouragement
of many an unnoticed worker in the Indian |
field.
The Fourth of July Dance.
The glorious Fourth is, according to a
time -honored, though decidedly demoraliz- |
ing custom on Indian agencies, given up to |
Indian dances and general revelry. The |
white employees are in the habit of reward |
ing the dancers with money and food for a |
public display of character which is, at |
ordinary times, discouraged and even for
bidden altogether. Certainly this sOmaha
1ance," in which young men only partici-
pate, clad in paint and barbario ornaments,
IS picturesque and fascinating spectacle,
and as an amusement it cannot be called
degrading, but as vulgar show it becomes
80. 1 admire the suppleness and grace of
.he dancers, the brilliancy of their costumes
md the interest of their dramatic repre-
'entation of war; but 1 am wearied by the
crowd, the dust and the heat, and soon re-
ire.
Until within few months there were at
Pine Ridge band of Indians distinct from
,he Sioux, and in fact their hereditary
hundred Northern Chey-
ennes. They had been brought here as
prisoners of war, and had been living for
'ome years discontentedly in the heart of an
llien tribe. These people, although they
.eceived very little assistance either from
he Government or the churches, had
progressed from state of absolute barbar-
SIN into one of standardization, living in
og houses and cultivating small farms. A
arge number of them were earnestly acting
or chapels and schools.