The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-08-07
INDIAN DIVORCES.
Summary Proceedings Of the Dis
satisfied Married Brave.
Scant Ceremony Used in Casting Or
the Calling Yoke Which Binds
Him to His Objection
able Squaw.

With most of the plains Indians mar
riage consists simply in picking out the
maiden, leading her to a cabin or wig
wan, and installing her as mistress of
the house and cornfield, sometimes with
the necessary preliminary of paying the
father pony or two or an installment
of blankets, and occasionally with some
slight ceremony performed by chief or
medicine man. And when the brave
grows tired of his partner he can get
rid of her as easily as he won her.
The people who are now docking to
the Dakotas or Oklahoma to get d.
vorces would be supremely happy if
they could throw off the calling bonds
of wedlock as easily as does the reserva-
ton Indian. The fact having been for
mally announced by the head man of
the clan, the divorce takes place when
the tribe is gathered at dance. When
all are assembled and the circle formed,
the disconnected warrior strikes lrum
used by the jewellers, (gives away few
presents (ofttimes making O present to
the squaw he intends to take next), and
then, in short, hombastic speech, he
stigmatizes his wife by giving her over
to the tender mercieS of other braves,
while they look upon him enviously and
consider that he has performed an act
of bravery in his desertion.
Often as many as half dozen di-
vorces are thus obtained at. a single
dance; no tedious waiting, no courts,
no lawyers, and no trouble about ali
mony or the custody of the children.
And the squaws thus cast off as gener-
al thing seem to take it as q matter of
course, and before the close of the lance
are using the wiles known and used by
the women of the world over in an eff
fort to repair as speedily as possible
the break in their hearts and matrimo-
NAL experience.
With the taking of land in severalty
and putting on of citizenship, however,
the Indian finds that he has ceInented
the ties that were so loose before, for
the courts everywhere are deciding that
the tribal marriages are legal and bind
ing upon the Indian who becomes a cit
izen. And if the weight of one legal
marriage wears somewhat heavily upon
a white man, how must it be with the
red man who has contracted two, three,
four, or even more alliances which the
court now declares legal and at the
same time takes away his former av-
enue Of relief?
The first court divorces ever given
nny member of the southwest reserva-
ton tribes was granted in the district
court at FL Reno several weeks ago.
The fair plaintiff in the case was full
blooded Kiowa girl, whose name was
something like Beahl Koo, but perhaps
it had never before been so reduced to
writing until it appeared upon the rec
ords of the court. She was totally I'M
familiar with the English language, and
it was necessary to- tell her troubles by
the aid of an interpreter, but the trouble
was to find some one that could inter.
pref the weird dialect of Kiowa. Judge
Jack Stillwell, the eX-scout, was pres
emit, and, although quite familiar with
the Comanche tongue, he was COM
PEELED to confess that he could not
handle Kiowa. A way was soon found
whereby she could tell her tale of woe
to Judge Burford. Caddie Konkie
(Black Crane), leading member of the
iAIONo u iOO, thiid Il NSl lutbIS
was present, and while he could not
talk English, he could speak Kiowa,
and interpret it into Comanche, and
Judge StillweE then interpreted it into
English. She stated that she was not
quite 16 years of age, and that she had
been married to a white man named
King for three years, but that he had
left her over two years ago, and that
she was now living with her parents.
After hearing all the facts the court
granted her privilege to assume her
maiden name, or any other name she
saw fit.
At the next term of the district court
at Tologo, n county, however, will be
presented an application for divorce,
the like of which is without a parallel,
and the judge and attorney will look
in vain for precedent decisions in all
the law reports extant.
Yellow Bonnet, Cheyenne Indian of
some note, living on his allotment near
this city, has applied for a blanket di-
vorce from four wives. Yellow Bonnet
gives as his reason for such a sweep
ing divorce that he has embraced the
Christian religion, and his wives have
refused to become Christians.-St. Louis
Globe-Democrat