The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-10-11

about to slip from his domain, the
Blackfeet brave now must give up
his rife and bow to the inevitable.
The transformation comes with a
cruel suddenness to the Blackfeet.
There is nothing left for him but
to try and be a farmer
Sympathy Runs Deep
Sympathy for poor Lo runs deep
in Louis w. Hill, railway magnate,
whose duty is to help develop the
northwest. Himself a landscape ar
fist and a lover Of things natural, his
heart goes out to these fated people
at the crossroads of their life.
"If this is to be, helping hand is
what they most need now, and prop
er guidance will be a great factor in
adjusting them to such a complete
change in their mode of living" Mr.
Hill soliloquized And straightway
he secured the United States govern
ment's approval to have the most
promising progressives of the Black
feet tribe selected to go to the New
York land show. that they might see
for themselves what agriculture really
means. What impressions the red
men Will carry back to their prairie
homes is matter of much anticipa-
ton to the son of the great railway
builder, who hit upon this avenue to
civilization as a practical means in
"the white mans process of assimi-
lation." sf4 rraCca.s s4>s.
Last Great Grass Dance
The last great grass dance Of this
picturesque people was a. ceremony
not soon to be forgotten by the few
white people who were fortunate
enough to be present. The weird
ceremonies were participated in by
5000 redskins. Many of them are
land wealthy and all are regarded as
an industrious people. The grass
dance is of religious nature. The
Indians think it calls the attention
of the gods to the fact that the tribe
desires a good season, with plenty of
grass for their horses. In the old
days the welfare of the buffalo was
the central idea of this pray re-
ligious ceremony, for If there wasn't
plenty of grass the large herds of BIZ
son wouldn't come into this country
And a scarcity of buffaloes meant
hunger to the Indians, no clothing,
lack of skins with which to make te-
PEGS, beds and many other things
which the redmen had to have. So,
there was some sense to this trodding
of the grass in their appeal to the
gods, the Indians thought.
Following the Buffalo
But the buffalo is gone and these
grass dancers are following fast up
on the same trail to the happy hunt
ing grounds.
When the yellow, sun-burned
plains of the Blackfeet reservation
are turned over by. the pillow and seed
is planted, there probably will be
small groups of grass dancers here
and there, while the Indians wait for
their grain to come forth. .t- .n.t4
The Blackfeet are the highest type
of Indian. Their integrity. fortitude,
chastity and admirable dignity place
them on a pedestal above all other
tribes of savages. The Blackfoot is a
frank, simple being, yet he is unusu-
ally cunning when the occasion de-
mands Ills sense of humor is keen
and of the hard, impressive kind
Some of his customs are extremely
comical. For example, a Blackfoot
must never meet his mother-in-law.
Should he ever get his wires cross
ed and meet her unawares, the tribal
customas penalize him by demand
ing that he make her a handsome
gift. &c. the Blackfoot has even bet
ter reason than the white man for
avoiding his mother-in-law