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iarly and affectionately as i f it were her loved infant, instead of its shell, t hat she was t alking to. So lasting and so strong is the affection of these women for the lost c hild, t hat it matters not how heavy or cruel their load, or how rugged the route they have to pass over, they w i l l f aithfully carry t his, and carefully, from day to day, and even more strictly perforin tlieir duties to it, than i f the child were alive and i n it. One of the most cruel customs among the Sioux was that of leaving their old and i nfirm to die alone, exposed and unattended. The old sufferers not only assented to this proceeding, but generally suggested it when conscious that they were no longer able to support themselves. They were generally left w ith a slight p rotection over them, w ith a l ittle food b y their side, to die, or be devoured by the hungry wolves. It was in the country of the Sioux at the southern extremity of the high ridge, called the Coteau des P rairies, w hich lies between the head waters of the St. Peter's and M issouri, t hat the far-famed quarry of red pipe-stone was situated. Pipes made from this stone were common among all the "Western tribes. The stone was obtained by digging to a depth of several feet i n the prairie at the foot of a precipitous w all of quartz rocks. Tlie g eological formation of this s pot presents a singular phenomenon, and the pipe-stone is of itself a singular material. It is said to be harder than gypsum, and softer than carbonate of lime, and is different from any other metal ever discovered by g eologists. The component materials of this stone, according to the analysis of D r . Jackson, of Boston, are as follows: " water, 8,-f; silica, 4 8,2; alumina, 28.2; magnesia, 6.0; carbonate of lime,2.6; p eroxide of i ron, 5 .0; oxide of manganese, 0.6." "The Indians," says M r . Brownell, in his valuable b ook, "use the stone only i n the manufacture of pipes; to apply it to any other use they esteem the most unheard-of sacrilege. From the affinity of its color to that of their own skins, they draw some f anciful legend of its formation, at the time of the great deluge, out of the flesh of the perishing red men. They esteem it one of the choicest gifts of the Great S p i r i t . " The following extracts from the speeches o f Sioux orators, will give the reader a good i dea of how highly, and in what