The racism of "The Noble Redman" is certainly clear. But for a brief look at
the other side of the coin, see the selection from "Methuselah's Diary" in
_The Bible according to Mark Twain_, pp.101-2 and note to p. 102.5  p. 349.
In
the passage itself Methuselah describes a visit from from the "famous tribe
of
the Jabelites" who " live not in houses, but in tents" and then goes on to
describe various mistreatments of the tribe that led to uprisings, etc. This
was written in the 1870's and reflect a real interest in Indian affairs at
that time.

So, though there's no question about MT's racism, there was also recognition
of the serious mistreatment of Native Americans.

Howard Baetzhold