Hugh Pendexter

“ While singing his new song a man, dressed like a white man, came to him and told him of many things. This man-spirit told Tabashaw he must not ask the sun to help him when he made feasts or new medicines, as he, the man-spirit, the great Kitchimanito, was the father of all life and the only power to help the Chippewas. This great spirit told Tabashaw that the traders did not treat him well, and that he, the great spirit, would give him rum and tobacco and ammunition if he gave his medals back to the traders and have nothing more to do with them. ”

“ Moving inland, I managed to follow the trail through a grove of strong timber and much prickly ash until it led me back to the Red Lake River only a short distance above its junction with the Red.
This was a favourite hiding-place for Sioux war parties. It was famous for sturgeon, many being found during the winter. Red deer, bear, moose, and buffalo abounded, while the wild-fowl could never be counted. From this spot the Sioux could watch for hunters coming down from the Red Lake country, or from the Goose and other upper tributaries of the Red. ”

“ Within a quarter of a mile from where I struck the river I came upon some huts of elm bark, such as the Sioux build when on the war-path. These huts were a season old and must have accommodated fully a hundred men. I looked them over carefully and failed to find any fresh signs. I noted many poles used in stretching beaver, showing they had combined business with pleasure.
Except for the Indian I had killed at the edge of the slough and the tracks in the mud, I had found nothing to indicate there was a Sioux in the country. ”

“ The Indian said he had seen no sign of Sioux, that he had talked with my two hunters on the Goose, and that they were taking beaver.
The story of our victory over the Sioux—rather Flat Mouth's victory, for he was being given all the credit—had spread throughout the country with that celerity with which news ever travels in the wilds. It was taken for granted that, after such a rebuff, the Sioux would not travel north on another path until spring. They would be sure to expect the Chippewas, emboldened by the great coup, to venture south and seek a second victory. ”

“ I would pretend I thought I was following two of my hunters. Naturally I would exhibit displeasure at her hiring the Pillager. Whether we got along or quarrelled, I would stimulate fear of the Sioux and stay by her down the river.
Procuring the skins and baling them neatly, I put them with my gun in the canoe, together with tobacco and a hook and line—the men were now taking many fish on the line. With a final word to Probos to look after things until I returned, and a stern command that he should give out no liquor, I started on my eccentric journey. ”

“ I demanded of a Cree. "You act as if you had passed war-tobacco with the Assiniboins against my Chippewas. What do you mean?"
"We are afraid of the Chippewas. Our hearts are warm toward Tabashaw and his people, but their hearts are black against us," he replied.
"Why should you fear the Chippewas?"
"The Voice is back on the River That Calls. The Chippewas are sad and angry at losing their medicine. They will trade no more skins at the X. Y."
"What about your trade?"
"We bring our hunt here. The Medicine Hair told us we could have no new milk. We can get milk here." ”

“ It does no good to tell an Indian he lies, so I told the two I would give them tobacco and ammunition if they would take their families and paddle up to the Goose and get beaver. As an additional incentive I promised a big keg if they should return with enough skins to wipe out their debts. They were much disgruntled over two points; they wanted the keg at once, and they did not propose to hunt beaver on the Goose at any time, as it was above the Red Lake country, where they were sure of being gobbled up by the Sioux. ”

“ She asked me, but it is too near the summer war-path of the Sioux."
"Flat Mouth, chief of the Pillager Chippewas, has scared the Sioux back to their holes," scornfully cried my Indian. Then to my amazement, "I go with the Medicine Hair."
"Did the Rat come to hire you?" I sharply demanded. The Rat drew away, looking very uncomfortable. Flat Mouth readily admitted—
"She knows I am a great warrior."
"She doesn't make any bones of hiring my men, it seems!" And my resentment grew very strong.
"Her hair is great medicine. She calls the Voice. It comes. She tells it to go to sleep. It is gone. ”

“ I promised.
"New milk is good," he murmured, his mouth watering. "I will take a dram. Let the keg wait for me here, till after the woman goes up the river."
I assured him the liquor would be held in trust for him. He confessed that she was making life miserable for him and Angus by refusing them liquor.
"After she is gone, the clerk and I will have a big drunk," he gloated.
"Then why do you stay with her? I will make it a big keg for you two. Why not come up here? I will hire both you and Angus. If a man behaves he can have plenty of rum here." ”

“ It was a trick for which only a woman's logic would find an excuse. A man might do it, but he would provide some shadow of an excuse. She was going about it openly, ignoring my wishes. The worst of all was my inability to restrain the chief. He had said he would go, and there was no stopping him. The devil was in that woman's hair if it were strong enough to bind Flat Mouth to her service. ”

