Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1896-01-25
RUINED REDSKINS.
Civilization Is Too Much for the
Poor Indian.
The Sudden Transition from Wild Life
to = Tame Existence Has Been Fatal
to His Morals as Well as
Constitution.

DR.. Charles A. Eastman, the Sioux In
dian physician and missionary.who was
married to Elaine Goodale. the poet. IN
.he Church of the Ascension in this city
tour years ago, on visit TO New York
with his wife made an address before
the Harlem branch of the Young Men
Christian association. DIR. Eastman
told his large audience many interest,"
ing things about the Indians.
II fnd," he said. ''that the Indian rs
q man is very much the same as the men
OF other races. Their habits and their
faculties are the same. and when they
are developed they have as much man
illness, godliness and self-respect as the
men of other races. IL is surprising the
amount of faith in God you will iind
among some of the most ignorant and
uneducated Indians. ! could mention
dozens of remarkable cases if had
time, but, as | am limited. will only
tell you of one. This one was an old
Indian who was converted long ago.
Ever since his conversion he has made a
practice of rising every morning at
seven o'clock and saying his prayers.
When asked him why he did this ne
told me that it gave him first chance
with the Lord. and he was thus enabled
TO be heard alone.
The great trouble with our young
men to-day is that they have been pre-
cipitated into modern civilization with
such sudaenness that they have alb
sorbed most of the evil of it and little
- <ha y L.
ards, rustlers and itllers and are phys
zeal and moral degenerates. They are
not the same men that the Indians of
my day were. Then, our young men
thought nothing of ten or twenty mile
runs, and it WAS q common amusement
with them to race and beat fleet ponies
across the prairies.
To-day you can scarcely find an In
dian who can run as much as two miles,
while in the old days it was nothing to
do from so to 20 miles dav in foot
travel, and to go for as many Us three
days and nights without food. This d.
ference between the Indian of old and
the Indian of to-day only serves 10
illustrate the fact that the race has de-
generated physically and morally since
civilization has been thrust upon it.
.They say that the Indian is dying
away. Ii the Indian is. it is good
thing. What we want to save is the
man, the good in the young men, and
by doing this we can save the race. II
Is going to be hard work. for the small
tribes are scattered all through the
west, and, harassed and driven nearly
crazy as they are by the government. it
is difficult to win over their confidence.
They are absolutely without ambition
now, and the only way that that can
ever be effected is through the medium
of the Gospel. The Indian is known in
the east as stoical and sad individual,
but that is mistake. Before strangers
he is stoicaI, but that is only diplomacy
and not his real nature. Get him
around the camp fire and he is good
fellow. Hewill talk and laugh with you
ind tell funny stories the same as a
white man. What he likes more than
anything else is joke, and if you want
to earn the contempt of an Indian you
have but to show anger over joke in
his presence. He will take a joke on
himself and laugh as heartily over it
as if it was on another. so he has no use
for any man who cannot do the same.
my idea of converting the Indian is
to start in by improving him physically.
Then improve him mentally and you
will find self-respectiDg, noble and
gentlemanly man. The Indians were
originally the most gentIemanly race
extant. The Sioux were famous for
their gentlemanly behavior among
themselves, and know it was the same
with many of the northwestern tribes.
The best evidence of this is the fact
that the young Indians were never a.-
lowed to address their elders until they
were 81 years Of age, and no male could
smoke until he had proved himself q
grown man and had been admitted to
the councils of the tribe. It was such
laws rs these that made the Indian de-
voted husband and fearless warrior.
For such was the original Indian. To-
day the race is q ruined one-ruined by
civilization. Every game with them ID
a medium for gambling. There are
none of the manly contests of the old
days now. They're all beggars, too,
and even the very youngest is not
ashamed to ask for aims. They live
only to eat and sleep, and their thoughts
are always of the present. The Indian
spirit is broken, and nothing but sys-
tematic work will ever revive in. Y.
Sun.