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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Owindia, by Charlotte Selina Bompas
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+Title: Owindia
+
+Author: Charlotte Selina Bompas
+
+Release Date: October, 2004  [EBook #6658]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on January 10, 2003]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, OWINDIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Avinash Kothare, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.  This file was produced from images
+generously made available by the Canadian Institute for Historical
+Microreproductions.
+
+
+
+OWINDIA:
+
+_A TRUE TALE OF THE MACKENZIE RIVER INDIANS_,
+
+NORTH-WEST AMERICA.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF OWINDIA.
+
+
+
+A pretty open spot on the bank of the Great Mackenzie River was the
+place where Owindia first saw light. One of the universal pine
+forests formed the back ground, while low shrubs and willows, with a
+pleasant, green carpet of mossy grass, were the immediate
+surroundings of the camp.
+
+The banks of the Mackenzie often rise to a height of sixty feet
+above the river. This was the case in the spot where Michel the
+Hunter had pitched his tent, or "lodge" as it is called. A number of
+other Indians were camped near, led thither by the fish which is so
+abundant in our Northern rivers, and which proves a seldom failing
+resource when the moose or reindeer go off their usual track. The
+woods also skirting the river furnish large supplies of rabbits,
+which even the Indian children are taught to snare. Beavers too are
+most numerous in this district, and are excellent food, while their
+furs are an important article of trade with the Hudson Bay Company;
+bringing to the poor Indian his much prized luxury of tea or tobacco,
+a warm blanket or ammunition. As the Spring comes on the women of the
+camps will be busy making "sirop" from the birch trees, and dressing
+the skins of moose or deer which their husbands have killed in the
+chase. There are also the canoes to be made or repaired for use
+whenever the eight months' fetters of ice shall give way.
+
+Thus we see the Indian camps offer a pleasant spectacle of a
+contented and busy people; and if they lack the refinement and
+luxuries of more civilized communities, they have at all events this
+advantage,--they have never learnt to need them.
+
+Michel, the Indian, was a well-skilled, practised hunter. Given a
+windy day, a good depth of snow, and one or two moose tracks on its
+fair surface, and there was not much chance of the noble beast's
+escape from Michel's swift tread and steady aim. Such is the
+excitement of moose-hunting; and such the intense acuteness of the
+moose-deer's sense of smell and hearing, that an Indian hunter will
+often strip himself of every bit of clothing, and creep stealthily
+along on his snow-shoes, lest by the slightest sound he should betray
+his presence, and allow his prey to escape. And Michel was as skilled
+a trapper as he was hunter; from the plump little musk-rat which he
+caught by the river brink to the valuable marten, sable, beaver,
+otter, skunk, &c., &c., he knew the ways and habits of each one; he
+would set his steel trap with as true an intuition as if he had
+received notice of the coming of his prey. Many a silver fox had
+found himself outdone in sharpness and cunning by Michel; many a lynx
+or wild cat had fought for dear life, and may-be, made _one_
+escape from Michel's snares, leaving perhaps one of its paws in token
+of its fierce struggle, yet had perished after all, being allured in
+some opposite direction by tempting bait, or irresistible scent laid
+by the same skilful hand. In bear hunting also Michel was an adept,
+and he lacked not opportunity for this sport on the banks of the
+Mackenzie. Many a time would he and, perhaps, one other Indian glide
+down the river in his swift canoe, and suddenly the keen observant
+eyes would detect a bear walking stealthily along by the side of the
+stream! In an instant the two men would exchange signals, paddles
+would be lifted, and, every movement stilled, the men slowly and
+'cannily' would make for shore. In spite of all, however, Bruin has
+heard them, he slakes his thirst no longer in the swift-running river
+nor feasts luxuriously on the berries growing by the shore. The woods
+are close at hand, and with a couple of huge strides he reaches them,
+and is making with increasing speed for his lair; but Michel is his
+match for stealth and swiftness, and when one sense fails, another is
+summoned to his assistance. The eye can no longer see the prey, but
+the ear can yet detect here and there a broken twig revealing the
+exact track it has taken. With gun carried low, and treading on in
+breathless silence and attention, the hunters follow, and soon a shot
+is heard, succeeded by another, and then a shout which proclaims poor
+Bruin's death. Alas, that gun which has done such good service for
+his family, which was purchased by many a month's labour, and
+carefully chosen with an Indian's observant eye: what misery and
+crime was it not to effect even in that very spot where now the
+little group of Indians dwelt happy and peaceful, little dreaming of
+the deed of violence which would soon drive them panic-stricken from
+their homes!
