—Adapted from "The Life of Theodore Roosevelt,"by William Draper Lewis.Courtesy of The John C. Winston Co.
Topics
Your teacher will call on you to come to the front of your class and tell about one of the following topics:1. Roosevelt and the seal.2. Roosevelt's eyesight.3. His trip up the Nile.4. That Roosevelt boy as a room-mate.
Your teacher will call on you to come to the front of your class and tell about one of the following topics:
1. Roosevelt and the seal.
2. Roosevelt's eyesight.
3. His trip up the Nile.
4. That Roosevelt boy as a room-mate.
Probably you think you can tell all about a chimney, but you may be able to learn something interesting from this selection.You should all begin reading at the same time. Your teacher will give the signal when to close your books. She will then ask you to write answers to the questions at the end.
Probably you think you can tell all about a chimney, but you may be able to learn something interesting from this selection.
You should all begin reading at the same time. Your teacher will give the signal when to close your books. She will then ask you to write answers to the questions at the end.
A hollow tree was the first chimney of our unlettered forefathers. Accidentally set on fire, this tree illustrated the principle upon which all chimneys have been constructed. It showed that warm air, being lighter than cold air, tends to rise. When this warm air is confined within an enclosure open at the top and bottom, a strong upward current fills the space. As the warm air rises, the cold air rushes in through the opening at the bottom of the shaft, and in this way a draft is created which supplies the fire at the foot of the chimney with the oxygen it needs to support combustion.
Simple chimneys are constructed of logs and mortar, or of stones and mortar, such as those built for log cabins; of brick, also of cement and of iron pipes made for the purpose. Since a long column of hot air produces a stronger current than a short one, the tallest chimneys, other things being equal, produce the strongest draft. Tall chimneys are larger at the base than at the top. This is to make the structure stable and to increase the draft by contracting the flue at the top. At the bottom the chimney is usually connected with the fire by a flue. A fireplace, however, is practically an enlarged part of the chimney.
The size and height of a chimney depend upon the size of the furnace. For larger furnaces there is greater dangerof making the flue too small than too large. The stacks or chimneys of the largest steamships like the Mauritania and the Imperator are so large that two railway trains could run through them abreast, and they are about 175 feet in length. The difference between a chimney and a smokestack is in name only; chimneys constructed of tubing made from iron plates are usually called stacks.
—From "The World Book".Courtesy of W. F. Quarrie & Co.
Questions
1. How does a difference between warm and cold air make chimneys useful?2. Why is a tall chimney better than a short one?3. How large are the chimneys or stacks on the largest steamships?
1. How does a difference between warm and cold air make chimneys useful?
2. Why is a tall chimney better than a short one?
3. How large are the chimneys or stacks on the largest steamships?
Arrange your paper as you are accustomed to do. Number the lines from one to ten. As you read each of the following statements, decide for yourself if it is true or false, and write the wordtrueor the wordfalseas the case may be, on the proper line of your paper.
Arrange your paper as you are accustomed to do. Number the lines from one to ten. As you read each of the following statements, decide for yourself if it is true or false, and write the wordtrueor the wordfalseas the case may be, on the proper line of your paper.
1. Cloth is woven on looms.
2. Strawberries grow on trees.
3. The American Indians were always friendly to the early settlers.
4. Russia is a happy country.
5. The monks of the middle ages were the best educated men of their time.
6. The Pilgrims settled Virginia in 1620.
7. It is not important that a voter should be intelligent.
8. Warm clothing costs less than doctors' bills.
9. Education is cheaper than revolution.
10. Money earns money.
Here is Benjamin Franklin's own account of his first attempt at writing. You see, he did not have a chance to learn to write, as you do, by practice in composition in school.
Here is Benjamin Franklin's own account of his first attempt at writing. You see, he did not have a chance to learn to write, as you do, by practice in composition in school.
My brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the "New England Courant". The only one before it was the "Boston News-Letter". I remember his beingdissuadedby some of his friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed, one newspaper being, in their judgment, enough for America. At this time (1771) there are not less than five and twenty. He went on, however, with the undertaking; and after having worked in composing the types and printing off the sheets, I was employed to carry the papers through the streets to the customers.
He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amused themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gained it credit and made it more in demand; and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of theapprobationtheir papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived todisguisemy hand; and, writing ananonymouspaper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning and communicated to his writing friends when they called in as usual. They read it, and commented on it in my hearing; and I had theexquisitepleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of somecharacteramong us for learning andingenuity. Isuppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I thenesteemedthem.
Encouraged, however, by this, I wrote and conveyed in the same way to the press several more papers which were equally approved; and I kept my secret till my small fund of sense for such performances was pretty well exhausted, and then Idiscoveredit, when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintance, and in a manner that did not quite please him, as he thought, probably with reason, that it tended to make me too vain.
—Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
Questions
1. What is there in this story that suggests that Franklin was a modest boy?2. How does it seem to you, from this story, that young people in Franklin's day were looked upon by their elders?3. Was he a good writer when he began? How do you know?4. Can you tell the meaning of the words in italics, from their use in the story? Look them up in a dictionary and compare the meaning you find with your judgment from the way they were used.
