Wadi

“ It is on the shore of the main land. Some Indians have a village there. They are kind and gentle. I think they will be willing to sell their home to you.'
"It was a good plan. The white people went to the place and were much pleased with it. It was in a lovely valley near the shore. Springs of cool water bubbled up here and there. Groves of nut and oak trees gave a pleasant shade. No fierce wild animals roamed through the forest near by. They must find out at once if the Indians would be willing to sell such a pleasant home.
"They brought cloth, tools, and beads to the Red Men. ”

“ Such a woman is never taken back. If a man has the eldest daughter of a family for his wife, he has a right to all her sisters. A chief business of the young men among these Indian tribes is to try their fortune with the young maidens and the women, and this, together with their toilet, fills up the greater part of their time. They do not meet with many coy beauties. [248] In the evening, and generally till late at night, they roam about the villages, or in the vicinity, or from one village to the other. ”

“ Being extremely tired, and our feet sore and wounded, it cost us some exertion to get over fallen trunks of trees, sharp stones, &c., in the way. The scenes which are inseparable from the dwellings of the Indians soon appeared; slender young men, galloping without saddle, who were driving their horses home from the pasture; women cutting or carrying wood, and the like. A young Indian joined us, who immediately offered, out of civility, to carry my gun, which I did not accept. He was an Arikkara, who had been captured, when a child, by the Manitaries—a good-tempered, well-behaved young man. ”

“ A man seldom, however, takes more than one wife, except for the sake of children.
[Contents]
3. Religion.
They worship the ordinary Hindu gods and especially [491] Devi, to whom they offer female kids. During the months of Baisākh and Jeth (April–June) those living in Betūl and Chhindwāra make a pilgrimage to the Nāg Deo or cobra god, who is supposed to have his seat somewhere on the border of the two Districts. Every third year they also take their cattle outside the village, and turning their faces in the direction of the Nāg Deo sprinkle a little water and kill goats and fowls. ”

“ Poor Miss Wade is not well. Don’t make a noise, my dears, her head aches. Come and comfort her. Come and ask her if she is better; come and ask her to lie down. I hope you have nothing on your mind, ma’am. ”

“ THE CHRISTENING
"O mother, I have something to tell you. I have just been down to the village, and I heard there that neighbour Hans's wife has a new baby. It is a boy. Every one says he is a fine little fellow," said Mari, one beautiful afternoon.
"Dear me! dear me! that is fine news, truly," said her mother. "I must make her a dish of my best porridge and take it to her in the morning."
"Did everybody remember you when I was born, mother?"
"Yes, dear, the people of the village seemed to vie with each other in preparing a dish of flödegrod. ”

“ I am afraid," said the youth with well-feigned discouragement, "that we are a long way from home."
"This is my home," said Wanda, as they stepped into the shadow of the limitless forest. "It is only white men who are content to live on a little patch of ground and shut the sky away from them. The Indian is at home everywhere." ”

“ It was no wonder, he reflected, in that almost womanless land, that many a cowpuncher rode the range by night, seeing her image in every star. The thought that each single man, and many a married one, in Crawling Water, would ride into the Pit itself to win one of her smiles, had been Wade's comfort, even when he was thinking of the possibility of bloodshed between the two hostile factions. ”

“ WHEN the pale moon looks down from the sky, and when the wind cries mournfully around the wigwam, this is the story that the old man of the tribe tells to the Indian children:
Many, many moons ago the great chief of our tribe had a very beautiful daughter.
“She shall marry a great warrior,” said the Chief, “and a mighty hunter. Then she will be well cared for, and I shall be happy.”
So the great Chief kept watch of the young men of the tribe, to see which one would prove worthy of his daughter. ”

“ The devi’s mother took the maiden and hid her. The devi appeared, no one knows whence. He carried dead game and firewood. He unbound them from his back, went in, and said: ‘Mother, I smell a man! Who has come hither?’ ‘Why dost thou ask?’ said the old woman; ‘for fear of thee bird cannot fly in heaven, nor can worm creep on earth.’ The devi insisted, and his mother at last gave way, and said: ‘I have here a maiden whom I wish thee to marry; if thou wilt not eat her, I will let thee see her.’ The son promised, and his mother brought the girl out. ”

