San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-10-30
THE IDAHO INDIANS.
Farms Allotted to the Nez Perces-Native
Judges and Ministers.

Judges ana ministers.
Kamiah, Ida, is the center of one Of
She most considerable Indian settle
ments on the Nez Perces reservation,
extending for several miles up the Ka.
miah creek and along both sides of the
Clearwater. Although like all Indians,
they dearly love their old homes, when
the allotments were made they had the
good Judgment to choose land nearer
to market than this region then APP
peared to be, most of them taking
land in the vicinity of Genesee. Each
Indian, under the terms of the treaty
by which they were given lands in sew
crafty, was allotted eighty acres, be.
sides which the heads of families re.
ceived their old homes, not to exceed
twenty acres in extent. Thus, the
Kamiah people will continue to live at
the homes of their childhood while
holding the lands best suited to rent
to white men. This is the only pur-
pose to which they propose toput their
lands, the NezPerce equivalent for the
word 'work" never being used in the
masculine gender.
It was from the Kamiah braves that
the greatest objection came to selling
their lands to the government, many
Of them having only formally given
their consent, only the force of circum'
stances inducing them to do even that
much. They are the heaviest horse.
owners of the tribe and dread the dag
when their ranges will all be fenced
up. Therefore, it is no great surprise
to learn that they are freely talking
of repudiating their agreement with
the government. They say that the
money which was to be paid them is
long past due, and many are agreeing
among themselves that if their money
does not come soon they will refuse to
abide by the agreement.
The Indians are no more anxious
about this payment than are their
white neighbors, many of whom have
sold things to or done work for the In
dams, to be paid for when their money
comes, and all of whom are ready to
get some of the money by some means
or another. Although one of the most
civilized of the Pacific coast tribes, one
unacquainted with the peculiarities OF
the Indians on the plains would at first
glance pronounce these a very wild
tribe, they wearing their hair uncut
and never stepping out of doors with
out blanket, two infallible signs OF
TACK of civilization east of the Rockies
Occasionally one meets a short-haired
Indian, who never fails to reply to in
quiries in good English, having been
to school when a boy, but even he has
a highly colored blanket somewhere
about his person. If the Indian wears
long hair one can converse with him
more satisfactorily if he understands
the Chinook jargon, the great mutual
language of Indians and whites all
over the northwest.
The Nez Perces are governed by
judges of their own choosing, while
their spiritual wants are attended to
by native ministers. The latter per-
form marriage ceremonies and grant
divorces, the fixed charge for the
former being two dollars, while the
latter costs Eve dollars. The decisions
of the judges are final. In civil cases,
when Judgment is rendered, if the de-
PENDANT refuses to pay, the Indian po-
lice round up his property and sell
enough of it to pay the judgment and
costs. If unable to find enough he
serves out the remainder in jail at the
rate of one dollar day. The same
course is pursued in criminal cases
where fine is imposed. Fines are the
common punishment, some crimes hav-
ing fixed penalties. Thus the penalty
for adultery is fine of fifty dollars in
ficted upon each of the parties. There
is little complaint of the judges deer
sious. Spokane Spokesman.