Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-10-21

est copper color, her teeth are pearls,
her nose is small and regular and she
has the roundest, prettiest black eyes
that are always twinkling and glisten-
ing, although they seem TO he set very
far back in her little head. Again, she
has such a rich, deep voice, full OF
sound, not at all the kind OF a voice
you would expect from such n little
bit of humanity.
"She wears frock of many colors,
d red shawl, and altogether she is a
picture worth coming all the way to
Brazil to study and find out about.
"At any rate, / think so now, and l
stood il all until one day last week,
when / gave UP trying to down my
curiosity, or, as you may call il, If you
like, my affection. She was just get
ting ready to depart, as usual, when |
said to her:
"Pinta, I am going to follow you
today
"'follow me, Masuka, into the
woods?'
eyes, Pinta, have said it,
"'Will Masuka tell Pinta what he
will do in the woods?'
lie VIII see WntTt Ilntd BoSS,
what she does, how she lives, and per-
haps the old Hoop will tell him his
fortune
Masuka, there is death in the air.
DO not follow me-
"Pinta, there Is life in your eyes
Masuka, there are Indians in the
bushes. They watch for Pinta, they
take care of her.
"Pinta, what is the name you have
given me%
Masuka, which is the good one
"'Then let Masuka follow, for Pinta
has secret and / am going to find
out what it is
"'Oh, Masuka, there are no more
roses for Pinta's hair.
"Why not, my child"
"Oh, Masuka, there are no more
kisses for the hand that is soft and
kind
Little Pinta, must know why
"'Then Masuka must follow me-
did you ever hear anything like
that In your lie, Hans?
"To hear the people talk and to read
about these Indians you might sup
pose them to be but one or two de-
grees removed from grubs. Here is
Pinta, however, an Indian child. She
PAYS few visits to a convent, she is
shown picture Of the Madonna, she
mixes with n few people in the market
place, and lo she is now charming,
Intelligent, and something more won
der:ul still, which / am going to tell
you about.
"When she saw there was no help
for it. she picked up her bundle, poised
il gracefully on her head and walked
away down the back streets, past the
wharves and the railroad station, and
then struck into the sandy highway
Just beyond the old wooden bridge to
the north of the city. l followed her.
after a while we took to an Indian
path and then headed straight for the
mountains.
Honestly, Hans, as the plot thick
ened, / began TO ask myself certain
practical questions, and the answers
were not very fiattering either TO my
manhood or to my common sense. In
the end | came to the conclusion that
| was a fool, but at the same time
determined to continue in my course
of folly.
at noon Pinta produced some
fruit and some dried meat, on which
we dined. That night slept in the hut
of an Indian, perhaps fifteen miles
from the city.
an the morning Pinta came to the
door and said Follow
"Pinta, where have you passed the
night?' ! asked.
"In the bushes, Masuka. Pinta
never enters a house, only the hole in
the ground where the grandmother
lives. She is the grandmother because
she found me and saved my life. That
is ALL
II was getting bewildered. | found
new mystery at every step. The peo
pie we chanced to meet acted very
strangely. They all seemed to know
Pinta, but | couldn't understand why
they should take to the bushes at oul
approach and give us wide berth
At the same time they shouted JOY
fully at the girl as If wishing her well
and once when l happened to lool
back | saw some of the wretched half
breeds down on their knees in the
footpath. They appeared to be hunt
ing for Pinta's footmarks, and wher
they found them they fell to kissing
| them, which added to my surprise
while Pinta seemed unwilling to give
any explanation. So we travelled fol
two days, and on the evening of the
second we came TO the bank of rivel
and found an Indian in a canoe wait
ing for us.
Just how many hours during thu
night we padded through the forests
| cannot say. Pinta sat at one end o
the canoe. | at the other, and the In
dian stood up in the middle. / slep
like log for hours. In the morning
when | looked round / found the ca
noe had been made fast to the bank o
| the river. The Indian was chewing
away at 4 piece of dried meat, ant
Pinta sat at the waters edge, waiting
for me.
1--WE entered the forest, land in fev
minutes came TO kind of clearing
and then noticed number OF misera
BILE huts or novels scattered here am
| there along the bank of the stream
1t was a settlement of some kind, bu
whether the inhabitants were animal
or human beings / couldn't at frs
make out.
Il was just beginning to wonde
what il all meant when / heard pro
longed howl or wall, which seemed t
come from all parts of the settlement
Then the dreadful truth began t
dawn upon me. l stood still an
watched them, but Pinta hurried for
ward, and soon became the center of
group of creatures such as / have n
language to describe.
For the most part they wer
covered with horrible scabs and sores
some were fipgerless, some toeless
others sightless, all of them dread
fully sallow and hairless.
"Hans nv how can YOU imagine 10