The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1902-11-07
TRAITS OF THE RED MEN.
Cariosities of Indian Character That
Are Pulling to the Pale
Face Stranger.

with an Indian" remarked c. +. Ward,
OF this city. who has made a
study of Indians for ten wears
past, says the Denver Rocky Noun
tain News. II once met an. In
dlan with magnificent mountain lion
skin. He was willing to part with the
ornament, but his price was too high.
offered him $12. so, but he Indignantly
refused. Later, on the same day, after
had learne.! 20 trade with an Indian, I
bought the skin for $780,
The secret of trading with the In
Dian, according to Mr.. Ward is to APP
pear Indifferent. The most successful
trader IS the onetwho goes with sup
ply OF The same article he is most de-
s1rous of buying. The Indian seestthat
the stranger has had experience, and
negotiations are carried on upon
surety business basis. An Indian re-
fused ten dollars for a bow and ar
row. 1t was bought for one dollar by
man who carried several bows and
arrows in his hand This willy indi-
V1o"al leased the supply from a store
IN order to impress his copper colored
friends, and he succeeded.
The Indian said Sir. Ward, in
speaking of traits ofcharacter he has
observed in his red friends, SIS one of
the most faithful followers in the
world, il he has confidence in YOU. If
ne wakes liking to you, there is moth
ing you can ask he will not do. If he
dlsllkes' you, the less you have to do
With that Indian the better.
The Indian is very much abused
fellow, and he has never 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 dangers that threatens the In
dian race is the travelling shows. The
government reports declare that the
ladlans who went to Europe with wild
VEST aggregations were a lasting men,
ace to their people when they returned
home. They had contracted all the
wees and none of the virtues of the
white men.
THE nature of the Indian cannot be
ie earned from books. 1t must be stud
led by actual contact. So far as have
observed, all the Indians are Cath olics.
Ihey graft their own ideas on to that
OF the Roman Catholic religion, and it
Is indeed peculiar mixture. You can't
eradicate the Indian nature by any
education, and it is mistake to send
Indians away to school. They should
be educated at home among their own
people, and their progress ought to be
gradual, otherwise the whole race will
soon disappear. Our government has
oeen IN toosgreat hurry. Let the In
clanfdevetop along lines cohgenial to
MS nature, and something may come
out of,all the expense 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 chance and give him time
to work out his salvation. A Carlisle
Indian gets the s'weLled head. and che
such Indian may spoil an entire village.
He is over-educated. but in the end he
is worse off than at the beginning
Mr.. Ward says his Investigations
show that 80 per cent. of the Indians
die of tuberculosis. Whether the dis
the whites he does. not know. This is
a subject that.is receiving he attention
of the authorities at Washington. and is
regarded as one of the most important
subjects of Investigation by those who
are interested in the survival of the
race that once dominated the conti-
nent.
"The customs of the various tribes
is a never-ceasing topic of interest,""
said Mr.. Ward. "Aftera white man lives
awhile among the Indians he is grad
ualiy taken into their confidence. and
shown many curious performances. all
OF winch have meaning to the scien-
tas't. One summer down among the
Apaches | was invited by the chiefs to
be present at their great medicine
dance. This ceremony has from time
immemorial been performed en- the
banks of a stream that flows into
Sinking lake, 25 miles from Duilce,
n. NJ. Two large brush arbors are %
be it, one on each bank of the stream.
The women take their places in one
arbcr and the men in the other. The
ceremony lasts two days.
ut commences at sunrise when the
men and women are seen lying en- the
ground with their feet in the water.
They lie perfectly still. the water NOV
ing past, and. according to their | ,lief,
carrying their sins of tie last wear
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 a
signal the two lines of men and wom-
en- arose to a standing position and
began Tapping their blankets in the
air. The noise was almost dea fleming.
The Tapping was continued while the
indians stood with their tees in the
water. They were shaking the evil
spirits into the stream and causing
them to be carried down to the lake
and drowned. The ceremony is some
what in the nature of an atonement of
the Jews. After the religious part of
the business is over all join in dancing
and gambling, and season of feasting
and enjoyment follows. These In
dams are Catholics. but no influence
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