MINIMIC
COMANCHE CHIEF
and the
BEGINNING OF INDIAN EDUCATION

AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR many of the Indian tribes from the east and from Florida had been removed to reservations in the far west. The wild Indians of the Indian Territory had been on the warpath for more than a dozen years. These wild tribes were the Cheyennes, Kiowas, Araphoes, Apaches, Comanches, and there were some smaller affiliated tribes. In the Territory, there were also five so-called civilized tribes, more or less settled. They were the Cherokees, Crickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and Choctaws, and some affiliated smaller tribes. These tribes possessed farms, cattle, horses, and there were missionaries' churches and schools. Many of them had a limited knowledge of English. They were just as much afraid of the wild Indians as were the whites, for the roaming tribes would steal their horses and other livestock.

The civilized tribes had brave Indian police who looked after their tribal areas. The police were needed to protect them not only against the roaming Indians, but against the white renegades from justice who frequented the Indian Territory at that time. Theft and murder were common; horse stealing was a business.

The Indian Territory at that time was not the depleted desert we knew later, but was full of wild game. There were immense herds of buffalos, plenty of deer and many smaller animals, wild turkeys, prairie chickens and plovers. The Indians were all alarmed because the buffalos were being driven out and killed in immense numbers by the whites. At one time the Government offered a bonus for each buffalo killed. The buffalos were important to the Indians, as the hides made their tents and, when cured and softened by the women, made warm blankets; the tough parts of the hides made the soles of their moccasins and, with the softened hair left on, made wonderful sleeping bags.

Horses were the Indians' only mode of transportation and up to this time they had been procured from the wild herds in Texas and Mexico. It

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was a wild and exciting adventure for the young men to form bands and go to find a wild herd of horses, capture the ones they wished, and break them in. But when the Government limited their field of operation, the Indians began to steal the horses. As the white men moved in on their home land, the Indians attacked their caravans of covered wagons, and took mules, horses, and cattle.

After a century of Indian uprisings, wars and depredations, and in obedience to the desire of white settlers to occupy the territory of the Indians, at last the Government decided to put a stop to these raids and retentions by the Indians, and the Army was reinforced. In 1875, the Indians who were on the warpath were either captured in battle, or surrendered through hunger. About five thousand were camped around Fort Sill, their leaders were placed in close confinement. Later, seventy-five of the ringleaders were picked out and sent to St. Augustine, Florida, and confined in the old Spanish fort there.

Minimic as a young man and in middle age had been one of the most active and troublesome among the Indians. He was the leading chief of the Comanche tribe and was picked by the Army authorities as the leading chief of Comanches to be punished. These prisoners were placed in charge of Lieutenant R. H. Pratt and taken to Fort Marion, at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1875.

Minimic was a remarkable man; a born leader and a very thoughtful man. His character and his conversion to civilization and to Christianity were complete and sincere.

In order to understand better the character of Minimic, and the progress of Indian education, it is necessary to tell something about the Army and the officer who was in charge of the Indian prisoners who were sent to Florida.

Richard Henry Pratt went into the Civil War as a private from Indiana in 1861 and came out a Captain at the end of the war and was assigned to service in the Indian Territory. He and his family were sent to Fort Arbuckle. Subsequently he helped build Fort Sill, now one of the main military posts in the Army. In due course the Pratt family was blessed with other children, including the writer, who was born at Fort Arbuckle.

During his experience with the prisoners, Pratt became convinced that the Indian "problem" could be solved by bringing the children to the East and educating them among civilized people.

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GEN. RICHARD HENRY PRATT, FOUNDER AND SUPERINTENDENT OF CARLISLE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL—TAKEN IN 1923, WHEN HE WAS 82 YEARS OF AGE.

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After three years at St. Augustine the prisoners were returned to their homes. The older men wanted to go back, but twenty-three young men wanted to stay in the East and continue with their education. The government sent a number of Indians to Hampton Institute, Virginia, a school for Negroes.