“ The arrival of several hunters, all Chippewas, called me from him. I quickly observed these were sullen and uneasy about something. I traded their skins and gave them rum and sought to set their tongues to wagging, but, like their chief, they remained moody and taciturn. The situation began to get on my nerves. The Indians were children. Ordinarily it was very simple to learn their intentions, despite their expressionless features, but to get behind their thoughts it was necessary to make them talk. ”

“ Anxious to get at the truth, I went after Flat Mouth. I despaired when I observed that even this intelligent and—with me—very frank fellow was sobered almost to the point of dejection. At first he would make no reply to my questions.
"My friend, the great war-chief of the Pillagers, looks sad when four Sioux scalps hang in his tent. And he refuses to tell his white brother, who would drive the shadows away," I complained.
"My brother can not drive the shadows away," he grunted.
"Medicine is strong." ”

“ Once the X. Y. people learned of her father's death, they would lose no time in shifting a man from the Assiniboin to the Scratching to permit her leaving the river before cold weather set in. The idea became fixed in my mind and tormented me. She was buying no skins; there was no excuse for her remaining. If a summer man was not sent out, then Angus could look after the post, and I was booked for the summer and winter—a whole year—without another opportunity of looking on a white woman. ”

“ There's never any understanding a woman; which is not surprising, as she does not understand herself. Logically she should have been twice as sorry on learning I had followed her without suspecting I was running into danger. ”

“ White Partridge took up the tale and said:
"There were ten warriors left with the horses. They left all their horses on the west bank. They will kill everyone on the river."
He now succeeded in jerking himself free of my grip and, with the two paddles working as one, they sped after their families, leaving me to chew over the problem.
It was the canoes of my hunters, hiding in the edge of the marsh, that had frightened the wild-fowl. If any of the Sioux were within miles of the slough they knew by this time that something was moving on the river which might repay them for investigating. ”

“ I have never known this trait to fail of expression in the Indian. He may kill his wife when drunk, or brutally disfigure her, but in event of an enemy attack there is none so cowardly as not to take the fighting position in the rear. I waited until the two canoes of women passed, then drove my craft across the course of the warriors and held up my hand and called out my name.
With a powerful sweep of their paddles they swerved wide to run by me and yelped something I could not understand. Turning my canoe downstream, I laid to the paddle and drove alongside of them until the canoes locked. ”

“ The woman with the medicine hair sent it back."
Old Tabashaw's gloomy bearing and the depression of the hunters was now easily understood.
"That is why your people are so sad even when they have new milk," I said.
"It was great wabeno medicine while it was with us," he regretted.
"How do the Chippewas feel toward the woman?"
"They are very angry, but they are very afraid of her."
"They would like to have her scalp nailed to a tent pole," I suggested.
"They are afraid to go near her. No one dares harm her."
"No one can harm her," I cried. "She is mighty medicine. ”

“ At the risk of spoiling a trade I interrupted the babel to declare there was no need of war-medicine up the river now that the Sioux had gone home, for they would not dare return to the Red until the following spring.
"And before then, tobacco will be passed among all the Chippewas, Crees and Assiniboins. A great war-party will go after the Sioux and dig them out when the leaves begin to turn yellow and drop off the trees," I added for good measure. ”

“ He eagerly explained:
"She goes to make discoveries in the Red Lake River country. She thinks to send hunters there."
"She can get no hunters," I sneered.
"She thinks she can get some Crees, some Assiniboins," he retorted.
I began to believe that she could. All she need do would be to threaten a second theft of the Voice from the Qu'Appelle. I began to feel normal, to look on her as a rival whom I must best in trade. ”

“ Don't let them take me alive."
"Of course not." That was why I had taken pains to reserve one barrel of my gun.
The canoe now was very low in the water. She paddled gently and we crept closer to the bank. Then, with a muscular swing, she sent us into the mud with the water up to our waists. The Indians on the bank jumped from cover. I blew a hole through the leader. Flat Mouth came out of the water as if shot by a gun, was half-way up the bank, had cut a fellow's throat and was yanking off the squirming skunk's hair quicker than you could skin a partridge. ”

“ In some such way did news travel up and down the river, often outspeeding a messenger. You might start post-haste for the hills with news and find it ahead of you when you arrived. The natural inference was that Black Robe had brought word of Chabot's attempted assault on the girl, but the Robe had not put in appearance and, unless he travelled during the night, he could scarcely have arrived before I woke up. That he would paddle day and night was hardly probable. ”

“ They eyed the Chippewas askance and kept their bows and arrows in their hands and camped by themselves.
This was unusual, as the three tribes ordinarily fraternized when meeting at the posts. The weaker party during a drinking-match usually desires to keep its weapons close at hand, but this precaution is taken to protect them against the effects of the rum, rather than because of any tribal antipathy. To be on their guard when not in liquor had an ugly look. ”