The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-10

just one little thousand years
II more of life I might In that time
draw near enough to true Romance
to touch the hem of her robe.
Up from ships men come and from
waste places and forest and road and
garnet and cellar 10 maunder to me in
strangely distributed words of the
things they have seen and considered.
The recording Of their tales is no more
than matter Of ears and fingers. There
are only two fates / observation-disclosures
and writer's cramp. The hand is yet
steady: let the ear bear the blame II
these printed words be not in the order
they were delivered 10 me by Hunky
Magee. true camp follower Of Fortune.
Biography shall claim you but an in
stant-I first knew Hunky when he was
head waiter at Chubb's little beefsteak
restaurant and cafe on Third avenue.
There was only one waiter besides.
Then successfully carromed against
him in the little streets of the Big City
after his trip to Alaska his voyage as
cook with treasure seeking expedition
to the Caribbean. and his failure as
pearl fisher in the Arkansas River. Be-
tween these dashes into the land Of adj
venture he usually came back To
Chubb's for a while. Chubb's was a
port for him when gales blew TOO high;
but when you dined there and Hunky
went for your steak you never knew
whether he would come TO anchor in the
kitchen or in the Malayan Archipelago.
You wouldn't care for his description
he was soft Of voice and hard Of face
and rarely had to use more than one eye
to Quell any approach to a disturbance
among Chubb's customers.
One night found Hunky standing at
corner of Twenty-third street and
Third avenue after an absence of sew
eral months. In ten minutes We had
little round table between us in a quiet
corner. and my ears began to get busy.
I leave out my sly ruses and feints 10
draw Hunkys word of mouth blows-!t
all came 10 something like this:
Speaking of the next election" said
Hunky did you ever know much about
Indians? No? l don't mean the Cooper.
Beadle. cigar store or Laughing Water
kind mean the modern 1ndan-the
kind that takes Greek prizes in colleges
and scalps the halfback on she other
side in football games. The kind that
eats macaroons and tea in the after
moons with the daughter of the profess
sor Of biology and fills up on grasshop-
pers and fried rattlesnake when they
GET back to the ancestral wickiup.
"Well, they Amt So bad. / like 'em
better than most foreigners that have
come over in the last few hundred
years. one thing about the Indian is
this: When he mikes with the white
race he swaps all his own vices for
them Of the palefaces. And he retains
all his own virtues. Well, his virtues
are enough to call out the reserves
whenever he lets 'em loose. But the i'm
ported foreigners adopt our virtues and
keep their own vices--and fits going 10
take our whole standing army some day
TO police that gang.
"But let me tell you about the trip
took to Mexico with High Jack Snake
feeder, a Cherokee twice removed, a
graduate Of a Pennsylvania college and
thefatest thing in pointed toed, rubber
heeled, patent kid moccasins and Ma
dras hunting shirt with turned back
cuffs. He was a friend of mine. | met
him in Tahlequah when ! was out there
during the land boom, and We got thick,
He had got all there was out of colleges
and had come back to lead his people out
of Egypt. He was a man Of first class
style and wrote essays, and mad been
invited to visit rich guys houses in
Boston and such places.
"There was Cherokee girl In Mus
cogee that High Jack was foolish about.
He took me to see her few Zines. Her
name was Florence Blue Feather-but
you want to clear your mind of all ideas
Of squaws with nose rings and army
blankets. This young Lady was whittier
than you are and better educated than
ever / was. You co.ldn't have told her
from any of the girls shopping in the
swell Third avenue stores, ! liked her
SO we'll that got to calling ON her now
and then when High Jack wasn't along,
which Is the way of friends In such
matters.
"She was educated at the Muscogee
College. and was making specialt.' of
let's see--cth--yes, "thnology. That's
the art that goes back and traces the
descent Of different races of people
leading NJ from jellyfish, through mon
keys and to the oBriens High Jack
had took up that line. too, and had read
papers about it before all kinds of riot
Gus ssemblies-Chautauqu and Choc-
taws and chowder parties and such
Having a mutual taste for musty infor'
nation like that was what made EN-
like each other, } suppose, But
don't know What they call congen
iality OF tastes ain't always II.
"Now. when Miss Blue Feather ant
me was talking together listened Il
her affidavi,s about the first families
of the Land ~ Nod being cousins ger
man (well. II the Germans don't nod