1. What is there in this story that suggests that Franklin was a modest boy?
2. How does it seem to you, from this story, that young people in Franklin's day were looked upon by their elders?
3. Was he a good writer when he began? How do you know?
4. Can you tell the meaning of the words in italics, from their use in the story? Look them up in a dictionary and compare the meaning you find with your judgment from the way they were used.
1. I need six dozen 1¼" screws. They will cost me five cents a dozen. There are twelve dozen in a box, and a box will cost thirty-two cents. Would it pay me to get just what I need now?
2. All but three of the girls in our class are members of the United States School Garden Army. Edith is not a member of the United States School Garden Army. Is it possible that Edith is a member of our class?
Did you ever think how hard it would be to get along without clocks? At almost every city street corner we can look at a clock; every railway station, every post office, every schoolhouse, has at least one; and everybody's house contains one or more. And at that, boys and girls are sometimes late for school.
No, we certainly couldn't manage without these useful mechanisms; and yet, there was a time, not so many centuries ago, either, when they were a rare possession; and a time before that when they had not yet been invented. What did our far-off ancestors do?
Let us pretend that we are going for a walk in the beautiful garden of a country mansion. Here in the midst of a rose bed stands a low stone pillar, with an upright, triangular piece of metal attached to its top near the center, and some figures marked in a circle around the edge.
Sundial
This is a sun-dial. The owner of the garden has it here for a pretty ornament; but in the old times, before the days of clocks, people told the time by means of sun-dials, judging the hour by the position of the shadow cast by the piece of metal upon the stone. If you would like, just for the fun of it, to have such a sun-clock in your own little garden, there is a very easy way to make one.
Choose a spot of ground that is perfectly flat, where the sun shines all day long. Set up, or get your father or big brother to set up for you, a post four or five inches thick. Make it stand perfectly firm and straight. Now find athin, flat piece of board—a box top or a shingle will do—and nail it like a table top on to the top of the post. After these preparations have been made, you must wait for a clear, starry night when you can go out and find the North Star. The way to do this is by looking at the "Big Dipper", the group of stars that of course you know.
Big Dipper
The two stars marked A and B are called the "Pointers"; and, looking in the direction of the arrow, the next star in line with them is the North Star. Take a straight, thin stick, and fasten it to the center of the top of the post, slanting it so that it will point directly at the North Star. That is all you can do until the next day.
At twelve o'clock, if the sun is bright, you will find your slanting stick casting a shadow on the piece of board. Mark the line where it falls, and put the figure 12 upon it, to show that this line belongs to twelve o'clock. Do the same thing at one, two, and three o'clock, and so on through the afternoon. In the same way, the next day, you can mark the morning hours.
If you like, you can print on your sun-dial the motto that is often used for them: "Non horas sed serenas", which means "I mark none but sunny hours".
Questions
1. What did our ancestors use instead of a clock?2. How can you find the North Star?3. Can you draw a diagram of the sun-clock?
1. What did our ancestors use instead of a clock?
2. How can you find the North Star?
3. Can you draw a diagram of the sun-clock?
Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your grade on the second line. Divide the rest of your paper into four parts with lines drawn as shown below:TRAVELINGBANKINGGRAZINGSEASHOREBelow is a list of words that is not very well arranged. Some words suggest a long railroad journey, some an errand to the bank, some the lonely occupation of a cowboy, and others a vacation at the shore. Write the words,traveling,banking,grazing,seashoreat the top of your paper on the fourth line as shown above. Now rearrange the words below into four columns under these four heads, putting all the words that seem to suggesttravelingin the first column, and all the words that suggestbankingin the second column, and every word that suggestsgrazingorseashorein its proper column. When you finish wait quietly for the others.
Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your grade on the second line. Divide the rest of your paper into four parts with lines drawn as shown below:
TRAVELINGBANKINGGRAZINGSEASHORE
Below is a list of words that is not very well arranged. Some words suggest a long railroad journey, some an errand to the bank, some the lonely occupation of a cowboy, and others a vacation at the shore. Write the words,traveling,banking,grazing,seashoreat the top of your paper on the fourth line as shown above. Now rearrange the words below into four columns under these four heads, putting all the words that seem to suggesttravelingin the first column, and all the words that suggestbankingin the second column, and every word that suggestsgrazingorseashorein its proper column. When you finish wait quietly for the others.
discountstationflockcattletraininterestbridgedepositsheepcheckvaultaccountcashiersalt-lickgrassranchsandwaveslife-guardbalancesuitcasetaxisignalcurveoceanswimfenceherdspringadding machinepass-booktreebeachfishconductorticketboardwalkengineerlighthousesteamer
This selection was written by a white man who ran away from home when a boy and lived among the Indians of the plains for twelve years about the middle of the last century. He married an Indian maiden, Washtella, and became a chief in the tribe. He gives many interesting descriptions of Indian life and customs, which probably give some idea of the way our own ancestors may have lived thousands of years ago.The Indians depended upon the buffalo for their chief supply of food. Millions of these animals roamed the plains in vast herds. The Indians cannot be blamed in the least for slaughtering these animals for food, but the white men who drove the Indians from the plains killed the buffaloes often for mere sport, and exterminated them except for a few small herds now in captivity.Read the story as rapidly as you can without skipping or losing the meaning, and be prepared to stand in front of the class and give a complete discussion of any of the topics given at the end of the selection.
