glimpse of Eldorado

"THE month of September recalls to every Indian's mind the season of the
fall hunt. I remember one such expedition which is typical of many. Our
party appeared on the northwestern side of Turtle mountain; for we had
been hunting buffaloes all summer, in the region of the Mouse river,
between that mountain and the upper Missouri.

As our cone-shaped teepees rose in clusters along the outskirts of the
heavy forest that clothes the sloping side of the mountain, the scene
below was gratifying to a savage eye. The rolling yellow plains were
checkered with herds of buffaloes. Along the banks of the streams that ran
down from the mountains were also many elk, which usually appear at
morning and evening, and disappear into the forest during the warmer part
of the day. Deer, too, were plenty, and the brooks were alive with trout.
Here and there the streams were dammed by the industrious beaver.

In the interior of the forest there were lakes with many islands, where
moose, elk, deer and bears were abundant. The water-fowl were wont to
gather here in great numbers, among them the crane, the swan, the loon,
and many of the smaller kinds. The forest also was filled with a great
variety of birds. Here the partridge drummed his loudest, while the
whippoorwill sang with spirit, and the hooting owl reigned in the night.

To me, as a boy, this wilderness was a paradise. It was a land of
plenty. To be sure, we did not have any of the luxuries of civilization,
but we had every convenience and opportunity and luxury of Nature. We had
also the gift of enjoying our good fortune, whatever dangers might lurk
about us; and the truth is that we lived in blessed ignorance of any life
that was better than our own. "

Charles Eastman em Indian Boyhood.

ou de como a imagem da visão é mais real do que a imagem vista; a imagem da Nazaré no típico dos anos cinquenta perdura ainda, a imagem da fotografia e o retrato do real foram uma ilusão breve.