The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-05-24
10, THE CLEAN INDIAN!
His shampoo-His Turkish Bath-His
Unaldermanic Figure.

His Shampoo-His Turkish Bath-His
Unaldermanic Figure
The vanity of white men gets some
hard raps from George Wharton James
in Good Health. 1t is somewhat sur
prising to have the Indian held up as
a pattern of cleanliness, but that is
what Mr.. James does.
Most city men, he says, regard the
shampoo as modern luxury. Yet it
it more conon with some Indians than
with US.
The Indians wife macerates the
root Of the amole and beats 1t up and
down In a bowl Of water till a soft
lather comes. Then her husband stoops
over the bowl and she shampoos his
long hair with vigor, neatness. skill
and despatch. s
Another so-called luxury Of our
civilization is an everyday matter with
the Indians Of the Southwest. That Is
the Russo Turkish bath. The first time
/ enjoyed this luxury with the Indians
was on one of my visits to the Havasu-
pal tribe.
willow frame some six or eight feet in
diameter which, at the time of using,
is covered over with Navajo blankets,
&C, to make 1t heat and steam proof,
A bed Of clean willows was spread out
for the sweaters to sit upon and a
place left vacant for the red hot rocks.
"As soon as all was prepared was
t,,ty IN FOL Ind
followed on one side and the medicine
man on the other. Then one of the
outer Indians handed in six or eight
red hot rocks and the flap of the cover
was let down and the bath was fairly
on. Directly the shan1an began to sing
sacred song which recited the fact
that Toholwoh was gift of the good
god Tochopa and was for the purpose
of purifying the body of all evil.
"By the time the song ended we were
sweating freely; but when the flap was
opened it was to receive more hot
rocks. AS we sang a second song the
heat grew more and more penetrating.
BY this time sweat was pouring from
our bodies, but the flap was opened only
W ACSCANV tLOl6 1OAhos AT IllC ttlllu
time bowl Of water was handed in to
my companion, which was reaching
for In order to enjoy drink, when, to
my horror and surprise, he sprinkled
the water over the red hot rocks. The
result was an instantaneous cloud Of
steam which seemed to choke me-
''Yet the two Indians began another
Ia+o ,,yS7+ 10 $ty,Iy
few moments the intense heat of the
steam was lost and I was able to join
in the song. The steaming was repeat
ed; then l sprang cut and dived into
the cool-not cold-water of the Hav-
asu, where 1 swan about for a long
time.
"Then, after a rub down with clean.
clear, clayey mud and another plunge,
/ lay in the sun on bed of willows.
listening to the Indians tell stories, and
can truthfully say I never felt so
clean in my life"
Mr.. James says that fully one-half
the whit people seen on city streets
have aldermanio figures. This would
not be the case if we taught ourselves,
as the Indian does, to to draw in the
abdomen and at the same time breath
long and deeply.
while there are times of feasting
when most Indians will gorge to reple-
tion," says Mr.. James," we can learn
from them that whenever they have
hard work to do, they eat little, and
that little long. In other words they
masticate well enough to please Horace
Fletcher.
with few handfulls of parched
corn they will start off on a week 3
hard journey; and a little corn, chewed
for hours, gives them sufficient nourish-
ment to keep their bodies in perfect or
der for hunting, for war; or for the fati-
que Of long and arduous journeys either
on foot or horseback"
l al