This selection was written by a white man who ran away from home when a boy and lived among the Indians of the plains for twelve years about the middle of the last century. He married an Indian maiden, Washtella, and became a chief in the tribe. He gives many interesting descriptions of Indian life and customs, which probably give some idea of the way our own ancestors may have lived thousands of years ago.
The Indians depended upon the buffalo for their chief supply of food. Millions of these animals roamed the plains in vast herds. The Indians cannot be blamed in the least for slaughtering these animals for food, but the white men who drove the Indians from the plains killed the buffaloes often for mere sport, and exterminated them except for a few small herds now in captivity.
Read the story as rapidly as you can without skipping or losing the meaning, and be prepared to stand in front of the class and give a complete discussion of any of the topics given at the end of the selection.
When our camp was pitched, I walked out along the banks of the beautiful lake, to see what I could discover. Its waters were clear as crystal and full of fish. Not a boat, and perhaps not even a canoe, had ever rippled its bosom, and I could not but imagine, as I gazed across the blue expanse, that one day commerce would spring up, and towns and cities be built upon its green shores.
Looking to the north, I was startled from my reflections by seeing a large buffalo cow coming down to the water to drink. Hastening back to the village, I quickly procured my Hawkins rifle and ran over the little eminence that hid the lodges from the animal. She had approached quite near the water, and was not more than one hundred and fifty yards distant from me, when, hearing a noise in myrear, I looked back and saw several Indians running toward me with their guns. The cow at the same moment saw them, and turned to make off; but too late, for I had drawn a bead on her heart, and at one shot dropped her dead.
All the village came running and shouting, and the squaws gathered around the dead buffalo, jostling and elbowing each other as they tore off the meat. It is the Indian rule that game is common property, and my buffalo was soon reduced to a pile of bones by the knives of the busy squaws. I could not help laughing as I watched them struggling for the choice morsels. First, the skin was carefully removed, and then the muscles and gristle cut away. Then, just as a squaw was about to take the coveted part, she would be rudely thrust aside, and some other squaw would take it. These exploits were received with loud shouts of laughter, and no ill-temper or quarreling was observed among the excited crowd of women who surrounded the carcass.
On returning to my lodge, I found Washtella in great glee over my good luck, and she explained that it was no small matter to have killed the first buffalo slain in the hunt. Presently I received a message from the chief, and was informed by an old Indian that, having killed the first buffalo, I would be entitled to lead the hunt on the first day. Meat was brought me, and the skin or robe, which, according to the Indian custom, is always given to the one who kills the animal. So proud was Washtella that she did nothing all the evening but talk of my good fortune, and I could not help being amused at the boasts of the little maid. Nothing could possibly have happened that would have given her more pleasure.
The next morning, as soon as it was daylight, I wasaroused, and told that the warriors were waiting for me to lead them in the chase. Assembling all of them before my lodge, I addressed them, saying I was a young man, and lacked experience, but if they would allow me, I would name one worthy to lead them in my place. This was received with loud shouts of approval, and as soon as quiet was restored, I pointed to a young warrior, and said: "He is a good man, go and follow him." The warrior I had selected was my bitter enemy. As his animosity was well known in the tribe, the honors thus thrust upon him, by one from whom he had expected no favors, surprised and pleased them. For a moment the brave hung his head, and then came forward, and, amid the shouts of the warriors, gave me his hand. Feeling unwell, I did not go upon the hunt that day, but in the evening, when the party returned, my old enemy came to my lodge, and as a token of his friendship, presented me with two fine robes he had taken during the day.
On the second day I went out with the hunters, and joined in a most exciting chase. Under the directions of a chief, we deployed at wide distances, and then, closing in, surrounded a herd of buffaloes on three sides; and as soon as the herd began to move, the chase began. Our tough little ponies bore us swiftly along, and soon the herd was hard pressed. Presently it began to scatter, and then each Indian, selected a buffalo and followed the beast up until he had killed it. It is astonishing how fast the great lumbering animals can run, and although they do not seem to go over the ground very rapidly, it takes a good horse to come up with them. Their shambling "lope" is equal in speed to an American horse's gallop, and they can climb steep hills and get over rough ground faster than a horse. They run with their heads near the earth, and a hundred ofthem will make a mighty noise that resembles the rumbling of distant thunder. The warriors do not stop to touch the game after it is dead, as the skinning and packing of the meat is the work of the squaws who follow in the wake of the hunters. For this purpose they have pack-ponies, and two women will skin and pack three or four buffaloes in a day.
