The Middle Five: Indian Boys at SchoolLa Flesche, Francis
History
The Middle Five: Indian Boys at School
La Flesche, Francis
Indians of North America -- Juvenile literature
The brown bodies of these partly nude little savages glistened against
the sun as they worked, while the breezes played with their black
totemic locks. They were not aware of my approach until I pitched a
corn-cob into their midst, when they all threw up their heads to see
who was coming.
"Ho! Little White-chest!" exclaimed Ga-im'-ba-zhe. "Have you come home?"
"Yes, I have come home," I replied; "but I don't want you to call me
White-chest."
"Sit down," said one of the little brownies. "When we have done, we
will give you some, then you can play with us."
When the sticks were finished, I was given five or six of them. The
tallest boy led the game. He grasped the small end of the game-stick
with his right hand, bracing the top with a finger, then he took two
or three quick side-long steps and threw the stick against the ground
with all the force he could command; it bounded up and shot through the
air like an arrow. The next boy threw one of his sticks in the same
manner, and from the same place. All the others played, each in his
turn. Then one of the boys shouted, "Your turn, little White-chest.
Throw hard!"
I was familiar with the game, and by practice had acquired some skill
in throwing the sticks. I selected one that seemed to have the proper
weight and feeling, took the usual position, and crouching almost to
the earth, I threw my stick with all the force that I could muster.
We watched its flight until it touched the ground and slid along, far
beyond any stick that had been thrown.
"Woo-hoo!" exclaimed the boys, "he has beaten us all; he's won all our
sticks!"
"Kill him! kill him! He's nothing but a thieving Winnebago!" This cry
came from the west end of the village, not far from where we were
playing. Startled by the angry words, we paused in our sport, and
looked in that direction. A crowd began to gather and move along the
path that led out of the village.
"What are they doing? Let's go and see," cried Ga-im'-ba-zhe.
We all rushed forward on a keen run, and reached the crowd; there we
saw a lad, a little larger than we were, struggling to get away from a
swarm of boys and young men who were throwing stones and sticks at him.
He was a pitiful object, and why they should abuse him so was more than
we could understand. His legs and feet were bare; he carried on his arm
something that resembled a worn-out blanket, and in his hand he held
tightly a piece of bread. He belonged to the Winnebago tribe, against
whom at that time there was much prejudice among the Omahas. Mud was
thrown at him; he was pushed and jostled by the crowd, and some persons
kicked him. Slowly the boy retreated, at times stopping to look with
pleading eyes at his merciless persecutors. When he started to run,
some one threw a stick of wood before him; he struck his foot against
it and fell; then the crowd laughed.
"They are doing wrong!" exclaimed Ga-im'-ba-zhe. "They ought not to do
that!"
"I think so, too," I added; "but what can we do?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account