Asheville daily citizen., 1892-09-10

!
COMING HOME WITH \ FRIEND.
his son, who is attending the Indian
school at Carlisle, Pa, and shows 50
much humanity, even in tile hronzcd
bosom Of the stoical warrior, that there
can certainly be no harm in publish,
ing it,
CHEROKEE SrHlH, Aug. 90,
My DEAR SON-We got your letter
last week regarding Your matriculation
fee, but | could not answer till had
went to town and found ont what it
was. That took time, and besides | met
number Of old friends who was with
me in the late war when, &s you remcm-
Der, the Pawnees seeded from the
United States. We met in town and
passed the time of day, after which we
went to the drug store and opened a
bottle Of pain killer, and was late get
ting home. Your mother says that You
must not overdo this smatriculaiOm bust
ness, as times here are not very plenty.
Ii ! had knew that education comes
so high, and had Of been told about this
matriculation business when was cast
to sec the White Father, would have
touched him for aid. lie was very
kindly toward me aud wished to know
what he could do for my people. | said
that we wished to know more Of the
white mans religions, and which one of
them was the best. We have made it Il
business, as you know, to ask the differ
ent White Fathers at Washington this
question, SO that we might know, and
their answers have been different One
White Father, when we asked him this
question, told us to go to -! SO we
still grope in darkness.
| note what You say regarding the
band, and trust that You shall learn
to play upon it if you can have IL suit
able uniform and buy an orphcclyie,
You know how anxious | am to see You
get an education, and that | shall try to
keep you in funds if possible, but it wor-
ries me at first to do it because YOU
know what poor farmer | am. The
Indian, however, suffers, but he does
not weep. lie can endure anguish, but
he disdains to cry like Il woman. am
an aged hemlock; so is your mother.
Possibly some day when you get cdu-
Gated you may redecmyour people. You
may be the Moses Of our race. In the
future you may get position in n bank,
and then times with my people will not
be so scarce as they are now.
lwant you to learn all the languages
and to spell the hardest word, as did
Bruno Demi-Johnson, who went to the
Indian school at Haskell and is writing
this letter for me. Learn also to respect
the laws of the land in which you live
and how toturn jack from the bottom
of the pack without ostentation.
shall try to meet your demands for
means to persecute your studies to the
bitter end. have had no advantages
myself, but nature endowed me richly
with u massive brain, and no man ever
outclassed me except your mother, and
that was when had my skates on, as
you say at college, having been out the
night before brooding over the wrongs
OF my people.
want you to become familiar with
the laws of your country, so that you can
keep out of Jail and not plead guilty, as
did in Kansas City once, not knowing
then that it was customary to plead not
guilty and then let the other side find
out whether you are SO or not.
Try to study economy along with your
other branches, as hate to beef the old
COW before cold weather, and the calf is
too small to turn into money order yet.
Learn all the languages, as say, so
that you can talk as well with Il foreigner
from New York as you can with an
American.
Learn astronomy. am most sixty
years Of ago and did not know till yes
terday that the sun is o., 900, 900 of miles
from here. These things are pathetic
when you come to think about it. There
was no one near to tell me when was a
lad that it would take train of cars
1853 years to so to the sun, even if there
was no accidents. | was giddy young
thing and thought only of the present.
To 60 fishing as soon as the law was up
was my delight, and to lead an outdoor
life was the thing that my physician
thought best for me at the time.
So / did not know until recently that
it took $4,000 years for the light of q
star to reach the earth, and even then
that it does not amount to much,
grew up wild and fr e, and would havt
laughed to see the IL IN who could over
take and matriculat, me,
Look at Alexander the Greatl dix
not know that he studied elocutioi
without Aristotle. | did not know tha
an educated man could take the tariff
for instance, and use it us an excuse 70
leading an immoral life
But l was left to run wild, as it were
making faces at people in the spring
time of life, and now in the autumn Q
my days my name is Dennis. Her
on the Cherokee Strip | am all the tim
brought in contact with inferior peopl
who have never been east Since hav
: been east myself can see how roug
and coarse we are here in the wes
We are earnest and open hearted bu
we lack refinement.
We had a little merrymaking her
9 when | got home from Washington, D.
Fungus Tamarac. Brule Sioux wh