The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 5, No. 3, Ed. 1, Saturday, July 1, 1893 Page: 14 of 20
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THE INDIAN ADVOCATE.
If I Should Die.
If I should die to-night
My friends would look upon my quiet face
Before they laid it in its resting place
And deem that death had made it almost fair.
And laying snow-white flowers against my hair
Would smooth it down with tearful tenderness
And fold my hands with lingering caress
Poor hands so empty and so cold to-night.
If I should die to-night
My friends would call to mind some loving thought
Some kindly deed the icy hand had wrought
Some gentle words the frozen lips had said
Errands on which the willing feet had sped.
The memory of my selfishness and pride
My haughty words should all be set aside
And so I should be loved and mourned to-night.
If I should die to-night
E'en hearts estranged would turn once more to me
Recall ing other days remorsefully
The eyes that chill me with averted glance
"Would look upon me as of yore perchance
And soften in the old familiar wixy
For who could war with dumb unconscious clay?
So I might rest forgiven of all to-night.
Oh friends I pray to-night
Keep not your kisses for my dead cold brow;
The way is lonely let me feel them now.
Think gently of me I am travel-worn;
My faltering feet are pierced with many a thorn.
Forgive Oh hearts estranged forgive I plead!
When dreamless rest is mine I shall not need
The tenderness for which I long to-night.
CHOCTAW CUSTOMS.
Marriage and death are fraught with
importance in all conditions of life;
from the circle of the gem-crowned
monarch to that of the lowest serf; from
the society which is the outcome of
centuries of culture to the gathering
of rude savages the descendants of a
long continuation of savages. There
are few if any tribes which have not
had some fixed code to govern the
ceremonies attending those important
proceedings. In regard to the former
the rites preceded and announced the
event which was to bring happiness; to
the latter the solemnity was a declara-
tion of the woo that had become the
portion of the bereaved ones and of
the joy which encompassed the do-
parted. The Choctaws were an intonsoly re-
ligious people adoring the Supremo
Being often in largo assemblies There
is no roason to credit the statement that
tho3r wore the worshipers of countless
gods. According to verified tradition
they worshiped "One Great Being" far
beyond all their power to comprehend
and render an inferior reverence to
unseen spirits the beloved of the "Great
One." Enough of ho religion; I am
digressing from the subject matter of
this sketch.
The nation was divided into two clans
or families and marriages could not
be contracted between persons of the
same clan as all of the division wore
related. This rule was rigidly enforced
indeed. If wives were scarce the braves
seized women from a neighboring tribe
and espoused them without consulting
the desires of the stolen maiden.
The old men were a power not to be
lightly contemned. They ruled with
an iron hand no passing by of the aged
at that time. When a bravo reached
an age when conjugal bliss seemed
desirable he intimated his wishes to
some old uncle and presto a wife was
provided. The old gentleman if of an
economical turn sought until ho found
a desirable maiden whose parents were
willing to give her to a stalwart youth
or if he was free of riches a wife was
found and the price demanded promptly
paid. It is a matter of curiosity that
although one hundrod dollars is the
price of the brown hand of an Indian
lassie of the present day the old custom
is a little changed the government
profits by the disposal of her daugh-
ters. Strange is it not?
The negotiations were always carried
on with great state as the entire clan
was interested in the transfer of. one of
their maidens.
The "uncle" after making sure of the
bride announced to the bravo the com-
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The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 5, No. 3, Ed. 1, Saturday, July 1, 1893, newspaper, July 1, 1893; Sacred Heart Mission, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc69751/m1/14/: accessed May 5, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.