The National tribune., 1903-12-03

IReSe wore no hats or bonnetS. they
had on a kind of shirt or waist made of
calico. with skirt of some coarse ma
terial. their arms bare TO the shoulders:
buckskin moccasins The Creeks are much
Stouter and taller than the Cherokees.
Thei. looks indicated that they lived well
and had plenty To eat. but their surround
ings We're outlandish and uncivilized
that l could not understand how anybody,
even an Indian, could enjoy life in such
a place.
They really seemed too lazy to speak
They could speak some English. An old
buck said to us: Where goie?' We said:
To &rbuekle; have you been there!" He
shook his head and said: Far far, belly
far"
Leaving Creek Agency we soon struck
the prairies again. Sometimes we march
ed 10 or IL miles on nice low prairie, and
then came 10 sand ridges again with small
stunted timber.
We eventually came into the Seminole
country. Like the Creeks the Seminoles
had few houses. frame buildings, built.
| suppose by the Government when they
removed them from Florida. They had
built some log cabins for themselves. of
rude construction. though much more com
Portable than the wigwam of the Western
tribes | did not see these people in large
numbers. but from what | saw of them
they were by far the most civilized and
intelligent Of all the tribes | ever saw. Per
sonaily they were more sociable than the
other tribes: and they seemed to have grear
confidence in the white man. They We're
of large stature. like the Creeks. Some
ing fellows. Like all Indians. they wore
their hair Iong-that is. the men. They
never clip their hair. but cut it square, or
straight around the neck. so that the ends
come down to their shoulders. These
Seminole squaws never cut their hair like
.. l.
tribes Instead they had their tresses
loose. coming to their waists. strip of
bHckskin instead of ribbon to tie them at
the back of the head. Some of the young
women had fancy beadwork sewed on n
strip of buckskin. to keep their hair back.
Most all of these women that | saw were
stout and healthy looking. The men were
all hunters. as their appearance would in
diratc. rs they wore hardly anything eX
cept buckskin. which all Indians can tan
10 perfection. They wore coon-skn caps:
the coats and pants We're of buckskin. and
most of them wore mOccaSns Of the same
material Their shirts were made of
bright or hashy-lookinS calico, which they
never wore tucked inside of their pants,
as we do. Instead. they We're made short.
and always worn loose on the outside of
the pants.
The squaws wore calico dresses: red
was their favorite in dress goods. These
dresses were OF very pecuiar muhe, duh
of course. did not correspond with the
latest fashion plates from Paris. but they
answered the purposes all the same. Their
rode of dressmaking was very simple.
They sewed together two widths of calico
the length of the dress TO be, then sewed
the top or upper part together from each
side. leaving an opening large enough to
admit the head TO come through, cut slit
on each side to allow the arms to g0l
through. and short opening at the front
and girdle or belt around the waist. tn
make the dress conform to the body. and |
there she was! Their arms were bare to
the shoulders The young women wore
bracelets or some fancy bead work around
their arms. Their feet We're encased in
moccasins of buckskin. with. fancy beads
md such trinkets as they had worked in.
They were cut high. coming above the
ankles. Some of these young girls. with
healthy. plump figures and beautiful teeth
like pearls. which they showed when they
iarghed .at MS youngsters when we played
tricks on each other. were not hideous. 7
never saw n real beautiful Indian wom-
~. but must confess that these Seminole !!
gir!s eape nearer to, being beauties than
any other Indians have seen.
The small boys gave MS an exhibition of
their craftsmanship. with bow and arrow.
'-ilIing small birds in the tops of the trees.
Some of us asked the Indian boys to
loan us bow and arrow. We hung our
cans against large tree and nj 10 PAGES
missed cap. tree and all. and the Indian
boys would roll on the ground and laugh
at our want of skill
md happy. Their country was a regular
hunters paradise. Game was plentiful
and they had lots of cattle aud horses.
After dinner we bade our Indian friends
gnod-by and marched for the Choctaw Ma
tion. The Indian boys called after us:
Near sundown We came to the camp OF
Co. G, 10th U. S. Cav, stationed there
IN the mail route These cavaIrymen car
ried the mail from Gibson to Arbuckle. |
They had stations about 40 miles apart. |
where they changed horses These stu
tions were in charge of a Corporal or Ser
geant with eight or 10 men. The mail
went through once week.
We were now in the Choctaw Nation. |
but it seemed these Indians were all fur
her south. as we saw only few of them. |
They had their homes down near the
Tevas line. We would occasionally meet |
few on horseback with large, old-fasl,-
inned rifles lying across their saddles in |
front of them. They had evidently been
ont hunting. They We're dressed like the
Creeks and Seminoles, but did not appear
as friendly as the latter. These Choctaws
9nd Chickasaws Joined the Confederate
army in large -nmbers, under Price and
3nHpff. ana tDHSHt Ut CHe Dattlt Oh Leu
Ridge, Ark. along with the wild Texans.
and got good trouncing from Curtis and
Sigel. and it appeared they did not yet
ike the looks of blue clothing in 1857. |
Through the Choctaw and the Chickasaw
Nations is very fine land: large. low
nrairies. numerous small creeks and lakes |
There is also high or rolling prairies: but |
most would make good farming lands |
Most of the prairies We're burned off. au'i
We had to contend again with the ashes |
ard dust rs we did coming down through |
Kansas.
Game was very plentiful: deer. turkey |
.,eesa ducks. prairie hens. wolves. coyotes. |
black bear. :ntclnne. wildcats. etc The |
buffalo We're farther northwest. We
would bug the finest kind of buffalo robes
for S3 to 81 apiece. regular Indian tam
ned. s.
We were very fortunate on this march. |
There was no rain and consequently nc
muddy roads or swollen streams to cross.
The climate is most delightful in this
country. Il was while crossing over the
Fertile ana beautiful Washita Valley that
we saw what Texas bull train looked
Ike This train was hauling forage from
.'exaS to ArbIckle for the Government Il
distance OF some 40 miles There werr
some 30 prairie schooncrs. with four to
Fix yoke of oxen to each wagon. It WIS
mighty slow train. and the drivers most
" negroes or greasers. looked,like moving
pillars of dust. On these marches we
crossed the Kansas. Grand. Neosho,
Arkansas. Canadian and Washita Rivers,
md numerous small creeks. PERHAPS in
tho near future l may give an account -
this place known as Srhvc1llc also of the