This is an update to the discussion about Mark Twain & Native Americans.
First, thanks to Larry for the kind words & to those who privately emailed
me, too.

THE NOBLE RED MAN
Something was at the back of my mind & I couldn't figure it out till just
now.  There are at least two different articles by Twain titled "The Noble
Red Man."  The first one I can find was published in the Buffalo Express
August 21st, 1869, which is subtitled in the article "A Day at Niagara.
Concerning the Falls. The Tamed Hackman."  "The Noble Red Man" in this
article starts off, "The Noble Red Man has always been a darling of mine. I
love to read about him in tales & legends and romances..."  The Indians in
this article dwell in the Niagara Falls region. I don't think this was the
article everyone (myself included) thought was being discussed on the Forum
this past week.  See "Mark Twain at the Buffalo Express" edited by
McCullough & McIntire-Strasburg ISBN 0-87580-249-4  pages 14-17.

A year later Twain had a different "The Noble Red Man" published in the
Galaxy Magazine (subtitled under "Memoranda" September, 1870).  This article
deals specifically with the Indians "on the plains and in the mountains."
And, more to the point Twain wanted to show another side of the Indians not
usually considered by those who "always look at the matter from the
abused-Indian point of view, never from that of the bereaved white widow and
orphan."

Comparing these two different articles yields worthy information.

OUR WILD INDIANS
Yes, I was referring to Richard I. Dodge's "Thirty Three Years Among Our
Wild Indians."  Twain's copy is tucked away in a safe deposit box, and the
notes will probably be made available to scholars after the information is
used to finish his sequel.  I'll post a notification on this forum once the
notes are made available.

DAN DEQUILLE'S FIGHT WITH AN INDIAN
The account starts from DeQuille's taking cover behind an uprooted tree
because an Indian is after him.  Both he & the Indian had a gun.  The Indian
climbed a pine tree to get a better angle to shoot, while he was doing so
DeQuille crawled around the other side of the root of the tree & used a
sharp stick to make a hole in the soil between two roots of the upturned
tree.  Through that hole DeQuille saw the Indian with gun ready watching for
him, and DeQuille put his "rifle in hole and tumbled the red. Made him
good."

Twainiacally,

Bob Slotta