The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-03-26
Stories of an Inland State.

Black VOLTS lodgs had wandered off the
reservation. The rather indolent agent, just
| now busy with answering series of Ques-
tons from the department at Washington,
in which he set forth clearly that the In
dams was fast becoming civilized, knew
nothing of Black VOLTS excursion.
SO that, while the Indian agent wrote 10
| the department good natured and not in
artistic fiction of the effect of Biblical teach
ings on the savage mind, Black Wolf and
his lodge were enjoying holiday in the
sparsely settled country southeast.
| 1t is a singular picture they present as
| they struggle across the trackless prairie.
| There are many horsemen in front, with
| the wind playing among their eagle feath-
ers curiously notched, and curving beneath
| their colored blankets and bellying them
| out. Their bows are slack and their quiv-
| ers, heavily beaded, hang behind them.
Behind these are several squaws on ponies,
| the ponies pulling the travels, the drag
| upon which are carried the children and
| provisions such as they have. Some youths
are walking, quite naked in the sun, the
garish light glinting on their bronze legs. d.
| The whole procession is silent. That mys-
| ferrous tactiturnity which can not be ex-
planned on the grounds OF caution, ignor-
ance or absorbing thought, which is next
| to his brutality the chief characteristic OF
the American Indian, hangs about the
whole group as it passes on.
The sun went down in a furnace of gol-
| den light and the foremost Indians halted,
tossed themselves from their ponies and
stood there silently as before, until the
squaws with the children came up, and all
!: 10 y.t,v,- Of
branches and skins and the lodge was soon
complete little village sprung up in an
hour, gone again like a circus tent in
country town, at day-break tomorrow.
Now the men of the lodge decked them
selves anew in their finery and dauped their
faces with red, IN streaks and circles on
the cheeks, and came to little hillock
where the Medicine Man stood alone dig
ging with a rude, spoon-like instrument in
the ground. When ne had made quite
hole he set long bare pole in it and stamp
ed the dirt in at its pase with his moccas-
sined feet.
The Indians watched this preparation ST.
lently as before and the squaws with their
papooses and older children came near
and sat upon the ground making a circle
of which the pole was the center. The
Medicine Man lit his long pipe, smoked
once 10 the sky, once to the earth and once
to each point of the compass. The men now
Invested themselves of everything but the
clouts and moccassns and began 10 dance
around the pole, with short clubs with
knots on the ends, flying in the air. Near
the pole now sat the solemn Medicine Man,
with feathers stuck in all directions in his
hair, clad in poorly dressed leather stuck
over almost completely with beads. Around
his neck was a small strap of hide which
held coin or two and a bears claw pend
ent upon his heaving chest. For he was
singing and al the same time shaking a dry
sourd in his hand, which gave forth a
wierd rattle.
Now the men circIed more quickly around
the pole as the Medicine Mans voice ross
higher and higher. Now the men began
singing the queer monotone of the Indian
music. Now they moved faster and one or
two squaws cried out in a shrill key. The
men genuhected half down as they danced.
their weight thrown upon their toes. AS
the voice of the Medicine Man chanted
quicker and quicker, the men in circlinG
passed neared the pole and their song, be-
coming individual. they struck the post
with their war-clubs. The pole shook I'M
the Medicine Man arose and the dance
ceased.
At this moment the Indian agent wrote:
"Our only hope for the future of the In
dian lies in Christianity, which the Red
man now so happily espouses."
The Medicine Man again set the pole
erect. There was more dancing with the
War-ciubs thrown aside.
That pole in the morning would show
them the direction of their days journey
If a night gust pushed 1t to the south, it
pointed south and south they would go; !.
north, north they would go. If it remained
erect, there they would stay until it varied.
Soon the camp broke out into spangles
of flames and the supper of the Red man
was cooked. Then the fires went out and
but for one little blaze the lodge sank away
in darkness, as illimitable as the prairie
itself.
But one campfire burned the live-long
night. The baby of Broken Tree was taken
with a fever and was nigh TO death. The
Medicine Man came and ordered the soil
citous mother and father out of the little
wickiup. Then the great Medicine Man
began to shake his gourd and to sing to
the baby. The little bit of humanity look,
ed up into his eyes solemnly, but he con-
tinued chanting, changing the time if not
the tune repeatedly. He would drive the
Evil One out. He would sing until the
child smiled. When she smiled he had
found the right incarnation and then the
evil spirit would fly. But the little child
did not smile.
The Medicine Man gave up and went
outside and built a small tent of skins.
Then he heated a rock over the fire and
placed it in the little tent and pouring water
upon the stone he placed the baby therein
to sweat.
AS the sun broke above the horizon like
a great bubble, he took the little child out
dead.
The mother sat upon the grass and held
her knees and moaned and Broken Tree
stood stold!y over the corpse of his infant
with thought, perhaps, but thought as
undesirable as the thought OF the aborig--
mes of Egypt.
They took the baby and wrapped il well.
They erected a high platform Of branches
and placed its little body there and the
weeping mother before the morning was
an hour old. went 10 its side and with
tenderness which maternity knows, no mat
ter how savage the condition, placed lit
tie vessel of corn at its side to sustain il
on its long journey up the Milky Way.
The pole leaned to the southwest and the
wandering truant lodge went on again.
But the wife of Broken Tree wept all the
day and would not be consoled and Broken
Tree was soreIy troubled. When the sun
was half across The heavens. the Indians
saw a settlement and halted. All the men
nv, Broken Tree discussed the find before