named Simon, undertook to identify the ancient South
American races, Mexicans, Peruvians, &c., as descen-
dants.of.ancient-Israel, from similarity. of language
and of civil and religious customs. These authors
have taken as their starting-point the resolution which,
Esdras informs us (in the Apocrypha), the ten tribes
took after being first placed in the cities of the Medes,
viz.,that they woul leave the multitude of the heathen
and go into a land wherein never mankind dwelt, that
they might there keep their laws,which God gave them;
and they suppose that, in pursuance of this resolution,
the tribes continued into a north-easterly direction
until they came to Behring Straits, which they crossed,
and set foot on this continent, spreading over it from
north to south, until, at the discovery of it by Colum-
bus, they had peopled every part. It must be admitted
that this theory is very plausible, and that if our
Indians are not the descendants of the lost tribes of
Israel, they show by their traditions and customs a
knowledge-of the ancient religion, such as calling the
Great Spirit Yo-he-wah, the Jehovah of the Scrip-
tures, and in many festivals corresponding to the
Mosaic law.* The country to which the ten tribes,
in a journey of a year and a half, would arrive, from
the river Euphrctes, east, would be somewhere ad-
joining Tartary, and intercourse between the two races
would easily lead to the adoption of the religious
ideas and customs of the one by the other.

The gipsy tribes came from Tartary, and in my
intercourse with these wandering people, I found
they had a custom somewhat like our Indians’ practice,
in removing from place to place. For instance, the
gipsies, when they leave a part of their company to
follow them, fix leaves in such wise as to direct their
friends to follow in their course. This is called
‘ patteran’ in Romany or gipsy language. And the
Indian cuts a notch in a tree as he passes through a
forest, or places stones in the plains in such a way as
to show in what direction he has gone. An officer
saw a large stone, upon which an Indian had drawn
the figure of a soldier on horseback, to indicate to
others which way the soldiers had gone.

Origin of Evil.—They have a tradition handed down
that the Great Spirit said they might eat of all the
animals he had made, except the beaver. But some
bad Indians went and killed a beaver, and the Great
Spirit was angry and said they must all die. But
after awhile he became willing that Indians should
kill and eat them, so the beaver is hunted for his
skin, and his meat is eaten as often as he suffers him-
self to be caught.

A BRAVE BOY.

WueEn the railroad had been built as far as Plum
Creek, 230 miles west of Omaha, in 1866, the track-
layers saw a lot of Indians coming toward them from
over the bluffs; and the poor Irishmen, dreading
nothing so much as the sight of a red-skin, at once
took to their heels to hide from the foe. Along with
these men were needed covered waggons, with which
they carried tools, &c., and in which at night they
slept. in one of them a boy was sitting, about twelve
er fourteen years of age. He saw nothing of the
stampede of workmen, but soon was aroused by the

 

* Labagh.

 

 

yell of the Indians. He seized a Spencer rifle lying
close by him, and, putting the muzzle through a slit
of the canvas cover, took good aim at the foremost
Indian, and when within a few yards, he shot off his
rifle and felled him to the ground. Another rode up,
and met the same fate. Several then rushed up and
dragged off the bodies ofthe two Indians slain, and
all at once made a quick retreat!

The Indians seeing several waggons there, supposed
each one contained armed soldiers or men; and they
were quick to see that the white man’s skill was more
than their bows and arrows. And yet there was only
that brave little fellow, who saved the whole ‘ outfi,?
and whose name ought to be recorded asa true hero.

AN INDIAN MEAL.

Boys would be surprised to see how much an
Indian can eat at a single meal. A ‘ big chief’ can
eat a whole goose or turkey at one sitting. The
Indians eat right along, till they have gorged: them-
selves and can eatno more. Perhapsit is because they
seldom get what is called ‘a square meal,’ and so when
plenty offers they make the most of it. One day, four
chiefs of the Ar-ap-a-hoe tribe came to Fort Russell,to
see about getting rations for three hundred of their
tribe. They soon found their way to the commanding
officer at headquarters. He gave each onea cigar,
which they puffed away at for some time. At last
one of them made a motion to his mouth, signifying
they were ‘hungry.’ Nearly all the tribes of wild
Indians convey their ideas more by signs than by
words. But the general would not take the hint.
He said if he fed them once, they would come every
day. A lady, however, took pity on them, and said
to me: ‘ Let us make contributions from each family,
and give the poor fellows something to eat.’ Some
brought meat, some biscuit and bread, and I made
them some coffee, after inviting them to come into
my yard. The children, boys and girls, assembled to
see the four chiefs sitting around the table in the
yard devour the food we had prepared for them.

There was no milk in the coffee, but I knew
Indians were not used to it, and all things being ready,
the coffee hot and the bacon smoking and smelling
savoury, I expected they would fall to and eat like
good fellows. But I was surprised that one of them
looked at the pail of coffee and gave a grunt of dis-
approbation. I supposed from what I had heard that
an Indian would drink coffee, swallowing the grounds
and all. But on a close look, I discovered about a
dozen flies were floating on top. I took a spoon and
removed them, and tasting it myself, passed it round
to each one in a bowl; and this time they gave an-
other grunt,—but it was one of approbation. The
ate and ate till we thought they’d split, and then
asked permission to carry off in a bag what they
could not stow away in their capacious stomachs !

An Indian seldom shows any signs of joy or of
sorrow in any emotion whatever. But when they
meet a white friend, or are surprised at anything,
they exclaim, ‘How! How!’ and shake hands all
round.

An Indian trader told me at North Platte some
anecdotes of their characteristics. They are all very
fond of sugar, and very fond of whisky. They will
often sell a buffalo robe for a bow] of sugar. and at