Persuading the Savage to Come to the Show
fOpyright, ISM, by Guy T. Vlsknljlikl.)
IITE aboriginal human being Is so.
fixed a feature of present day ex
positions that thousands of poo
pie who gather around his equally
strange abode to gape at him
take his presence aa a matter of course
Itut If tho vLsltors only knew It, the most
Interesting thing of all about the hairy
Ainu, or the giant Patagonian, or the
dwarf-like South African Bushman Is the
pmnner In which he w;uj induced to plaeo
himself on exhibition for tho edification
nd wonderment of, to him, strange people
hoyond tho Boas.
Ask one of the coterie of men whose day
nd years are Bpont In getting together
living ethnological exhibit how he works
It, and he will reply after this fashion:
"Why. I tell them that It will be pood
for them, and I let them take what moan
ing they want to out nf that."
"And do you have to pay them any
thing?" you may ask. And the answer will
be: "They como mostly because It will do
them good, and for mighty little money,
Considering."
All this sounds simple and eisy, but In
reality It takes a strange people a Ions;
while to make up their child-like minds In
truly childlike fashion whether the trip
toroposed by the white man will "do them
good," and, more Important still, to Inter
pret what 'it will do you good" mnuin
Interpreted to their satisfaction, the white
man's only difficulty is to keep the entire
tribe from coming away with him. Inter
preted to their dissatisfaction, even If the
heavens were to fall, they would not move
ono foot In the direction the white mm
pointed out. So it is that the three months
Of experiences K. C. Cushman of Washing
ton, 1). C, had aniotig the Cocopa Indians
Is representative.
The Cocopa Is about as low a type of
Indian as there is. His habitat Is in old
Mexico, along the (Julf of California, and
besides his dirtiness, he is chiefly marked
by his head of long, thick, matted hair.
He had never been on exhibition or outride
Ms native land until Mr. Cushman Induced
him to see the big world. He had been
labored with threo times before, but In
each case the paleface left after a few
weeks, firmly convinced that a mule's ob
stinacy is aa weak as running water when
compared with tho particular brand dis
played by the average Cocopa.
As a foreta-ste of tho adventures ahead
of him, when Mr. Cushman arrived In
Arizona, on his way to the Cocopa country,
he found that he would have to make a
boat trip of several hundred miles down
the Colorado river. He secured an Indian
ruidn, loaded the boat with the staple foods
that he intended to use with good effect'
on the Indians, ujid set off.
Kverythlng went well until he came to a
pert of the river marked by two channels.
Tho Indian knew nothing about either
channel, so Mr. Cushman chose one and
headed down stream, only to be caught
half an hour later in a rapids extending
for several miles.
During the ensuing twenty minutes the
two men experienced about as much nd
Tcnture an is crowded into tho whole life
of the average man. Tho rapids are among
the swiftest in the Colorado. The Indian
became frenzied in his fright, threw him
self in tho bottom of the boat and tried
by his shouts to drown the roar of tho
swirling river. Mr. Cushman, with his one
oar, could not keep any headway, and
round and round like a top the boat whirled
for miles down stream. Cushman sitting in
the bow and every minute expecting tho
little craft to be cnp,i!zed or dashed
against one of tho great rocks sticking up
here and there above the boiling water's
surface. Hut at last, after many narrow
escapes, the boat was shot with the ve
locity of a freshly-sped arrow Into com
paratively quiet water, tho Indian again
took his place In tho stern, and the rest of
the Journey to the Cocopa country was
made without special Incident.
Once in Colonla Iiordo, the little town on
the Sonora side of tho river where the
Ooeopas have their tribal headquarters,
Mr. Cushman made a feast with a portion
Of tho contents of bis boat and Invited
thereto Head Chief Pablo Colorado, Sec
ond Chief Captain Tom Moore, all tho
other lesser chiefs nnd their respective fol
lowers. The nct day, while the taste of
the good things served up to them by the
palefaco still lingered pleasantly In their
mouths, Mr. Cushman hung up in a con
spicuous place a bntch of gaudy litho-8-a.phs,
supposed to represent views of the
exposition whither he was anxious to take
group of the Indians as a part of the
living ethnological exhibit.
When Pablo Colorado and Captain Tom
Moore goodness knows how he got the
name nnd their clansmen had gathered
about the ohromos their new found ac
quaintance explained them.
"Beautiful." he said In tho Cocopa equlv
lent. Captain Tom Moore and tho rest grunted
cquiescence.
"0orgeous," he added, and went through
long list of descriptive adjective, ex
hausting his knowledge of both Cocopa and
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PATAtlOXIAN MOT I IKK AND CHILD
Knglish. And every lime tho listeners
nodded.
Th"ii Mr. Cushman came to the point.
"Jt would do you heap food to go there,"
he said.
This time the Indians lost their interest.
They shook their heads.
"Oh, well," said Mr. Cushman, "if you
don't want to go that's the end of It. I
kiu-w It would do you good to go and I
came down here frum thousands of miles
away to tell you so, because I'm your
friend, but If you don't want to go, all
right. I don't care."
That was the last Mr. Cushman said to
the Indians on the subject fur days, la
the meantime he lived their life and occa
sionally judiciously placed a square meal
insidu Captain Tom Moore, his Ik ad chief
and the rest. Uut thu In aiTerence about
those gaudy chromos and the great cxlit
bltion they portrayed was supreme.