The experience at Hampton was not as successful as the Captain had anticipated: the Negro children had a lingo of their own, and Captain Pratt became convinced that an Indian school should be established. The old Army barracks at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which had been used during the Revolutionary War, and in which the English Major Andree had been imprisoned before his execution as a spy, was turned over for Indian education. Thus, an Indian school was born, and for twenty-five years Pratt was at the head of that school.

After a few years, Army promotions came rapidly and, at the age of sixty-five, he retired as Brigadier General. That was in 1904, at which time he also retired from the school. In the year 1932 he was buried with military honors at Arlington.

Throughout the Civil War, Captain Pratt had a guiding principle that helped him fight and bear the hardships of the war: and formulate the principles of Indian education. He was upholding the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This meant nothing unless it included the native Indians. He felt that, inasmuch as all the Indian's former vast game resources had been destroyed by the white people and his free-roving life ended, his place and needs were pre-eminently a righteous burden on them, testing the integrity of our national principles.

While the prisoners at Ft. Marion were being taught in 1875 and 1876 they were visited by many eminent people, some of whom assisted in their education. Among these were Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mrs. J. Norman Steele, Bishop Henry Whipple, and Margaret Mather, the latter being one of the teachers. Mrs. Stowe had a cottage on the St. John's River between Tool and Jacksonville and frequently visited Miss Mather. She wrote some very interesting letters about the Indians at St. Augustine. In one of them she said: "Between two or three years ago there passed by us on the St. John's River, a party of captured Indians from our Western Frontiers. They were the men who had been the terror of our settlers, who had done many a deed

of savage cruelty. They were selected and sent to St. Augustine for safe-
keeping, as being the wildest, the most dangerous, the most untamable of
the tribes.

"A day or so ago we visited them at the Fort in St. Augustine. We went in company with a lady who, with other ladies of St. Augustine, regularly devoted two hours a day to the work of instructing the Indians. We found now no savages. A dark complexioned orderly, with high cheek bones and black eyes and hair of the Indian race, and dressed in the United States uniform, was pacing to and fro on guard as we entered.

"The Indian face is naturally a stern and hard one, but as they gathered around their teacher and returned her morning greeting the smiles on those faces made them seem even handsome. There were among these pupils, docile and eager, with books in hand, men who had been the foremost in battle and bloodshed. Now there was plainly to be seen among them the eager joy which comes from the use of a new set of faculties. When they read in concert, when they mastered perfectly the pronunciation of a

A TYPICAL INDIAN HOME IN INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1875

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different work, when they gave the right answer to a question, they were
evidently delighted. They specially prided themselves in showing how plainly
they could speak the 'th' which embarrasses every foreigner in the English
tongue, rendering it with an anxious and careful precision."

Referring to the same incident, Captain Pratt reported:

"One day there was quite a commotion in Miss Mather's classroom, when I went to see what was the matter, Mrs. Stowe was sitting near the blackboard by Miss Mather and both were laughing heartily. The Indians were quiet, but White Horse had his arm in front of his eyes and others were looking somewhat alarmed. White Horse said to me, 'Miss Mather is no good.' His remark renewed the ladies' amusement. Then Miss Mather told me what had happened. She was trying to teach them to pronounce words ending with *th* and was using the word *teeth*. She had them well along in pronouncing in concert, and then, getting very enthusiastic as was her manner, she pointed to her own teeth and pulled them out. To White Horse's way of thinking, it was proof that Miss Mather was defective."

In the old barracks were many side apartments which were used as
school rooms. When the Indians were not engaged in school work they made
Indian bows and arrows, polished sea beans which they gathered on the
nearby ocean coast, paper toys representing horses, buffalos, warriors, and
sold them to visitors, thereby earning substantial sums of money for their
own use. Something over five thousand dollars were earned in this way.
Most of this money was sent back to their families in Indian Territory.
Letters were constantly exchanged between prisoners and their wives and
children. One prisoner wore around his neck a moccasin of one of his chil-
dren. There were frequent prayers by prisoners for those they had left at
home.

