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Show t Ui ' 5 ( IN INDIAN TERBITOEY FROM BRUTAL BARBARITY TO DECENT CIVILIZATION. , Pine Young roopls Among th ItSi, ii flfnnr with White Wood rredoml- r nttlnc In Their Veins Trlde la UUnketed Ancestors. 1 3J (Special Letter.) -j If there are any pcoplo who think J4 that the Indians will nover become ' clvlllczd, a short Btay In Indian ter- J rltory would certainly cause them to ft change- their opinion. Well-lnformod j, travelers aro often surprised at tho ''ll evidences of comfort nnd prosperity '' that thoy encounter Journeying 1 through this r'h country. Thero aro f many beautiful villages In the land of tho Choctaws and Chorokecs, and 1 In no part ot America are there finer farms under a higher stato ot cultlva- t tlon. Two-story bouses and big barns crowded with hay, oats, wheat and corn aro In evidence In every dlrec f tlon. Blue-eyed children and flaxen- l haired young ladles greet strangers ' without the least shyness, and one Is H puzzled to know why thoy call thom- selves Indians, for they are as fair L as any children and daughters of Eve, . and thero Is not tho least suggestion i of a taint of red blood In their veins. ' In fact, amongst tho old tribes that were settled here In tho early part of tho century thero aro very fow tull- ?., l v I ' COMANCHE SCJUAW SNATCHINO OFFAL, blooded Indians. Hundreds ot whlto men, and, strangely enough, most ot thom Scotchmen, had Intermarried with tho Cherokccs, ChoctawB, and Chlcasaws, long before they moved from tholr eld homes In Georgia and Alabama. Blue eyes are very common com-mon among theso people, nnd ono often meets a Miss McLnno or a McGregor with flaming red hair. I camped a few days slnco with old Chief John Paul and his family. They were traveling through tho country and had stopped on the roadsldo to kill a beef. Tho old chief Ib himself as whlto as anybody, nnd so aro his children, though his wlfo Is rather dark, and has tho manners of her ancestors. an-cestors. Tho boys who dressed tho beef are his nephews, but neither of them are full-bloods. They were very particular, and took great pains to keep tho meat clean. Two or three Comancho squaws sat and watched us until wo hod hung up tho quarters nnd then they pounced upon tho remains ot the carcass llko hungry wolves. Nothing could havo moro pronouncedly pronounced-ly shown the difference In the civilization civiliza-tion ot tho two tribes. Tho Chorokoos aro Just about a century In advanco of their Comancho brothers. Tho Comunches havo only bcon In the torrltory a fow years, and they still havo tho stomachs ot wolves. It will not bo long, however, before they will dwell In houses and adopt tho customs cus-toms ot white people It Is difficult to Induce a wild Indian to become cleanly. These Comanchcs were n hard, cruel, filthy set, but Undo Sam's agent has forced them to set tholr tents In lino and koep tho streets clean. Thoy would roll In filth and mako the squaws do all tho work If tho agent, who lives In tho little village did not watch tholr ovory movement and threaten to cut their rations shorty for ouy nnd all acts ot disobedience A few of them have been Induced to cultlvato small patches ot ground, but thoy will not advanco very rapidly until tho young pcoplo, who aro now In school learning something, ot moro Importance than hunting and war, come to tholr In- I horltance I very oncn among tho Choctaws ono sees under tho samo root a family that could present a specimen of overy degree of blood from tho painted warrior war-rior to a blue-eyed babe, I obtained a photograph of a brldo and groom belonging to tho rich Osages. Tho brldo's mothor Is n full-blooded white; tho groom would pass tor an Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon any day." Theso Osages are tho richest people In tho world. Every ono ot them gets $5,000 from tho government gov-ernment nnd n largo body of tho finest fin-est land In America. Thoso young peoplo are worth not loss than 120,000. Tho bridegroom Is without a watch, and tho brldo doos not possess a single ornament. Tho Osages do not seom to realize that they nro rich. Young men who aro looking for nn heiress need not go far nwny, but boforo they go among tho Osages a-courtlng It would bo well enough to learn that tho j fathers and brothers of theso dusky maidens carry a big knlfo for all more fortuno hunters. They nro all eager to endorse n proper nlllanco, but once an Osage, always an Osage. The man who marries nmong them Is expected to remain and share tholr fortunes. Nearly all of tho old tribes dwell lu houses and cultivate farms, Tho govornment furnishes tents to tho new tribes that havo recently been brought to tho reservations, and their villages nro very pretty. Tho young pooplt tako great pride In tholr blood and lineage A young Cherokco bello may find much to boast of In a rod grandparent grand-parent with plaited hair and rings In his ears, whllo she would look with Indlfi '"o upon n relative In store clothes For Instance no member of tho brldnl party Just mentioned wns moro conspicuous and highly honored than a young cousin of tho bride, who was ovldently a full-blooded Indian. Certainly the Indians ot tho territory furnish many features of Interest to the students of race peculiarities. |