+
+A very marked feature in the character of the Indian is jealousy.
+How far the white man may be answerable, if not for the first impulse
+of this, at all events for its development, it were perhaps better
+not to inquire. The schoolboy is often first taught jealousy by the
+undisguised partiality for his more attractive or highly gifted
+companion, evinced by his teachers; the Indians are at present in
+most respects but children, and they are keenly sensitive to the
+treatment they receive from those, who, in spite of many benefits
+bestowed, they cannot but look upon as invaders of their soil, and
+intruders upon some of their prerogatives. In our Mission work we
+find this passion of jealousy often coming into play. It is most
+difficult to persuade the parents to trust us with their children,
+not because they doubt our care of them, but for fear of their
+children's affections being alienated from their own people. It is
+sometimes hard for the same reason to get the parents to bring their
+children to Holy Baptism: "You will give my boy another name, and he
+will not be 'like mine' any more."
+
+And Michel the Hunter was but an average type of the Indian
+character; of a fiery, ardent nature, and unschooled affections, he
+never forgot a wrong done him in early youth by a white man. His
+sweetheart was taken from him, cruelly, heartlessly, mercilessly,
+during his absence, without note or sign or warning, while he was
+working with all energy to make a home for the little black-eyed
+maiden, who had promised to be his bride. If Michel could but once
+have seen the betrayer to have given vent to his feelings of scorn,
+rage, and indignation! To have asked him, as he longed to ask him, if
+this was his Christian faith, his boasted white man's creed! To have
+asked if in those thousand miles he had traversed to reach the red
+man's home, there were no girls suited to his mind, save only the one
+betrothed to Indian Michel! He would have asked, too, if it were not
+enough to invade his country, build houses, plant his barley and
+potatoes, and lay claim to his moose-deer and bear, his furs and
+peltries, but he must needs touch, with profane hands, his home
+treasures, and meddle with that which "even an Indian" holds sacred?
+It might, perchance, have been better for Michel if he could have
+spoken out and unburdened himself of his deep sense of wrong and
+injury, which from henceforth lay like a hot iron in his heart. The
+Italian proverb says, "It is better to swear than to brood;" and
+whether this be true or not, it is certain that having to swallow his
+resentment, and endure his agony in silence, embittered Michel's
+spirit, and made him the jealous, sensitive, taciturn man he
+afterwards became. And among many other consequences of his youth's
+tragedy was an unconquerable horror of the white man; not but that,
+after a time, he would work for a white man, and trade with him, so
+long as he need not look upon him. He would send even his wife (for
+Michel took unto him a wife after some years) to Fort Simpson with
+his furs to trade, rather than trust himself in the neighbourhood of
+the "Tene Manula" (white man). Once, it was said, that Michel had
+even so far overcome his repugnance as to pitch his camp in the
+neighbourhood of Fort Simpson. He was a husband and a father then,
+and there were a number of Indians encamped in the same locality. It
+might be hoped that under these circumstances the past would be
+forgotten, and that the man would bury his resentment, and extend a
+friendly hand to those, not a few, among the white men who wished him
+well; but jealousy is the "rage of a man." In the middle of the night
+Michel roused his wife and little ones, declaring that the white man
+was coming to do them some mischief. Bearing his canoe upon his head
+he soon launched it off, and in his mad haste to be away he even left
+a number of his chattels behind.
