Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-12-02
A Tale of the
VANISHING
People
BY REX BEACH
BY REX BEACH
Copyright by Rex Beach

W NICK oeacn (
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TP from the valley below came
the throb Of war drums. the
~ faint rattle of shots and the
distant cries Of painted horse
men charging. From my hard won
vantage on the ridge l had an unob-
structed view of the encampment, a
great circle of tepees and tents three
miles in circumference, Graded in a
sag Of the timberless hills.
Five thousand Sioux were here in
all their martial splendor. painted and
decked and trapped for war, living
anew their tales Of might and repeat
ing in mimicry their greatest battles.
Five days the feasting had continued.
Five mornings had l been awakened
at dawn to see thousand Ochered,
feathered horsemen pour out Of the
gullies upon the camp. their horses
rearing and plunging, their rifles snap.
ping and splitting. while the valley
rocked to their battlecries and to the
answering clamor of the army which
met them. The odors Of a savage
people had begun to pail on me, the
sound of strange language had begun
to annoy me, and longed for another
white man or word in my own
tongue. Next to my tent was another
one which had been erected during my
absence, and through the flap was
thrust the head Of my friend. the gov
eminent doctor.
Gee, I'm glad to see your said as
l shook his hand. I'm as lonesome
as deaf mute at a song recital"
whats the matter? Won't the In
dams talk to you?"
II guess they would If they could,
but they can't. Out of these 5000
Sioux haven't found one who can
understand a word l say, and I've
tried some 1880 of them"
The old gentleman laughed.
"Your government schools have
gone back in the betting with me. doc.
You must keep your graduates under
lock and key"
They can all speak English If they
want to-that is, the younger ones
can. Some few Of the old people are
too proud to try. but the others can
talk as well as we can until they for
get"
do you mean to say these aborigl-
mes have been fooling me? l don't be.
lieve it," said l. There is one that
can't talk English, and I'll make bet
on it." indicated passing brave
with an eagle feather headdress
reaching far down his naked legs. He
was magnificent animal-young,
1.-THE and as tall and straight as sap,
ling-and was decked from head to
feet in his gorgeous panoply. 1--WE
tried him twice. and he simply doesn't
understand"
My friend called to the warrior:
"Hey, Tom! Come here a minute
The Indian came. and the doctor con
tinued:
when do you hold the horse races
Thomas?"
Tomorrow, 4 o'clock. unless i
rains,'' said the fellow.
Are you going to ride?"
mo. My race horse is sick.''
AS the Ocher daubed figure vanished
into the dusk the old man turned t,
me, saying:
yale"
"What?"
yale; B. A. He's a graduate"
"1mpossible!' / declared. why,
could hardly understand him. n,
talks like foreigner or as If he was
just learning the language"
Exactly. That halting unfamiliar
ty with English marks the death anl
decay Of his learning. In three years
more he'll be an Indian again through
and through. Oh. the reservation II
full of fellows like that" The doctor
continued. with sigh: Its a melan
| choly acknowledgment to make, but
our work seems to count for nearly
nothing. It's their blood.
1--WE heard graduating class read
theses from platform, sing cantatas
in chorus and deliver orations. Then
/ have seen those same young fellows
three months later squatting in to-
PEGS, grunting in their native tongues
and eating with their fingers.
Some years ago felt was well or
my way to success, for | found 8
youth who offered every promise OF
great manhood. l studied him until
knew his every trait and his every
strength. He did not seem to have
any weakness. l raised him under my
own supervision into a tall, straight
fellow as handsome as figured bronze
and with mind far in advance Of his
people and his years. He had the bes'
blood Of the nation in him, being the
son of war chief, and they called
him Thomas Running Elk. He was
educated at the agency school under
me, and he went through his college
course like stag at the head Of 6
great herd, silent. digniied, shad
owy figure, unapproachable and mys