The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-25
PAPOOsES TORTURED
BY NATCHEZ INDIANS
True Tales Vouched for by Uncle
Sam Describe Strange
Tribal Rites.
FLAT HEADS BEAUTY SIGN
squaws Imprisoned Children IN
Clay Casts to Change Shape
of Their Tiny Skulls.
FLAT HEADS BEAUTY SIGN
ANGUAGE. customs and manners

DR.. John h. Swanton, careful, paihs-
taking investigator.
The work Is a classic on the Natchez
tribe. These Indians commanded at
tention because of their highly cen
tralizcd form of government. the san
culinary mortuary rites of their ruling
classes, and finally the massacre of the
French settlers.
One thing to which special attention
is called is the fact that u babel or
tongues is found in the low rolling
country. On the basis of language the
writer divides the tribes of this section
into five family groups-Natchez,
Muskhogean, Tunlcan, Cmtmaehan
and Atakapan.
The tribes now almost extinct, for
merly occupied the banks of the fath-
err of Waters and Its tributaries from
near the northern boundary oil the
present state of Louisiana to the Gulf
of Mexico and the shores of the gull
for some distance east and west, to
present gulf coast resorts on the east
and 60 Galveston bay and Trinity river
on the west.
The Naichez villages were scattered
along the ST. GATHERINGS creek, east OF
the present city of Natchcz. Like many
other tribes of American Indians the
NntcheZ impressed travellers as tall,
strong, robust, and possessed of nat
urally .'proud air. - They were agree
ably favored in the matter of voice.
not having the strong, throaty, grnff
voices so common to the Indians of the
northern sections. The women of the
tribe were painstak1ng in the matter
of personal appearance and IN the WORK
that fell tn their lot.
The Natchez cut their hair so as III
leave crown after the style affected
by the Capuchns. with only enough
long hairs to permit the making of
twisted tress that hung like an orna-
ncnt over the left ear In the mid
die of this crown they left about two
dozen hairs for the attachment Of
feathers.
How They Flattened Heads.
Although -fIattening is men
tioucd by all writer's, DIR Swanton
points out that the only good descrip-
tion of the method by which it is
brought about in this particular re-
gon is the following from the Luxem-
boarg memoir:
They have the head pointed and
almost Of the shape Of mItre.
They were not born so it is
charm which is given them in early
wears. What a mother does to the
head of an infant in order to force
its tender bones to assume this
shape is almost beyond belief she
lays >the infaut on the end Of
board on which is spread the skin
of an animal One extremity OF
this board has hole where the
head is place.. and it is lower than
the rest
The infant being laid down
naked she pushes back ITS head
into this hole and puts on the fore
head and under the head mass of
cay. which she binds with all her
strength between the two little
boards.
The infant cries. turns complete
" black and the strain it is made
10 suffer is such that a, white
fluid is seen to come from its nose
and ears at, tho time when the
mother presses on its forehead, IT.
sleeps this way every night until
it's skull has taken on the shape
which custom decrces,
The Natchez made their knives or
diuarily of rather small variety OF
cane This was split ~into four pieces
each of which formed knife that cui
very well for Il little while. Bear, deer
and bison were the principal animals
hunted for food The Indians fed will
ingly on the flesh of the bear, but fol
that purpose il had to be lean. In any
other condition only the feet were
eaten.
Feather work was one of the things
in which the Natchcz attained higl
degree of perfection. With the threaC
obtained from the bark of the bas
tree they made for themselves a kin(
of mantle which they covered with th'
finest swan feathers, fastened on th
cloth one BY one On the lower Mis-
sissippi the only kind of canoe in com
mon use was the dugout. The manu-
facture of these required single tree
Of enormous size, which were hollowet
out by fire.
Jugglers Spiritual Guides.
Agriculture also attained much i'm
portance among the Natchez, and field
we're prepared for cultivation by mean
of a curved mattocl made of hickor
or the shoulder blade of an animal
The savages apparently had n
priests or priestesses, There wore
however. certain men who. in way
took their places. They were calle
superstition of the medicine men o
the northern tribes Without science
without study and without drugs, b
the use Of herbs, they effected wor
derfuI cures. Many of the early Frenc
voyageurs- when Ill. surrenderd then
selves 10 the tender mercles of the ius
glcrs and received speedy relief.
The Natchez were Just as great gan
bIers as the other tribes of their rae,
A howl game was played, in which
rolling bowl was sent spinning acros
a hard. smooth piece of ground sp,
cially prepared for the game, the gan
blers throwing poles fifteen or 81:
teen feet long after it, When the bow
ceased rolling, the Indian whose site
was nearest it was the winner IL Wa
an embryo roulette game.
Marriage was a serious matter f.
ne bridegroom. He had TO make
regular Christmas-tide procession
- b. bo I1f, ,% I,r,I
10 the sisters, cousins and aunts. Bl
he became the possessor Of the brid
dominated and controlled her body an
soul, The wisdom of the Natchez WI
further illustrated in the recognitic
of the mother, who, was at once r
leased from the hardest of toll. Add
tions TO the household in the way