The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-24


them living in almost the same condi-
tons as In their own villages. They
! are allowed to stay away from their
reservations not longer than six
months at time. and this isn't long
enough to spoil them. Most of them
are educated, that is, they have gone
| to the government schools, can speak
English, and are pious Catholics with
Christian names. much less pic
names but given to them in baptism
| and retained steadfastly. The tourists
make lot of fuss over them and find
them less taciturn and more respon-
| sive than usual when they are on ex-
| hibition. The mothers ob1igingly re-
| move the covers from the faces of
their papooses, In order to let the
| "Mericanos'' see them, tell you their
names and thank you shyly for any
small coins you may see fit to slip
to them. often Sin the evening, after
| the dance which the Hopis give night
| ly, before the last train leaves the
Canyon, the Indians go over to FL
Tovar and return the tourists calls.
They sit around the parlor and listen
| to the music and applaud politely.
One night some Los Angeles girls,
| intent upon their entertainment, got
out all the Indian songs of the past
| decade, Hiawatha, Red Wing, Silver
Heels, Rainbow Queen, Arrawahna,
| Little Napanee and the rest. and sang
them for a select company of two
Hopi men, women and children. They
seemed to enjoy the party but I don't
think they understood Arrawahna any
| better than they did Tostfs Goodbye,
which was also included in the pro-
gramme.
chusettsl I met them first at Will
| liams waiting for the Grand Canyon
train. They had come in from the
East and from the West and we had
1 49,. AHar--
cos, the attractive Harvey House
which makes the Williams wait
memorable part of the Canyon trip.
And I started talking Of course. In
my artless Japanese way. emphasized
perhaps by a visit to California, where
nobody seems to stand back for intro
auctions and credentials and such use
less conventions. But 1 was soon made
to remember that New England has
different social code. One of the
women Of the party informed me
that they were from Massachusetts
and that Massachusetts people are
very conservative" I inferred from
her tone that she regarded 1t as
virtue and expected the statement to
show me my place. 1t was all right
with me. Anyway, I didn't like their
hats. They were the sort of people
who, although they had more money
as I found out later, than l had pre-
yiously supposed existed in the whole
world, think it wasteful to wear good
clothes when they are travelling, and
l give you my word those women
from the effect east were wearing
sleeves of a shape that we. in Topeka,
Kansas, gave to the Provident Asso-
citation 5 years ago. Now don't misun-
derstand me. Nothing makes less diff
ference to you, at the Canyon, than
clothes, and all that sort of rot, and
am still so much under the influence
of the untrammelled freedom of the
Southwest, that, although I have been
home two weeks I am still wearing
winter "bunnit." But these were the
kind of people who cling to their old
clothes through that very conservatism
of which they boast, and which also
impels them to buy new things for
every season, religiously. and hang
them away until they are old-fashion-
ed enough for their conservative
| tastes.
So looked for more congenial COM
pany and found it promptly, as you
are sure to do at the Canyon. in
delightful San Francisco woman re-
turning from the East. But next
morning when in accordance with the
| traditions of three-day Canyon vfsi-
tors we went down the Trail, we found
that the Massachusetts, people were of
our party. There were four of them.
two men and two women and none of
them had ever been on horses back
before much less mules. Regard
less of the fact that the feat they
were undertaking is daily accomplish
ed by fifty or sixty people, and that
it isn't compulsory, anyway, they were
simply frightened stiff. For the life
of me I couldn't understand their OBJ
ject in going down, or in coming to
| the Canyon at all, for that matter
Such people travel, undoubtedly, from
a sense of duty. 1t is certain they
get no pleasure out of it The Brook
| line Bunch had gadded extensively
| that is, they knew the beaten paths or
Europe the Atlantic and Gulf coasts,
the country east of the Mississippi and
| the Canadian cities, But they did
nothing but grumble and growl at the
| inconvenience and annoyanceS OF rail-
| way journeys, boat trips and hotel life.
| I wondered why they ever left dear
old Springfield.
From the moment of our start until
we had returned to the hotel the
Trail trip was a horror to them. There
! is of course no danger on the Trail
and very little discomfort for one ac-
! customed to any exertion. Even that
| part of the descent known as Jacobs
| Ladder, where the rules demand that
you dismount and follow the zig-zag
| on foot, is no more perilous as far
| as I could see, than the rest of the
| way Walking is a concession, I sup
| pose, to tourists who want to feel that
| they are doing something daring and
! difficult But the Massachusetts, peo-
! pie chung to the pommels of their sad
| dies the women squealing and the
men white with fear and-I swear it
| on my life-their eyes shut. Think of
going down Bright Angel Trail with
! your eyes shut ought to have known
| it was hopeless, seeing that they had
been born and reared in Newton Cen
| ter but with that asinine determine