The Washington herald., 1908-02-27
MANITOU WAS ANGRY
God Visits Vengeance on
Lille Small Rib.
GREAT FATHER NAY HELP HER
Spirit Likes IL Not When Sister of
Lilies Mother Seeks Strange Gods.
Strikes Girl Blind Through Sol
dier's Act-Pension Is Asked Of
COngress-FuItOn supports the Bill.

To quite understand the case OF Lille
Small Rib, in whose behalf the Great
Father In Washington and the sachems OF
lesser wisdom who sit upon the Hill will
soon be asked to intervene, intervene even
with the Great Manitou OF the Cheyeunes,
it is necessary TO go backward many,
many moons.
The sister OF the mother OF Lille Small
Rib. forsaking the gods of her fathers.
wandered Off into the eastern land. where
she entered into the big and heap much
white man talk school at Carlisle.
There this sister forgot the ways OF
the Cheyenne. forgot the sound of the
kissing kettle, forgot the signing OF the
wind in the buffalo grass: remembered
no more the swift leap OF the trout in
the spring and learned the white mans
ways.
Goes Back Home.
But, when twelve moons had passed, the
sister OF the mother Of Lille Small Rib,
longing fer the sight Of the faces Of her
own people. left the big heap much talk
school in the East, took again the Gevil
engine OF the white man, and rode for
many suns back to the old familiar tepee.
But the Manitou was angry. She had
forsaken him for the strange gods. She
had come back 10 take away from him
the rest Of her family, and even little
the faith which would admit no Cheyenne
10 the Happy Hunting Grounds.
So the Manitou gathered unto him evil
spirits. and in the night sent to the sis
ter Of Lille Small Ribs mother, down in
the tightly closed tepee. packed snug by
the brawling creek. the poison OF the
white fever. And the vengeance Of the
Manitou was quick and sure like that
OF the rattlesnake. The sister died be-
fore many suns had come out Of the
East and passed beyond into the West.
Then for many more moons the Manltou
seemed satisfied with the family OF Lille
Small Rib. Peace came and sat upon the
tepee, In summer the crops were good.
the fish leaped out of the water. and the
game stood while 1t might be slaughter
ed. In the winter the roaring FIRE be-
fore the tepee, the warm bison robes
within. the Jerked buffalo meat. the
cracked corn. all told that the Manltou
had come back tot he Small Rib tribe.
and was no longer angry.
Forgot the Manitou.
But when Lille Small Rib came 10
have passed more moons than a brave
could count on twelve times the fingers
Of both hands. the two forgot the Mani
ton Of the Arayfhoe and the Cheyenne.
and in the reservation school sought out
strange gods, and learned the white
mans learning and forgot that OF the
father and the medicine man OF the
Cheyenne.
But the Manitou waited. One day
when the storm god had wrapped all the
country in his white cloak. and the tracks
of the animals showed plain, Ike the
scratch Of the grizzly on the pines, little
Lille Small Rib started out from the
tepee 10 play.
Near by the tepee lay the camp OF many
bluecoats Two OF the bluecoats. armed
with the thunder sticks. had gone out
that day to hunt the deer Lille Small
Rib and her companions played for
long long time down near the brook that
ran by the bluecoats' camp and the tepee
OF Lilies mother.
When Lille Small Rib and her COM
panions saw the bluecoat hunters re-
turning they ran as viii all children when
frightened One Of the bluecoats. not see
ing anything blinded by the great and
angry Manitou-tried 10 unload his thun-
der stick
When Lille Small Rib rose from under
a fence beneath which she had crawled IN
her race 10 get home. the gun Of the blue
coat doomed forth, and Lille lay on the
ground quite still
Lille Did Not Die.
Lille did not die, the great Manitou
did not permit that: but when the Blue
coats medicine men examined her. they
found that her eyes would not again b.
hold the sun or the stars
The ManitOu was revenged.
The facts as they are set forth in a bill
introduced yesterday in the House are
quite prosaic. The bill. which is backed
by Representative Fulton. Of Oklahoma,
asks that pension Of $500 a year be be-
slowed by the government on Lille
Small Rib. who was rendered totally
blind by the accidental discharge OF a
shotgun in the hands Of a soldier OF the
regular army Of the United States"
Senator owen, OF oklahoma, who. him
self has some Indian blood In his veins.
is interested IN the case of Lille Small
Rib. and he viii DO what he can 70 get
her this pension.
Perhaps after all the Great White
Father and some OF his sachems on the
Hin NAV he able to soften the vengeance