1858.] up to run. THE DELAWARE BAPTIST MISSION. 93 One soldier fired at him without effect, and then shouted to his comrades: 'Catch him!' But he was nimble-footed and made good his escape. He lived to become head chief of the Delawares, who gave to him and his children the appellation, 'Ketch'm' or 'Ketchum,' which ever afterward they bore. In 1857, overtaken by the pale Pursuer whom no swift foot outruns, he gave up the race, and went to dwell in the happy hunting grounds. Each of the eight Indian tribes in Kansas lived upon a reservation.' The very word bears a sad suggestion of the retreating and dwindling of their fading race. These reservations were always excellent lands; consequently the Indians were driven away whenever the white settlers coveted them. The tract of the Delawares, embracing some of the richest portions of the Territory, was forty miles by twelve. This desert of barbarism contained one oasis of civilization-the generous dwellings and school-house of the Baptist mission. In the early days, prairie travelers would ride hard to spend the night in that pleasant and homelike retreat. Rev. John G. Pratt, who conducted the mission, had resided here among the Indians for twenty years. The little pupils of his school illustrated the mys terious bleaching process of the frontier, by exhibiting faces of every shade from aboriginal brown to Saxon white. The teachers averred that they equated white children in intelligence; but it was almost impossible to teach them cleanliness and truthfulness. In many branches they were apathetic and stolid, but music roused them wonderfully, and it was pleasant to see their eyes sparkle while they sang with animation and zeal. Among the names on the school register were 'Fall Leaf,' 'Black Stump,' 'Beaver,' 'Bullet,' and the like, interspersed with Jones, Brown and Robinson. One Delaware was called 'Best Quality,' and another 'White Stone.' How these primitive names recall the long roll in English history: Ethelred the Unready,' 'Flambeau the Firebrand,' 'Rufus the Red,' 'Richard of the Lion Heart,' and 'Edward the Longshanks!' How they suggest the more familiar American appellations, 'Old Hickory,' 'Old Bullion,' 'Rough and Ready,' 'Martin the Fox,' 'Old Public Functionary,' 'the Pathfinder,' 'Little Giant,' and 'Father Abraham!' 7 94 ANOTHER NIGHT'S LODGING. [1858, The Delawares were once the leading tribe on our continent, so eminent for their valor and wisdom that more humble Indians styled them 'the Grandfathers.' They dominated other nations, and treated with William Penn where Philadelphia now stands. For several years the Baptist mission has been supported by Government. The school contains ninety pupils. Under the influence of peace and education, the Delawares have increased from eight hundred to one thousand two hundred during Mr. Pratt's residence among them. Now the railway surrounds them. A few will remain and become citizens; the rest migrate to the Cherokee country, south of Kansas. Evening once overtook me at one of their cabins ten miles from the nearest white settlement. Rain was falling fast and the road was a quagmire. Of a youthful Missourian who stood in front of the dwelling I asked: 'How far is it to Sacoxie's?' Sacoxie was an old chief whose house was popular among trav elers. A pert young squaw standing beside the Missourian, with a knowing grunt held up all the fingers of her right hand and one of the left, while he replied: 'Six miles; and awful roads. But you can get good accommo. dations here. I stop here.' 'How long have you lived among the Indians?' 'Three years.' 'Do you like it?' 'Yes,-not exactly: but you know a fellow likes best where he can do best.' 'Have you married into the tribe?' 'No-not particularly. I just stay here.' 'The Delawares are not very strict about marriage?' 'No, they are sort of promiscuous; when a fellow likes a squaw he just gives her old man a present-sometimes a pony, sometimes four or five dollars in money-and takes the girl. They live together as long as they like, and then separate, or trade off with some other couple. The children go with the mother; and the more children the better, because every person in the tribe gets one hundred and sixty dollars a year from the United States Government.' 1858.] SOMETHING ABOUT THE SHAWNEES. 'Have many white men married Delaware women?' 'Only eight in all.' 'But half-breed children seem numerous?' 95 'O yes, stranger; there are a good many whites traveling through here!' I found the good accommodations of the cabin to consist of a single room with earth floor, which could only be entered through a filthy hen-house. Upon one of the beds sat a stolid squaw in a bright red calico frock, nursing a little papoose, who greeted me with an infantile whoop. Three more tawny children were playing in the mud; four scurvy dogs lying in corners, and a dozen chickens pervading the apartment. It contained three bunks, a table, four or five chairs, a rifle, a broken looking-glass, various kitchen utensils, and an enormous fire-place in which I could stand upright. Mine host was a burly, reticent savage. Our entire conversation was as follows: HE.