Among the assistants at the fort was an Indian interpreter, Mr. Fox,
who had lived with the Indians for many years. He was familiar with many
Indian languages, especially the Comanche tongue, which is the court lan-
guage for all Indians, also the Sioux language. He was much beloved by
the Indians. When he left as a result of government economy there was
a parting gathering with many speeches. Some English prayer meeting songs
had been translated into Indian languages by Mr. Fox and they were sung
with much feeling. Minimic was one of the leaders in these meetings. In
one of his speeches he said, "We like the white man's ways, we like their
dress. We want to have farms and houses and live peaceably in the good way.
The Great Spirit speaks in my heart. He loves his dark children as he does
the white, and this makes my heart glad." As each speaker arose he raised
his right hand and invoked the Great Spirit while the balance of the Indians

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AN INDIAN SIGN LETTER WRITTEN TO MINIMIC AT ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA,
BY HIS WIFE IN INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1876

knelt and bowed their heads towards the earth. One said: "I want to live
in a wood house." There was much meaning in the desire to live in a wood
house. A tent can be pulled up and carried anywhere on horseback as the
emblem of a wandering life. A wood house is a home, an immovable dwell-
ing place, a fixed habitation. The meeting was solemn and full of sincerity.
One said, "The Great Spirit who sees all within us, knows that we speak the
truth."

One of the visitors at Ft. Marion in August, 1876, was Mrs. J. Norman
Steele who was given a sign letter written to Minimic. She explained:

"It is my good fortune to possess an original letter sent in June, 1876, to Minimic, a Cheyenne Chief at Fort Marion, by his squaw in the Indian Territory. It affords an admirable specimen of Indian picture-writing, of which so few examples are extent. The address is at the right, and includes: (1) Minimic, or Eagles Head; (2) Howling Wolf, his son, and (3) Making-Medicine. The symbol for the last named is a wigwam with sticks placed horizontally at the apex, the cabalistic sign by which a medicine-man's hut is distinguished. Minimic is informed that his son (5), Buffalo Head, desires to come to him, but is held back by his mother (4), Shooting Buffalo. The olive branch in his hand conveys assurance of his love. Minimic's daughter (6), Flying Dove, and her young child, Arrow, join in the greeting; also his

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daughter (7), Big Turtle, the belle of the tribe, an Indian beauty with 'hair seventeen hands long,' as the proud father informed us in his pantomimic way. Curly Head (8), wife of Howling Wolf, has a young child, Little Turtle, named after his handsome aunt.

"Running Water (9) is the daughter of Minimic by another squaw, Shield (12), whom he afterward repudiated or, in his own expressive words, 'threw away.' With a shade of disgust on his usually placid face, the old chief pointed to the picture of her grave and ejaculated, 'That squaw no good; too much talk!' Shield's daughter, White Feather (13) is buried by her side, and the frequent tracks about their grave show that Running Water —whose attitude also betokens grief—often goes there to weep, though the single track which leads to the spot shows that she goes alone. Making-Medicine's two wives (10, 11) with his children go together to mourn at the grave of his dead child, exhibiting a state of harmony between his squaws, which must be very gratifying to the feelings of an absent husband. Thus it will be seen that this letter conveys the intelligence of three births, two of them males, as the faces are painted red; gives the names of the little ones: reports the ability to walk of Making-Medicine's oldest child, as her little tracks accompany the others to her sister's grave; announces three deaths and the honors paid to the memory of the lost ones; gives assurance of the good health of the remaining parties represented; mentions particularly Buffalo Head's desire to greet his father, and, every face being turned in that direction, expresses a general desire on the part of the writers to see the distant prisoners."

During the summer the Indians were allowed to camp on the beach on the ocean side of Anastasia Island near St. Augustine. Captain Pratt tells of some of the incidents occurring there.

