he flour and beans, the tools and
clothing which come to them from this source. They feel the pressure
of the white population crowding upon them from every side. They see
their wild life is a thing of the past, and while there are selfish,
vicious, superstitious and conservative influences strongly at work
against the change, still the change goes on. Their more thoughtful
men, perceiving the necessity of the change and recognizing its
advantage, are urging the establishment of schools and churches among
them. There can be little doubt that as these processes continue the
tribal relation will eventually cease, the reservation system will be
abandoned, the Indian will come under ordinary laws, he will be
assigned land in severalty, will cultivate it for his support, and
become citizen. Already this is true of many Indians, and the day is
not far distant--I venture to prophesy that it is within the next
twenty years--when, if these influences continue, the Indian will be
so thoroughly absorbed among his white brethren that as a separate
race he will be lost to sight, and the Indian question will be a
question no more.

[Illustration: INDIAN IN NATIVE DRESS, FORT BERTHOLD.]

A word now in explanation of the illustrations accompanying this
article. An Indian chief is prominent in the first cut. His son is on
horseback beside him. His wives and younger children are seated on
the ground. The influence of civilization already appears in the
dress of these people and in their use of cattle. The second cut
represents a small portion of the large burying-ground at Fort
Berthold. The wigwams in the third cut are mostly of skin, but
generally canvas furnished by the Government is now used. The
arrangement of poles and the desolate appearance of the tents
scattered here and there are true to life. In the sixth cut the heavy
earrings and necklace are of wampum and very valuable. The dress,
while cut in Indian fashion, is, like nearly all that the Indians now
wear, furnished by the Government. The Indian in the fifth cut wears
his hair long and tied up in two queues, with mink-skin pendants. His
constant companion, a pipe of red pipe-clay, is in his lap. The lodge
in the seventh cut admirably represents the peculiar homes of Fort
Berthold Indians. It is very large, and sometimes divided into
several rooms inside. It is well constructed as a protection against
the severe winters of Northern Dakota.

[Illustration: INDIAN BOYS AT S