The St. Louis Republic. [volume], July 01, 1900, Magazine Section, Image 38

About The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
THE REPUBLIC: SUNDAY. JULY 1, 1900.
it
11
THESE INDIAN YOUNGSTERS ARE "FULL BLOODS," FAST GROWING RARE.
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5pc'al CbrreriaJi ef Tr- Pur-Jsr n-ruVlle.
. Wichita. Kas.. June :. Perhaps there are
no race of children so Interesting nnd nearly
extinct as tne Indian babies In a fen more
tears, on account of the Intermarriage of
the Indians and the whites, there will he no
more fullblood Indian MM'"! Indeed, it Is
raid by students of the Indian race that the
young babies now fan growing up Mill be
the last generation. Fullbjood women and
men are marrying hnlfbrYcds and white
people all the time, and the marriage of two
fullblood Is an event of much Interest and
great surprise It seem"? that the fullblood
Indian of to-da Is no disatIfi-J with his
own race that his one t lew Is to make It ex
tinct as soon as possible. The talk about
the Indians dirg because their race is going
out Is said to be all a mistake There are
very few Indians except the medicine men.
who do not relish the onward march of civ
ilization In their mid it. It is a boon rather
than a burden. That Is why the little full
blood Indian has grown to bo a curiositj
Fullblood babies, such as are found on tha
reservations of the Southwest, are a pe
culiar lot of lnftnts. They are a healthy,
fat lot of youngstcraand despite their rough
usage crow up strons bos and girls. The
little baby Is born without any medical
care. It neter sees a doctor until they come
to vWt the family, when it is perhaps sev
eral years old. With the assistance of set-
I eral nf her relatives the mother raises the
little chill. It Is fed on milk ard cornmeal
I and rte until It Is old enough to relish vege
tables and meats Then it Is allowed to ""at
ns much as It can and will Ftom the time
11 Is strong enough to ptand the outdoor air,
the mother puts it in a little cradle on her
back and there It stis day and night.
Every morning and etening It Is taken out
to be chen a bath. For. much to the sur
prise of the whltrs. these Indian papoo9e3
are Kept very clan
The doctors s.i this Is one raon whv
they are so healthy A cold bath twice
trry twenty-fcur hours, and plenty of
fresh air. rough food and little letting. Is
the treatment of the Indian child until
it is three eas old. It l carried about
on the back of its mother while she does
her work during the da, and at night It
sleeps In the same cradle where It his
spent Its dav The.se cradles are made of
buckskin and in the shape of a sack tied
on to two beards.
This sack Is fixed n that It can be laced
so as to fit the child, and they are said
to be aery comfortable resting daces. At
least, a baby who Is perched on Its moth
er's back for a whole tweite hour? would
generally made a deal of nole If It were
not comlortable, and the Indian baby will j
crying are perfect strangers They lt In
their beaded sack and rtirey things as the
mothr coes about town maklliS hrr flur
chases. r take an Interest In her cooking
as she bends oacr the camp-fin preparing
a meal for her dusky lord. The babies havo
a had temper, and when things do not
go to suit them thej hae to be dealt with
carefullv and klndlj
At three jears thy are turned loose
around the tepees, and after that, until
they are n-adv to go to choi.!. 1'ttle atten
tion Is paid to them bj thlr p.irents. The
rner scnrerly ever notices thu child from
the time of Its birth until It Is (He. and
the mother docs not know she has a child
from three to five Bo those- two ears of
Its life are -jient in pl.iIng with the other
hildren of the household and thoe of the
sirm- ace who lle In adjoining tepees.
Mlnliture tepees, wild frog, pups, liends.
little t-mahawks and c.alplng knives re
som of their plaj things. A doll or a tot
train would frighten them Into spasms. At
this time they also learn to ride on ponies,
with the aid or some of their big brothers,
and If given a chance will play at maklns
medicine and hating dreams.
