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AROUND THE CAMP FIRE
Personal Recollections ol a Once Pop
ulous But Now Fust Vanishing
Race
When the Pilgrim Fathers found
ed their colonies along the Atlnntic
seaboard, this great west srn world
was populous with not less than a
quarter of a million Indians.
Great confederacies held by right of
habitation every inch of this coun
try. They chused the vast herds of
buifalo across the table lands of the
west: they kindled their signal fires
on the Alleghanio-snnd the Rockies;
they held their spirit-communingB
along shores washed by the Great
Lukes; and, along the Father of
Waters, they built their altars and
their shrines.
These gr;at confederacies were
driven in front of civili'.ation like
chaff before the wind. The empiie
of the pale-face steadily sought the
shores of the Pacific. The buffalo
was quickly exterminated, game
and fishing grounds despoiled, un
til at last the red man became the
ward and prisoner of his white foe.
There is no sadder page in history
than the conquest and extermina
tion of the Indian. He knew no
law save the edict of the council
fire; no custom save that of his
tribe; no emotion save that of stol
id indifference; no policy save
that of ambush and the tomahavk.
He knew only the freedom of the
deep forest, the boundless prairie
and the moonlit night. Nothing
could be more Intolerable than
the prison and the reservation.
He was born with the stars for a
compass and the whispering winds
his monitor. Nor will he ever list
, en to any voice but that of Nature.
Away back in 1855, Longfellow
sung the "Song of Hhwntha." It
was an Inidnn edda a song of tho
legends of North America aborigi
nees. Hiawatha, savage and wild
as were his foreberars. dreamed of
an Indian maiden in the far north
west. The thirst for blood and the
frenzy of the wnr-path fade in the
glamor of his first wooing:
As unto the bow the cord is.
So unto man is woman.
Though she bends him, she obeys
him.
Though she draws him. yet she
follows,
Useless each without the other:
Thus the youthful Hiawatha
Said within himself and pondered
Much perplexed by various feel
ings Listless, longing, hoping, fearing
Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
Of the lovely Laughing Water,
In the land of the Dakotahs.
The brave is not alone in his
romantic sentiments. The Indian
maiden's heart is stirred by visions
of her warrior-lover. To find this
out one needs but to watch the
harvest of maize-corn. Down south ,
at the big corn-huskings, if one
should come across a red ear he gets
another drarn. When an Indian
maiden finds a red ear it proves
that there is for her some adimring
brave, and she is looked upon as a
fit present to some young warrior.
Hut if the ear happens to be crooked
no matter thi color, the whole
circle, is in an uproar. They limp
and hop about like the old, bent
man who shall come to lead the
hiaid away. The warrior, enamor
. ed of ,the old brave's daughter,
brings presents to the lodge. A
council of the old men and chiefs
is held. The fate of the courtship
nang, on their decision. If they
decide favorably, the young warrior
leads his youthful squaw away to
his own wigwam where she will
dress the bear-skin for his robes
and plant the mnize-corn for his
feasts.
The war-society frames its his
tory out of daring exploits and
tragic events. Two of the most
p-ominent amongst the Kiowas
were the Knit'senko and Tonkonko.
The Knit' senko was composed of
ten. and only ten. of their bravest
warriors. They took a pledge to
lead every desperate battle, and to
retain their places in front of every
charge until relieved by victory or
death. Thus originated what is
known as the Indian's "death
song." When victory was impossi
ble, and death certain, a member
of war-society would begin his
death-sing. Nothing could be
quite so weird a chant. It bid fare
well to life and recklessly defied
death. To hear it makes one feel
creepy when not used to border war
fare.
The red-skin's prophet, or medicine-man,
versed as he is in nil
their myths and legends, holds his
tribe in the grip of his hand. Their
savage dreams sometimes create the
wildest flurry and bring the whites
no little trouble. The Kiowas, in
1887. were run mnd by their con
juror, Paingya. who got a message
from hiR fire god. Old Lone Wolf
would not let them plant corn that
spring. He prophisied that a gicat
whirl-wind would blow the whites
all away. In its wake would come
a raging prnirie fire. It would
burn the school and the agency and
every white man the whirl-wind
had not blown away. After that
the buffalo would come again, their
hunting grounds would swarm with
game, and the Indian would come
unto his own. It was a wild and
happy vision. All the Kowas
listened to the medicine man, ex
cept Stumbling-bear's and Sun
boy's bands. They moved to Lone
Wolf's tamp on Elk River. They
returned to their ancient customs.
The prophet kindled once m re the
sacred fire with block and stick.
Matches, flint and steel were dis
carded. The spring drew on townrd
the summer and no whirl-wind, no
raging fire. The prophet's son
died and he promised to raise him
from the dead, but his medicine
lost its magic power. The Kowas
discovered the deception. Rut not
until old Paingya had grown rich
in horses and blankets given him
by the faithful. 'It was this same
Indian that revived the ghost dance
at his wigwam on the Wnshita.