"The remarkably solid beach which extended sixteen miles south to Matanzas Inlet was, at low tide, used for foot races and other sports. One day it was arranged between two of the long distance runners that they should contest in a race thirty miles to Matanzas and return. These contests were usually intertribal, which was one of great stimulation.

"During our first encampment on Anastasia Island, I wanted to go over to St. Augustine one afternoon and took the interpreter, Mr. Fox, and two of the most distinguished and old Indians—Minimic (Eagle's Head), who had been war chief of the Cheyennes, and Lone Wolf. On our way over, Mr. Fox told me of a new restaurant that had opened in one of the narrow streets where exceptionally fine oysters were served, and suggested that we take the Indians there and have a treat of oysters on the half shell. This pro-

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gram was carried out and the chef placed before us a dish of unusually large fine oysters. Fox and I put on the necessary condiments and began eating. Lone Wolf immediately took up an oyster and ate it. Minimic watched us carefully and finally, smilingly, took an oyster on his fork, put it in his mouth, instantly jumped up and ran out of the door. He soon came back laughing but would eat no more, notwithstanding our insistence and the satisfaction he saw we had.

"Our confidence grew, with the prisoners, and it seemed best to give wider experiences. Several times we went down the inside route to encamp at Matanzas Inlet, with the whole party. At that point during low tide we found an abundance of very fine oysters. On later trips to Matanzas we carried plenty of condiments for our oysters, and oyster irons to open them. We would sit in our boats, lying on the oyster beds at low tide and eat our fill. One day we found Minimic in the boat all alone, opening and eating oysters with apparent relish."

In 1877 the Indian prisoners requested that they be permitted to "send a talk" to Washington in reference to their condition. All gathered in one of the casements. Making-Medicine, one of their number, spoke first on behalf of the older men. Captain Pratt reported to the Adjacent General of the Army:

Making-Medicine said: "I have learned to sing the Saviour's hymns and have given myself to Him. Heretofore I have led a bad life on the plains wandering around, living in a house made of skins. I have now learned something about the Great Spirit's road and want to learn more. We have lived in this old place two years. It is old and we are young. We are tired of it. We want to go away from it, anywhere. We want Washington to give us our wives and children, our fathers and mothers, and send us somewhere where we can settle down and live like white men.

"Washington has lots of good land lying around loose; give us some of it and let us learn to make things grow. We want to learn to farm the ground. we want a house and pigs and chickens and cows. We feel happy that we have learned so much, that we can teach our children. I speak for the young men. We want to work, we young men all belong to you. You have put a great deal into our hearts that was never there before. Our hearts are getting bigger every day. We are thankful for what we have learned. This is the feeling of all the young men that are here. We are willing to learn and want to work."

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In Minimic's talk for the old men he said: "It has been a long time
since we came here. We came with lying and stealing and killing in our hearts,
but we have long ago thrown all that away. Today our hearts are glad, our
heads are bigger, and we are all glad for what we have learned. Two years have
passed since we came here. We are tired of this old place, although our hearts
are all glad. We want to go away from here. We want you to ask our Father at
Washington to have mercy on us, and give us our wives and children, and
send us some place where we can learn to live in peace and by our own labor.

"Ask Washington to give us some land. He has great deal of it and
might give us some to raise things on. Tell Washington to let us go back and
get our wives and children and send us to a new country where we can learn
to work and support ourselves. We can handle the axe and shovel if we are
old. Ask Washington to let us go at it now and take it up right and learn at
once. We want you to say a few good words and send it to Washington, too.
This is what all the Kiowas, Comanches and Cheyennes wanted me to say."

While the military authorities were entirely sympathetic, no action
was taken until the spring of 1878 when the prisoners were released and
returned to their agencies to again become a very vital part of their people,
under the scant and lax methods of progress the Indian system provided.
How heart breaking it was to hear Minimic plead with Washington to give
the Indians a little bit of land which was once all theirs.

