1908 



\Y< >RK IX A XATH >NAL 1 ; < >REST 



-47 



aside from one's legitimate forest 

 work, let me tell you about a few of 

 the things that happen up here where 

 we have to deal more or less with In- 

 dians every day of our lives. 



First. I shall illustrate what the In- 

 dians think about the National For- 

 est. Once averydrunken Indianwalked 

 up in front of me and gave a veil. Then 

 he said: "Y<">u heap big man own all 

 land million million acre-!" Then 

 he went off leaving me to reflect on the 

 bigness of my ranch. 



Second, let us consider the willing- 

 ness of all the Indians, when sober, to 

 accept guidance ; and their capacity, 

 in the main, to pick out their real 

 friends. Nothing in the whole Indian 

 problem seems to me more wonderful 

 than this. After so enormous an 

 amount of suffering as these people 

 have endured, they meet good will 

 half way ; they finally give us their 

 faith in the most complete manner. 



There was old Julie, who lives all 

 alone in a cabin on the side of Goat 

 Mountain. It was built by her 

 Frenchman years ago ; he was a work- 

 man on a certain infamous mining 

 swindle, the great placer mining ditch 

 of this region, floated on Parisian 

 capital by a small promoter. He took 

 the girl from her rancheria, named 

 her Julie, taught her much, died in 

 this cabin and she lives on and on, 

 without change or forgetfulness. 



One time we had a fire up there ; 

 Julie sat in her doorway and watched 

 us ; we filled our canteens at her 

 spring. The next day the rangers 

 wanted to sleep, and -he "spelled" 

 them on the fire line. She made coffee, 

 too her coffee in an old tin can. 



^"cll. the boys gave her some grub, 

 and I paid her for half a day on the 

 fire line, and she thought it was pret- 

 ty nice. Then I heard lots of pl< 

 "tit tales about her. One was ho\\- a 

 man, now a ranger, had once been ill 

 and wanted to May in a tent near her 

 spring. She tolrl the man's wife: 

 "Y"iir man he sick: put him in my 

 hor Ami -he went out under a 



pine tree, and -K pt in utter content. 



' >ne ver\ cold and raim night tl 

 was a kii'.rk at my cabin door. It v. 

 old Julie, wet ami <!: '. but se- 



rene as a princess. 

 She ann< ninced : " I -ta . h( 

 "\Yhere you come from, Julie?" 

 "I stay here to-night." 

 "Why, sure; come right in; 

 warm at fireplace; my wife make \<>u 

 some supper." 



"I got horse; he stay here to-night." 

 So we took care of her horse, and 

 the next morning when the storm was 

 past, she made ready to leave. 



"\Yell, goodbye. Julie; good luck 

 to you." 



'AYait. I show you." She untied a 

 piece of cotton rag and brought out 

 her small store of silver and tendered 

 it all. -You take." 



"No good take money, Julie; all 

 friends; you fight fire, too." 



One swift look, then a cheerful 

 laugh. "All right. Goodbye." 



No\\- you, who teach language in 

 universities, can you set forth a terser, 

 more idiomatic English than this of 

 Julie's? Oh, the loads that I have 

 seen this poor old Indian woman carry 

 up the rough trails would stagger a 

 mule! There are many more of just 

 the same sort, growing old. and as full 

 of courage as it is possible for any 

 human being to be. 



It is time to stop, and it is midnight, 

 too; and magazine i n will not 

 stretch. T'.ut let me put emphasis, in 

 closing, on just tin'-: That not le. I 

 among the responsibiliti -kd lr. 



foresl officer are tho-r which ai 



n the presence > 'i d< 'it human 



beings of every kind. \\'e all know 

 the Crazing, the 5] ;he Tim- 



Sale problems, all of which are 

 tied up with human affair-. Th>- \ct 

 of [une ii and the Indian Allotment 

 and 1 ms have put -ray 



hairs oil the t 'ir head-. 



I'.ut thev li '. ' .dl. 



f' >r we have 'he plain 



. white, brown and red \nd 



it dor-n't hurt { 'es 



dian children, or a cigar for 



your Indian v. 



