The Tucson citizen., 1902-01-25
THE REFORMATION OF THE INDIAN.

The noble red man is to be reformed,
and. perhaps. made white eventually,
by new regulations regarding his uresS
and toilet that have just peen issued
by order of the Interior Department.
Tne way in which the hair is worn has
more than once annoyed rulers. In
the days of Cromwell the Irish wore
the hair long, the style being called the
"coulin" and the English regarded 1t
as a defiance of English authority and
ordered the coulin cut off. Needless to
say the couln was not cut, and nine
tenth of the people of Ireland We're
nicknamed "coulins." Later on. IN
1913 when the United Irishmen organ
lied to give John Bull passport from
their island, in imitation of their
American cousins, those who were
identified with the movement cut the
hair, and become known as "croppies.
Long hair then became popular with
the English and it was not unusual to
have croppies hanged by the roadside,
presumably to discourage that style of
hair wear. Soon after the close of the
American civil war when the Fenian
movement was inaugurated in Ireland,
chin whiskers became popular with
the people in imitation of an American
style. and the English filled the jails in
Ireland with administered men to
compel a more elaborate use of raZOrs.
But the chin whisker. like the coulin
and the croppy, survived just as long
as it was prosecuted and then gradual
ly disappeared as a characteristic.
Now comes Ethan Allen Hitchcock.
who lives at st. Louis when at home,
but who is at present officiating as
Secretary of the Interior at Washing
ton. with a great idea to solve the
Indian problem. He has discovered just
what makes the red man bad. and, in
the language of the diplomat, has in
structed his agents to apply the rem
edy and make him good. No more will
Lo go careering over the plains whoop-
ing and yelling. and occasionally pot
ting" a pale face ION the side" Never
again will he have fresh meat in his
tepee, cOincident with the unlawful
killing and mutilatiOn of cattle which
the ranchers Craze on his reservation,
but will take the food the agent gives
him and be properly grateful to the
Great CHIEF whose wigwam is on the
banks of the Potomac. Even the horses
OF his pale face neighbor may wander
from their corrals, even unto his viii !
lage, and he w..l not look upon them
with covetous eyes, for his neart will
be- as that OF a little child, knowing no
guile
The whole thing is settled. The puzzle
which worried all of Mr.. Hitchcock's
predecessors in office has been un-
rayeled, and like many other great
discoveries. has proved to be extremely
simple. 1t is not the giving OF justice,
it is not the proper feeding OF the
wards of the nation it is not the
cutting off OF the supply of fire. water
more effectually, but simply the cut
ting of the red mans hair No longer
may the zephyrs Of the prairie or the
breezes Of the mountain lovingly daily
with the raven tresses of Rain-in-the-
Face The order to cut has been issued,
and on every reservation the locks of
the braves are expected to cover the
ground as the leaves Of autumn. Secre-
tary Hitchcock's long residence in
China has taught him that long hair
ed men rarely develop the highest
virtues, and with fathcrIy solcitude
fc a. derreed that those undtr his
guardianship shall have this impedi-
ment to their progress remove |. Al
most every agent IN charge of an in
dian reservation. it is said has received
a circular letter through Commissioner
Jones' instructng him to forbid in the
wearing of long hair by the male In
dams under his charge.
The refined soul of Mr. Hltcncock re-
volts at the awful practice OF the In
dians-both male ana femaIe--of paint
ing their faces But why did not Mr.
Hitchcock begin his reform nearer
home? Did he ever notice the faces OF
a majority Oh the lauIes at an evening
reception at the White House? Did he
ever scan closely the ladies assembled
around his own nOspitable table? Even
In centers of the highest civilization
the awful practice of painting the face
prevails. He cannot stop 1t in those
places, for ne would find it rather diff
ficult to cut off the rations of all the
fashionable folk who indulge In the
reprehensible practice, and when they