If at 5 the boy "puts his ear Jo the medi
cine talk" of the older Indians and the
father sees him. h will nt once announce
that hWjnung 'on Is to be a grcit medicine
man and after that he Is greatly honored
among the tribe. The father hujs him a
jtllow pony, which Is the crowning thing in
an Indian lioy's life, and he Is taken Into the
hills and taught the meaning of the various
medicines and at 11 he Is called a first-class
doctor. The little girls are nccr paid much
attention to. If some of them hate good
vol-es. they may hate many dusky wooers,
but otherwise Phe Is doomed to be sold as a
slate to some buck when she has reached
the age of marrIng.
Of course, on the reservations nowadays,
the Indians are forced to nttend school.
They do not like to be conflnel In tts
schoolroom, but after a jcar nirft they be
come satisfied and are quick to learn. Th
girls learn more rapidly than the boys.
While they are In school the parents coma
and et their tepee near the schoolhouse.
They are afraid the children will study too
hard and every night the old mother gives
her chi.di'-n ndtice as to how much they
shall lom th next day.
Their games are terj rough. Colngonth
war path, which Is but a war In mlnlatura
between tv o bod'3 ff the children. 13 ona
or their principal games. The bos only en
gage In :ht3 tough practice. They light each:
other with clubs and knltes. The punish
ment or the game is set ere. but they can
stand plenty or knocks The little girN hava
small tnts erected In which they p'ay at
cooking the different kinds of Indian dishes.
In their habthood the horned toad, a species
of ellow totd found among the sand rocks
on the prairie Is a great pet. Not Infre
qjcntly these toads become pets and sleep
In the sack crad!e3 with the. papooses. Noth
ing but an erldemlo or an accident takes
them off. They are proof against croup and
diphtheria. Hut measles, smallpox and
scarlet fetcr deal death among them. Th-
Indian mother I quite proud of the Infant
whll It Is under three J ears or aga. an'l
takes much Interest In fixing up fancy
beaded ornaments for Its rough dresses.
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TlTtlTTEJ. FOR THE SUNDAY RCTCDUC.
When Jack Watklns lost his job on tho P.
& E. for running the limited expre-s Into
the rear end of a freight train, between
Greentlllo and Wlnters's Station, one
stormy night, he reilli'd that he was up
against a desperate game, for he knew
that the company wculd blacklist him.
At any other time, this misfortune would
not hate fallen so lieatily upon him, but
with his wife and their two children down
with diphtheria, tho prospect was Indeed
black The dhlslon superintendent was ac
quainted with the condition of affairs In
Watklns'n family, and sympathized Etrongly
with tha engineer In his affliction, but as
he told him: "It's orders from the office.
Jack, and I can't di anything else."
For a wek Watklns stayed at homo,
nursing his sick wife and children, watching
by their bedsides at night, nnd sleeping
only an hour or two each day. The little
money that ho had sated was fast being
consumed In the purchase of medicines End
what dainties the stricken ones craved and
were allowed by the physician to hate. To
look fcr work In Harrison would be futile
its inhabitants were all railroad men, rnd
aside from the shops of the P. & K. there
vrzs no ijlace to Eock employment- Tha
friends of the two brakemen who were
killed in the cabooe of the freight train
that rainy night, from which Jack da led
his streak of bad luck, were not tco l.Indly
disposed toward him. and altogether he waa
a aery miserable man But for the sickness
la his family the rroblem would hate been
eas he would hate bogun life oter In
some far-away city or town where ro one
would know him to pclnt him out as the
engireer wha had smashed a freight and
blotted out two Hies.
Thero was no chang- for the better In
the condition of the sick ones, and only a
few dollars remained with which to pay
expenses. The thought of gcing in debt
haunted him and nigh drote lilm mad. He
racked his brain In an effort to detlso some
scheme which would offer a solut'en of tha
situation, but ho ccUd think of nothing.
Fcarfullv depressed with a sense of his
cttn helplessness h sat on the stoop out
slds the kitchen door of his home one
night, his face buried In his big, rough
hands, and his elbows resting on his kneea
the picture Of dejection. Tears trickltd
down Us swarthy cheeks when he gazed
t-p at tho stars, which, somehow, held no
hope for him. While he looked he heard
the sound of a locomotlte whistle In the
distarce. and his eyes lighted up. for he
recognized tha deep note, whosa music ha
had so often sent forth at his touch-It was
'Z , I "":,ne of the ,lnlltJ expr.ss.
