The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1892-09-15
INDIAN cURIos MADE TO ORDER.
How Lc, the Peor Indian. Ropes ia HI:
UusGspectiBs White Brother.

! that the city stores, III order to supply
| the demand. obtain their genuine rel
| les in the same manner rs they do
| genuine Vermont maple syrup"
Chairs that Washington sat in" and
The mummies of Egyptian Kings"
| 1t is suspected that there are factories
! where these interesting articles are
| turned out in job lots and that the pro-
| prietors make considerable money by
| the business.
If YOU will notice the "tom-toms"
| you will see that they are made Of an
| old government cheese-box from the
post-trader's) covered with a piece of
sheepskin. The originals were made
OF pottery, but that was long, long
| ago.
In a recent trip through some~of the
| Navajo country the writer was COM
| missioned to purchase some genuine
| relics for man OF means who lives
! further East. The Navajos are famous
| for their skill in weaving blankets, and
| they really do make some of the finest.
They are the greatest sheep-growers
in the West, and come nearer being
white men than any people of their
| color.
Their skill in weaving is compara-
lively recent, and most of their mech
anical skill has been acquired from the
| whites. They, of course, retain their
own ideas Of decorative art, and the
nightmares of colors and design which
| they propagate are wonders of heath
enish conception. Their blankets
bring good price, and are really
| worth the money which You pay for
| them.
The squaws, of course, do the great
est part of the work, while the bucks
lay in wait for the unsuspecting
sucker" ready to sell him heirlooms.
With my commission from my Eastern
friend in mind. sought for some gem
uine relic among them, and finally
thought that | would bribe the old
chief for the long pipe he was wont to
hit in the shade of his "tepee," which
is big log cabin, more's the pity.
| very foolishly praised the pipe be-
fore | offered to buy it, and the willy
old savage winked his other eve and
sprung the "heirloom" racket upon
me, and. as consequence, | had to
pa him 81 for it. | afterward found
identically the same article at the post
traders for $1.35. What does an In
dia&want with a war club? Yet YOU
will see this highly decorative blud-
geon for sale in every store. 1t is
| made usually of the tail of 4 deceased
| steer. 1t is cut open along the side, a
stick inserted, a stone as big as a
goose egg sewed in at the north end
and the natural tuft of hair on the op-
posite end is left dangling, but usu-
ally colored red or green to make it
look Indian. That is the way an
Apache makesthem. A Sioux makes
a club for the market like a slender
sledge hammer with q stone head tied
on with a rawhido thong. Rather than
make head himself he will scour the
plain-or rather his wife does-in or
der to find head made by a more in
duStrious ancestor and filed for future
reference on boundless prairie.
There are many interesting things
to be picked up around an Indian
camp, but the fngermarks of genuine
ness are not SO indelibly impressed
upon these relics as of yore, and it is
well to look twice at the article before
you purchase.
Nearly every tourist who strikes
gens.ine Indian relies, and the curio
industry grows yearly more stupend
Gus in the face of the fact that the
number of Indians is growing less,
! and they rely almost altogether on the
| post trader for supplies of every de-
scription.
As the necessity for genuine Indian
implements grows less for practical
use the supply OF the genuine Indian
weapons ind ornaments grows greater.
1t is because The Indian mas ceased to
pursue the chase. anf as he grows
iazier with civilization his squaw
grows more Industrious and learns to
| make popular trinkcts rs Il business,
| which brings in the almighty dollar to
| buy whisky and tobacco for her own
| particular buck.
| As toys the Indian weapons are
rather decorative. but they are built
on ready-made principles and invari-
| ably fall to pieces with the slightest
practical use. There is scarcely. now
an article sold as an Indian curo for
| which the poor Indian has the slight
est use, except TO bring him in rev.
enue.
For instance, what does an Apache
Indian want with spear? Still he
makes them to sell, of long crooked
pole with blade OF boiler iron tied
upon the end. If you should throw it
with any force against Il tree or the
breast bone of an adversary it would
| double up like a jackknife. Yet it is
| found in the old curiosity shop tied up
| in chicken feathers, stolen, perhaps,
from q rancher's hen roost. 1t has
stripes of red and green paint and
makes fine looking trophy to hang
| upon the wall.
! In the first place, where can an abo-
| riginc get boiler iron? 1t is popularity
supposed that the noble red man
| spends MS leisure time pounding out
stone heads for his arrows and spears,
| but he is not modernly constructed on
that plan.
All the stone implements and weap-
ons now on the market are yelics of q
| bygcae Indian race. by n modern In
| dian, who sometimes picks them up in
| the graves of his ancestors and barters
| them for wherewithal for drinks.
| The stone age of the North American
| Indian has passed ere this into legend.
One spear exhibited in this city has
a hoe handle for shaft. and the gull
ible tourist exclaims; How wonder
| full
The Indians. some OF them, make a
very good bow with sinew back, which
will propel an arrow with great rapid
| ity. He does not use one himself, pre-
fcrring TO use the deadlier WincheS-
ter. Still, there being money in it, he
will spend his Sundays in making
them for collections and selling them
after great deal of hagging as val
| ued heirloom of "Hole-in-the-Fa Face
his fathcr-in-law, or of Smoking Cob
his great-grandfather
He thus sacrifices heirlooms for the
extremely reasonable price of S3 to
! $40, which would disgrace the handi-
work of ten-year old white boy ct a
manual training school.
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