“ I did not desire to do anything more than defend myself; but Waddie stood between me and the water, and when I hit him, he went over. I have never claimed to be saint or angel. I was human enough to “get mad” when the young gentleman flattened my nose and made it bleed. I simply defended myself by the only means within my power, though I did not intend to throw Waddie into the lake.
The water was not more than three or four feet deep near the wall; but Waddie might have been drowned in it, if he had not been promptly assisted by the auctioneer and others. ”

“ Wade's verandah. How he means to convey dinner across the intervening waters I know not, but he always manages well for himself,–specially when he knows he has made a mistake. {265} I suppose he prefers risking the dinner, and being at a little distance from Nana Sahib's eyes and ears, otherwise our own verandahs would have been more suitable. Three boats are in readiness to carry us off somewhere, but, as yet, I don't know where. I have packed my boxes, and now am waiting till the doctor returns from the dispensary. There is a great deal of sickness in the city. ”

“ He had five names among these Indians—the chief of the little village; the man who possesses many gourds; the great horse from abroad; the forest bear; and fifth, which, as often happens among these Indians, is not very refined. After we had passed the bend in the river, we saw the second Mandan village, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, and, at no great distance beyond it, Fort Clarke, which we reached at four o'clock, and were welcomed on the shore by Mr. Kipp, the director and clerk of the Fur Company, who led us to his house. ”

“ So the Wind went away sorrowing, for he loved the Indian maiden.
The next day the maiden came to her father and said, “Father, I love the Wind better than any young warrior of our tribe. May I go to his lodge, and be his wife?”
The Chief looked at his daughter and said, “No. The Wind is no mate for you. He is no warrior. He is no hunter. He loves only to play pranks. You cannot marry him.” ”

“ If you ever are--no! when you are, then I will owe it to Bent Wade. No man ever owed another for so precious a gift. But, Collie, I can't help a little vague dread--of what, I don't know, unless it's a sense of the possibilities of Hell--Bent Wade.... Dearest, I don't want to worry you or frighten you, and I can't follow out my own gloomy fancies. Don't you mind too much what I think. Only you must realize that Wade is the greatest factor in our hopes of the future. ”

“ O Devi, Mahadevi—Mother of Gods and Monster-slayer—before whom all the divinities bow down, thou hast delivered the earth from its burdens! thou hast delivered those that worshiped thee from a thousand misfortunes! Now I pray thee, O Mother Devi, that thou wilt be my helper also, and fulfill the desire of my heart. And if by thy favor I be enabled to marry that loveliest of women, O Devi, verily I will make a sacrifice of my own head to thee. ”

“ Sir Wade was, indeed, most peculiar in his solicitude for his family; for when he returned to Africa he would permit no one to care for his young son save a loathsome black woman from Guinea. Upon coming back, after the death of Lady Jermyn, he himself assumed complete care of the boy.
But it was the talk of Sir Wade, especially when in his cups, which chiefly led his friends to deem him mad. Ina rational age like the eighteenth century it was unwise for a man to talk about wild sights and strange scenes under a Congo moon ”

“ I am a stranger and may not enter any man’s abode.” Quoth the Wali, “I will not let him go, except thou come to my home and I take my will of thee.” Rejoined she, “If it must be so, thou must needs come to my lodging and sit and sleep the siesta and rest the whole day there.” “And where is thy abode?” asked he; and she answered, “In such a place,” and appointed him for such a time. Then she went out from him, leaving his heart taken with love of her, and she repaired to the Kazi of the city, to whom she said, “O our lord the Kazi!” ”

“ She would lead them to me and coax them to me. ‘Come to good Miss Wade, come to dear Miss Wade, come to pretty Miss Wade. She loves you very much. Miss Wade is a clever lady, who has read heaps of books, and can tell you far better and more interesting stories than I know. Come and hear Miss Wade!’ How could I engage their attentions, when my heart was burning against these ignorant designs? ”