The meat is brought to the village, is cut in narrow slices, about an inch thick, and three or four inches long. These slices are then hung on poles, or stretched on small willows laid across a frame-work of poles. The meat is frequently turned, and is allowed to remain in the sun and air for three days. It should be covered or brought in at night, and must not be allowed to get wet by rain while it is curing. This is called jerking buffalo, and is a simple and easy process of curing meat. The pure crisp air of the plains soon dries it, and then it has a sweet, pleasant taste. I have known climates on the plains where nearly all the year carcasses could be hung up and left without spoiling until used. Meat, when jerked, is only about half the weight and size it is when in a raw state. If soaked in water it will swell greatly, and then, unless used immediately, it will spoil.
When the buffalo flesh is dried sufficiently, it is put into parfleshes, or wrappers, made of rawhide cut square, which will hold about half a bushel. They are sewed up at the bottom and sides, the laps at the top being left open until they are filled. The meat is then laid in flat and packed tightly like plugs of tobacco. When two or three layers of meat have been put in, hot buffalo fat is brought and poured over it until all the interstices are filled up. Then more layers of meat are put in and more fat poured on, until the parflesh is full, when the laps are folded over each other and tightly sewed up with sinews. The meat is nowready for winter use, and two parfleshes are fastened together like a pair of saddle-bags, and slung across the back of a pony when the Indians travel. To prevent these bags or wrappers from hurting the ponies' backs, the under side is lined with fur or bear skin.
We had hunted four days from our camp on the lake, and although we had taken the utmost precaution not unnecessarily to alarm the buffaloes most of them had gone a long distance from the village. A council was called, and it was determined we should go over to the lakes that lay on the Jim River, sixty miles distant. We immediately set out, moving around the lake to the right of the buffaloes, so as not to disturb them. Our route lay across a beautiful level country through which meandered little streams eight or ten miles apart. We traveled leisurely along, however, halting on the creeks, and making about sixteen miles per day, for many of our ponies were already heavily laden with meat.
On the fourth day we reached the lakes, and again pitched our village. Here we found plenty of buffaloes and a great many calves, which were very acceptable to us, as we wanted some parfleshes of veal.
We hunted four days, and took a great deal of meat. Each family had from three to six parfleshes, according to its size, which was as much as it could use during the winter, and enough for the infirm besides. So the hunt was announced at an end, and we began to prepare for our return. I had been exceedingly fortunate, and had taken no less than nine parfleshes of meat and had twelve robes.
There are several methods of killing buffaloes besides the regular chase. One of these, as practiced by the Indians, is as follows:
The buffaloes are watched until they graze near a precipice,when two or three Indians put a buffalo skin on sticks, and concealing themselves under it, approach near the herd slowly, as if grazing. This must be done when the wind is favorable, and blowing from the buffaloes. If the decoy is successful, other Indians make a wide circuit, surrounding the herd on all sides, except that toward the bluff. Then they steal up as close as possible, and when the buffaloes, discover them, they shout, shake their blankets and poles, and close in upon the herd. The animals are greatly alarmed, but seeing the mock buffalo (which has managed to attract attention) set off for the bluffs, they rush madly after it. When the baiters reach the bluff, they fling the mock buffalo over the precipice, and betake themselves to holes in the bank or crevices among the rocks. It is in vain the leaders of the herd halt when they see the chasm; the mass from behind, crazed by the poles and blankets of the Indians, who are now close upon them, rush madly on, and press those in front over the cliff.
It is exceedingly dangerous to bait buffalo, as the herd frequently overtake the false buffalo and trample it beneath their feet, or the great beasts, falling among the rock, crush the Indian baiters to death. Many reckless young Indians, who as baiters have gone too far inland, have, after the chase, been found dead on the plain, or their mangled bodies lay at the foot of the precipice with the carcasses of the animals they had so cruelly deceived. It takes a brave Indian to be a baiter, but there are always plenty of young and foolish boys who are anxious to engage in the dangerous sport.
After the buffaloes have fallen and killed or maimed themselves, a party of Indians who have been concealed near the foot of the precipice suddenly advance and finish them with axes and rifles.
Our hunt having ended, the chief ordered that the usual feast and rejoicing should take place. A long pole was provided, a buffalo head put on the top of it, and a number of tails nailed, at right angles, to the sides. The pole was then set firmly in the ground, in the center of an open space before the village, and buffalo heads were piled up around it. The heads were set in a circle, and arranged to look as hideous as possible.
Immense quantities of buffalo meat were now brought, and the feast was made ready. At these feasts nothing but buffalo meat is eaten, and every one makes it a point to gorge himself to the fullest extent. Even the dogs are stuffed, and the women and children are persuaded to eat while they can force down a bite. The greater the quantity of meat eaten, the greater the honor; and some starve themselves for two or three days in advance, in order to do justice to the occasion. The meat is prepared in every form—boiled, fried, broiled, roasted, and raw.
When one can eat no more, he goes to the pole, and as soon as a sufficient number have collected, the dance begins. The warriors sit in a circle around the pole, and the squaws, gaudily dressed and painted, form a circle around the warriors. At a signal the drums beat, and all stand up. Then the squaws sing, and the warriors move around to the right and the squaws to the left, each keeping time to the drums. The dance is a slow, shuffling motion that soon makes one very tired. When one of the Indians gets tired, he steps out of the circle and another takes his place. As soon as it is dark, wood is brought, fires are made around the pole, and the dancing is kept up all night. The feasting frequently continues for three days, and at no time is the pole without its set of dancers. The amount of buffalo consumed is prodigious, when we consider that, besides thevast quantities eaten by the Indians, each family has from six to ten days.
