The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-07-20
The INDIANS ARE
NOT DECREASING
DR.. EASTMAN, AUTHORITY ON
REDSKINS, coRREcTs POPULAR
FALLAcTEs-Is VISITING RED
LAKE INDIAN RESERVATION AT.
THE PRESENT TIME.

lite PnESENt IhEs
THE American Indian Is not diving
out, but the purity of the blood is de-
creasing. Where twenty years ago only
the girls married white men, now the
men are marrying white girls" declared
Dr. Charles Eastman of Amherst Mass,
while at Bemidji. MINI, recently, on
his way to the Red Lake Indian reser-
walton, where he will observe the ways
of the Red Lake band.
DIR. Charles Eastman is a full bIooded
Sioux, noted the world over for his
authoritative writings on the Indian
and his teachings in colleges of learn
ing. His real destination after leaving
this section is Saskatchewan and Hud-
son Bay trading posts, where he VIII
study the primitive Indian and make a
collection of old relics that are still in
the possession of the tribes of that Sec
ton.
DR.. Eastman has not been engaged
in college work for several years, as
he is now devoting his time to writing
tales of Indian life. His latest work,
THE Indian Mystery" was finished a
few days before he left Amherst for his
present trip, and it will be off the press
some time in the early fall This work
tells of Indian superstition and reli-
gion.
The doctor was a member of the fac
ulty Of Amherst college for many years.
has degrees from Dartmouth and Har-
ward universities, and has also studied
in several other colleges. He Is a gift
ed and learned man. and probably
knows more Indian tongues than any
man living in this country today.
AS he is full blooded Sioux, DR.
Eastman is particularly interested in
the history of the Minnesota Indians
He is an interesting talker, and his
store of information relative to the
noble red man" is apparently limit
less.
Sioux Were Driven West.
The doctor says that all of the Mis-
sissippi and Missouri river valleys orig
inally belonged to the Sioux, but that
they were gradually driven back by the
invading Chippewas until they were all
west of the Mississippi and north Of
Mile Laos county, this state.
The Chippewas, lying nearer to the
east that the Sioux, were the first to
get the gun and the axe Of the white
man and so were given an advantage
over their primitive cousins that could
not be overcome. After the Sioux OBJ
tanned guns and axes from the Superior
traders, they did not give an inch until
the advancement Of civilization drove
them into the reservations. The Leech
Lake Indians are a band Of the Chip
pewas who fought with the Sioux so
long ago.
"The Omahas, Sacs and Fox, and all
of the smaller tribes that roamed the
country in southern Minnesota and
Iowa, were all descended from the same
source as the Sioux and their languages
have the same roots" said DIR. East
man. II can learn the language OF
these Indians in three months, whereas
it takes more than three years to Learn
the tongues OF the Iriquois or eastern
Chippewas."
Punetures Indian Fight Story.
When shown the story recently pub
lished In a Duluth paper giving what
purported to be a true account of the
Chippewa Sioux fight on Lake Supe-
rior, DR.. Eastman pointed out that
while the story was we'll written, it was
| inaccurate in details. Indians" he
said, never took prisoners at the time
that fight took place. The taking of
prisoners is a comparatively modern
idea, as it was introduced by the whites
during the whisky period Indians al
ways killed all who were taken, even
] .
spared unless he was adopted into the
tribe to take the place of someone who
had died
Indian wars, before the white man
came, were little more than football
contests. Few men were killed on
either side, and they were mostly feats
of strength. In the old days ESQ years
ago, Indians never fought for territory
as that was another idea introduced by
the whites. Their wars were more for
physical supremacy.
AS the Indians have come into closer
touch with the white mans civiliza-
ton, they have become more savage in
their warfare, both with the whites and
among themselves. The highest point
Of savagery in the Indian is reached
when he leaves the reservation and
goes on the warpath.
Another idea which the whites have,
and which is all wrong, is that Indians
were always traders. Among the old
Indians. everything was free. You
were given what you wanted, and IL
you wished to make a present in re-
turn, that was all right. But the idea
of value came from the New England
traders
Resuming as to the prevailing idea
that the Indian is dying out, and with
the statement made above that he was
not dying out, but that the purity of
the blood was decreasing, DR.. Eastman
said:
Many Indians Left
There are between 265 900 and 270,-
900 Indians in this country today, and
in all probability that Is as large q
number as ever lived here. The young
Indians go to Carlisle and the eastern
universities, and when they return
home they settle on the edge of the