The most uncanny and ghostly of
all is the death chant. They never
sing it as long as there is shadow
of a chance. Hut when all hope is
gone, when tho tomahawk and
scalping-knife lose their cunning,
the warrior strikes up his chant in
which he toys witli death and bids
farewell to happy hunting grounds.
The eye glitters under the recital
of war like deeds; the post hj
strikes with his tomahawk as many
times as the scalps he has won;
that done, he submits to death.
The ghost dance celebrates their
hope of a mossiah that will deliver
them from the encroachments of the
pale-fnco. It occurs on the an
nouncement of some newly arisen
prophet. It is an extremely
dangerous custom because it stirs
the savage dlood until they long
again for the freedom of the plains.
The scalp dance celebrates the re
turn of a war-paity. The tribe
forms in a half circle opening in
the direction from which the war
riors are coming. They return in
full war dress, and paint their faces
black if they have killed an enemy.
They enter the circle running. It
is made in the morning, generally,
so as to give time to prepare for
the dance. A great fire is built,
the scalps, painted led on the fleshy
side and carried on six-foot poles
by the women, attended by all the
savage toggery and yelling, goes on
while the braves dance and, in the
interim, tell how it was done. No
one Put the women and the men of
the war-party go into this dance.
It lasts for many nights, or from
one moon until another. Then the
scalps are thrown on .some hill-side
as a sacrifice to ihe sun.
I knew a Pima in Silt River Val
ley. Arizona, that would extract
colors from calico and paint his
tribal signs. The eagle feather is
much coveted. With it he adorns
his war-bonnet and wings his
arrows. It is a mistake to think
that tatooing is purely for orna
mentation. The hideous face and
body painting is the badge of some
clannish 1 elation, or the sign of
some legendary star under which
they were born. These pigments
are made from ochcr, gypsum and
a very rare mineral. No Indian
maiden's toilet is complete without
these paints and a brush made of
human hair.
The pipe is used in the declara
tion of war and in the announce
ment of peace. When a man wishes
to gather a small war-party he
invites those who may wish to join
him. On the night befoie he
intends to start he sits alone in
his tepee, having previously bent
a long stick like a hoop around
the fire-hole; then he begins to
sing his travel song, heating time
on the hoop with another stick,
then they go out to a bufralo hide
and beat on it while they sing their
travel Ming. The pipe is sent
around only when a large pai ty is
being foimed. In the early spring
of '62, a large party, accompanied
by women, started for Texas, along
the trail which runs through the
Panhandle, crossing the North
Canadian near Kiowa Creek, and
passing on to Fort Elliott. While
singing the travel song on a south
ern head stream of Wolf Creek the
tree tops returned the echo. It was
a mystery the Indians ascribed to
spirits. It is likely that the echo
came from the blufF back of the
camps.
The most ancient were the mound
pipes, made of porphyry, and found
in mounds in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
and Iowa. The peace-pipe of the
North American Indian figures
greatly in our early history.
Aiotind the council files in the
wigwams of the might chiefs the
peace of vast territories hinged on
the willingness of the white and the
red man to .smoke the pipe togeth
er. The favorite material was the
rich led stone found west of the
Rig Stone Lake in Dakota. These
'quarries were always neutral
ground among even the most war
like tribes. Longfellow thus le
fcis to it in that matchless "Song
of Hia'atha:"
From his pouch he drew his peace
pipe,
Very old and strangely fashioned;
Made of red stone was the pipe
head, And'lhe stem a reed with feath
ers: Filled the pipe with hark of
willow.
Placed a burning coal upon it,
Gave it to his guest, tho sti ang
er. And began to speak.
The diseased, wounded and help
less, are exterminated without cer
emony. Weakness and incapacity
are a distinct advantage. Ambush
and strategy are the Indian's best
allies. They never go on a raid ex
cept in the light of the moon. The
dash for destruction is most gener
al lv just about daybreak. They
travel in the night. When scat
tered they are galheied by signal
fires. I have not forgotten how
that, through the night-time, the
mountains of. Southern Arizona
were all ablaze. Old Geronimo
was trying to collect his war-like
Apaches in the outbreak of '8(i.
Now here, then yonder, a sudden
flame would appear on the moun
tain side and as suddenly vanish
away.
An Indian owns a modern imple
ment of warfare only by right of
capture. His chief engine of de
struction has always been the toma
hawk, anow and scalping knife.
He is an artist in the making of
arrows. In the Mississippi Valley
thousands of arrow points, made of
highly polished flint have been
found. In the ruins of the great
southwest, especially those of the
Gila-Salado and Chihuahuan re
gions, extraoidinray specimens have
been f jund. Some of them were
made of finely chipped obsidian a
volcanic glass of that country.
