Milford chronicle., 1911-01-13
UT OF The INDIAN
le UIgnited Red Man Has a
Neen Sense of Humor.
UHIES OF STANDING BEAR.
Nd !: Rae s.s s..s.. a. o,s e1.:t ss.. W.: was
NJ S ;.s:s ass1s 5sa.s. I,3s. s:.s.. ..a q.

against Government At
Ill %kls "'y-A Gallant Brave and His
u v1f ''''f''-An Invisible Bridge
ne Impression prevails widely that
danee 81 inllan lacks the saving sense Of
January iior-'that most characteristic of
W Cethoit american qualities" To the Gre
SAL w "s and the spreading Of this i'm
rilltant 9u'esSon many recognizable traits of
very nuel luiah Character have indisputablv
mt rssnlta pulOuted-his ancestral pride. his
fiair. Aasf fiusiVeness his gravity of face and
in chafEesSuiV OF manner in public
.ninent #of Ne'eftheIess an injustice is done
vas heaplHn' lor among no primitive peoples
the gath tue sense Of humor keener or more
IA esrsrO On'aneous and kindly.
-. ~. ears ago 1 was cOnversng with
I'D. CUP Of children of the Omaha tribe.
iey were on their way to a reserva-
p wH7 ~ school, and directly in their path
|lngtpN swamp an eighth Of a mile
were eoi4 ue' and straight through this they
eeds golngere required to wade twice day.
,llOwin9 II Is too bad l remarked Can
Of Father u not go around the swamp? Your
ers az Mia Will be wet and you will be un.
NJ. mforable and possibly ILL.,"
-. On cried girl Of about twelve
!, ,rs. prs her dark eyes dancing with
llaoS' - frrlment we walk over the $1,000
Mary htsdge"
mbreila, +hey all laughed at this. What
ton q pa 1t mean? l saw no bridge; there
ningtOn Is no bridge to he seen. 1t made
"a prize N merry to see me mystifed. and
;c;aef 'heard them laughing and chatting
~ thsni lthey went through th@ water and
-...ts.r ud. Afterward l discovered the hu-
OF In the remark. Some years pre-
i oqs to that time the government had
pAeAAo- Ilropriated $1,000 to build bridge
rooV4A sA or this swamp. but somehow the
le new eaohey had vanished i'm somebody's |
,eY C0noNfket and the v Jrk wal lot done
M "a aocqne evening l saw a gallant young
.ipne wiffaye making his way swiftly over
. e. aaveie prairies Of the Omaha reserve. |
e was dressed in all his tinery. and /
his side dangled a small mirror
1II8bn ManfeStly he was an ardent lover
his should have surmised from his .
a Churcress and eager haste. even if had
locf SlDt known him As he was a friend
4.so. mine | had inside information of
-, is hopes and purroses: also l ven
.. lred to stop him for a moment. pre-
go Gus as knew him time to be.
Soa' "Tht mirror at your side" l re
a Chtar rked lis to give opportunity for
eeFdirie Flower to discover how lovely
,iA Is. is it mott" He considered
y - ment and then. with twinkling 4
'no oe- he replied:
4 $50 Maybe So she will talk too
A. nub to me- and then ! will look into /.
g mymirror TO sec how tired am"
This certainly was the hUmor of alb
suHity
Examples Of Standing Bears humor
I could give almost without number,
During the trial Of his case before
Judge Dundy the contention of the
government attorney was that an In {
dian is NOT person within ;Se mean
ing Of the law This puzzN The old
chief greatly. Ii also amused him.
One day at my table he was vigOr
Ohsly plying a knife and fork when
suddenly he paused in his eating. lift
eh up his hands, and, humorous
81 mle lighting mp ms noble. storm
sdarred face. he remarked The attor-
~ feys say l am not a person. But
& an use a knife and fork. Does bear
-" DO AAats If he The attorney, is a per
son am one also We both eat with {
knives ana IOIhS. lnuetu. tHluh L =
can use them faster than he can. II ]
he wants to race me eating | am +
ready" We all laughed at this. When >
we were quiet Standing Bear added {
"That is I will run an eating race :
with the attorney if he will pay for :
the beefsteak
The first public address Standing
Pear ever made was given in my :
church In the course Of it while he t
vros pleading for assistance he address
cd various classes Of people present 1
che men the women. the clergy. the
1nsiness men. the children. When he I
Was pleadlng with the women he said :,
81 sppeal to you because you are brave :,
and patient Whenever you have any
ching hard TO do you never rest until
a "a done" This was a gallant seni- L
mont worthy Of a chief. But Frank '
a Flescbe. who was interpreting. rem I
5ored the sentence thus: You women T
80 natient. When there is anything Z
bard to be done we men let you do it. r
Th,s was 90 true to Indian custom :
that the audience laughed
-~ u-r.T.ondipQ Bear was puzzled AS ne
.tood silent moment wondering what
noistake he had made Bright Eyes, the II
Ehoautlful Omaha maiden. stepped tor- II
wsrd anil said. My brother Frank d
bss made a mistake in Interpreting the v
oh,.Fs thought" Then she gave the a
DFSRsF TRs chiesso 5fn@ssn' paper. t llOertie. F
-,tb Standing Bears nd' e. one Of y y
them asn referring to him n stantly as I
T1nrigbt Bruin WhenO is was ex- :,
nlained to the chief he.J Ine ii"''ei =
with great good natureI: ,-,-os Il
".'VI what does it matter?" he remarked. 1
10 hooning. 81 am all tied up r.
-n'th -ls names. am like pony tangled "
" WIN b,s s' iariot Father Hamilton. the =,
IN MS ldii"' .,1dor The ~