|
of the Great Indian Council, at Medicine Lodge Creek, Kansas.
The first illustration is a capital picture of the encampment of the Peace Commissioners lately in treaty with our red neighbors in the Far West. It is a very lovely place, and many here felt as though the prospect of a long life in this place would not be insupportable.
 Cheyennes Shaking Hands with the Commissioners.
was an interesting sight, and it is an important ceremony preceding all Indian negotiations with their great father at Washington. The chiefs were drawn up in rude semi-circle, and the commissioners shook hands with each one, all along the line.
 Satanta Delivering a Speech Before the Commissioners in the Council Tent.
in delivering his address, which has already appeared in the daily newspapers, spoke with a dignity and force that could not but be appreciated. He is a great orator and of unbounded influence in the council. The issue of annuity goods, to which reference was made last week, took place on the 27th of October, at the grounds of the Peace Commissioners' encampment.
 Col. Leavenworth Issuing Goods to the Comanche and Kiowa Indians.
was a scene of rare interest. Pots, Kettles and pans, nails, brushes, and every conceivable article of use to the Indians, were here given to them; as well as coffee, sugar and flour, guns, powder and lead. The head men of the tribes performed the task of dividing the stores among the warriors, who sat in the front rows, and the squaws, who meekly sat behind the braves and waited quietly for their turns to come. The Cheyennes have been delayed a week, making medicine, at a point thirty miles below, on Medicine Lodge Creek.
 Interior View of the Council Tent.
shows the relative position of the whites and Indians
with the interpreter in the act of fulfilling his office. The issue of clothing to the Comanche Indians after they had signed the treaty of peace was one of singular oddity, as many of the Indians forsook their old clothes immediately upon the receipt of new. The clothing issued consists of blankets, coats, shawls, calico, shirts, hats, pants, plumes, cords, beads, needles, pins, thread, yarn and woolens by the bale.
 Issue of Clothing to the Comanche Indians at Timber Mountain Fork, Kansas. Medicine Lodge Creek owes its name to the superstition of the Indians, who have long considered it a favorable locality to make medicine. But do not imagine that the medicine of the Indian is a potion to be swallowed, or a salve to be applied. It is rather a charm, to propitiate the spirits, good and bad, and its composition is as varied as the lively imagination of the priests or medicine-makers can invent. A great medicine lodge is shown in the last illustration sent by our artist, Mr. J. E. Taylor, who is following the Commission to thoroughly illustrate the Indian questions, and we shall describe its appearance and contents in his own words:
 The Great Medicine Lodge on Medicine Lodge Creek, Near the Council Grounds, Kansas.
is delightfully situated in an open prairie half a mile from the creek. It is a circular structure, composed of limbs piled up against a rude frame-work. Within are the offerings of passing Indians--such as trinkets, arrows, beads, wampum, gourds, and feathers; and the interior of the lodge presents a strange sight indeed, with those articles strewn around, some hanging high up, and others on the floor. There is also a buffalo skull, fantastically decorated."
Sources: Unknown, "Scenes and Incidents of the Great Indian Council, at Medicine Lodge Creek, Kansas," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, New York, N. Y., Saturday, 23 November, 1867, pp. 153-154.
|
