36 The Book of Woodcraft 



absent himself from father and mother, as we do, for months and 

 years. 'Hard hearts,' 'stone hearts,' they call us, and with 

 some reason." (Schultz, p. 155.) 



"There are few people so generous as the Indians. 



In their religious and w^ar ceremonies, at their feasts, festivals, 

 and funerals, the widows and orphans, the poor and needy are 

 always thought of; not only thought of, . . . but their pov- 

 erty and necessity are reUeved. 



"I have seen white men reduced to the last 'hard tack,' with 

 only tobacco enough for two smokes, and with no immediate 

 prospect of anything better than horse-meat 'straight.' A 

 portion of the hard bread was hidden away, and the smokes 

 were taken in secret. An Indian, undemoralized by contact 

 with the whites, under similar circumstances, woidd divide 

 down to the last morsel." (Clark's "Sign Language," p. 185 

 and 186.) 



HOSPITALITY 



This is a point that needs little discussing, even the 

 sworn enemy was safe, once he was admitted to an Indian 

 lodge "as a guest." 



Carver says of the Sioux, in 1766 ("Travels," p. 172): 



"No people are more hospitable . . . and free than the 

 Indians." 



And, again, I found them ready to share with their friends 

 the last morsel of food they possessed. (P. 269.) 



The Jesuits testify of the Iroquois, 1656: 



"Hospitals for the poor would be useless among them, because 

 there are no beggars; those who have are so liberal to those who 

 are in want, that everything is enjoyed in common. The whole 

 village must be in distress before any individual is left in 

 necessity." ("Century of Dishonor," p. 379.) 