TOK ng her first trip after a general oterl
hauling In the shops, made necessary by
the damage ..,.. th. nIht ,c ,k1
her .steel noe Into the beck end of tho
rrelght.
As Watklns llstonJ the expression of
despair tanlshed from his face, hi-, jaws
were firmly set and In his ejes shone a
strange light. In a moment the expres,
whi-tld for the roa.i rr.-)ng and then
.hot Into tlew-.a beautiful sight Tor anv
man. with the long line of :rllllantlv Illum
inated coaches and at their had the big
ten-who-l loecmotlte. a picture of pent
up power. A quick stop at the station, a
hair rrlnute to get orders and the rxpnss
was off again In Its race against time.
As It disappeared around the 1 end at the
root of the hill. Watklns slapped his hand
on his knee, in a maner Indicating that ho
hail settled some important question in his
mind, and then got up and walked nertous
ly to the front of the house and out Into
the road. For an hour he strolled about In
unfrequently portions or tho town, mutter
ing to himself and working out the details
of the plan he had rormed. Then he returned
to the house, entering quietly by the kllchtn
door, so that he would not disturb the sick
one. Ha was busy until midnight, oiling
and loading the six-shooter he had carried
during the strike, ten tears before, binding
a piece of red cloth about the globe of his
lantern and filling the oil tank, manu
facturing a black mask out of one of his
work sMrts anJ th"n hlling all these In a
box under the house.
That night 1 e did not cloe his etes. When
the gray light or diwn rame In through
the cracks In the shutters he was sttH sit
ting there by the hedlde or his wife, hold
ing her wasted hand In his .and canning
her pale face for some I?n that would In
dicate a chance ror the belter.
When (h limited express, stopped at the
little railroad town, at ?.."! in the etenlng.
onl one passenger got aboard. It was the
Htislon superintendent. He did not sk a
comfoitable seat In the chair car or a birth
In tb sleeper. It was his hobby to ride on
the engine, and he was particularly anxious
on this occasion to ride there, b-causp he
wanted to sec how Wilson, the man who
took Walking's pi ice, handled the express.
Down the hill they sped, and around the
curte at Its base, then Into a stretCi of
woods, and for two miles on a roadbed as
straight and let el as the chll tngtn-ers
and construction gang could make It. W!lon
and the division superintendent exchang-d
few- words. The ruh and roar of the train
made talking hard and hearing een moro
difficult.
As they approached the deep cut, through
which the road curved for a quarter or a
mile before the long tunnel was reached.
V.'ilson saw a tiny red speck ahead, and
lnstlnctltely shnt off steam and applied tha
brakes, bringing the train under control.
The ditlInn superintendent was leaning
out or the fireman's window, while the fire
man stood between the cab and the tender
and all pc-red Into the darkness anil at the
r-d ball. who dull light shone on the
tiack 1 yards In the distance.
"It's a signal!" poke up the engineer.
"Uabe No. 23 has had trouble in tho
tunnel."
The division superintendent made no re
ply. He was oh-erting the jlsure tint was
now dimly outlined agaln't the d irk bark
ground, and In wbo. hand was hell the
lantern. As the train grew nearer the mnn
with the red llsht rroted It rlowly from
r'ght to left, and Wllon brought his train
to a sop. Hi en as he did o the man
raised the lantern high In the air and
smashed it on one of the rail". second
later he was In the cab, six-shooter In hand,
masked and determined looking. The dl
tllon suptrlnt'ndent started tlolcntly.
"It's Watklns!" he whispered to Wilson.
"I hope ou won't try to leate the en
gine." spoke up the man with the six
shooter, addressing the ditlslon superin
tendent and the engineer.
