The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-02-25
AN INDIAN REFORMER.
No Hearts Sad Experience Civiliz-
Ing His Braves.
The Efforts He Made and How They
Resulted.

No Heart was one of those Indians who
DO not require the episode Of death TO apo
theosize them into decency. After he had
done his careful, painstaking best TO kill u
reasonably large number of people In tho
Minnesota country In 1862 he hurried over
to the westward and safely located in Da-
kota. He reformed and became as brand
snatched from the burning. No Hearts
reformation was bona fide.
Percival ran little newspaper in Fair
banks, and the bottom land whereon No
Heart and certain Of his wives lived was
just across the river. IL was very hardy
for No Heart, and he used TO deyote most
OF his time 20 talking TO Perciyal about
the improvement of the Isdian race
II am going to save the Indian race"
said No Heart to Perclval. 81 am going
TO make IL like the white. Why should the
Indian freeze and starve and wear espe-
cially frouzy rags while the white man
lives In town and runs secondhand stores
and barber shops and plays in the city
brass bandY' He said this partly in Indi-
an and partly I'm English, for IL was one Of
his earnest moments.
Percival warned him. An Indian In an
Indian, he told him, and it is no use try
Ing TO make him anything else. No Heart
was firm, however, and he set out straight
way to bring about an improvement in the
affairs OF his race He had a snug amount
OF money, so he was well equipped to
swing his scheme. He went To the tailor
In Fairbanks and caused most marvellous
suit OF clothes 10 be made for him-broad-
cloth, silk lined; patent leather shoes, a
high hat, shirt Of dazzling whiteness.
when appear in this before the Two
Kettle band, T" he told Percival in his mix
turc of English ard Sioux, sit will cause
emulation. In three weeks / expect there
will not be any more Indians wearing q
strings and blankets. What pay ought an
Indian to get as clerk in drug store?'
Thus garhed in all the glory of Solomon
he went across the river to the camp of
the Two Kettle band. He was gone three
days and rcappcared i'm Percival's Office
clad In about cents worth of buckskin
and cotton. Percival asked about his
clothes.
''It is great success, said the reform
er. TO instill that feeling of self respect
which good apparel brngs"-you under
stand most of his words were of Sioux
manufacture, but that is what they
meant-"I lent IL to Elk Walks Away, a
noted and vehement drunkard, whose hab.
its need correcting sadly 1t made new
man of him, did my broadcloth suit, but
To my regret in the evening he sold it to
Lacy ut the trading post for gallon of CO.
logne, and he drank the cologne for the
alcohol that Is In IL and fnr three DAYS Ae
has been the most magnificent, sweet smell
ing sort Of q drunken beast known to the
Two Kettle band.
II shall proceed now TO the second
course" said No Heart. "I'm not discour.
aged. To inculcate self esteem ac,d laud.
able ambition TO be equal to ones superi-
ors we must provide the immediate sur
roundings of those superiors, where.
fore
Hold on there, No Heart; hold on!'
cried Percival. Lord bless you, Iniun,
you are chattering around there with a
Sioux mixture Of verbosity and long words |
that would drive one into cyclone cellar |
for protection. Easy now, easy Confine
yourself to English, and 20 caliber English |
at that.
'In short, /" said No Heart, II am going |
TO take over Co my camp sewing ma
chine, set of popular authors and dou.
bic seated cutter. Seeing these can you
understand how my people can fail To be
filled at once with the same ideas as the |
whitcsp Percival, how does one proceed TO
establish banking businessS / think
Throws His Hatchet nc His Mother ought
to bo cashier. We shall open next week"
Perciyal looked in awe and wonderment
at this remarkable philanthropists and
wished him we'll Two hours later No
Heart, still clad in buckskin and rags, but
driving a pair of detected Indian ponies
hltched To u most startling and gaudy
sleigh, disappeared toward the frozen riy.
or In tod m, tl,p |
machine and aboutb0 handsomely bound
books
He was mounted on one Of the ponies
when next he appeared at the Office of the
newspaper, Gentle, patient resignation
was depicted upon his face as he quietly
moved into the editorial room and seated
himself on keg. He was silent for sever.
al minutes, and then, speaking meekly he
said
You have perhaps heard that Throws
His Hatchet Mt His Mother, who was TO
haze been cashier of the hank, -erraneeusly-
the cutter for new kind of
folding bed, lay down In it to smoke him.
self To sleep. We buried some of Throws
His Hatchet at His Mother, but there was
not enough ashes left of the cutter to men.
ton 10 i'm ordinary conversation. The books
distributed among the Two Kettle band
and i was called upon today by a deputa.
ton, who representing that the books had
made enormously successful fuel, request.
ed that get more. My squaws, rsgret
10 say, are fools. They took the sewing
machine out and cut hole in the ice and
dumped 1t into the river, for 1t was, they
said, accursed. +"
One day In the summer No Heart an.
pearcd before Percival and made final
report.
"The man at the bank" he remarked,
says my money is all drawn out. lt is
very fortunate. had intended TO buy
banjo, u roll top desk and a gas stove,
which 1 am sure would Mt last have
brought complete civilization TO my pco.
pie. But i am thwartcd in Sioux, OF
20 ,oursc-"and am faln to give up my en-.
a |