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 unnecessary 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 human 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 Alexander Henry:

"Old Canassatego, a warrior, counsellor, and the chief man of our
village, used to come frequently to smoke and talk with me, while I
worked at my new business (mending of gun locks), and many of the
younger men would come and sit with him, pleased to hear our
conversations. As he soon saw I was curious on that head he took a
good deal of pains to instruct me in the principles of their eloquence,
an art (it may seem strange to say it, but it is strictly true) carried
much higher among these savages than is now in any part of Europe, as
it is their only polite art, as they practice it from their infancy, as
everything of consequence is transacted in councils, and all the force
of their government consists in persuasion."

Once when questioning Oo-koo-hoo regarding old Indian customs, he
informed me that among Indians bowing was a very recent innovation, and
that the men of the olden time--the fire