The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-23
THE REDSKINS
HAVE TAKEN TO WEARING PATENT
 FEATHERS.
They Like to Display Graceful Feet Even If the Shoes Do Pinch. Pap Any Amount for
 Them

An increasing fad among the In- dians of the Northwest to wear riding boots. says an Omaha dispatch to the New York Herald.
 The women are sloow to give up the moccasins of their forefathers. Some of the older ones have been persuaded to to abandon the comfortable footgear they have worn so long and incase their feet in the leather bandage of the white man by younger ones who have been away at reservation schools or. further East. to Carlisle. But even then the women do not dream of aspiring higher than the cheaper make of com fortable shoes.
 It Is left to the braves to indulge their fancy for exxxpxensive boots. The braves are not content with four and five dollar shoes that ordinary men wear. The best is none to good for the average Indian on the reservation when he has plenty of money.
 They will give up almost every com fort. except tobacco. which to the In- dian Is less a luxxxury than it Is a necessity, for the possession of the be- loved boots. Aand like the cowboys, after whom they endeavor to pattern in their dress, they are inordinately proud of their feet. and will willingly pinch them in order to display a pair of tightly shod extremities to the world.
 Sometimes the Indian traders from the Dakotas come in themselves to buy their stock. They so first to the wholesale shoe stores and look at the boots. They know that the largest stock of military and riding boots they can lay in will not last long. The braves fancy black patent leather boots the most and if the tops are stitched in fancy patterns with colored silks all the better.
 Tan boots are not in such demand. unless they have some adornment to catch the color loving eye of the In- dian. whose taste for display some- times leads him to indulge in strange attire. A costume noted upon Dako- ta brave in Omaha last week was unique, to say the least. The young Indian had come in with the trader for little outing He had not been able to resist bargain sales, for soon after reaching town he invested part of his money in red vest, adorned with hap py go lucky geometrical figures in black and white. The rest of his cloth- ing consisted, as far as the eye could ascertain, of a blue and white percale shirt, a pair of blue overalls and a kha- ki coat. On his head was a COW punch CT white felt hat, while a new pair of TeSulatlOn TlQlnB DOOtS auOEHSu HIS feet, which were small and well shaped. Tsese fancy boots have a price to correspond with their looks. Few can be had under SIP and $15. But the In- dian does not begrudge the money. He will save for boots when he will save for nothing else. And he Is particu- ar about the style of his footgear as he is about nothing else. Very close and tight they must fit. even if his toes suf- fer.
 And the heels must be as high as those of the old time COW puncher. This is because the cowboy thrusts his foot through the stirrup so that the weight rests on the heel of the boot. Therefore, the high heel on a cowboy s boot Is a matter of necessity as we'll as masculine vanity.
 The wholesale shoe stores in Omaha who cater to the Indian and cow punch CT trade make special concessions to Lo in the way of boots They take time to put aall manner of fancy work and French knots on the top of the boots which they hope to sell to Indian traders Most of the fancy beaded moccasins are left to the women to wear. For, unlike the braves of their race, the Indian women prefer comfort to vanity every time.