How Indians Measure Time

Our Iudians nieasure time solely by days, by sleeps, by moons and by winters. The Iridian has no name for any subdivisión of time less than a day. When he clesires to indícate a shorter period, he points to the heavens, and meastiriug off a space says, "It was as long as it wonld take the snn to go from there to there. " A day is from daylight to darkness, "sleop, " or night, from dark to daylight. Ha has no name for any day, nor has he any subdivisión oí time correspoiiding to our week. A rooon commonces with the first streak of the cresceat in the west and lasts until the next one appears, but the days of the moon are neither nnmbered nor named. "From winter to winter" is the nearest approach he has to our term. The year commences with tho first fall of snow. An ludiau will teil you he is so naany winters oíd, but having no months or days he never has a birthday. The Indians who formerly iubabited the southein part of Texas, where there is uo snowfall, are said tohave flzed the commencement of the year at the first "norther," a furious and chilling wiud that sweeps from the north and is of frequent occurrence dnring the winter months. No year has any name or number fixing a sequenee or point of reference, but each band will desígnate a year by its most prominent occurrenoe, as a flgbt with hostiles, death of a chief, preva]ence of disease, abundanoe or scaroity of food, or failing anything marvelous or striking by the name of the stream on which was located the winter camp. But these are mere remembrances, and excellent as is the Indians memory they, after a few years, fade into a jumble of disconnected facts without