Omaha daily bee., 1898-07-03

attitude without waiting for an invitations
to do 80. 1t was evidently no new expert
ence for her, but though l thought ! wass
familiar with every photograph of old Inc
dian women taken by professional photog-
raphers ] have never seen one of her.
AS the bulb snapped the withered lips
gave utterance to a wistful cry for ''dinero.H
and a silver quarter brought forth volubier
thanks. There was satisfaction in the tone
in which she said, with a wag of her skele-
ton-like head:
I'm nearly 100 years old and most likely
I'll be dead next month. but I'll have some f
sugar before l die. It's a long time since
I've had any sugar"
My thoughts instantly reverted to the
thousands of dollars sent annually to the
able-bodied heather in foreign countries.
In all that section there Is no figure more
striking than that of Jacinta, the sister of
a man who was once the chief of all the
tribes in this part of the country. He
died something over a year ago and the
story of his life would read like a romance,
Jacinta is almost 100 years old, yet she is
strong, active and alert, and Is the most
doting great grandaunt in the world. Chief
Manuelita's 2-months- old great grandson is
seldom out of her arms, and she exhibits
him proudly to all Corners. When the hand
camera, entirely unknown to her, caught
the picture of youth and age thus presented
1t made a picture which If it were the coma
ception of an artist worked out in oils would
make his name famous.
An ndinn Zero.
Sebastian lives in a dilapldated adobe on
the river bank. II he was a white man in.
stead OF an Indian he would be considered
a hero. He is a blithe, CHEEKY, whites
haired old fellow, brimful of a desire in
accommodate, and yet with a life story that
might well form the basis for a thrilling
work or hction. One incident will give
the Keynote to the whole story.
several years ago a steer was stolen near
san Bernardino and was traced to Sebas-
tian's cabin, where the pelt was found
Sebastian's only child. a son just entering
manhood, was arrested. his guilt proven
to the satisfaction of judge and jury, and
ne was sentenced to serve a term of two
years in San Quentin.
His father up to this time believod IN,
boy had paid for the beef, though he knew y
his son to possess evil tendencies. He de-
termined to make one more effort to reclaim
him, and so came into court and sswore that
ne ana he only was the thief. OF course.
the son, the true culprit, was released and
the rather served the sentence, but before Z
going away he begged the boy to repay the
sacrifice by becoming an honest man. "a
promise which he made ana kept faithfully.
one month before the old man was liber-
ated his wife, to whom he was devotedly at
tached, died, and shortly afterward the SOM
who had married in the meantime, also died.
leaving a son now about 10 years CT age.
When l photographed him standing in
front OF a great mass of tuna ~(cactus) Sc
bastian said:
VIII you send a picture to my grand
child? He is all l have left and when I
am gone 1t will be all he will have to remind
him of his fathers family"
Yet this man is only a desplsed Indian.
filling his little patch of ground, deploring
the failing eyesight which caused him to
pull up almost his entire crop of beloved
onions before he discovered that they were
not weeds. There, was a wistful tone in his
voice as he expressed a regret that he was
so poor that he could not buy glasses. but in
a moment regret was forgotten In the happy
remembrance OF a new pair of brogans with
which his calloused brown, sockless feet
were clad, and to which he called attentions,
not once but many times.
There Is romance and pathos and heroism
In plenty among this remnant of a fast dis
appearing race; and. II there is much to de-
plore also. 1t is ncontroyertible that the
same faults and weaknesses exist among our
own people.