but at
home or on the hunt the warrior employs his own. The pulverized weed is
mixed with aromatic bark of the red willow, and pressed lightly into the
bowl of the long stone pipe. The worshiper lights it gravely and takes a
whiff or two; then, standing erect, he holds it silently toward the
Sun, our father, and toward the earth, our mother. There are modern
variations, as holding the pipe to the Four Winds, the Fire, Water,
Rock, and other elements or objects of reverence.

There are many religious festivals which are local and special in
character, embodying a prayer for success in hunting or warfare, or for
rain and bountiful harvests, but these two are the sacraments of our
religion. For baptism we substitute the "eneepee," the purification by
vapor, and in our holy communion we partake of the soothing incense of
tobacco in the stead of bread and wine.

IV. BARBARISM AND THE MORAL CODE

Silence the Corner-Stone of Character. Basic Ideas of
Morality. "Give All or Nothing!" Rules of Honorable
Warfare. An Indian Conception of Courage.

Long before I ever heard of Christ, or saw a white man, I had learned
from an untutored woman the essence of morality. With the help of dear
Nature herself, she taught me things simple but of mighty import. I
knew God. I perceived what goodness is. I saw and loved what is really
beautiful. Civilization has not taught me anything better!

As a child, I understood how to give; I have forgotten that grace since
I became civilized. I lived the natural life, whereas I now live the
artificial. Any pretty pebble was valuable to me then; every growing
tree an object of reverence. Now I worship with the white man before a
painted landscape whose value is estimated in dollars! Thus the Indian
is reconstructed, as the natural rocks are ground to powder, and made
into artificial blocks which may be built into the walls of modern
society.

The first American mingled with his pride a singular humility. Spiritual
arrogance was foreign to his nature and teaching. He never claimed that
the power of articulate speech was proof of superiority over the dumb
creation; on the other hand, it is to him a perilous gift. He believes
profoundly in silence--the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is
the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The man
who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of
existence--not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree; not a ri