Daily camera., 1899-04-01
INCREASE OF INDIANS
A. Many Now Is When Columbus
Discovered America
Few Have Been Killed In wars aaA
Medical Science Saves Others-Less
Liable to Extinction Since
Advent Of Whites

reiterated opinion that the North Amer
icqn Indian is becoming rapidly eN-
tinct Such an idea as this has been
made the cause for the expenditure of
a great deal of sentiment, sometimes
maudlin, about the melancholy fate of
the noble red man" 1t may surprise
some people to know that the state
ment that the American Indian is a dis
appearing race is seriously challenged.
and furthermore. il is alleged that the
numerical strength Of the race is as
great now, or very nearly 50, as it was
before the advent of the white man.
The recent outbreak of the Chippe-
was has elected the usual amount of
regretful sentiment that all Indians are
soon % be converted into good In
dians," and this has led writer to af
firm that 1.-The Indian Is not dying out,
if we are TO take the census of the best
istsasauthorities." Either the
census-taker and scientist or the SEN
timentalist is wrong. be says, and ne
proceeds to show that the error is large
ly on the par, of the sentimentalist-
The Indian has suffered from wars,
rom disease CONTRACTED from the white
men a nd from intermiNfure with the in
vading and superior people, most
common cause of race extinction; but
for all that. il present figures and IN
cient estimates are 10 be accepted. he
is very nearly holding his own. This
writer says:
The best authorities ore of the opin-
ion that the Indian population within
the confines OF the United States was
never more than 2jOO0O. 4.d that when
they were in the mo>i tJurishing con-
dition. According to the census of
1890 there were 249.213 Indians scat
tered throughout the country. Thatis
slightly Less than 25O.O0O-not enough,
however, to justify the opinion that the
Indian population is falling off. 1t is
not impossible that the 7s7 necessary
night have been raised in the round
up by the cenSus-taker. On the other
hand. it is also possible that the orig
NAL rough estimate might have
Just that much advantage of the facts.
On the other hand is the possibility that
the earliest estim ties were short of
the truth. But that we do not know
nor certain. We can only take the
opinion Of those who have given the
matter especial consideration. Even
il all are wrong, 40 long as there are
nearly quarter Of million redskins
living there need be no immediate fear
of their dying out az a race in the near
future.
Except for the two causes Of disease
and race admiNture the Indian has been
less liable to extinction since the ad
vent of tn. white man than he was
when he was the sole posses~or OF the
continent He has suffered much from
consumption and other forms of tuber-
culosis contracted from the whites. but.
of late years. at least this has beer
more than offset by better food sup
pies, medicine, etc. which contact
with the whites has given him. Race
admiXture has never been 50 marked
in the United States as in those coun-
tries occupied by the Latin races
Mexico and Central America. for in
stance, where a large portion of the in
habitants are of mixed aboriginal
as Ndi tOHNti lllt
conflicts with the whites have not been
70 destructive 10 Indian life as were
the wars among themselves, in which
whole tribes were often eNterminaied,
and no quarter given to wome and chill
dren. The whites have probably killed
no more Indians on the continent OF
North America than the Indians killed
of the whites
There are Indications that the popu-
la<ion OF North America hhd been much
more dense before the arrival of the
white man than il was when he came.
In the era OF the mound-builders there
must have been a large population
along the Cumberland river in this inn
mediate region. The large number OF
funeral grounds and the number OF
skeletons th-t have been eNhnmed are
proofs of the fact. Still there was no
re~ident population OF any kind in
this section when first discovered by
,he whites
The Indians nave been mostly crowd
cd into the west, and those that were
once in the habit of roaming over
Mst arras are now collected on small
reservations, but they are not becoming
r~pidly extinct as has been commonly
supposed Inquirer.