" . ' * & * * ! f.v . A.iia
.Conservative ; J
is plainly not yet well under way ; one
feels that ho is hardly welcome thus
early among the tents.
Aloiig the north fence are the white
quarters , with the offices. There is a
gathering in front of one building and
bright colors catch your eye. A glance
shows that distribution of rations is
the attraction. It is the women and old
men , with some of the children , who
are waiting there ; each one , after some
formality , departs soberly , with an arm
ful of flat loaves most conspicuous in his
burden. Nearly every woman has a
child erect on her back , held there in
some way by her shawl ; some of the
youngsters tower above their mothers'
heads. Three young men , early afoot ,
stand apart , tall and handsome in red
and yellow , and look on for the most
part in silence. Some workmen are at
repairs up a ladder , and one playfully
menaces the other with a hatchet ; a
grunt of appreciation runs through the
group below.
Two stately old men pass by wrapped
in their blankets. Salute their evident
dignity , and they will bow gravely in
return , and as often as they meet you
thereafter. Their eyes are very alert ,
and their faces , though grim , are by no
means unfriendly.
Small banners before each group of
tents make known what tribe inhabits
them. To the east , and apparently de
tached from the main camp , lie Assim-
boines. One brave is about already , sit
ting in the wet gross , working at a
slender stick ; three lads stand watching
him ; for a guess , he is making a bow.
The air is flavored with wood-smoke ;
every camp has its fire and you are al
ways getting to leeward of one or
other of them. Another smell is every
where , and you soon trace it to the cook
ing. You can only guess what ingredi
ents go to the stews that are in prepara
tion. The fires are of basswpod sticks ,
long and heavy , about three to each fire ;
they are so managed that only one end
burns , and that end is kept thrust up to
the boiling pot. There is only a tiny
blaze , but it is continuous , and gives out
little heat ; this is not wasted , but goes ,
together with the smoke , to cure certain
strips of meat that lie on a frame of
withes some four feet from the ground.
Hero is a sample installation ; a pole is
fixed at a proper distance above the fire ,
and three or four of the wlu'te man's tin
pails , with lids , are suspended from it ,
all steaming ; while in the middle- hangs
the main pot , easily capable of holding a
small dog , full nearly to the brim of
some liquor , with an indeterminate mass
of meat rising above it in the center.
Near by the owners ore at breakfast. A
dozen bucks , squatting in a circle in the
grass , are served by their obedient ladies
who go and como between them and the
the fire.
And what is this brought" out from
the adjacent lodge to be hung upon a
conveniently projecting polo-end ? A
rounded boav&somo ' 30x14 'inohesj'cov-
ered and enlaced by closely-wound
strips of cloth ; from wliich rises the1
brown face ofi a tiny Indian. Probably
the baby that was bom yesterday ,
whose mother thus puts him out of the
way while she attends to breakfast. He
cries out , however , as n white child thus
used would do ; and is taken down and
handed about , board and all , among the
young girls of the tribe.
In this camp stands a tepee wliich is
tightly closed and remains so through
the day. From it issues a jingling , ac
companied now and then by a thumping
oiv some kind of a drum. You are left
to your own agreeable surmises as to the
nature of the ceremonial going on
within , for this idyllic resort is yet inno
cent of guides and book-boys.
Your attention is caught by an old
woman kneeling under a tree , nibbing
and twisting something between her
hands. Ls she cleaning fish with her
thumbs ? She pauses to put a big water
pail to her mouth , but not for a drink ;
the water is spurted out again in re
peated jets over what she has in her
hands , which you presently make out to
be a small moccasin.
Tlu's may be the wearer sitting before
the lodge door , with stolid fat face up
lifted to yours. As you smile at her ,
confusion overcomes the small savage ,
and the brown face disappears forward
into the grass.
The clay is advancing and little In
dians are seen lingering , as if wishfully ,
about the pond that has been dug in the
center of the village ; but that seems to
be reserved for the washing of clothes.
You will seldom find it without some of
the women kneeling on the edge , scrub
bing and wringing some more or less
dingy garments. As the heat increases
the skirts of the tepees are caught up and
the breeze and the visitor's curious
glance penetrate their privacy together.
Here is a chattering group about a
squaw , who has a youngster between
her knees and is hunting through the
jungle of his hair with destroying thumb
and finger. Here in the tents of the
Omahas is a noble warrior of largo
frame , lolling in the shade like a Ho
meric hero ; as you halt to view him he
averts his expressionless face , and
stretches his hand toward a puppy , very
fat and woolly , that is scratching him
self among the blankets. The little dog
runs joyously to tumble over by the side
of the chief , who feels his fat back and
sides in a critical way ; and there is
room to doubt whether the puppy has so
much grounds as ho may think for being
content with himself. A schoolmaster-
looking young man is authority for the
statement that a dog was lulled hero
yesterday.
Meantime the Assiniboines have raised
a new tepee , a fine one , covered with
deerskin , tightly sewed , and stretched
tight as n drum. It has"a red band
around it near the top7froin Which
creatures with claws seem "to wriggle
down toward thd ground. Every camp
lias one fine lodge painted with totem
'
signs ; but most of them are of muslin ,
whoso blue Massachusetts imprint
shows that Nebraska City starch has
gone to itsmaking-up. There is another
land of hut quite common , a little arbor
of bent boughs , covered either with mus
lin or with close reed mats ; these mats
not being woven with a warp , but each
reed pierced and the cord passed
through it.
The tepee is not long a-building , for
the women understand that land of
thing ; and now a superb warrior , 9110 of
the fierce-looking red-and-yellow three ,
sets up a ladder against it , upon which
ho courteously , but with hesitation ,
mounts himself , to put on some finishing
touches. Up likewise there goes a roar
ing and a cry from a little Indian wear
ing a shirt , who is for some reason
struck with dismay at that sight ; but
ho is picked up and kissed by the fe
males , and his mother wipes his face
with the flat of her hand into the bar
gain , winding up with his upper lip. It
must bo admitted that there was room
there for improvement. Many of the
Indians , big and little , seem to be
afflicted with catarrh.
Others of the young men do not
disdain work. One is splitting a
piece of wood with an axe. He
smugs the axe loft-handed , and the
stick is not split in the time he re
mains in sight. And here are two dig
ging a hole with a spade. This too goes
slowly for they take about as much time [ {
to relieve each other as they do to dig. I
And one was seen to go off toward
Florence with his squaw the other day
to get lodge-poles. The lady cut the
poles and dragged them home , but ho
showed her the place.
By tlu's time the whole population is
on foot and a good number of visitors
have strolled in from the main fair , the
discords of which now and then break
in on our peaceful remoteness ; for wo
feel ourselves far away , either in time
or on the map. Stately chiefs stroll up
and down , great , imposing-looking
men ; most striking countenances ore
seen among them , faces like bronze
masks ; they have blankets , feathers ,
beads , shells and claws ; each costume is
a picture and a study. The men are
more picturesque than the women ; most
of them have large earrings , some of
them wear silver medals as big as stove
lids ; many of the elders carry turkey-
feather fans , and the most incom
prehensible old hats are found sur
mounting figures of Roman senators.
But the women are worth looking at
too. They wear most wonderful moccasins
sins , and are sometimes covered with
bracelets , brass rings and other valu
ables. Hero are three lads with bows
and arrows , shooting at roots ; they