The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-21
SEMINOLE INDIANS CLING
TO ANCIENT TRADITIONS

the holy church, it was a war for plum
der and riches. On the part of our ma
tional government the motive was not
much more honorable in characteristic
forcing and deportation of these people
from the homes they had occupied from
time immemorial.
TO the Seminole Indian there is no
land like Sunny Florida and to him
there is no home like the green islands
or hammocks within the Everglades.
10 him 1t possesses history and ro-
nance of his past; at present 1t af-
fords him his ideal home The greater
part of the Everglades is mysterious
and UNEMPLOYED land; deep silence
pervades everywhere. Once lost with
in its labyrinths the adventurer is
doomed unless rescued. Only the In
dian who comes and glides quietly in
his canoe is familiar with its paths,
and but few, even adventures, or ma
tives living on its borders, have pen
etrated its depths. Numerous govern
ment expeditions have traversed the
borders from one point to another.
Three hundred and eighty-slx years
have passed since Ponce de Leon, in
search of the Fountain of YOUTH" re-
ported that 1.-The Miami river ran
through Is leagues of country and
rises out of another lake (Okeechobee)
of fresh water which is frequented by
Indians"
1t is not without it's romance. The
cacique of the naughty "Caribs'' held
his court on this island, until forced
south by the more powerful foe, the
present race. Here the buccaneer was
wont to seclude himself with his plum
der free from pursuit Here the early
missionaries. bearing the cross of
Christ, planted or erected rude house
of worship and hallowed the ground
with their life blood. Still later it be-
came the retreat of the Seminoles in
the war commencing in 1885 and end
ing in 1S43, when for eight years they
defied the whole force of the national
government. Here they rest at pres
ent, remnant which the government
found impossible to remove after ex-
pending more than s5000O,0OO. The
Seminoles were shorn of their strength,
but never surrendered. From that
time until the last few years they have
been practically abandoned by the
government and no efforts have been
made to interfere with them in any
manner. Of the government they have
asked or desired nothing A few years
ago some effort was made by the
Indian Rights association to benefit
their condition by erecting church,
school and dwellings, but they refused
to accept the proffered gifts. The eff
forts of the last 300 years to civilize
strong opposition.
A part of the existence of the young
Seminole is the instilling into his mind
of a hatred of the white mans ways
Physically, these Indians have re-
tanned all the characteristics of the
early aborigines, with but little change
since they greeted Ponce de Leon and
Narvaez. They retain the same pecu
liarity of dress; the men still wearing
the short tunic reaching to the knees,
and the bright colored turban with
plumes, as described by Melendez 300
years ago Physically the Seminole is
the finest specimen of the aborigne
found on this continent-tall, erect,
free from excess of flesh, even as age
approaches, strong and capable of
great endurance. No foreign blood or
hereditary disease communicates his
blood, their system of laws prohibiting
the marrying of the sexes within the
slightest degree of consequently. Early
marriages are forbidden, the young
man not being allowed to marry until
20 years old, and the young woman u,
and the result is a fine lot of healthy
children physically perfect. The Sem
mole is made of a better and lighter
clay than the majority of his Indian
brothers, and, in addition, the clay is
not mixed with degenerate earths His
constant existence in the open air, his
simple dress and the laws governing
his ordinary existence tend to the
highest physical development.
The ordinary dress of the women is