After a time, just as a child acts under
Fimilnr conditions, the Cccopas btcame in
tensely interested in the white man's pro
posal on account of this very indifference,
and the tlrst thing Mr. Cushman km w they
had tailed a pow-wow. The talk lasud for
three nights. When it was linally at an
end Mr. Cushman was Informed that the
Indians had decided against his friendly
advice.
"Oh, well." he said, "it's immaterial to
me. But I'm sorry for your sakes, because
tho trip would do you good."
Again ho employed indifference and free
food, and after a week he was again re
warded by tho knowledge that the tribe
was indulging In another talk.
This time the red men announced that
some of them would probably go if they
were paid enough. What would the pay
be?
Mr. Cushman hedged. What did they
want?
In a devious way it came out. Then Mr.
Cushman shook his head. He couldn't
give so much. The real benefit was the
good it would do them, not tho money.
But maybe, if enough of them would
go. he could give so much.
More powwow, more Indifference, and
more food eventually led to a compromise
und the Indians putting themselves on
record that they would accompany their
friend tu the ends of the eaith.
That niglit Mr. Cushman slept in tho
seventh heaven; the tuxt day lie dropped
back to earth with a thud. A delegation
of Cocopas stood before him. They had
como to tell him. their spokesman said,
that they couldn't go after all. They had
forgotten, the day before, that the crops
were to be planted dining the time when
they would be away. That would never do,
they would have no food when they c.une
back. Then what would they do, and their
women and children? Their white ft lend
would have to go to the fci'eul show with
out them.
As the Indian's argument unfolded Mr.
Cushman had a happy Inspiration. When
it came his turn to talk he said:
"You want to go with me leeause it will
do you good. I want you to go for the
same reason, because I am your friend,
aid you are my friends. I will fix It about
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Hrti? th pirfiitu
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IN NATIVE DKESS OK SKINS.
7 fS:vtoi
TYPICAL COCOPA INDfANS.
tho crops. I will show you how to put In
your crops before you go, so you will not
miss the good I have told you about."
The Indians fell back with astonishment.
Change the planting time? Impossible.
Their white friend could do many great
things, but not that.
"But I can," he Insisted, "and I will, If
you don't want to miss the good I've told
you about."
Curiosity at last led Pablo Colorado and
Captain Tom Moore to beg Mr. Cushman
to show them how such a wondrous thing
could be done, lie did. to their complete
satisfaction, and thereafter, until the t 'Sk
was finished, the Cocopns labored nlong
tide of their l.ile friend tilling the u 11
anl planting the crops that ever since they
hnd come to the land had not been put In
until wctks later on. Then Mr. Cushman
go: promises from relatives to harvest the
crops of t hi' members of his party, and
onc more he was all ready to start east
ward with his group.
Bat no one can count on the morrow.
While one of the Indians was engaged In
fettling up his affairs preparatory to de
parture, a while man run amuck and ended
that Indian's life by putting a billet
through his body. In the words if Mr.
Cushman, 'that stampeded the whole
bunch, and I had all my work to do over
again."
He did his work over not once, but twice
more. Then, one day. a.s the end of the
third month of his stay among the Ceeopas
was mar. ho lade the iribe goodbye, and
with twenty of Its number. Hei.d Chief
Pablo Colorado nnd Kconnd Chief Captain
Tom Moore among them, and a three-ton
Cocopa house in wagons, started overland
lot) miles to reach the nearest railroad run
Ding east.
The two men who brought the first Pat.u
goiUuua (now here) to this country also
artk Viva: A.'yi'.k I
HAiny AJn; mothkr Aitd cihuij.
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spent weeks at the task. Their difficulty
was twofold first, to locate the Pata.
gonlans, and after that to prevail upon
them to fall in with the exhibition scheme
for the personal good and glory there Is la
It. The Patagoiilan is like tho proverbial
ilea now you have him, now you haven't.
As a result Vicente Cane and his com
panion had to travel on horseback ovi r the
pampas for weeks bi fore they succeeded in
lot a ting any Patagonians who could be
made to believe the good that would come
to them in far-off America would Infinitely
more th; u off set the discomforts attendant
upon bre iking home ties nnd a trip oviT
tie great waters that made men sick unto
diath in their loads and stomichs.
V ! a tini.' the success of this expedition
was Imperi'led by the strong insistence of
Chief Lleehico's wife, lxir nza, that her
1 i ; dog accompany her on her travels. "If
ih me good, do him good, too," idle ur
fued. Mr. Cane tried to dissuade th oal woman
fro. n her purpose, but when she threat
ened not only to slay at home herself, but
keeping her husband from making the
voyage as well, Mr. Cane gave iu. Th
ile, is now In America. It i ost Mr. Cnne a
pretty penny to get h'im here-somethins;
liki for food, fare at.d customs duties.
Just at present there is an American In
the heart of Africa who Is gaining all tha
novel experiences that fall to the lot of
tin- agent of living ethnological exhibitors,
lie is Samuel P. Verner, a former Presby
terian missionary from Alabama. He has
been among the little people of Africa for
months. When last heard from be wm
trying to c.iJiJe a powerful potentate
known ns King Ndombe. Into the state of
mind that would evcniunlb' cause him ta
sell his kingdom rather than forego tha)
Cood a trip to America would surely bring
him. GUY T. VlSIvNlSKlvL
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