Indians Erect Tepees; Great Parley Being Held

Colorful Throng Assemble for First Great Council

Something like 5,000 Indians, from all over the United States are now assembled at Rapid City, staging the greatest pow-wow ever held in one place since the day Custer met his tragic fate on the plains of the Little Big Horn River.

The gathering of the braves with their women folks and relics of years gone by will not only furnish amusement for their white brethren who are now taking in the sights, but will indeed be interesting to readers of the daily press.

One of the subjects to be taken up is the modest claim the Indians make to the possession of the Black Hills. It is rather a long story, this claim, dating back to the early treaties which opened the hills to the prospector. The Indian knows little about it, except that he feels that the huge sum of $75,000,000 should be paid him and this justifies him in hiring expensive lawyers in Washington, who, year after year, try to convince congress that the Indian claim is okey. There will be a long council meeting and the pipe of peace will be smoked with the hope the white man can be induced to see the justice of the Indian claim.

Chief Standing Bear, of the Pine Ridge, says: "The time is at hand when such a council should be held by the Indians themselves to discuss the most important questions relative to their general welfare."