Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1891-05-02
Whence Came The Indian.
Spokane Chronicle. |

Col. W. NJ Ridpath.
Mr.. Dawes has been in the Indian
service since 1875, nearly all the time
holding position similar to his present
one. He has been connected with the
Paw Paw and Wichita agencies, the
fankton agency in South Dakota, and
was agency clerk under Mr.. Ridpath
when the latter was Indian agent among
the Modocs
1t is due especially to these two men
that the Modocs left off eating snails
and dirt, like the Digger Indians, and
became what they are to-day, one of the
most industrious and peaceful Indian
tribes.
1.-THE Indian school children on the
Colville reservation are much brighter
than they are in the Indian territory"
said Mr.. Dawes. ''They are much more
like white children than any have seen,
except, possibly, the Sioux children,
who are the brightest of all. They are
also less turbulent, and are, all in all,
the best lot have ever taught.
Sat the present time we have eighty
Indian school children, most of them
half breeds. We are greatly in need of
a better building, the present one being
badly built. Green lumber was used in
its construction. This is now warped
all out of shape. We have the best of
water for drinking and irrigating pur-
poses, which comes from neighboring
creek.
"Mr E. G. Thomas is farmer, and a
most excellent one he is. Before his ar
rival the sale of whisky to Indians was
carried on quite openly. He has put a
stop TO this, and it is a whisky selling
case that brings us to Spokane at the
present time. It is extremely difficult
to get evidence in such cases for the
reason that the Indians who receive the
stuff won't testify or tell from whom
they get it. [ remember once in the
Cheyenne agency at Fort Reno, buck
Indian who refused to testify where he
got his whisky was imprisoned without
food, and yet he wouldn't tell. He was
finally led out on the parade ground and
tied to a post. Five soldiers loaded
their guns and leveled them at him. 1t
was of no avail; he refused to tell. The
agent gave it up, and asked him how he
stood SO unfinchinglY when looking up
those gun barrels. He replied: You
old squaw, you. I knew you didn't
dare to shoot
1.-THE school is located twenty-five
miles south of Osooyoos Lake, on the
Okanogan river. While the building is
bad, the children receive the best of care;
they are clothed neatly and fed well.
sleep on spring mattresses, under clean
sheets, and really live much better than
many white children. The Indian
language is not permitted in the school
only English is spoken. So far as
religious teaching is concerned, we give
them lessons in the Bible just as we do
in Geography. The Indians have no
heads for religious matters. Most of
our children are Catholic, SO far as they
are anything. The Indians there are
badly in need of missionaries of some
kind to teach them better morals. At
the present time there are no prostestant
missionaries there, and but one Cath
olic."
"Do you think that education does
the Indian any permanent goodT'
Eyes, 1 believe it does. OF course,
many Indians go back, especially those
Indians who are educated in the East at |
Carlyle and Hampton. When these
educated boys return they get ridiculed
for their civilized notions and efforts to
live like the whites. They soon become
discouraged and don the blankets But
they, in turn, invariably send their
children to school. Many of my pupils !
among the Sioux fought against the
whites in the last war under Sitting Bull. |
Another reason for their relapse is that
they have nothing to do when they re-
turn, and in particular in the Okanogan
country, where the weather is perpet-
ual spring, and they get an eternal
spring fever"
During your many years of life
among the Indians, have you never been
able to develop any theory as to their
origin?"
That has always been an interesting
subject with me. The trouble is that
so many of the so-called Indian tradi-
tions are white fabrications and it is
difficult to eliminate these.
Sometimes I think they are of a
Jewish origin. The Wichita Indians
circumcise their children, which is an
exclusively Jewish rite. Then again,
did you ever notice that Indians wrap
their blankets about them in exactly the
same manner as the ancient Hebrews,
and that the blanket bears some resem-
blance to the Roman toga?
cat other times I think that they are
| Of Chinasa nripin- The Indian face. If