This little nugget was pointed out to me in the June 27, 1890 INDIAN HELPER by Russell Eagle Bear of Sinte Gleske College.  Of all the news he found in those papers, this is the item that caught his eye and he took a photocopy with him.  Thank you, Russell, for finding this one.


   A COMPOSITION BY ONE OF OUR IMAGINATIVE SIOUX GIRLS


Of the many strange lands and queer places I have visited in my life, the strangest and the one I have experienced more pleasure was my trip to the moon, in 1900.  I got on board an air ship which was bound for the moon, one fine morning in June.  Quite a number of people were starting for the same place.

For many days we sailed through the air.  The scenery all the way was delightful both day and night, but the motion of the ship in air having the same effect as the motion of the ship on water, we did not enjoy the sights very much on the way.

After many days of travelling, we landed in a large city called Ujipa, which means in our language, Greentown.  The lunarians resemble the people of the earth in every way but the color of their eyes and hair.  The color of their eyes is a bright green and their hair a very bright yellow.  Both men and women dress alike, in a loose gown,but you can distinguish them by their way of wearing their hair.  The men have long hair and wear it in two or three plaits in the back.  The women have short hair and wear little caps to match their eyes.  They are a very kind and polite people.

Up in the moon they have no school-houses nor books of any kind from which to read or study.  They are a blissful people.  They know nothing outside of what is going on in their own world.  Money is of no use to them there.  Food of every kind grows all the year round.   A sort of fruit something like our cheese grows on trees very abundantly, and they call it bread. Corn, potatoes, cabbage and numerous vegetables grow wild.  Watermelons, pumpkins and squashes grow on trees, apples, oranges, peaches and grapes may be found in abundance.   The people do not work very hard for their food.    Their clothes are made from the leaves of a very large plant.  These leaves measure about 20 square feet.  They make very strong and durable clothes.

The houses are built only of wood and beautiful.  The people are ruled over by their king, Nonboose Kiang, which we know as "The Man in the Moon."  He is a good, kind man and is liked by all his people.

The amusements and habits of the lunarians are very much like ours.  They were so kind to us that when the time came for us to go leave we werevery sorry.  I hope sometime in the future to take another trip and see more things of interest.

                                         -Nellie Robertson.