Dakotas, Montana, and British
Columbia. Besides maize and tobacco, some tribes, especially in the
South, grew native cotton and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The buckskin clothing of my race was exceedingly practical as well as
handsome, and has been adapted to the use of hunters, explorers, and
frontiersmen, down to the present day. His feathers and other
decorations are imitated by women of fashion, and his moccasin was never
so much in vogue as now. The old wooden Indian in front of the tobacco
store looks less lonely as he gazes upon a procession of bright-eyed
young people, with now and then one older, Indian-clad, joyous, and full
of health, returning, if only for a few short weeks, to the life he knew
of old.

CHAPTER XI

THE INDIAN'S GIFTS TO THE NATION

What does the original American contribute, in the final summing up, to
the country of his birth and his adoption? Not much, perhaps, in
comparison with the brilliant achievements of civilization; yet, after
all, is there not something worthy of perpetuation in the spirit of his
democracy--the very essence of patriotism and justice between man and
man? Silently, by example only, in wordless patience, he holds stoutly
to his native vision. We must admit that the tacit influence of his
philosophy has been felt at last, and a self-seeking world has paused in
its mad rush to pay him a tribute.

Yes, the world has recognized his type, seized his point of view. We
have lived to see monuments erected to his memory. The painter,
sculptor, author, scientist, preacher, all have found in him a model
worthy of study and serious presentation. Lorado Taft's colossal "Black
Hawk" stands wrapped in his stony blanket upon the banks of the Rock
River; while the Indian is to keep company with the Goddess of Liberty
in New York Harbor, besides many other statues of him which
pre-eminently adorn the public parks and halls of our cities.

No longer does the red man live alone in the blood-curdling pages of the
sensational story-writer. He is the subject of profound study as a man,
a philosopher, a noble type both physically and spiritually. Symmetrical
and finely poised in body, the same is true of his character. He stands
naked before you, scorning the garb of deception and pretence, for he is
a true child of nature.

How has he contributed to the world's progress? By his personal
faithfulness to duty and devotion to a trust. He has not advertised his
faithfu