The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-14

variabIy Return to His Original
State Whenever Opportunity Of
fers - Instances CorrobOrative
of Col. sheehan's Assertion Cited.
There is not a civilized Indian in
America" was the remarkable utter
ance Of Col. Timothy J. Sheehan, the
famous deputy United States marshal
who took such a prominent part in
the recent trouble with the Pil,nger
Indians at Leach Lake.
Il care not who says differently"
continued Col. Sheehan, for my claim
is susceptible Of indisputable proof.
The Indian cannot be civilized. He
is always an Indian, and, though he
may spend years among the whites, he
will, on the first opportunity, return
to his original state and be, If posi-
bic, more of a savage than he might
have been had he never passed
through the civiliZing process. Blood
will tell-in the Indian If nowhere
else. You can take the redskin when
an infant and keep him away from his
kind to manhood; then give him a
chance and he will go back to the te-
pee and become the worst savage OF
The tribe.
UNERRING INSTINCT.
oCIAlS years dSO L Was one Oh q
! commission appointed to take party
Of young Chippewas to school. About
! dozen We're selected. They were the
/ brightest young savages in the tribe,
and were at an age when it was
| thought that they could be weaned
from their savagery and completely
/ civilized. We got them to the school
ali right, ind they were taken there
| in such IA roundabout way that no
| white man, to say nothing of a child,
| could have found his way back, unas-
sisted. The Indians were treated roy
ally. They were given all the food
| they could ent. and each was supplied
with ample clothing. The next morn
ing the entire lot were missing. They
had stolen everything that was in the
pantry, and had started afoot for the
reservation, which they reached. in due
season, IN good condition And they
Travelled as the birds fly-straight
| across country, through the timber. ar
irving at the reservation while the
teachers of the school were securing
the country for 100 miles or more in
vain search for them.
CULTURE TO SAVAGERY.
But there is still another incident
in which 1 personally figured contin-
ued Col. Sheehan, that convinced me
of the folly of attempting to civilize
the redskin. We took party of In
dian girls and boys to Cnrlisle and
they remained at school until the girls
I became apparently, refined and cul-
tured, while the boys were the pride of
/ their preceptorS. one day, at their
earnest request, they were taken to
visit their people. That was the end
I of their civilization. There were half
u dozen Indian girls who could do
! fancy needle work that would put TO
/ the blush their paleface sisters, while
! they could play the piano and pick
| the guitar with any expert. So soon as
! they arrived at the reservation, all
their savage instincts seemed to re-
assert supremacy. The boys dotted
/ their neat-fitting apparel and gleefully
! donned breech -clouts while the Indian
maidens FASTENED to the paternal te-
4 pees to return shabbily-clad and SEEM
ingly forgetful of the fact that they
/ had ever been submitted to civilizing
/ Influences.
BLOOD WILL TELL.
There is one more incident that
came under my personal observation"
said Col. Sheehan. that firmly con-
! WINGED me that once an Indian a red
skin would be always an Indian. A
! colonel, who commanded a detachment
/ of soldiers who were sent to quell an
! Indian uprising, took from the dead
/ breast of an Indian mother a pap
! Poose of about a year. The boy was
reared by the officer Is his own. No
( reference was ever made to the tragedy
4 that took him to a civilized home He
was a bright though indolent youth
I and grew to the age of sixteen with
every indication that civilization had
! claimed him. Then came the deporta-
/ ton of the Sac and Fox Indians from
I Iowa. My military friend was in the
town through which the Indians passed.
! guarded by United States soldiers. SO
/ was his adopted son, Smith AS soon
as the young man saw Tie Indians, he
! announced his intention of accompany
ing them. And he did, despite all the
pleadings Of his foster father and
! brother. And with them he remained
And that Indian boy was taken away
from his tribe ut an age when II would
be presumed that he had not formed
any of the habits of the savage. | tell
you it is in the blood and will never
out
NO EXCEPTIONS.
There are exceptions to most rules -
continued Col Sheehan, but none to
the rule as applied to the Indian. Once
an Indian always IN Indian, is the
only rule that fits his case. I reassert
that there Is not one civilized Indian
in America. ! know there are persons
who claim otherwise, but they are mis-
taken. They have simply lacked op-
portunity to see the Indrn tested
Take any redskin, l care not how long
a time he may have been away from
his tribe, or how young he was when
he left IT, Give him but a glimpse of
the tepee and the breech-clout, and he
will quickly return to both. And all
his savage instincts will be reasserted
no matter If he was taken into civil
ization when mere babe"
Blaze at THIN.
! TIFFTN o.. Nov. Fire burned Ave bus