The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-03

pess, They are fully up to the average
height of the white man, and their
Droad shoulders indicate that they sDrang
from o1g-brained people. The women
men, and their faces betoken quick In
tellgence. All are dressed in the habits
OF the whites, the men in cottonade trou-
sers and calico shirts and the women
in calico skirts andabright -colored waists
or Jerseys. In their intercourse with the
outside world they speak the Creole
pato1s, but between themselves still use
er1s,' says one who visited them. and
can be Hkened to nothing so much as
10 the tWittering of birds Their spoken
language differs from all others Of our
known Indians. 1t; is made up Of labials
ana slb1lants. and each syllable seems
of sharp brevity The absence of gut
tural sounds makes their speech sound
more like an attempt of low whisper
ing, which, with the short syllables. pro-
duces the tittering sound. 1t is observ-
able that they do not keep any Of the
festivals ostensibly nor follow any of
though in the close communion among
themselves the old rites may be per-
formed and the commemoration kept UP
in secrecy.
ARE SKILEFUL ARTISANS.
In discriminating they are masters Of
the art. North Of Mexico they excel
all tribes in the exquisite delicacy of
their workmanship and the beauty of
their coloring. These baskets are wrought
OF simple cane, but so deftly thinned and
skinned, that they present the appear
ance of the finest material. In detach-
ing the hair cuticle from the ordinary
wild cane, they skillfuIly utilize their fin
ger nails and the various dyes are put
on before they begin to weave. These
colors are imperishable, and it Is alleged
that despite tempting offers, they have
perslstently refused to divulge the mys-
terry OF their manufacture. phenom-
nT 40 T1T~n 49,
nuity and conception, is that no designs
are alike in the makeup of their bas-
Kets. Divers patterns are embraced in
each design, yet so unified in the COM
Ilete composition, as to eVtnce high Or
der of taste and talent. Their baskets
are difficult to obtain. The larger ones
made double, with exterior designs and
PLAIN interior, and so closely woven as to
hold water, are valued at $40, and the
smaller ones are SIS. They are only made
to order. and even then, coaxing and
caJolery have to be used to induce their
acceptance of the commission.
LIVE QUIETLY AND FRUGALLY.
Being of frugal habits, they live on the
most economical basis, their compare
lively scanty subsistence being derived
from this basket work and light labor.
Their wants are few, their dietetic regime
much restricted, and coffee is the only
article of which they appear to be i'm
moderately fond. They live so exclu-
s1VeIy from the whites on the planta-
tons that they are almost entirely ig-
nored by them, and nothing ever seems
to develop to break the almost super
natural quiet and repose that hover over
their homes Recognizing female equal
lty, the remnant of twenty-five or thirty
Indians now left, is ruled by a queen
the chief having died, and in process Of
time, the chain which is riveted with so
many historical events, connected with
the early colonial days, rusted with age,
will break, and not a link, which united
the great Indian nation Of that section
of territory, be eft1whereby to trace the
trepid race