The times., 1898-12-01
EARLY DAYS OF CHEYENNE.
Lively Times When Indians Drew
Their Allowance.
(Erom the New York Sun.


When Cheyenne was much smaller
place than 1t is now, when. in fact it was
so small that one had always to speak Of
the place as Cheyenne City or stand the
chance of shooting, city life was char
acterized by a familiarity with the Indian
which the town would now blush TO own.
Much of the time the warriors of the
Cheyenne tribe were street loafers who
had to be pushed out of the way if any
one was in a hurry. but there We're times
when the Cheyenne warrior drew his al
lowance of cash from the Great White
Father and then he was an object OF con-
sideratfon until he had spent it There
was a society in philadelphia which look
ed out for the Washington end of the
transaction on the score of philanthropy
and Indian rights and made sure that the
Indian got the cash. The citizens of
Cheyenne and every other town which had
an Indian agent looked after the other
end of the transaction and saw that the
Indian restored the Government funds to
speedy circulation by spending quickly
If not well.
On one such day there was a particu-
larly large sum coming to each Indian.
Possibly some of his very shadowy rights
10 something which he did not use and
never could use had been purchased by
the Government. AT any rate there was
a distribution which turned each warrior
loose upon the business community of
Cheyenne City with something in the
neighborhood of sa,G60
In the early stages of plains community
there are not many specimens of the
pleasure rig The rolling stock is for the
most part composed of quartermasters'
wagons and the almost equally cumbrous
ambulances used by the officers at the
post. But 1t is never long before a COM
mendable spirit of enterprise introduces
a hearse. AT the time of the great pay
ment to the CheyenneS the new hearse
was the only ornamental wheeled con-
veyance in Cheyenne City. This hearse
caught the eye of warrior with more
money under his blanket than he had ever
had before. From catching his eye it was
no long step to exciting his desires to
own that vehicle and to celebrate in style.
That's Indian nature, or at least the kind
of Indian that people know on the plains.
1t took very nearly all the money he had.
but he bought the hearse and team OF
six mules complete. There wouldn't have
been any surplus for the Indian but for
miscalculation on the part of the under
taker in setting his price. He made allow
ance for the Indians spending money a
little moro freely than was actually the
case. However, the surplus was not lost
to the general circulation of the currency.
The warrior and his squaw got on the
box seat of the vehicle and drove off in
style.
As other Indians of standing in the
tribe were encountered the hearse was
stopped and they were invited to get
aboard. When they had filled every
available inch on the roof of the convey
ance other Indian passengers were
crowded into the box and sat behind the
,rl. le- cata nj
the world When the hearse could not be
made to hold another Indian the outfit
set off at gallop on a tour of the busi
ness houses which particularly appealed
to their custom.
As their money gave out, or as they
succumbed to their too-great purchasing
power the first batch of Indians dro psd
off the hearse and fell by the Wayside,
but there were others keen to take their
places. and the vehicle passed from one
indian owner to another for very small
consideration. Never before had
hearse been concerned in such an
orgie. But through it all, some sort of
luck looked out for 1t; it had fallen to
disreputable uses, but it came through
the wild debauch without serious dam
age After the spree was oevr the last of
its succession of Indian owners took the
hearse back to the undertaken. 1t was
an elephant on the Indians hands; there
was no use for such wagon in the
Cheyenne village. and he was willing to
sell for thousand dollars, for hundred
dollars, ten, five, two bits, and a bottle
of whisky. on which last terms the trans
action was completed. 1t Is not of record
that any of the first citizens of Cheyenne
objected to being carried in this convey
ance because of its lapse from sob iety
for single day of Indian extravaganza