The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-09-22

of Slain Medicine Wan of the
slonx.
~ JEWELLERS and collectors Of
n cu1ios rece. tly awtke to the fac.
that elk tushes We're scarce and
! valuable. From a few cents the
= u price of good tush went up,
and up until at present it is
worth So or mere. The cause of this rise,
is the, demand for them by members Of
the Order of Ell1s who use them for orra-
ments. The tusl1es CT an elk have the
same position in its jaw as these of a
boar, but instead Of being long, slender
and sharp pointed like the boars they
are thin and fat, with an outline much
like that of a pear. The outer surface is
covered With substance known to nat
uralists as worried, much . finer. grained
than true ivory and shading from pure
brown at the end. . ...., gs...
When the Old Timer learned that elk
tushes had become so valuable, he men
tally kicked himself. In earlier years
when collecting curios from the Indians,
bows, shields, quivers and all sorts Of
useful and ornamental articles of native
manufacture, he had acquired, for the
small equivalent of two bottles Of fire
water, string Of several thousand tushes
But, alas! In a generous. and irresponsible
moment, he had presented them to an
acquaintance and a tenderfoot at that,
who thought that they would look well
in the collection of curios he had in his
Eastern home However, there was no
use of bewa;!iDg shis luck, so he hitched
up team and drove over to the reser-
tushes from the Indians at oldtime prices
and make fortune. In a couple of hours
he drew up in front of the home Of Wide
eared-bug. The Old Timer hitched his team
and smoked a pipe with the Wide-eared-
bug. They talked of other days. Of thei1
buffalo hunts and their wanderings over
the great plains. Finally the Old Timer
brought the conversation around to the
subject he was Interested in-elk tusbes.
"Rul-heads three wives" said the old
Indian in answer to a question. "the
your~est wife of Half-bear and the
daughter Of Duclsfoot still have dresses
ornamented with the tushes Of the elk:
all tie rest have none. Where? Why
they have been buried with their owner
of course Few. few indeed of those
YOU used to know remain with us. One
by one they have become weary and
their spirits have departed to the. Sand
hills IS 81. 81
This was Encouraging news; however
making his host present of tobacco
tho Old vTiYocr toS bo 20
lilies mentioned. in turn, and tried to buy
their elk tushes, dresses and all. Not
one of them would sell; they sad they
wished to keep the dresses, which were
heirlooms. and when they died to be-
buried in them. so they might present 9
good appearance when, thew arrived al
the Sand Hills and met all those who
had gone before F.s
''Why, what an, idea." said the Oli
Timers better half when he related hi:
experience that evening. The idea o.
those Cd. wrink'ed squaws wearing dre=se,
worth a thouGand or two dollars, wher
It's all I can do to keep myself supplied
with 1C-cent calico! Why, there ISM
a white woman in Montana who owns {
dress worth that much: I'm sure
"Well,' the Old Timer said there's {
man in MOI tara who is going to owr
one or two of them and he is sitting If
front OF you and talking to you righ
now. Maria, I'm going to rob some OF
those sqTaw graves. What do you say?'
he continued. turning to the scribbler
Twill you go in with me? believe We
can make a stake, and even if we don't
it will he kind of exciting. anyhow"
Tho Scrfhh1or 1ri11ir
afternoon the would-be grave robbers
saddled their horses and struck of
through the hills for the reservation
taking route by, which they would be
unlikely to meet any one, Indian OF
white. The Old Timer knew that wife
Of Elk Moon, long since Dead had owned
beautiful tush--garnished gown. If he
could find her grave he was sure that
the expedition would be successful. The
sun was setting when they climbed a
high ridge commanding a view of Elk
Moons camp Dismounting before they
reached the top, they crept cautiously
to the crest. and with their glasses swept
the valley below There was the camp
half a dozen rude cabins and /as many
tepees, nesting In the edge of cotton
wood grove which fringed the river. Be
tween the timber and the foot Of the hill
4. level, open fat some two or three
hundred yards wide INTERVIEWED Then,
bench after bench. the ridge rose in a
steep incline to where the two men lay
concealed in the grass. On the first of
t',ese benches. but a few yards above the
level of the valley, and directly opposite
the camp. were toe graves they sought,
a rumber Of rude, rough board boxes
resting on the ground. The Indians of
the plains. worshipecs of the sun and
light, will not consent to have their dead
lowered into deep, damp hole and COW
cred with earth. Formerly their dead
were wrapped in robes and dashed on a
5scaffold or in the branches of a tree. and
this is still done where boards to make
coffin cannot be obtained, as is often
the case
BY the time the two men had finished
their cold meat and bread and washed
it down with a bottle of beer it was dark,
and leading their horses they slowly
descended the hill to the graves. There
were nine Of them in all, five side by
side on the ground, the other four form.
ing a second tier. The Old Timer at once
began to pry the cover off the nearest
one with Ratchet. The: rusty nails
squeaked loudly, and inyoluntarily both
men held their breath and listened, Won
ldering if the harsh. grating sound had
been heard over at the camp, where the
lodges were lit up by the evening fires,
and whence came the hum of voices
through the still night air.
q guess they didn' hear u.s. said the
Old Timer presently, and with mighty
wrench he tore the cover completely off.
The Scribbler had brought an. electric
pocket lamp. and, pressing the spring,
flooded the interior of the box with light
fer a second. disclosing to view a long
roll Of quilts tightly bound and laced with
.rawhide thongs They lifted the bundle
out. placed it on the ground, cut the