Turning to the frightened fireman ha
ccmmandd him to climb back oter the
t nder and uncouple the engine The poor
fellow shook nil over while he hastened to
obej; tho man with the retolver crouch
lnr low at the rear of the tender, where
he could cover the men In the cab as well
as tha fireman. Hating accomplished his
task the nreroaa clambered back on to the
engine. The conluctor and brakeman. at
tracted by the ounJ which accompanied
tho uncoupling of the airhose. hastened to
the scene and were met by the maked man.
who oiieretl thoai Into the cab. Under
xtandlng the situation at once, but not
knowln- how many roblers; there were In
the pirt, the trainmen obeed without tha
slightest show of resistance.
"Now pull out!"
TIu command was addressed to Wilson,
who lost no time in opening tha throttle
and "giving her s.-md." A moment later
and No. 95 had disappeared In the tunnel
on her wild run to Monroe, the nearest tel.
egraph station, ten mlls distant.
It took the lone man less than eight min
utes to go through the three sleeping cars.
He demanded money only and spurned the
gold watches and diamond rings, which
seme or the terrified passengers were only
too willing to surrender. Just to get the
barrel of that big Colt's retolter out of
line with their heads. He did not speak
rotighlv to his tlctlms. but 'here was that
in his voice which told his hearers that ho
was not to be trilled with J.at ror the
lime being at least, h was n despcratti
man.
less than ten minutes aflcr that red light
had slopped the train, "he Job was dono
and t"-e figure which n.ad swung the lantern
had tanlshed in the woods on the east side,
of the track.
The ditlslon sup-rtntendent Knew tha
state of things In Jack Watklns' s, fomlly
and It did not require an extraordinary ex
ercise or hl inluitite 'acuities to under
stand the motlte that had prompted the
discharged engineer to rob the passengers
or the limited express. That he was sur
prised to the point or phsical shock goes
without saIng, but he did not stop to pon
der on the whs and whererores. Ha was
figuring on how to capture Watklns.
"Open her wide up!" he said to Wilson.
The engineer gate tho great engine, tha
full limit of steam and tho sn-cl which
she attained was ternfK It was a mile a,
minute nil tho way to Monroe. A few hur
ried Instructions to the opratr nfl,
tho dlv'-ion superintendent .ent. this
saee to Harrison:
"Kxprcss held up by Jack Watkina In tha
big cut. noil all northbound trains at Har
rison. Watklns will probably go home be
fore he tries to !e tv the State. Watch tha
house."
The operator at Harrison almost fell oft
his chair when h received the wire from
Monroe. He notlfiM the Marshal and In a
short time a posso had been organized and
was on tho way to Watklns's house. Tha
news spread llkp wildfire and the town wa3
soon in a feter or excitement,
When the pos-e came In sight of tha
house they saw n man Jump from a horsa
In the open field at the back of the place,
run through the gato and Into the hcu'9
by the kitchen door.
"Watklns. as sure as I'm allte." raid tha
Marshal
Surrounding the house, their revolvers an!
shot-guns ready for Instant use. tho posia
prepared for a battle with their man. Caus
tiously the Marshal approached the bacK
door, opened It and entered the house.
The door Into the bedroom was open anl
there, kneeling beside the. bed and holding
his wiles nan.i in his. was Watklns. hit
shirt and trousers entered with foam froi
the mouth of the horse he had ridden
hard. The Marshal raised his pistol end
stepped forward to the bedroom door, Wat
klns must hate hard him. but he gave no
Indication or it. He was kissing the wom-
an's thin han I and sobbing as only a strong
man can sob. On the other side of the rooro
-near the bed In which lay the children, was
the old negres. who had been Watklns'a ,
r.allhful assistant, in nursing his, Elck ones.
She. too. was crying.
The Marshal adtanced and laid his nan
on the kneeling man's shoulder. Watklns
looked up. the agony of grief pictured la
his face. Ho recognized the Marshal.
"I won't try to get away," he said. "Just
let me stay here with her for awhile. I
thought I could make It more comforabta
for her. although It cost ma a penitentiary
sentence But It's too late. She's dcid."
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