Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1874 — Among the Modocs. [ARTICLE]

Among the Modocs.

A lady who recently joined ft camping excursion in the Indian Territory sends to lift* JjOuisviMc Cnurt>r-.77»/w’anlti'ier.-csting account of her visit to t he Mddocs, from which we extract as follows: Lizzie, CapL Jack's widow, had quite a nice little tent, and she did not look more disconsolate than some “ pale-face.” widows of a year’s standing. She had washed the paint off her face; do you know their way of wearing mourning is to paint their face black? They paint the entire face, or one-half, or the cheeks, or the tip of the nosc?according as they feel more or loss inconsolable. Shonchin's widow, Mr. Jones said, had never washed the paint off her face; we saw her and she was by no means prepossessing in appearance. Every now and then Lizzie will daub her face up with black paint and keep it on for weeks. She was rather pretty for an Indian and very young looking? Sho ts Mrs. Jack No. 2. MriJack No. 1 is old and ugly, and she takes care of Miss Jack (who is about eight or ten and her own child). She and Lizzie are quite friendly; they " accept the situation.” We saw Steamboat Frank’s mother. She is a hundred, the agent said; but Frank said, “ She is strong, much good for work;” ana. indeed, she did trot up and down the hill, carrying a bucket of water in each hand, as* lively as any of them. Miss -Lett said toHookaJim ihnt white men would not let women work for them, but he coolly answered, “ What say?' White man don't know. Think water, wood, man's work. No! hunt, fish, make bow, make arrow, that man s work; bring water woman’s work.” Next morning we had a roaring campfire and an early breakfast. One or two Indians came up and Warmed themselves at our fire, stared and went away with out troubling anybody. Miss L. and I took the tin basin and towels to the spring for our morning “ cat lick," and while we were there several women came down for water. Each one brings two buckets, and, after dipping one as deeply as she can, she tills to the brim by using the other bucket for a dipper. lam sure 1 don’t know how they tilled the last bucket without our tin cups—they invariably borrowed one. if any of us were there. As they returned it immediately we lent it cheerfully.* After a while we all went up to the Modoc cant] > and played " inquisitive Jack" generally. Mrs. i>and 1 went over to Lizzie's, teni.—Mrs.Y. had - promised to buy a basket of her. Wc asked some of them where it was, and Scar-faced Charley volunteered to guide us. He is well-named, from a scar on, his cheek that looks like the stroke of a hatchet on his cheek bone. There were three women in Lizzie's tent, and Mrs. Y.and I under- i went a minute scrutiny as to our-dress They decided in favor of our shoes on account of the buttons. She had on a scarlet shawl with black, green and gold stripes in it, ami 1 wore my Roman scarf. They inspected both, and finally Lizzie ' patted Mrs. Y. s, saying: “Nice, nice,”J and then mine, pronouncing it “ much , nice, nice;” and then “ the three black crows” nodded their heads in assent as jrravelyyas a judge. They were immensely amused at my cropped head and made lots of fun of it all ihnmgh the camp. At last Bogus Charley asked me “ What for 1 had short hair?" and when I explained the concatenation of events that led to such a state of affairs he gave them a Modoc version of the explanation, at which they nodded their heads, pulled long faces, and an old squaw patted my head, saying "Arw” equal to any “Henglishman." They had a general shooting of-nickels up here. A thin stick about two feet long was stuck in the ground and a nickel stuck in the upper end, then fifteen or twenty Indians ranged themselves in a semi-circle and all shot at once. I-asked Hpoka Jim how they knew which one bit the mark, and he said each one watched his own arrow and paid no attention to any one vise’s. There was not the least disputing among them a- to who had woa the nickel. At last the genili man offered a prize s of a Sound uf“tob..ceo to the best shot, but liss L. and 1 ad not see the result of this match, a- .iogust’harleyahd Sognostic Jim waste! us to play croquet With them. (A year ago it wouldhave sounded rather singular to speak of playing croquet with the Modocs, wouldn't !!?) The grounds were in the agency yard just by the camp, and Mr. Jones escorted us up and int reduced us to his wife and mother. Miss and Jinrplayed together against Charley and me, and we had a funny game The Indians are splendid on long shots and played remarkably well, too. They have “"bounds’' in” the game, a line just one mallet s length from the outer wicket-, and when a ball crosses the line, instead of bringing it in straight from where it stops, they replace it on the line, where it crossed it. This seems to be the rule, and it often made an unfair advantage to one or the other; neither objected in the least to the other's doing it. Inside of bounds they did not move the bails, and played an entirely honest game. AVe had at least twenty spectators, and they were much interested in the game, as it was between Bo- ' gus Charley, the most intelligent of the tribe, and Sognostie Jim, their greatest remaining warrior. In this case the pen was not “ mightier than the sword,” as Miss and Jim were was a right close game, however, till the last, for Miss Lu and 1 were rovers, and Jim and Charley two wickets from the outpost, when Jim played on all the balls, went through his wickets and out. You would have laughed to see Mrs Young and Bogus Charley’s wife comparing babies. Mrs. Y;’s baby was five months old and the squaw's six, but the Indian baby was nearly twice the size of the other; it was the fattest child I e\er saw and had the “ cutest” little hands and feet. Charlie seemed very proud of it, and quite fond of his wife and children; says “his wife can cook much nice;” then, pointing round his tent, said; “ See, my wife have things nice, put out of way, see in box, not on Sound.” He opened his box to show rs. Y. a picture of the principal members of the tribe, and then showed me his book” (a testament and psalms). I asked him if he could reaq; he said, Yes, little ; but I lose it all and have to learn over.” Hooka Jim asked me if I could read. (They all give R ths sound of L.) When I asked him if he could, he said “ little,” and 1 opened the book at t tie second chapter of Matthaw, and he re .id nearly a page very correctly indeed., I do not think he miscalled a single word; but he read slowly like a little child. I praised his reading, and he said Charley could read “ much nice." Charley heard him and said, “No! I lose all when boys go back to school. Jim don’t lose; he Snow much heap to read.” But bis wife and Jim insisted that he read- very well indeed. His is not pretty, even from the Indian standpoint, but she had a very good-natured face and seamed proud

' of Charley. It pleased het-for us to notice her baby, as ft does white mothers. Isn’t it funny how they carry their babies, I strapped to a boardaiid sjung around Jhc .mother’s forcliciid by a strap? OncC when we were in Camp 1. had Adele in my arms, and some of the Indian women were talking in their own language. I asked Sdhr-Faced' Charley what .they said. “T)ey say dat bad way for carry papoose. No can carry anyting else; squaw put papoose on back, den carry water in hand.”