“ So it was that the sons and daughters of the Frenchmen grew up with no fear of the little savages. Why, their priests often went to live in the Indian villages, that they might better show their friendship. Indians were often invited to feasts held in the white men’s homes and joined in their sports. Moreover, the children’s own relatives often chose Indian maidens for their wives, and were very happy with them. And because of this last, there came in time to be many people in Canada who were called halfbreeds, as they were partly French and partly Indian. ”

“ He made friends at sight with men, children, and dogs and wore his friendships as easily as he wore his clothes. The West puts an indefinable stamp on a man, and Wade had it. When presently he donned a cloth cap, torn from the confused depths of his valise, and passed out of doors he walked like a man who was used to covering long distances afoot, and with a certain swing of his broad shoulders that suggested a jovial egotism. And as he made his way through the orchard and into the meadow beyond his mind was still busy with Evelyn Walton. ”

“ The vendors, who had graceful manners and spoke fluent though broken English, called themselves vaguely "Indians," which statement on Dr Wayne's searching questions they qualified by remarking they were loyal subjects of the Indian Empire. The Doctor's rising suspicions were by no means appeased by this explanation; but on finding that the hotel servants as well as the hovering females resented his method of cross-examination, and were inclined to champion these [Pg 263] Eastern peddlers, he ultimately desisted and retreated upstairs to vent his tale into my ears. ”

“ But the bluff and busy tyrant was first, as he always was in his dealings with men.
“Here, Wade,” he shouted, “you shake hands with the prettiest girl in the north country! This is Miss Nina Ide, and this is my new time-keeper, Dwight Wade. He’s going to find that there’s more in lumbering than there is in being a college dude or teaching a school. Sit down, Wade.” ”

“ Moccasins had to be made or old ones mended. Shirts and other garments had to be made. Often there were skins to be dressed or scraped. Leggings and shirts were embroidered usually in winter, when the women had no corn to hoe.
51
There was a good deal of visiting in our lodge; for my father was one of the chiefs of the village, and always kept open house. “If a man would be chief,” we said, “he should be ready to feed the poor and strangers.” A pot with buffalo meat or corn and beans cooking was always on the fire in my father’s lodge. ”

“ Cold Medicine and I arose and returned to my father’s lodge. Magpie followed us a few minutes later; for young men did not walk through the village with their sweethearts in the daytime. We should have thought that foolish.
And so I was wed.
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FOURTEENTH CHAPTER A BUFFALO HUNT
My young husband and I lived together but a few years. He died of lung sickness; and, after I had mourned a year, I married Son-of-a-Star, a Mandan. My family wished me to marry again; for, while an Indian woman could raise corn for herself and family, she could not hunt to get meat and skins. ”

“ To have challenged the acquaintance of a stranger—perhaps an adventurer—perhaps a vagabond—ah! more than challenged his acquaintance—provoked the most powerful passion of his soul—thrown down the gauntlet to him—token of love as of war—when did ever Wade—a female Wade—commit such an indiscretion? ”

“ Wade, he writes, "I am willing to return to Kashmir. The missionary life is the only one worth living. It is the only one that can be called Christ-like.... My dear friend, I have had a terrible battle to fight with selfishness, and the love of ease, and the fashion of this world that passeth away. But I trust our heavenly Father has enabled me to overcome in His strength. I return to India joyfully and thankfully {257} to rough it in God's work. ”

“ Here, one of my masters arrives from regions beyond the rising of the sun, to espouse the widow of another of my masters, who dies just at the very nick of time to produce the meeting, which I, who come from the countries of the south, step in to promote. ”

“ The whole multitude then followed him to the widow's lodge, where he taught them what to do. They built their lodges around him, forming a very large town. They dug up the earth and planted—they built large houses, and learned many new arts, and were happy. Not as it is now—for all the Indians have forgotten it. Having done this, he ascended into the clouds, leaving his wife the future mother of a son, to whom he referred the people assembled to witness his departure, for subsequent counsel. ”