When the feast was over, we began to prepare in earnest for our return. The meat was carefully distributed, so that no pony would be overloaded, and everything was neatly packed. It took both my ponies and all my dogs to carry my meat and lodge, so Washtella and I had to walk. We considered this no great hardship, however, as nearly the whole village was on foot. We made only eight or ten miles a day; but at last, after a most fatiguing march, reached the Missouri, and entered our old camp near Fort Randall.
—From "Belden the White Chief".
Outline for Topical Recitations
Introduction—The Scene of the Camp.
1. My good luck.(a) Killing the first buffalo of the hunt.(b) Cutting up the meat.(c) Receiving appointment as leader.2. Chasing the buffalo.3. The winter's food supply.(a) Drying the meat.(b) Packing.(c) Transporting.(d) Ending the hunt.4. Killing buffaloes by a decoy.5. Celebrating a successful hunt.(a) The place for the ceremony.(b) The hearty meal.(c) The dance.6. The return to the winter camp.
1. My good luck.(a) Killing the first buffalo of the hunt.(b) Cutting up the meat.(c) Receiving appointment as leader.2. Chasing the buffalo.3. The winter's food supply.(a) Drying the meat.(b) Packing.(c) Transporting.(d) Ending the hunt.4. Killing buffaloes by a decoy.5. Celebrating a successful hunt.(a) The place for the ceremony.(b) The hearty meal.(c) The dance.6. The return to the winter camp.
This selection tells of life among the Indians of our western plains before the buffalo became almost extinct.
As you read, write topics that will enable you to recall the various things the author tells about. Your teacher will have two or three of you put your list of topics on the blackboard and will ask various members of the class to come to the front of the room and tell the class about one topic each. While a pupil is reciting no one should raise his hand nor interrupt. Be a good sport and give the one who is reciting a chance to make his topic as interesting as he can.
This selection can be divided into several large topics with details under each. These details may be stated as sub-topics under the large ones. Your teacher may wish you to look it over again to see if you can find the four main topics.
Nothing is more important in learning to remember what you read than the habit of organizing your material in the form of an outline. A good outline generally takes some such form as this:
Introduction1. First main topic(a)(b)(c)
Sometimes there may be two, and sometimes several sub-topics. Never use any letter if there is only one topic. When there is only one topic under any heading, you should simply write the topic out.
2. Second main topic(a)(b)(c), etc.
Use as many main topics as you need to tell the story or to include the substance of what you are outlining.
One can have no appreciative idea of an Indian village, unless he has been permitted to come across the prairie through a hot summer's sun, and suddenly discovers one nestled under the broad shade trees, beside a clear running stream, in a green valley. How pleasant the grass then looks; how refreshing the bright waters, and how cozy the tall lodges, with their shaded verandas of thickly interwoven boughs!
All day long we had toiled over the scorching plain, through clouds of grasshoppers that often struck us in the face with sufficient force to make the skin smart for several minutes. Once we had seen a mirage of a beautiful lake, fringed with trees and surrounded by green pastures which invited us to pursue its fleeting shadows, but we knew all about these deceptions by sad experience, and pushed steadily on over the burning sands.
These mirages often deceive the weary traveler of the desert. Suddenly the horseman sees a river or lake, apparently just ahead of him, and he rides on and on, hoping to come up to it. For hours it lies before his eyes, and then in a moment disappears, leaving him miles and miles out of his way in the midst of desert sands. Men have ridden all day striving to reach the beautiful river just before them, and then at night have turned back to plod their weary way to where they had started from in the morning.
The mirage we had seen was most delightful, representing a clear lake, with trees, meadows, and villages nestling on its shores, but it scarcely equalled the reality of the scene when, late in the afternoon, we ascended a rise in the prairie, and saw below us a wide stream lined with green trees, and on its banks a large Indian encampment.
The ponies pricked up their ears and neighed with pleasure as they smelt the water, and our own delight was unbounded.We halted for a moment to admire the beautiful prospect. Through the majestic trees slanting rays of the sun shivered on the grass! Far away, winding like a huge silver-serpent, ran the river, while near by in a shady grove stood the village with the children at play on the green lawns not made by hands. The white sides of the teepees shone in the setting sunlight, and the smoke curled lazily upward from their dingy tops. Bright ribbons and red grass, looking like streamers on a ship, fluttered from the lodge-poles, and gaudily dressed squaws and warriors walked about, or sat on the green sod under the trees.
Near the village were hundreds of horses and ponies, with bright feathers flaunting in their manes and tails as they cropped the rich grass of the valley.
A group of noisy children were playing at a game much resembling ten-pins; some boys were shooting at a mark with arrows, and up the stream several youths were returning home with rod and line, and fine strings of speckled trout.
