The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-02
THE GENUINE RED MEN
FEW PALE FACES KNOW HOW
 TO TRADE WITH THEM.
Curiosities of charactsr-The Indian . Very Much-Abussd Fell low-vices Fault of
 White Nsighbors.

Rocky Mountain News.
 Few white men know how to trade with an Indian" remarked c. D. Ward, of this city. who has made . study of an Indian with magnificent mount lin Il Jn skin. He was willing to part with the ornament, but his price was too high. I offered him $12.5o but he indignantly had learned to trade with an Indian. 1 bought the skin Cor N.5o.''
 |. The secret of trading with the Indian, according to Mir. Ward. is to appear in- different. TEe most successful trader is the one who goes with a supply of the same article he .s most desirous os buy irg The Indian sees that the strnng IT has had experience. and negotiations are carried on upon a strictly business basis TOW. It was bought for q by a man who carried seye al bows and arrows In his hand. This willy individual leased the supply from store In order to in,- press his copps-'cciored friends, and lie
 "The Indian.- said MT. Ward in speaking of traits of character he has observed in his red friends Ifs one of the most faithful followers in the world if he has confidence in you, If he takes liking to you. there is nothing you can ask he will not do. If he disiikes you, the less you have to do with that Indian the better
 u0 luuihH NGTv tuuCh audoC0 fellow, and he has ncver been treated as he deserved to be by the white man. His vices are largely the fault of his white neighbors, and one of the greatest dan Eers ra that threatens Ss 1hs lnsn rsSs ports declare that the Indian who went to Europe with Wild West aggregations were a lasting menace to their people when they returned home They had con tracted all the vices and none of the vir- tileS nf the white
 "The nature of the Indian cannot be learned from books. 1t must be studied by actual contact. So far as I have ob- served, all ths Indians are Catholics. of the Roman Catholic religion. and 1t Is indeed a peculiar mixture. You can't eradicate the Indian nature by any ed- ucation. and it is a mistake to send In- dians away to school. They should be ed- ucated at home among their own people. and their progress ought to be gradual, otherwise the whole race will soon dis appear. Our Government has been in too great hurry. Let the Indian develop along fines congenial to his nature. and something may come out of all the ex- pense and time devoted to the solution Of the Indian problem. My idea Is that the Indian Is all right, but his ways are not our ways. Let us give him a chance and give him time to work out his salvation. A Carlisle Indian gets the swelled head and one such Indian may spoil an entire village. He is over-edncated and in the end he is worse off than at the begin ming"
 MT. Ward says his investigations show that 90 per cent. of the Indians die Of tuberculosis. Whether the disease was introduced by contact with the whites he does not know. This is a subject that is receiving the attention of the authori- ties at Washington, and is regarded as one of the most important subjects Of in- vestigation by those who, are interested In hA .r11fu af the fhht dnrn- mated the continent.
 'The customs of the various tribes is a never-ceasing topic of interest" said MT. Ward. After white man lives awhile among the Indians he is gradually taken into their confidence and shown many curious performances, all of which have a meaning to the scientist. One Summer down among tMe Apaches I was invited great medicine dance. This ceremony has from time immemoriai been performed on the banks of a stream that nows into Sinking Lake, twenty-five miles from are built, one on each bank of the stream. Tae women take their places in one ar- bOr and lasts two days.
 Tt commences at sunrise when the ground with their feet in the water. They lie perfectly still, the water moving past and, according to their belief. carrying their sins of the last year down the lake. On the morning oh tne seconu osy wss hardly secured them tightly when in an instant at a signal the two lines of men ard women arose to stanoinT posn 1N and began Tapping their blankets in the air. The noise was almost deafening. The Tapping was continued while the ln- dians stood with their toes in the water. They were shaking the evil spirits into the stream and causing them to be car red down to the laxe and drowned. The eArennOnv is somewhat in the nature of an atonement Of the Jews. After the re- ligious part of the business is over all join Tn dancing and gambling, and a sea son of feast..S And eniayms II follows These Indians are Catholics. but no in- hIence can prevent them from continL-