The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-06-27

outside Of the building for several feet.
Bunks are ranged along the walls in the
interior, all the family and visitors sleep
ing In the same room. I am told that
these houses last for several years. They
!, are made by setting up yoles and weaving
slough grass from one pole to another
until the house Is completed when it looks
like an inverted bushel basket"
What IS the moral status Of the trfbe?'
1T is good. I have heard a great deal
about loose morals prevailing among In
dams but so far as the Wichitas are con-
cerned they do not deserve the general
reputation Of their race. They are not
immodest. OF course they do things
/ that white people would not do, but it is
mostly because Of their childlike nature"
What is their disposition towards
/ cleanliness?"
THE women 90 bathing twice a day IN
/ the river, early in the morning and again
later. The children are in the water all
the time during hot weather. The men
/ battle frequently but not so often as the
women It is no uncommon thing, early
IN the morning to see q dozen squaws
trooping silently down to the river throw
/ of their loose sheet like robes and jump
into the water. Their solemn silence DUR
ing these aquatic visits is something that
L am able to account for. The women
can swim as well as the men and they
remain q long time in the water"
DO the Wichitas practice poIygamy?'
mo. not quite. Sometimes they get
tired of living with one wife and desert
her for another and so on, but the prac-
tice Is disappearing. The old chiefs gem
orally call the offender onthe carpet and
straightens him out. If they can't do
anything else with him they make him
support the children"
One Of the Indian characteristics that
struck Judge MuseIler most impressively
was the Red Mans lack Of curiosity. "As
We were driving into one Indian camp"
he said, Eve met a boy driving pigs We
had a gorgeous government outfit and
large retinal, but that boy who was about
seven years old, paid absolutely no at
tention to US. He probably never saw
such sight before, but he went on driv-
ing his pigs. That boy actually made me
mad on account OF his lack of curiosity.
I afterwards found many instances of
Indifference equally as striking"
Have the Wichitas any romance In
them?"
I heard one young rellow singing an
Indian love song. but that was ell the
indication of racial romance I found
among them. He was gracefully riding a
horse in the twilight and singing some
thing plaintive. I asked the Interpreter
what he was saying anu he told me he
was singing a Wichita love song. I have
heard other Indians sing, but the music
seemed to be perfunctory. There was
no soul IN it
Bread" said Judge Musener. you
never saw the like Of the bread those
Wichita squaws bake in dutch ovens. 1t
is light and white and tastes very sweet.
don't know what they put in it but It is
the finest bread I have ever eaten"
Judge Museller's observations on Wich-
ita Indian fashions would be interesting
TO local dressmakers but he had scarcely
launched into a technical description of
the swell dresses worn by the squaws
when his watcn admonished him that
Santa Fe trains GO not wait for DISORDERS
Of fashion and he was compelled TO leave. |
Judge Musener is a mighty bright man
and his experience with the Indians IS
valuable TO him.