The Washington bee., 1895-08-24
INDIANS IN A NEW LIGHT.
They Are Becoming OiviliseA and Ro-
nance Has Departed.

They Are Becoming 0ivilissa and 10
nance Has Departed.
There is not so much romance sur
rounding the Indian IS there was fifty
years ago, and there are few red men
to-day who would answer to the de-
scription Of painted warrior in one
of Cooper's novels. Since the Indians
have been placed on reservations and
put in charge OF agents Of the govern
ment, greater changes have been seen
in them, and it does not look as if it
would be long before all the members
of the 10 family are patronizing the
tailor, the dressmaker, the upholsterer
and the house decorator, just as their
pale-faced brethren and sisters do.
This is especially noticeable to any
one who looks at the advertisements
for bids for Indian supplies which are
published every spring. Among the
items in last years advertisements
were white linen and turkey red hand
kerchiefs, hemmed; calico, bingham,
fast colors and good quality; Kentucky
jeans, hickory and calico shifting and
mosquito bar.
Everything, too, it. was announced,
must be Of the best kind and style.
Miss Minnehaha must have bingham
dress that will wash; Mrs. Old Horse
in-the-Mud a white handkerchief Of
fine linen, and Mr.. Man-to-hold-your-
Horses delicate netting to hang around
his couch, so that the mosquitoes will
not disturb his peaceful slumbers.
We have never been accustomed to
think of an Indian as without his
blanket, but the Indian Bureau is try
ing to discourage the practice Of wear
ing blankets on anything but the beds
on the reservations. The Indians do
not take kindly to this, but they try to
secure some compensation for the
hardship to which they are thus sub
jected by securing slumber robes of the
most brilliant colors.
Here are some of the things which
the wards of the nation needed last
year. Nine hundred and twenty pairs
Of mems boots, $50 pairs of mems arc
tics, 920 pairs of women's arctics, 49,
900 pairs of women's shoes, sole-lined,
220 dozen hair brushes, LOO gross
dress buttons, 1850 coarse combs, 1,O75
fine combs, 120 dozen bottles of indel-
lible ink, 81 dozen mirrors, Al gross
of darning needles, 1920 dozen Of sew
ing machine needles, 5000 dozen spools
of cotton, 1870 pairs of suspenders,
$50 dozen closed thimbles, So
dozen open thimbles, 10 dozen clothes
brushes, 7S dozen tooth brushes, five
gross of hair pins, three gross of but
ton hole twist, eight gross of safety
pins, $500 yards of ribbon, IS dozen
50-yard spools of scalet silk, and ten
gross of collar buttons.
After reading this we must revise all
the opinions that we have formed
about the noble red man. It was Gen.
Sheridan who said that the only good
Indian was a dead Indian.
But here are live Indians who must
be good and respectable because they
use tooth brushes and lose their collar
buttons under the bureau, and part
their hair before the mirror. the while
their wives are wearing thimbles and
darning their husbands hose, and max
ing the wigwam CHEEKY with the Whlr
and the rattle of the sewing machine.
Civilization has evidently not been a
failure in aboriginal households.
But there are other things in the
lists of supplies which seem foreign
to Indian tastes. Requests for 2S0,O
pounds OF soap and 1900 pounds of
washing soda are startling, and the
crockery list is full of interest. In it
are to be found plates Of every variety |
dinner, tea, soup, sauce,
and pie. Then there are students
lamps, hanging lamps, bracket lamps,
shoe blacking, stoves, cocaine, chloro-
form, pepsin, beef extract and sugar
coated pills. 4 @f=~. -