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Show Qtoriesof GREAT ! INDIANS By ELMO SCOTT WATSON k Copy rig hi, tin, wattr Ntwipapr Union. PETALESHARO ENOS THE RITE OF HUMAN SACRIFICE TN THK vnlley of the PluUo river A dwelt the 8kldl.or Wolf Pnwnecs, trlhe tu tho ngc-old confederacy of Chahlksachnulks, "men of men." Thell gods imto the stars, tho morning Mar rouresentlnic the masculine element, the evening star Uio feminine. Undci tho direction of a tribal priesthood th Skldl held a series of ceremonies symbolical sym-bolical of the creation and pcrpetus-tton pcrpetus-tton of all living forms und culmlnnt-Ing culmlnnt-Ing In the sacrlllco of a young girl to the morning star. About 1&!4 a captive Comanche girl was chosen as the victim for this sacrifice. sac-rifice. All of the Skldl had assembled at the Hltnr, tho priests had bound the girl to h cross nud were preparing to begin tho drctulful rites. Suddenly a young wftfFIbr sprang to his feet. "It Is the Utah of my futhcr that this practice prac-tice Iro nlrolUlatl," ho shouted to tho priests. n'du may do ono of two tilings (fvee this woman from the sacrifice sac-rifice vif accept me In her place." Ue'foro anyone could Interfere he sprang to the woman's sjdc, cut the thongrt which bound her, selied her In hU arms and bore her swiftly through tho crowd to a place where two fleet horses were waiting. Mounting, they flod before the dumfouuded Skldl had recovered their wits. After riding Borne distance with tho woninn die fttwnee warrior Mopped. Pointing to the south he said, "The trail Is open before you. Hero la food to supply you on your long Journey. This horse I give you, too. He will curry you safely linck to your iwople." Then be turnml to the Skldl village. His bold deed was accepted without protest by hfs people, for U was Pe-tjilesharo Pe-tjilesharo (Pltnrcxhnru "Chief of Men"), the son of Chief Old Knife (I.otnlcslm) and their greatest wnrrtor. And so Impressed were tho Skldl by his net that they never again o (Teres) h human sacrifice to the morning star, Putnleshnro's fume spread to the whites und a few years Inter the students stu-dents of n woman's seminary In Washington, Wash-ington, D. C, sent the Pawnee warrior a sliver medal, accompanied by an nd-dress nd-dress which ended with these words: "Brother, accept this token of our eu-tw.Mii eu-tw.Mii s always weur It for our sake, nnd 'hen you hnve tho power to save a poor woninn from death und torture, think of this nnd of us and fly to her rescue." .' That medal became Petalcsharo'a most prized posscsshm arid h woro It until the day of his douth In Uio summer sum-mer of 1874. MANUELITO, THE GREAT CHIEF OF THE NAVAJO TT HAPPENED nt Frt Dcflance, A Arlx. One Mbsuo day" a crowd of Nuvnjoes gatliercd around tho corral looking hungrily nt tlic steers big, rangy longhorus which would soon tx fresh bflof for Uicm. Unnoticed by anyone a little Indian boy slipped' under un-der tho fence and toddled out Into the Inclosure. In nn Instants big steer had trotted out from the herd nnd, shaking Its loug, shnrp hums, advanced upoa tho tiny llgure, who curiously watched the animal's approach. Tiiere was a moment mo-ment of horrified suspense tlien a tall, straight Indian Jumped from the corral cor-ral fence and In u few flying lenps had placed himself between the baby and the oncoming steer. Thoro he stood with arms folded across tils breast. At the sume Instant the steer charged Tho unlmul came on with Uw forco u( u locomotive. At the last second It stopped nnd stood swinging Its head back und forth with the points of the sharp horn's Just missing the breast of the Indian. Hut the erect figure did not flinch. Not a muticlo moved. The fitocr was puzzled. Evidently deciding that It was not worth while to bump bis head on something which might be ' n post, the longhorn turned and trot ted back to his fellows. Aft the Indian walked back to th corral fence with the baby on his khoulder there was no agitation In his manner. For was he not Mauuellto, war chief of the Navajo? He gained this position In 18.13 while the Nuvajoci were a constant terror to the eurly settlers of Arizona. Several expeditions expedi-tions sent against them had failed, but In 1603 Col. Kit Carson, the famous' scout, whipped thorn so thoroughly that they never anln were guilty ut any organized hostility towards the whites. After that Manuelito, the war elder, bccara a pence chief, nnd In 1872 he was uppolnted cnptnln of the native police force organized to keep order on the reservntlon. Once when a number of young bucks were plunnlng nn outbreak out-break Manuelito called them Into council. coun-cil. Picking up a handful of sand he Kiitcl, "Do yon know how many kthIiic of sand are In my bund? There ur Just thut nwny white men for you to light.' Now do you wlh to make war?" They did not, for Mnnui'llto's symbol of tho Americans strength brought them to their m-iiso. From then on until his death In 180.1 he proted him self a wlso and far-seeing liunler nud his untie Is still revered by the Navajo. |