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Roe, Frances Marie Antoinette Mack

"Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888"


They appeared promptly, and I became interested in Wauk at once, for
she was a remarkable squaw. Tall and slender, with rather a thin,
girlish face, very unlike the short, fat squaws one usually sees, and
she had the appearance of being rather tidy, too. I could not tell if
she was dressed specially for the occasion, as I had never seen her
before, but everything she had on was beautifully embroidered with
beads--mostly white--and small teeth of animals. She wore a sort of
short skirt, high leggings, and of course moccasins, and around her
shoulders and falling far below her waist was a queer-shaped
garment--neither cape nor shawl--dotted closely all over with tiny
teeth, which were fastened on at one end and left to dangle.
High up around her neck was a dog collar of fine teeth that was really
beautiful, and there were several necklaces of different lengths
hanging below it, one of which was of polished elk teeth and very
rare. The skins of all her clothing had been tanned until they were as
soft as kid. Any number of bracelets were on her arms, many of them
made of tin, I think. Her hair was parted and hung in loose ropes down
each shoulder in front. Her feet and hands were very small, even for
an Indian, and showed that life had been kind to her. I am confident
that she must have been a princess by birth, she was so different from
all squaws I have seen.


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