-Umph. How? I.-How? Wet weather. My supper was of fat pork, corn bread and strong coffee. My couch of straw was deluged with rain and pre-occupied by bedbugs. Early in the morning I indulged in a repetition of the evening bill of fare, disbursed the required 'six bits,' (seventy-five cents,) and bade a glad adieu to my aboriginal entertainers. I never learned their name, but could very feelingly have dubbed them 'Good Accommodations.' The Shawnees like the Delawares were once a warlike nation. They still cherish a legend that their ancestors crossed the sea; and they are the only tribe who have any such tradition of a foreign origin. Their reservation was in Johnson county. They occupied good houses, and in civilization were second only to the Wyandottes. By the organic law of Kansas, Indians who had 'adopted the customs of the white man' were allowed to vote. All had adopted one frontier custom: that of drinking whisky. But only the Shawnees and Wyandottes were permitted to use the elective franchise. One Shawnee was called 'Blue Jacket,' and another 'Silver Heels;' while a young Wyandotte belle rejoiced in the name of 'Mud-eater.' 96 POTTAWATOMIE FUNERAL RITES. [1858. Spending a night at the house of Charles Fish, a Shawnee chief, I encountered several of his tribe who had come from Texas to claim two hundred acres of land each, which had just been secured to them by a treaty with the United States. One was a dumpy old brave, with pumpkin face and so many ornaments dangling from his dusky ears, that they sent forth the enticing music of sleigh-bells. Another, a fantastic youth, had a kerchief of bright red encircling his forehead like a band of flame. He wore deer-skin moccasins, with gay fringes, a calico hunting shirt also trimmed with fiery red, and cloth leggings which left his hips bare to the winter winds. Some of the squaws were very dark, others nearly white; and all by glaring kerchief or shawl betrayed the barbarian fondness for bright colors. I often encountered these women on the prairie with bright-eyed papooses firmly bound to their backs peeping over their shoulders, and one or two older children sitting before them; while wooden pails, chairs and other heavy burdens weighed down the unfortunate steed. The men rode beside them carrying nothing but their whisky bottles, out of respect to the Indian principle of leaving work to women. The reservation of the Pottawatomies was thirty miles square. No white man could settle upon it unless he first married into the tribe. In 1846 the Pottawatomies numbered five thousand. In 1858 they had become reduced to two thousand seven hundred, and were diminishing at the rate of five per cent. a year. Their dead are buried with their guns, saddles, 'medicines,' food, and tobacco beside them. Sometimes a favorite horse is killed and interred with his master. The medicine-men or prophets conduct the funeral service, which consists of a prayer to the Great Father in this strain: 'We are sorry to part with our brother who was a daring brave and a good Indian, and whose lodge contained many scalps of his enemies. But we have yielded to Thy will, and we commit him to Thy care. We have outfitted him, as Thou seest, for his long journey; and now we desire Thee to lead him to the fair land beyond the setting sun, where game is always plentiful, and bad Indians and white men never come.' A stake at the head of the grave is carved into a rough effigy 1858.] ORIGIN OF SOME KANSAS NAMES. 97 of the 'medicine' of the deceased, and is marked with a notch for each scalp he had taken, if he did not find this brief life all too short for successful indulgence in that favorite pastime of his tomahawking race. Some bodies are buried in sitting posture; and others are placed on the boughs of trees, where they remain until from decomposition the bones fall to the ground. The Pottawatomies obmany many fast days, serve INDIAN BURIAL Kansas towns perpetuate many Indian names. Osawattomie, the home of old John Brown, was formed from the Osage and Pottawatomie rivers at whose junction it is built. Oskaloosa was named in joint honor of Oska, an old chief, and Loosa his squaw. Osawkee signifies 'the yellow leaf.' Hiawatha in Brown county commemorates Longfellow's hero. Kinnekuck is a corruption of Ke-an-ne-kuck, (the foremost man,) a great Kickapoo prophet. 'White Cloud' was a brave chief among the Iowas, and the city of White Cloud is built on his old hunting ground. Waubonsee is from Wau-bon-sie, (the dawn of day,) the name given to a Pottawatomie leader who attacked an enemy just at daybreak. There is a legend of an old brave within the present limits of Wisconsin whose squaw annually presented him with a girl. Women are of little repute among the Indians, and the heart of the chieftain longed for a son and heir. But the squaw had all the obstinacy of her sex; and every twelvemonth the appearance of the inevitable girl filled him with despondency and chagrin. On one of these sad occasions the unhappy brave visited a |