Mohave County miner., 1894-11-24
Leouss No Monument.

A recent brief announcement, unno
ticed by many, had an important bearini
on the "Indisn question:" or on the du
ration Of that question, says the Ksnss,
City Star. 1t was, seemingly. that th,
last mounted soldier Of the United Ststei
army had been ordered out Of the Indisr
Territory, something that had never be
fore happened. Ever since the white
man landed on the shores Of what are
now the United States white man with
gun has been watching the Iodian
The first semblsnca of an army was
raised TO fight Indians; almost the frsi
structuru raised on the shore was q fort
for protection against Indians; 80, for
two hundred years and more az the
Indian has fallen back, the soldier and
the fort have moved with him. Then
the white man moved around to the
western ocean and the western shore, to
Oregon and California. and began to
push the Indian to the eastward. fort
and soldier and settler altogether press.
ing on. Now the Indians moved back
from the Atlantic and Pacific to the great
central plains seem surrounded. and now
comes the order to take off the guard.
HE can neither fight nor fiy" Is the idea
Of this order. "He must be good In.
dian now. The Troopers can unsaddle
and take long rest from nov on" Does
not this really look as II we we're ap-
preaching the last hour Of the last In
dian?
In truth, the original "real' Indian,
absolutely unchanged by contact with
the white man, has gone now except in
the far deserts and mountain fastnesses.
In 1886, Francis PArkmsn tells us in the
"Oregon TRAIL" he saw Indians who had
not emerged from tha ''stone age" and
used implements and weapons such as
may have been used by people before
NoAh's Good. But could such Indians he
found nov? Certainly not 10 the region
where Mr.. Parkman found them. Ell.
dsrly people who visit the "Wlld West"
show make mild complaint that the In.
dams who do the best they can to look
"nstursl' do not look like the Indians
of forty years ago. That Indian has,
somehow, passed on !"
This mncb is certain, that the "last
Indian" will he, in every sense Of the
word, the "lAst." He will leave nohiug
behind him to mark the place he occu.
pied in the world-no history; neither
monument. Books there will be and
museums and COLLECTIONS" but none by
him. Should an Indian become 90
learned and accomplished az TO write u
history he would become white man.
Many white men have followed him,
studied him. learned men from foreign |
countries have j,urneysi here for such
purposes, but who Of all OF them has
learned the secret Of the Indians heart?
To do that II would be necessary to be. |
;,me for the time an Indian-:o "put
yourself in his place." and what white
man has ever done that? The Indian
has no record, or it is as II whispered to
the winds or committed TO the leaves
that fall or to the water that runs away.
The Indian rears, while he is an Indian.
no hsbitation that endures; when it is
gone there is nothing but ring on the
ground that the rain washes away. He
throws mp no highway; bis narrow path
the grass lasts no longer. than
tine buffAlo's road to ford in the stream.
81 there must come time when, leaving
no trace behind, he shall pass out OF this
world. when the ''last Indian" shall CO.
like the mist