Bishop Henry Whipple visited St. Augustine in 1876 and addressed
several meetings of the Indians. At the final meeting he told them that he
came to say good-bye, and expressed the hope that he would meet them again
in Heaven. Minimic was silent for a moment and then said with deep feeling:

"You may wonder whether your words reached me. They did not go
into my ears and then go away; they went down, down into my heart. They
will always stay there. I go to church now, and when I see the white man kneel
I know that he is talking to the Great Spirit and asking for himself and his
children. I, too, try to send one little breath of prayer to the Great Spirit
that he will have pity upon poor me." He said, "It is not you alone that have
pointed me to the good trail"; and then, turning to Captain Pratt, he said,
"He has tried to lead me to it, his words are always good. I shall walk in
that path until I die." He could not go on. He choked, then ran up to Captain
Pratt and threw his arms around his neck and kissed him, first on one cheek
and then on the other. He then embraced Bishop Whipple and kissed him
on both cheeks, and laid his head on his shoulder and cried like a child.
All the chiefs embraced the Bishop and kissed him and were moved to tears.
It is a mistake to think the Indians are stolid and unfeeling. Among friends
they are highly emotional.

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Captain Pratt reports that Minimic died in 1881 in his teepee home
among his people. On his return from captivity he was foremost in urging
his people to take up civilized ways of living. With the help and advice of
his good Quaker agent, John D. Miles, he undertook contracts to furnish
nine hundred cords of wood for a year's supply at the Cheyenne Agency,
and fifteen hundred cords of wood for the military post close by. Taking
young men who had been soldiers in war, he camped in the woods and di-
rected the cutting down of the trees, which were chopped or sawed into cord
wood lengths, then split, corded up for measurement, and finally hauled to
delivery points. When his contracts were nearing completion he was attacked
by the illness which ended his life.

In the spring of 1881, shortly before his death, he attended a Sunday
church service and was asked to say a few words of prayer. This is what he said:

> I have been very sick; I thought I was going to die. I said to
> my wife, bring me the good Book which was given to me in Florida;
> put it under my head; now I feel better. Soon I felt that was not
> enough, so I said to my wife, make the fire brighter, help me up;
> now hold the book open before me that I may look at the words in
> it. The light from the fire shone on the words in that book—Jesus'
> book, I call it—and the good words that I had been told were in
> this Jesus' book came into my mind, and I prayed to understand
> them. Then I laid down again on my bed and put the book open
> over my forehead and felt that I did understand what Jesus wanted.

Then, bowing his head, he reverently said: "Let us pray." One petition
of his prayer was that "God would make his heart larger, yes, very large,"
and in his earnestness he extended his arms in a circle before him, then paused,
and there was perfect silence for a minute, then arose this rich plea, "and
fill it full of Love for Jesus. Amen."

One of the favorite sayings of Minimic was, "I pray all the day and I work."

*With wishes for happiness*
*this Holiday Season*

1953

GUY LEROY STEVICK
397 STEVICK DRIVE
ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA

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TOLERANCE

In a long life one of the things I have learned is the importance of
*tolerance*.

Tolerance includes:

(1) patience.

(2) charity.

(3) understanding.

(4) love.

Patience to hear the other side and consider carefully. "Let us run
with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

Charity to overlook errors. "If I have not charity I am nothing."
(I Corinthians 1:2)

Understanding to appreciate the thoughts and feelings of others.
"With all thy getting, get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7)

Love—the greatest thing in life. "God is love." (John 4:7, 8, 16)

If we have tolerance we will not act hastily. If we have tolerance we will not have war. If we have tolerance we will not be overly confident. If we have tolerance we will love our neighbor as ourselves, and do unto others as we would be done by. Tolerance will help us to live happily.

PEACE

For a time in my life we are not at war. Let us stay that way. Let us compose our difficulties with others. Let us not go to war. But if we are attacked we must be prepared and strong enough to win.

GUY LEROY STEVICK