The rustler., 1891-08-14
INDIAN WOMEN OF DAKOTA.
rhslr Marked recuIisritis. sna the sissish
I4Nes They Lad

rhslr AIArked reculiarltlss and the siasish
Lives rhry Lad.
In the frequent wandcrings Of the
Indian Il Il the woman who hnds the
fuel and carries Il on her back 10 kim
die the fire aud cook the food for the
noble rcd man" she who pickets the
ponies, makes and breaks camp. taking
the tcpees down and loading the
wagons, aud performs all work which
we are accustomed TO see performed by
the men The man i merely orna.
mental with them. aud II has been
their condition 50 long that there i no
thought Of another state Of things nor
word Of complaint
On the reservations. when they arc at
home, they now have for each family n
small log house. and the women like
them better than the tepee, though we
nearly always see tepee standing near
the house. and also a summer house
built Of poles and green boughs, the
same being used as sleeping apartments
during warm weather. Il being impos-
sible for them 10 abandon entirely their
free. outdoor life There Is a strange
fascination In their free, wandering
life. and those who have In any way
been associated with them have been
impressed with the fact that IL is much
easier 10 fall into their ways OF liv ing
than 20 convert them 10 ours
In the way Of work Il is wonderful 20
see the beauty and originality Of the
designs Of their artistic work. which
consists chiefly Of bead-work on buck
/ skin or covering bottles OF all shapes
with their many y-colored beads They
/ tan the buck-slsin themselves and some
/ are adopts at the art Among them we
/ find excellent glove-malers, and we
/ also 10 our cost find them usually very
keen, shrewd traders. having profited
by their advanced civilization in the
one particular at least of learning the
value Of a dollar. Under all circum-
stances we find them greatly opposed
TO speaking the English language; not
even when they understand Il perfectly
! will they utter a word of Il. The older
women, of course are without edrca-
tion, except in n few instances where
they have acquired. by the aid Of some
] NhhthNfh NbuiEfI ItINbHf u hHpNlthkt
of reading in the Indian language.
Their amusements are few. They
have great fondness for dancing and
bathing. In public they are quiet and
rGtiring in manners, but in their homes
use more freedom Of speech and action.
There have been essential changes in
the marriage customs in these days of
churches, schools and missionary work.
ers. Formerly the bride was purchased
10y the groom for ponies, cattle or gro
ceries, the amount paid varying accord
ing TO the purchasers wealth, or the
brides worth or social standing, and
now though they are married in accord
ance with the rites of the church of
which they are members, we cannot
say the morals have improved greatly
or that they are truer 10 the marriage
vows. In their religion they are ear
nest and regerent worshipcrs. At one
agency we visited there are three denom-
national churches, supported mainly
by the home missionary societies, each
church presided over bv resident min
lister. The Episcopal Presbyterian and
Catholic churches have large member
ship each. The Episcopal services seem
to have more attractions for their rude
natures than less formal service. -
Kate Carnos, In Chautauquau.