East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-10-17
WHITE BLOOD IS
MIXING WITH RED
YAKIMA INDIANS ARE
MARRYING PALE-FACES
Intermarriage is Making Great
Changes in Appearance of Tribe
Many Squaws are Beautiful.

North Yakima, Wash.-With a |
feather-crowned chief and shirt-waist !
garbed granddaughter viewing the |
races side by side at the potlatch just |
held at Toppenish, the answer to the !
Indian question as il affects this part
Of the state was made fairly clear |
absorption by the white people.
The number of quarter and half |
breeds was surprising at the Yakima
fair this year They were either
seated in the grandstand or in the
inner field among the horseback rid
ers, showing that the solution of the
problem by intermarriage has been
going on for a long time. The his
tory Of the reservation town of Top
penish goes to show that it is the
squaws especially who are developing
personality and character under the
new arrangement.
The townsite of Toppenish itself
was the allotment OF one of the most
individual of these Indian women.
Married TO a white man, Wade Lewis,
with whom she was unhappy, Jose
phine was up-to-date enough to pro-
cure a divorce, take her children to
Portland and place them in con-
vent to receive an education. She
plated her allotment, and set up a
real estate office and sold much OF
It off to excellent advantage.
Eldest Daughter Beautiful.
The eldest daughter is now girl
OF IS or 10, quiet hammered. very
pretty, with practically no marks of
her Indian blood, save her dark hair
and skin. Josephine married again,
another white man and she is now
Mrs ]. F. Parker. She has just built
handsome concrete apartment
house, a novelty for Toppenish. and
is reputed to be the owner of new
newspaper just started there.
The marriage OF the Indian girls
with the white men is easy to under
stand, not only because the girls are
frequently very attractive, but be-
cause they are almost without excep-
ton heiresses.
A girl who owns two fortys just
outside the city, and whose mother
is credited with a fortune of s50,000
or more, was married a few weeks
ago to a white man after a short ac-
Quaintance of four weeks. In the
final settlement of matters prelimi-
nary to declaring the reservation open
/. is made sure that every Indian de-
scendent gets his or her allotment.
Even II the land lies away from
the allotments and Is good only for
agricultural purposes, there are plenty
of white men to be found glad to
lease at SO an acre, and who can
make enough off the first cutting OF
hay to pay the rent with something
left over.
Feelings Hard TO Define
Just what are the feelings of the
men and women whose white blood
has taken the ascendency over the red
in their veins, over affairs like this
annual potlatch when the older gen.
Grafton gets out its feathers and war
paint, is a little hard to make out.
They clearly do not hold them In RI
dicule, though the medicine men
with their horsehair caps or their
curious adornments can have little
meaning for the "civilzed" Indians
It could not be expected of the
white blood to drive out an interest
in horse races, and Indian races are
safer proposition TO bet on than
the white mems sports, for an Indian
race is nearly always on the square
and there Is no calling off bets be-
cause the favorite fails to win.
The Indian method Of enjoying q
race Is peculiar. The closest finish
calls out no cheers; there Is no "Come
on, Red Bird" and even the victor
ious jockey allows no smile to show
on his face. An amusing incident
however is greeted with laughter and
the pretty winner of a squaw race re.
ceives the surprising econiuP from 9
blanketed and weather-scarred buck
"Oh, you Kid"
Made Money From Fair.
AS a matter Of fact, the IndiaT
fair has become an exploitation o
the Indians for money. 1t Is an ex
ploitation by themselves however. a!
the racetrack is owned by one, Ian
caster Spencer, and the personnel o
the fair management is made up o
Indnans, including George Meninock
very kell-known and prosperou
one.
While willing enough to dress u
and show themselves for their owl
gain, they are dreadfully afraid tina
somebody else will make money fror
them This is very evident to tn
amateur photographer.
Whatever the original superstition
was about having their pictures takel
the Indian now objects mainly be
cause they thing the pictures will b
sold and someone else get the money
For ten cents, a quarter. a dollar the
will pose, but unless some bushes
arrangements are made. the photo
grapher finds on his film only a stal
wart row Of backs turned in his III
rection.