The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-19

Is one Of the occupations worthy of man
| in the opinion Of the Indian. so he does bis
! share of the padding As the rrafts are
/ very light the progress in favorable
| weather is rapid. Unless heavily loaoed
| the canoes paddle easily and the I-d.'.Is
/ continue the soft. steady splash for hours
without showing signs OF fatigue. A canoe
Is not built to resist storms, and the IN
| dams do moi like 10 be caught out in a
heavy wind, preferring 70 land and walt or
! il to blow over. canoe is no an easy
thing TO land, and this is consid red in
/ building a wIgwam. When jou. neyi4 g, the
Indians choose luttirg point for III IT
camps, since there is always lseward side,
where they can get in with their canoes.
Another old custom that has fingered
among the Tillagers and other OF the Chip
pewss is the method of preparing graves.
Many Of these are found near the huts
and wigwams OF the living but others are
( grouped in what might be called a ceme-
terry. A little house is built up over the
grave TO protect the spirit which is sup
posed to linger about the grave until de-
] composition sets in. Holes are bored in
the end boards in order that the spirit
may pass in and out at pleasure. In these
holes is placed food to prepare the spirit
/ for its journey into a tar country. \ pa
/ thesic and beautiful custom of which
heard may not now survive. When a lit
tie child died its mother made an image of
the lost enc. ornamented it with feathers
and carried it upon her back for year
because the child could not walk and had
to De taught and provided. for in this way.
I The childs playthings were put in the
. coffin just as the warriors accoutrements
were.
The most interesting article of aborigi-
nal design which survives and was seen
by our party was the cradle worn on the
mothers back. into which the tiny papo0se
is bound. This is a rather wide board,
around the edge of which is fastened
thin strip of wood This is filed in with
soft cotton or dry moss and on this the
baby is laid in a straight and comfortable
position. He is then covered and securely
bound into his snug nest. Over his head
is bent strip of wood from which his
baubles are hung or over which a cloth is
dTaped to protect him from the sun or
mosquitoes. When he is we'll and com
fortably in place he is hung by means of
straps over the shoulders of his mother
or older sister and thus does not in any
way interfere with his bearers daily
tasks, for he inherits strongly the power
OF quiet endurance of his race and is sat
lshed with the necessary care which his
fond mother sees that he does not lack
While ordinary utensils are used by
many Indians for most purposes. their
bark baskets and mokuks are still com
monty seen as well as grass ard reed
baskets. One of the great events of the
year is the sugar making, and hundreds
OF tons are made yearly on Leech Lake
reservation. and a proportionate amount
on other northern reservations. for the
pine forests are interspersed with much
fine hardwood. Sugar naiing is one of
the traditional arts CT the Indians. and
good quality Of sugar is made. This is
marketed 10 oirchbark LIokuks of large
size and is one Of the principal articles of
u ieI With ,te white people, although
large quantities of berries are gathered
ana solo. as well a. fish. same. and furs
some OF the Indians are beginning 10 raise
potatoes to sell.
One OF the problems of the missionaries
was TO find some profitable occupation for
the women. They were artistic and clever
with the bark bead, and basket work. but
beyond a limited sale OF such things as
curlos nothing could be done with them
When the Episcopal mission workers were
at their wits ends for solution of the
problem. Miss Sibyl Carter found a way
out. While in Japan she visited some lace
schools, and the thought occurred to her
OF turning the manual dexterity and good
ideas of design of the Indian women to-
ward this industry. Knowing the art, she
returned TO America and went to White
Earth to try the experiment. In few
weeks she had enough samples of lace work
to show that the women could learn and
that they wanted work. Funds were se-
cured TO provide teachers and now the
Chippewa women at Leech Lake. White
Earth, and Red Lake all have an oppor,
tuHity Of learning lace-making and are as
sured Of a market for their work Miss
Colby, at Leech, has about thirty women
working under her direction. After learn
ing the patterns the work is taken home
and the finished york is paid for by the
piece. The work there is needlepoint and
some beautiful specimens are turned out
Al some OF the other schools pillow lace is
also made.
In considering the life OF any of the
northern Indians 1t is very gratifying to
have Bishop Whipple's opinion that a
better day is dawning in Indian affairs
both within and without. He believes
that now the Indians are, on the whole,
beginning to use the arts Of civ. lization to
their advantage, rather than TO their
detriment, and are beginning to hold
their own once more numerically as well
as inCustrially. more inte ligent and
kindly attitude toward them Is revising
their educational system and the policy
of the Government, with view to helping
them to help themselves instead OF pau
perizing them, as well as robbing and
killing them. In this civiliZing result, as
well as in their spiritual uplift, the yener- ]
able Bishop of Minnesota. has been the
chief factor for nearly half a century.
His autobiography reads like a romance
of the age of chivalry, when knights went
about in search Of those who needed their
protection, and it is one Of the most
valuable contributions ever made to the
history Of the Indians and their wrongs