The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-12-11
THE wATcHMAN AND soUTHRoN DECEMBER IL, 1895

uOOt OOuOC IL CNCt SO" OutoiOC
of some of the Chinese dens in San
Francisco, SO many crowded into the
same space. | lacked the heart to
talk business with Gardner, who, |
OWNED from some of his remarks,
had rot accomplished, in the way of
making ready of our dog brigade. all |
had expected of him. l simply pitied
him for the unpleasant and malodo-
rous fulness of his home, and / pitied
his half breed wife and her daughters,
who were kept cooking for and feed
ing half starved Indians from early
morn until late into the night. Hem.
ing took his pencil and scratch pad
and my camera. and We went out
to see the New Years day arrivals
and the dogs and the Indians
In front of the forts stockade were
gossiping groups t',at grew with
each fresh arrival, while scattered all
about the enclosure, just where their
drivers had left them, were the dog
trains of the Indians who had come
to fill Gairdner's house and eat the
Hudson Bay Company's meat. There
was no stabling nor feasting for these
dogs; in "a below zero atmosphere
they stretched out in the saow and
waited, without covering, and many
cases without food The Indians
with their blankets, coats or capotes,
and the dogs and sledges and "jump-
ers," made a picturesque whole
against the unbroken background of
Snow, but. like all Indian pictures,
it's attractiveness faded away on the
close inspection that discovered the
dirt of the man, and the scraggy,
halfstarved condition of the beast.
These people had never before seen
camera, and many of my plates show
them scurrying away or turning their
backs. 1t was only after the most
elaborate descriptions Co Gardner,
who instructed the interpreter, who
explained to the Indians, that we in
duced one or two "types' to sit in
our presence while Heming sketched
them. They thought we were max
ing medicine against them, but
were won over by Heming drawing
the moose and caribou. while they
watced the animals they knew SO
we'll develop under his pencil.
When We returned to the house
the dance was still on; it was always
ION" during the first thirty six hours
Of our stay at LaBlche. Formerly
the Hudson Bay Company officers
merely .receiyed" on New Years
day /; but as the Indians have a Gus
tom between sexes of kissing on
meeting, and as it did not become an
impartial officer to distinguish in this
respect between old women and
young, unattractive and attractive,
the feast was substituted so now the
women are fed and danced instead of
being kissed.
| hope that New-Years' night
will DOT be recorded against me-
Those Indians danced until four
o'clock in the morning, and they
danced to my utter decentralization.
We sat around and watched the
Gymnastics" and pretended we en-
joyed them until about one o'clock
then we retired We all three slept
in Gardeners Office, tiny apartment
cat from the main room by thin board
partition, Of which a good quartz:
section in the centre was removed to
admit of the two rooms sharing
single stove There was piece of
Ioosened sheet.iron tackled to the
partition to protect it from the heat,
aud my head was against that partl
ton, and our blankets on the same
floor upon which those Indians
sprinted and jumped and shufled !
by Casper W. Whitney, in Harper's
Mogi=tnc for December