76 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



truth of what another says, is among the Indians deemed 

 extremely rude. Only great superiority, as of a father to a 

 child, or of an old counsellor to some boy, can excuse it. Ala- 

 quippy and the other Indians kindly made some apology for me, 

 saying I should be wiser in time, and they concluded with an 

 observation which they thought very polite and respectful 

 toward me, that my stories might be best for the white people, 

 but Indian stories were undoubtedly best for Indians." 



Furthermore, if we compare the philosophy of the red man 

 and the white, we find that just because the white man has 

 invented a lot of asinine fashions and customs, a lot of un- 

 necessary gear and junk, and feeds himself on unhealthy 

 concoctions that give him indigestion and make his teeth fall 

 out, he flatters himself that he is the wisest man on earth, 

 whereas, all things considered, in my humble opinion, he is the 

 prize fool of the universe — for removing himself so far from 

 nature. And when the female follower of Dame Fashion goes 

 mincing along the cement-paved street in her sharp-toed, 

 French-heeled slippers, on her way to the factory, she flatters 

 herself that she knows better than God how to perfect the hu- 

 man foot; then the All Wise One, in His just wrath, strikes back 

 at her by presenting her with a luxuriant crop of varicose veins, 

 corns, ingrowing nails, fallen arches, and bunions that supply 

 her with suffering in plenty for the rest of her days. Her 

 red sister, on the contrary, in moccasined feet, walks naturally 

 through the forest; and The Master of Life, beholding her 

 becoming humility, rewards her with painless pleasure. 



But to return to the Indians' meeting places in the wilderness. 

 The important meetings held in the forest are always opened by 

 smoking. No man speaks without first standing up, and his 

 delivery is always slow and in short, clear sentences. In the 

 past there were great orators among the red men as many of the 

 old writers and traders affirm — but again I quote Sir Alexan- 

 der Henry: 