There is a wild, sad note in the
drifting of the tiihes from the
shores of the Great Lakes toward
the Golden Gate. Two things are
certain. One is. the extermina
tion of the buffalo meant death to
the red man. The other, their
mighty chieftains were great ora
tors. It was Satanta, the powerful
sachem of the Comanches. that
made the speech around the council
fire, saying: "I have heard that
you intend to settle us on a reser
vation near the mountains. I don't
want to settle. I love to roam
over the prairies. There I feel free
and happy, but when we Fettle
down we grow pale aivl die."
Ccts Head Cut Off
A man by the name of O'Neif
was tne victim of a fatal accident
Tuesday evening, which occurred
just east of the Santa Fe depot.
The fellow had been employed by
Mr. Dictzman at the mill for a few
days and was paid off Tuesday.
He received about $12 and evidently
spent a good part of it for booze.
The fellow then bought a ticket for
Williams and as he was very much
under the influence of liquor,
boarded No. 2 going east, which
was not the train he wanted.
Evidently he he did not leal he
his mistake until after the train
was in motion, when he became
awaie of the fact that he was going
the wrong way. Feeling that he
could easily jump off he made a
dash and in some way fell, with his
head lighting on the rail, the
wheels of the car striking his jaw
and amputating tin head from the
body completely,
.lust about that time an employe
of the stone quarries, about a mile
cast of town, happened along on his
way home and stumbled over the
body. He went on to the depot and
obtained sufficient help to carry
the man into the depot. Later the
body was taken to the morgue and
will be disposed of after the cor
oner's examination. O'Neil was a
short middle aged man.
This is another accident that
con hi well have been avoided and
in which booze was the principal
character.
No further particulars concerning
the man's relatives could be
learned.
REMARKABLE CASE
First Mnrderer Hanged in Jackson
County Kansas Paid All Costs of
Mis Trial
Henry Garster, the first murderer
legally hanged in Jackson county,
says the Kansas City Star, paid
every cent of the cost of his own
trial and conviction. This curious
fact is brought out in an abstract
recently compiled by Janus) F.
Ruchanan of Independence. Hn
order to complete a chain of title
to some land once owned by Garster
it was neessary for Mr. Ruchanan
to give a history of the murder
trial and its tragic sequ'jl.
Another remarkable feature of
the Garster case, as contrasted with
the enormous criminal costs of the
present day, was its exceeding
cheapness. The total cost to the
state was $139.27. Judgment for
this amount was given against
Garster, and the sheriff was directed
to levy upon his "goods, chattels
and real estate" to satisfy the
claim. His farm was sold by the
sheriff and the state recovered every
cent it had expended beeause of
his crime.
Seventy years ago there was a
water mill on Little Rlue creek,
six miles southeast of Independence.
It was owned and operated by
Williamson Hawkins, who lived
nearby. One night while Hawkins
sat by the fire in his house a shot
was fired at him through a crack
in the wall. He fell dead.
It was charged that Henry Garster
fired the shot, and that Mrs. Hawk-
ins had promised him S150 if he
would kill her husband. The
woman was tried, convicted and
given a penitentiary sentence, but
for some reason not lecorded she
was pardoned before serving any of
her term.
Garster, however, was not so
fortunate. Although he escaped
once after his arrst by breaking
out of the county jail in Independ
ence, he was recaptured in the
southern part of the state and
brought back, in the summer of
1838 he was tried in Independence
for murder in the first degree and
convicted.
The hanging took place in the
afternoon of May 10, 1839. It was
in an open space in the southwest
part of Independence, between the
"Temple lot," now owned by
Mormons, and the present Missouri
Pacific main line station. So rare
an occurrence as a legal hanging
drew to Independence thousands of
spectators from far and near. Some
of the older citizens still living in
that city distinctly remember stand
ing in the crowd on that day.
When the primitive methods used
in hanging Garster are considered,
it is easy to see why the costs were
so light. The gallows consisted of
two poles set upright in the ground
with a crosspiece at the top. From
the crosspiece dangled the rope
with a noose at the end. The
o.Rcers and the prisoner, seated in
a wagon, drove in under the
gallows. The black cap was drawn
over Garster's head, the noose was
tightened around his neck, and the
wagon was driven from under.
That is all there was to it. Gazette
Gompany I Attention.
Ry direction of Adjutant Samuel
an election for Captain and First
Lieutenant of Company I will
be held at the Armory Saturday,
February 15th, 1908 at S o'clock, p.
m. sharp. All members of the
company are ordered to be present
F. S. Rreen
Lt. Col.. 1st. Reg. Inf. N. G. Ariz.
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