The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-13
In HOTEL CORRIDORS.

IN 1AO Il AllA OVAeA1AO ~ sh|s
ct have seen a good deal of Indians in
my time" said a cattleman from Okla
homa. land I am satisfied that the
Yuma Indian is the hlthiest of the lot
All Indians are dirty, but dirty does not
express it when speaking OF the Yumas.
The Indians in the Territory are models
of cleanliness when compared to the
Yumas. They live in the hottest part OF
this country and are not expected TO
wear many clothes but the Yuma VINO
has on an undershirt and a pair of over
alls is dressed entirely too warmly to
suit his notion. The women wear only
calico dress and do that under protest.
They spend almost their entire time SIT
ting in the dust and the deeper tine aust
the more contented they are. There is a
report to the effect that a few YumaS
have been known to do something else
besides roll in the dust or sit in the sun
shine. but during the time | spent In the
town of Yuma, Ariz., did not see one
who had any other ambition and De-
lieve the rumor that there have been
Yumas with other aims IN life is pure
fiction or is a garbled tradition handeo
down from the Aztec ancestors
Yuma Indian never takes bath except
when he accidentally falls into the Colo-
RADIO river and the river, when ~
reaches the Yuma country, is about as
dirty as the Indian. Verfnin do very
well when they locate on the person OF
Yuma and they are given ample time 70
raise large families before any steps are
taken to remove them When the Indian
decides that his hair is too full or lice
he goes to the river and packs his head
in mud pressing II close 10 the scalp;
He is careful to have the hair plastereo
tightlytightly in the mud and when TINS
has been done he goes back ana nes
in the sun until the mud has thoroughly
dried This requires two or three days
as it dries much quicker in that not
climate than 1T would here. When the
mud has dried he knows that all the in
sects have been killed and he goes TO the
river and soaks himself until the mud
has been washed off. This is the only
work the Yuma does and L believe ne
enjoys it because 1T has something 70 40
with dirt. 1t is a simple method or klIl-
ing verInin and is much easier than
using fine tooth comb.
Several men had been talking OF the
Galveston storm and the conversation
gradually drifted to their personal ex-
periences in that city. One OF them told
the following story: i lived in Texas
ly took me to Galveston where I soon
made friends. would go there on my
vacations frequently because l always
had good time. That was in the early
sos, some time before I was married
and / had nothing to do with my money
but spend it. One of my friends was a
man called johnson, although that was
not his real name He was a well edu-
Gated man and a good fellow in most
ways His one drawback was his bust
ness-he run a gambling room and sa-
loon. This business is not looked upon
by people in that section of the country
as it is by the people here. although I
don't mean to say that saloon-keeper
was regarded In the same light as a min
ister- However, a man could be the pro-
prietOr of a saloon in Galveston and his
family would not be ostracized socially
johnson had no family, that is he had no
wife, but he kept his father and mother
who lived in Indiana, and he kept them
we'll. too. No one knew this until after
johnson left Galveston. 1t appears that
he had left his home to seek his fortune
as many other young men have done.
His father was a poor man. but had
succeeded in giving his boy a good edu-
cation; the family was very religious
and they had taught the boy to do right
and to fear God, at least they thought
they had taught him to do so. Johnson
plainly showed his good breeding but
adversely had driven him around over
Texas and two years of that kind of
driving knocked out all the religion he
had absorbed in his youth. He develop
ed into a successful gambler and finally
opened a room in Texas and with his |
winnings purchased a saloon A year
or so after he left home his father was
partially paralyzed and from that time
on he supported both parents. He visited
them several times, but no one knew
how he explained his business to them.
He didn't tell the truth about it. that is
certain. He bought them a home and |
made investments for them in the town |
where they lived, the income of which |
was sufficient to keep them comfortable |
Things had moved along in this way for |
about ten years when one day johnson |
left town and was gone for several |
weeks. He returned and without telling |
any of his friends why he did so, sold |
his business. gave the money to charita- |
BILE institutions and disappeared. He !
was never seen there again, but the story |
afterward became current that he had |
gone on visit to his parents and while |
there was converted This story held |
good until one of the boys met johnson |
in Chicago where he was running the |
same kind of business. He laughed when |
he heard the story of his conversion and |
explained his strange behavior In this |
way: You see when I went home I |
found that some busybody who lived |
there had learned what was doing and |
had told the whole business to my moth |
er. She asked me If it was true and I |
had to confess because could not lie to |
her while she was looking at me She |
made me promise I would do as I did |
and also made me promise to go into |
some other business. Well, I did l |
bought little grocery here and I still |
own 1t, but 1 do this on the side. I talk |
grocery when go home and she has |
never asked me if did any other bust /
ness and SO long as she don't know it |
won't hurt her. I"
st have heard that the sheriffs of
California in 2 recent meeting passed |