The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1897-09-09
BILL ARP'S WEEKLY LETTER.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTS REGARDING
INDIANS AND WHITES.
INTERMARRIAGES MORE FREQUENT
The Red Man, Though Being Rapidly
DeciIn ated, Is Well Fixed ana
Happy Withal.

west told us that white people were
marrying Indian girls more frequently
than ever before. "Indeed, he said
'the dusky maidens seem to prefer
the pale faces to their own race and
color"
This provokes me to write letter
about Indians for the special pleasure
and benefit of our young people. Boys
and girls like to read about them, j
know, but most of the stories that APP
pear are more romantic than true.
During the war our brigade camped
one night on the Chickahominy river,
about thirty miles below Richmond,
and we were shown the very stone on
which Captain John Smith laid his
head for Powhattan's club when
the beautiful Pocahontas rushed
wildly in the circle and threw her
self upon his bosom and saved his life,
About the stone l have my doubts, but
it is historically true that Powhattar
lived there, and that his daughter,
lovely lass of fourteen, did save John
Smiths life, as he in his letter to the
queen of England says, sat the minute
of my execution she hazarded the
beating out of her own brains to saw
mine" She afterwards married JOIN
Rolfe, with her fathers consent, ant
from that anion came the Randolphi
of Virginia, and little strain of thai
same Pocahontas blood flows in my
wife's veins, and she is proud of it
and loves to tell the story to her nv
merous and lovely offspring. Tina
little strain isn't bigger thanSa cam
brio needle, but it has never lost it
strength. She would. make a RICH
good Pocahontas rfiow if anybody tina
she loved was in danger. In fact, sh'
has soms indian traits still lingering
in hey bosom, and should have beer
named Indiana when she was chris
tehed.
But it seems that ever since Poca
hontas married a white man the In
dian maidens of all the civilized tribei
have been willing to do the sam'
thing. 1t is well known that thu
daughters of the Creeks and Chero
KEGS in Georgia always said yes whe1
a good-lookine white man proposed
marriage; but such unions were not
hasty nor deceitful; they had to be ir
earnest and from honorable motives
If an Indian maid was betrayed by
designing white man, he could hardly
escape for the whole tribe became
avengers of blood. Her virtue was
her dearest ornament, and if she LOST
it the third finger of her left hand was
dismembered at the second joint, and
that left hey shame always visible.
Now it seems to be settled by the
men of science that the Indian belongs
to the Caucasian or white race, OF
else he is aboriginal and is race OF
his own. He is neither Monaghan,
Malay nor negro. He was first found
here on this continent, just as the
negro was first found in Africa As
the elephant was found in Asia, the
kangaroo in Australia and the llama
in Peru, so the Indian may be native
of the manor born, for biologists say
that this continent is the oldest by
several thousand years But where
he came from or how lie got here is 8
question too deep for me. The exist.
ence of Aztecs in Mexico is still an I'M
solved problem, and who were the
mound builders is a matter of doubt
and speculation. One thing, however
seems certain, that the race is doomed
TO extinction. The command "be
fruitful and multiply does not belong
to them According to the United States
census reports, in 1858 there were in
the United States and territories 400,
1854; in 1860. 339, 421 in 1870. 1871
in 1880, 800, 543i in 1890, 24S,2 1853.
OF these $500 are classed as civil.
lied. The Cherokees and Creeks were
sent from Georgia to the Indian Ter.
rltory about sixty years ago. The
former then numbered near 1000
| they number less than that now. What
is the matter with them? They have
fine lands, both for pasturage and cul
tivation, and the bounty of the gov
eminent would nearly support them
They have good framed houses to live
in and have as good schoolhouses anc
churches as our country people have
in Georgia. They are classed as civil
lieu, anu uItSS JuSb ike WHlbe IO!KS.
and cook and eat as nourishing food
as we do. What is the matter? il
asked one of their educated ministers.
"God knows" said he 1 mingled
with their people and talked with them
They did not seem to be sad or dis
tressed about anything 1t was not
that the children died before maturity, |
but that the mature died faster thar
children were born to take theiI
places. The exception to this decline
of the race seemed to be in the families
where white men had intermarried with |
Indian maidens. These unions were
prolific of children who were healthy
ana handsome, and always bred afte,
the mother, having her cinnamon
color, her straight black hair and high |
cheek bones There is no apparent
mixture of blood as that which appears
in the mulatto who is the half breed Of
whites and blacks. But these Indiar
types weaken in succeeding genera.