The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-10-19
HABITS OF THE INDIAN.


OF the he0 MAN..
Denver News.
Few white men know how to trade
with an INDIAN remarked C. E. Ward.
OF this city. who has made a study OF In
dams for ten years past. II once met an
Indian with a magnificent mountain lion
skin. He was willing TO part with the
ornament, but his price was too high. l
offered him sl2.5. but he Indignantly re-
fused. Later. on the same day. after 4
had learned how to trade with an Indian
/ bought the skin for 1.O."
The secret of trading with the Indian,
according TO MIR. Ward, is TO appeal indif-
ferent. The most successful trader Is the
articles he is most DESTROYS of buying:
The Indian sees that the stranger mas nad
experience. and negotiations are carried on
upon a strictly business basis. An lnu.an
for 81 by a man who carried sew
eral bows and arrows in his hand. This
willy individual leased the supply from a
store in order to impress his copper-coiored
The Indian said Mr.. Ward, in speak
ing of traits of character he has observed
in his red friends, " Is one or the most
faithful followers in the world If he has
confidence in you. If he takes a liking TO
you there is nothing you can ask he will
not do. If he dislikes you, the less you
have to do with that Indian the better.
The Indian is a very much abused feiiow'
and he has never been treated as ne de-
served to be by the white man. His vices
are largely the fault of his white neigh.
bors, and one Of the greatest dangers tnat
threatens the Indian race Is the travelling
shows. The government reports declare
that the Indians who went to Europe with
Wild West aggregations were a lasting
menace to their people when they re-
turned home. They had contracted all the
vices and none of the virtues OF the white
men.
learned from books. 1t must be studied by
actual contact. So far as 1 have observed.
all the Indians are Catholics. They graft
their own ideas onto that of the Roman
Catholic religion. and 1t is indeed a peculiar
mixture. You can't eradicate the Indian
nature by any education, and 1t Is a mis-
take to send Indians away to school. They
own people, and their progress ought to be
gradual, otherwise the whole race Will soon
disappear. Our government has been In
too great a hurry. Let the Indian develope
along lines ~congenial to his nature. and
something may come out of all the expense
and time devoted to the solution of the In
dian 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 swellhead. and one SUCH
Indian may spoil an entire village. He is
overeducated, but in the end he is worse of
than at the beginning"
Mr.. Ward says his Investigations show
that q. per cent. of the Indians die OF
troduced by contact with the whites he
does not know. This Is a subject that Is
receiving the attention of the authorities
at Washington, and is regarded as one OF
the most important subjects of investiga-
ton by those who are interested In the sur
vival of the race that once dominated the
continent.
1.-The customs of the various tribes is a
never ceasing topic of interest,"" said Mr..
Ward. After a white man lives a while
among the Indians he is gradually taken
Gus performances, all of which have a
meaning to the scientists. One summer
down among the Apaches. / was invited by
the chiefs to be present at their great medi-
cine dance. This ceremony has from time
immemorial been performed or the banks
of a stream that flows into Blinking lake.
large brush arbors are built. one on each
bank of the stream. The women take their
places In one arbOr and the men In the
other. The ceremony lasts W. days. 1t
women are seen lying on the ground with
their feet in the water. They lie perfectly
still, the water moving past and. accord
ing to their belief. carrying their sins of the
last year down to the lake. On the morning
of the second day we were warned to hold
our horses, and had hardly secured them
tightly when in an instant at d signal the
two lines OK men and. women arose to a
standing position and began Tapping their
blankets in the air. The noise was almost
deafening. The Tapping was continued
while the Indians stood with their toes IN
the water. They were shaking the evil
spirits into the stream and causing them to
be carried down to the lake and own
The ceremony is somewhat in the nature Of
an atonement Of the Jews. After the reli-
gious part of the business Is over all join
in dancing and gambling, and q season Of
feasting and enjoyment follows. These In
dams are Catholics. but no influence can
prevent them from continuing their ancient
practices"
Mr.. Ward Witnessed the barharous prac-
tice of pulling a rooster out of the sand
and tearing the rooster to pieces. This
ceremony takes place every September at
Taos, and is attended by great crowds
from long distances in the mountains. The
rooster is buried in a sand heap, his head
p~rotruding. The game consists of riding
the helpless fowl out of the sand pile by
Selling its head. The Indians ride In OPP
posite directions so as to reach the spot
at the same moment; each man grabs at
the head, n IL one of them succeeds in
capturing the rooster he is set upon by the
others. A violent conflict ensues. and when
the dust has cleared away the pieces of the
mile along the racetrack. The delight and
excitement of the spectators appear to be
almost beyond control. The air is rent by
shouts and cries of the friends of the con-
testants, and days pass before the ordinary
condition of affairs is restored.
These strange freaks of human nature
are inexplicable to Mr.. Ward. who is still
whims and caprices. his good traits and
his bad, and ultimately a philosophical ex-
PLANTATION of the unique customs and habits
of thought may be reached.