Scores of men and women were swimming about in the river, now diving, and then dousing each other amid screams of laughter from the bystanders on the shore. Here and there a young girl darted about like a fish, her black hair streaming behind her in the water.
While we looked, the little children suddenly ceased from play and ran into the lodges; mounted men surrounded the herd of horses, and the swimmers and promenaders hastened toward the village. We had been perceived by the villagers, and the unexpected arrival of strange horsemen at an Indian encampment always creates great excitement. They may be friends, but they are more often enemies, so the villagers are always prepared for a surprise.
Soon men were seen running to and fro with guns andbows, and in a few minutes, some mounted warriors left the encampment and rode toward us, going first to the top of the highest mounds to see if they could discover other horsemen in the rear or to the right or left of us.
No sooner did they ascertain there were but three in the party, than they rode boldly up and asked us our business. I told them who we were, and where we were from, upon which they cordially invited us to the village.
As we approached, men, women, and children poured out of the encampment to look at the strangers, and having satisfied their curiosity, the sports and amusements of the evening were renewed.
I asked permission to camp of no one, for I needed none. So I marched right down to the center of the village, and finding a vacant space, pitched my lodge.
A few Santee women gathered about my squaws and chatted with them, anxious to learn the news from down the river. Seeing they were interfering with the unpacking of the ponies and the erecting of the lodge, I unceremoniously ordered them to be gone, and they went quietly away. The lodge was soon up and the ponies unpacked and put out to graze. Having seen things put in order for the night, I sauntered out through the village to learn the news.
I was agreeably surprised when I learned there was a white man in the village, who had been sent out to the Indians as a missionary. All the savages spoke of him as a kind-hearted, good man, who was a great friend of the Great Spirit, and of the Big Father at Washington.
I made haste to pay my respects to my white brother and found him indeed a good Christian gentleman. He had a white wife and child, and he and they were living comfortably and pleasantly with these wild children of the desert. I talked more than an hour with the good man;it was so delightful to see and speak with one of my own blood and color. When I left him, I promised I would return the next day and dine with him. It may sound strange to hear one talk of "dining out" in an Indian camp, but the meal was none the less wholesome or abundant on account of the place in which it was served.
I found the Santees a most excellent people. The warriors were men of great pride and bravery. The chiefs of the Santees were men of few words, but they were dignified, courteous, and truthful in all they said and did. After all my experiences and disappointments among the Indians of the plains, I could not help admiring and respecting these people, for here at last I had found a tribe such as Cooper had represented, and Longfellow had characterized in "Hiawatha".
The Santee lodges were tall conical-shaped tents, made of buffalo hide tanned with the hair off, and stretched around twelve poles. These poles are tied together at the top, and set around a circle of one hundred and eight feet. The lodge, when finished, is thirty-six feet in diameter at the ground. The skin or covering is cut bias, the small end being fastened to the top of the poles and the long end wrapped round and round the poles, and finally fastened to the ground with a wooden pin or stone. The poles are not set in the ground, but the edge of the lodge-cover is pinned down with short pegs made of hard wood. An aperture is left at the top of the lodge for the smoke to escape, and the fire is built in the center. When the door is open it draws well, and all the smoke goes up and out at the aperture.
These lodges, although standing on the surface of the ground and apparently very fragile, will withstand the most violent wind and rain storms. I have seen themoutlive the strongest modern tents, and stand up even when great trees were blown down.
During my residence in the Santee village I saw many curious things, and learned much of the mode of life and ceremonies of the Indians.
Most people have seen the bows and arrows used by boys in the eastern States, and those who have observed them know how feeble they are, not even being capable of killing the smallest animal. Do not be surprised, then, when I tell you that an Indian with his bow, will send an arrow entirely through a horse, a man, or a buffalo. The shaggy-coated bear or Rocky Mountain lion will fall beneath a few shots from the savage's strong bow, while the fleet wild deer is not swift enough to escape the flight of his arrow. With unerring aim the hunter sends his deadly shaft, at eighty yards, into the heart or eye of his game, and with ease tips birds from the tops of the highest trees. Of course, it requires long practice to acquire such skill in the use of the bow, but the Indian will tell you that more depends upon the manufacture of the weapon than the skill of the marksman. With a good Indian bow and arrow a white man can, in a few hours, learn to shoot fairly well, while with a bow and arrow of his own manufacture he can hardly hit a tree the size of a man's body a rod off.
Let me teach you how to make a good bow and arrow. And first we will begin with the arrow. The shoots, or rods, must be cut in the arrow season; that is, when the summer's growth is ended. They must not have any branches or limbs on them, but must be straight and smooth. The Indians cut their arrows late in the fall, when the timber is hardening to withstand the blasts of winter. The sticks are not quite as thick as one's little finger, and they are sorted and tied in bundles of twenty and twenty-five.These bundles are two and two and one-half feet in length, and are wrapped tightly from end to end with strips of rawhide or elk skin. The sticks are then hung up over fire in the teepee to be smoked and dried, and the wrapping keeps them from warping or bending. When they are seasoned, which takes several weeks, the bundles are taken down, the covering removed, and the bark scraped off. The wood is very tough then, and of a yellowish color. The next process is to cut the arrow shafts exactly one length, and in this great care must be used; for arrows of different lengths fly differently, and, unless they are alike, the hunter's aim is destroyed. Another reason for measuring the length of arrows is to identify them; for no two warriors shoot arrows of precisely the same length. Each warrior carries a measuring, or pattern stick, and it is necessary only to compare an arrow with the stick to find out to whom it belongs. But should the arrows by chance be of one length, there are other means of identifying them; for every hunter has his own private mark in the shaft, the head, or the feather. Of many thousands I have examined, I have never found two arrows exactly alike when they were made by different warriors.
