an them of all that
is portable, for use in their domestic economy. An Indian fire would be
considered a very cheerless affair by the inmates of houses heated by
modern appliances; but such as it is--a few sticks burning with feeble
blaze and scarcely penetrating the dense smoke filling the tepee from
the ground to the small opening at the top--it consumes fuel, and the
demand is always greater than the supply, for the reason that an Indian
has no idea of preparation for future necessities. If the fire burns,
all right; when the last stick is laid on, a squaw will start for a
fresh supply, no matter how cold and stormy the weather may be.

The poetical Indian maiden may still exist in the vivid imagination of
extreme youth, but she is not common to-day. The young girls affect gay
attire, and are exempt from the hardships of toil which are imposed on
their elder sisters, mothers and grandams, but their fate is infinitely
worse. Little beauty is to be discerned among them, and in this regard
time seems to have effaced the types which were prevalent a few years
ago.

Annuity day is a great event in the life of every Agency Indian, and if
the reader would see Indian life represented in some of its most
interesting features, there is no more suitable time to select for a
visit to any Agency. It is a "grand opening," attended by the whole
tribe; but the squaws do not enjoy quite the freedom of choice in the
matter of dress goods, or receive such prompt attention from the clerks
as our city ladies are accustomed to. Even at 9 o'clock in the morning,
notwithstanding the fact that the actual distribution would not take
place until noon, the nation's wards are there, patiently waiting for
the business of the day to begin. Stakes have been driven into the
ground to mark the space to be occupied by each band, and behind them,
arranged in a semicircle, are the different families, under the charge
of a head man. The bands vary in numbers, both of families and
individuals, but they all look equally solemn as they sit on the ground,
with their knees drawn up under their chins, or cross-legged like Turks
and tailors.

The scene now becomes one of bustle and activity on the part of the
Agency people, who begin rapidly filling wagon after wagon with goods
from the store-houses. Blankets of dark blue material, cotton cloth,
calico of all colors and patterns, red flannel, gay woolen shawls, boots
and shoes that make one's feet ache to lo