arting
words, and though he could not fully understand Po-no-kah's motive, he
faithfully obeyed his command. Not even to Tom did he relate what had
occurred.

IX.

INDIAN LIFE.

Rudolph and Kitty learned many things from the Indians that they never
would have studied in the rough school-house near their pretty home; and
they soon became familiar with many singular customs that at first
filled them with wonder.

For instance: when they, or any of the little papooses, were naughty or
disobedient, they were put under what might be called the water-cure
treatment. Instead of being whipped or locked up in a dark pantry--as
was, I am sorry to say, the custom among some white people--they were
simply "ducked" under water until they became manageable. Winter or
summer, it was all the same. A bad child would very soon become a wet
child, if there were any water within a mile.

There are bright sides, as well as dark, to the Indian character; and in
considering their cruelties and inhuman practices, we must remember that
the white man has not always been just to him or set a good example to
his uncivilized brother, or been careful not to provoke him to deeds of
resentment and wrong. An Indian rarely forgets a kindness, and he never
tells a lie. He is heroic, and deems it beneath a man's dignity to
exhibit the slightest sign of pain under any circumstances. Among the
Sioux tribe of that time, the boys were trained from the first to bear
as much hardship as possible. They had a ceremony called the Straw
Dance, in which children were forced to maintain a stately and measured
step, while bunches of loose straws tied to their naked bodies were
lighted and allowed to burn slowly away. Any poor little creature who
flinched or "broke step" was sorely punished and held in disgrace.

There were certain dances among the Indians performed by the warriors,
before going either to battle or to the hunt. If to battle, they spent
hours, and often whole days and nights together, in the fearful
war-dance, accompanied by clashing on their drumlike instruments, and
whoops that rang long and loud amid the echoing hills. If to the hunt,
the Bear-Dance or the Buffalo-Dance was kept up nights and days before
starting, in order to propitiate the Bear Spirit or Buffalo Spirit,
whichever it might be. They had a funeral dance also, which was very
solemn and impressive. And if a chieftain was to be buried, either in
the river, or, as among the