When the shafts have been made even, the next work is to form the notch for the bow-string. This is done with a sharp knife, and, when made properly, the bottom of the notch will be precisely in the center of the shaft. The arrow is then scraped and tapered toward the notch, leaving a round head an inch long near the notch to prevent the string from splitting the shaft, and to make a firm hold for the thumb and forefinger in drawing the bow.
All the arrows are peeled, scraped, and notched, and then the warrior creases them. To do this, he takes an arrow-head and scores the shaft in zigzag lines from end toend. These creases, or fluted gutters, in the shaft are to let the blood run out when an animal is struck. The blood flows along the little gutters in the wood and runs off the end of the arrow. The arrow-head is made of steel or stone. It is shaped like a heart or dart and has a stem about an inch long. The sides of the stem are nicked or filed out like saw-teeth. Nearly all the wild Indians now use steel arrow-heads, which are a great article of trade among the savages. Certain firms in the East manufacture many hundreds of thousands every year and send them to the traders who sell them to the Indians for furs.
When the shaft is ready for the head, the warrior saws a slit with a nicked knife in the end opposite the notch, and inserts the stem of the arrow-head. The slit must be exactly in the center of the shaft, and as deep as the stem is long. When properly adjusted, the teeth of the stem show themselves on each side of the slit. Buffalo, deer, or elk sinew is then softened in water, and the wood is wrapped firmly to the arrowhead, taking care to fit the sinew in the teeth of the stem to prevent the head from pulling out.
The next process is to put on the feathers. To do this properly great care must be taken. Turkey or eagle quills are soaked in warm water to make them split easily and uniformly. The feather is then stripped from the quill and put on the shaft of the arrow. Three feathers are placed on each shaft, and they are laid equi-distant along the stem. The big end of the feather is fastened near the notch of the shaft and laid six or eight inches straight along the wood. The feathers are glued to the shaft and wrapped at each end with fine sinew. The arrow is next painted, marked, dried, and is ready for use. It takes a warrior a whole day to make an arrow, for which the trader allows him ten cents.
Arrow-heads are put up in packages of a dozen each. They cost the trader half a cent, or six cents per package, and are sold to the Indians at enormous profits. Thus, twelve arrow-heads will be exchanged for a buffalo robe, worth $8 or $9, and three, for a beaver skin, worth $4. Indians often buy arrow-heads at these enormous prices, and then sell the arrow back to the trader at ten cents, in exchange for goods, beads, or knives.
Travelers on the prairie have often seen the Indians throwing up signal lights at night, and have wondered how it was done. I will tell you all about it. They take off the head of the arrow and dip the shaft in gunpowder, mixed with glue. This they call making fire-arrows. The gunpowder adheres to the wood, and coats it three or four inches from its end, to the depth of one-fourth of an inch. Chewed bark mixed with dry gunpowder is then fastened to the stick, and the arrow is ready for use. When it is to be fired, a warrior places it on his bow-string and draws his bow ready to let it fly; the point of the arrow is then lowered; another warrior lights the dry bark, and it is shot high in the air. When it has gone up a little distance, it bursts out into flame, and burns brightly until it falls to the ground. Various meanings are attached to these fire-arrow signals. Thus, one arrow meant, among the Santees, "The enemy are about"; two arrows from the same point, "Danger"; three, "Great danger"; many, "They are too strong, or we are falling back"; two arrows sent up at the same moment, "We will attack"; three, "Soon"; four, "Now"; if shot diagonally, "In that direction." These signals are constantly changed, and are always agreed upon when the party goes out or before it separates. The Indians send their signals very intelligently, and seldom make mistakes in telegraphing each other by these silent monitors. Theamount of information they can communicate, by fires and burning arrows, is perfectly wonderful. Every war party carries with it bundles of signal arrows.
The bow—the weapon so long in use among the different Indian tribes of this continent and so typical of Indian life—is made of various kinds of wood, and its manufacture is a work of no little labor. Even at this day the bow is much used, and although an Indian may have a gun, he is seldom seen without his long bow, and his quiver well filled with arrows. The gun may get out of order, and he can not mend it; the ammunition may become wet, and there is an end of hunting; but the faithful bow is always in order, and its swift arrows ready to fly in wet as well as dry weather. Thus reasons the savage, and so he keeps his bow to fall back upon in case of accident.
Until the invention of breech-loaders, the bow was a far more deadly weapon at close range than the best rifle. A warrior could discharge his arrows with much greater rapidity and precision than the most expert woodsman could charge and fire a muzzle-loading rifle.
The Indian boy's first lesson in life is to shoot with a bow. He is furnished with a small bow and "beewaks", or blunt arrows, so that he will hurt nobody, and with these he shoots at marks. By and by, when he has acquired some skill in handling his weapon, he is given small arrow-points, and with these he shoots birds, squirrels, and small beasts. As he grows older he receives the long-bow, and at last the strong-bow.
These strong-bows are powerful weapons, and I have seen them so stiff that a white man could not bend them more than four inches, while an Indian would, with apparent ease, draw them to the arrow's head. A shaft fired from one of these bows will go through the body of a buffalo,and arrow-heads have been found so firmly imbedded in the thigh bones of a man that no force could extract them.
The parents take great pride in teaching young Indians to shoot, and the development of the muscles and strength of their arms is watched with much interest. A stout arm, ornamented with knots of muscles is a great honor to an Indian, and no one but those who can handle the strong-bow are deemed fit for war.
Of all the Indians of the West, the Sioux and Crows make the best bows. The Sioux bow is generally four feet long, one and a half inches wide, and an inch thick at the middle. It tapers from the center, or "grasp", toward the ends, and is but half an inch wide and half an inch thick at the extremities. At one end the bow-string is notched into the wood and made permanently fast, while at the other end two notches are cut in the wood, and the string at that end of the bow is made like a slip-knot or loop. When the bow is to be used, the warrior sets the end to which the string is made fast firmly on the ground, and then bends down the other end until the loop slips into the notch. This is called "stringing" the bow. The bow is never kept strung except when in actual use, as it would lose its strength and elasticity by being constantly bent. When unstrung, a good bow is perfectly straight, and, if properly made and seasoned, will always retain its elasticity.
The wood generally used in manufacturing bows is ash, hickory, iron-wood, elm, and cedar. No hickory grows west of the Missouri, and it is very difficult to get; and an Indian will always pay a high price for a piece of this wood.
When the bow is made of cedar, it need not be seasoned; but all other woods require seasoning, and are not worked until perfectly dry. Every teepee has its bow-wood hungup with the arrows in the smoke of the fire well out of reach of the flames. A warrior with a sharp knife and a sandstone, or file, can make a bow in three days if he works hard, but it generally takes a week, and sometimes a month, to finish a fancy bow. When done, it is worth three dollars in trade.
All the bows differ in length and strength, being gauged for the arms of those who are to use them; but a white man would, until he learned the trick of it, find himself unable to bend even the weakest war-bow. This has given rise to the impression that the Indians are stronger than white men, which is an error; for, although only a slight man myself, I learned, after some practice, to bend the strongest bow, and could send a shaft as far or as deep as any savage. On one occasion I shot an arrow, while running, into a buffalo so that the point came out on the opposite side; another arrow disappeared in the buffalo, not even the notch being visible. I have seen a bow throw an arrow five hundred yards, and have myself often discharged one entirely through a board one inch thick. Once I found a man's skull transfixed to a tree by an arrow which had gone completely through the bones, and imbedded itself so deep in the wood as to sustain the weight of the head. He had probably been tied up to the tree and shot.
The surface of the bow is made perfectly flat, then roughened with a file or stone, the sinew being dipped in hot glue and laid on the wood. The sinew is then lapped at the ends and on the middle or grasp of the bow. The string is attached while green, twisted, and left to dry on the bow. The whole outside of the wood and sinew is now covered with a thick solution of glue, and the bow is done. Rough bows look like hickory limbs with the bark on, but some of them are beautifully painted and ornamented. I onceknew a trader to glue some red velvet on a bow, and the Indians paid him an immense price for it, thinking it very wonderful.
In traveling, the bow is carried in a sheath attached to the arrow quiver, and the whole is slung to the back by a belt of elk or buckskin, which passes diagonally across the breast, and is fastened to the ends of the quiver. The quiver and bow-sheath is generally made of the skin of an ox or some wild animal, and is tanned with the hair on. The quiver is ornamented with tassels or fringe of buckskin, and the belt across the breast is painted or worked with beads. Each Indian has his sign or name on his belt, bow, sheath, or arrow quiver. The celebrated Sioux chief, Spotted Tail, or "Sin-ta Gallessca", had his bow-sheath made from the skin of a spotted ox he had killed in a train his warriors captured, and as the tail was left dangling at the end of the sheath, the Indians ever afterward called him Spotted Tail, or "The man with the Spotted Tail". You may be curious to know what this Indian's name was before he was called Spotted Tail, and I must tell you many Indians never have a name, while others have half a dozen. Some act of bravery, or an article of clothing, generally fixes an Indian's name, but a new deed, or a new head-dress, may change it.
To shoot with the bow properly, it must be held firmly in three fingers of the right hand; the arrow is fixed on the bow-string with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and the other three fingers are used to pull the string. The shaft of the arrow lays between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, which rest over the grasp of the bow. To shoot, the bow is turned slightly, so that one end is higher than the other, and the arrow is then launched.