+
+Only once more did Michel appear at the Fort, and that on a
+memorable occasion which neither he nor any who then beheld him will
+be likely to forget.
+
+It was on a dark, cold night in the winter of 1880, that a dog-
+sleigh, laden with furs for the Company, appeared at Fort Simpson,
+and having discharged his load at the fur store, the sleigh-driver,
+who was none other than Accomba, the wife of Indian Michel, proceeded
+to the small "Indian house," as it is called, to spend the rest of
+the night among her own people. She was a pleasing-looking young
+woman, with bright expressive eyes, and a rather melancholy cast of
+countenance. She was completely enveloped in a large green blanket,
+from the folds of which peeped over her shoulder an infant of a few
+months old, warm and comfortable in its moss-bag. A blessed
+institution is that of the moss-bag to the Indian infant; and
+scarcely less so to the mother herself. Yet, indeed, it requires no
+small amount of patience, skill, and labour before this Northern
+luxury can be made ready for its tiny occupant. Through a good part
+of the long winter nights has the mother worked at the fine bead-work
+which must adorn the whole front of the moss-bag. By a strange
+intuitive skill she has traced the flowers and leaves and delicate
+little tendrils, the whole presenting a marvellously artistic
+appearance, both in form and in well-combined colours. Then must the
+moss be fetched to completely line the bag, and to form both bed and
+wrapping for the little one. For miles into the woods will the Indian
+women hike to pick the soft moss which is only to be met with in
+certain localities. They will hang it out on bush and shrub to dry
+for weeks before it is wanted, and then trudge back again to bring it
+home, in cloths or blankets swung on their often already-burdened
+shoulders. Then comes the picking and cleaning process, and thawing
+the now frozen moss before their camp fires. Every leaf and twig must
+be removed, that nothing may hurt the little baby limbs. And now all
+is prepared; the sweet downy substance is spread out as pillow for
+the baby head, and both couch and covering for the rest of the body.
+Then the bag is laced up tight, making its small tenant as warm and
+cozy as possible; only the little face appears--the bonnie, saucy
+Indian baby face, singularly fair for the first few months of life,
+with the black bead-like eyes, and soft silken hair, thick even in
+babyhood.
+
+Accomba threw off her blanket, and swinging round her baby, she
+seated herself on the floor by the side of the roaring fire, on which
+the friendly Indians heaped billet after billet of fine dry wood,
+till the whole room was lighted up by the bright and cheerful blaze.
+It was not long before a number of other Indians entered,--most
+unceremoniously, as Indians are wont to do, and seated themselves in
+all parts of the room, for they had heard the sound of sleigh bells,
+and were at once curious to know the business of the new arrival. A
+universal hand-shaking took place, for all were friendly, being
+mostly of the same tribe, and more or less closely all connected.
+Pipes were then lighted alike by men and women, and a kettle of tea
+was soon singing on the fire. Accomba draws out from the recesses of
+her dog sleigh one or two huge ribs of dried meat, black and
+unsavoury to look at, but forming very good food for all that.
+
+This is portioned out among the assembled company; a bladder of
+grease is added, and seized with avidity by one of the party; a
+portion of this was then melted down and eaten with the dried meat;
+while the steaming tea, sipped out of small tin cups, and taken
+without sugar or milk, was the "loving cup" of that dark-visaged
+company. And far into the morning hours they sat sipping their
+favourite beverage, and discussing the last tidings from the woods.
+Every item of news is interesting, whether from hunter's camp, or
+trapper's wigwam. There are births, marriages, and deaths, to be
+pondered over and commented upon; the Indian has his chief, to whom
+he owes deference and vows allegiance; he has his party badge, both
+in religion and politics; what wonder then that even the long winter
+night of the North, seemed far too short for all the important knotty
+points which had to be discussed and settled!
+
+"You have had good times at the little Lake," said Peter, a brother
+of Michel's, who was deliberately chewing a piece of dried meat held
+tight between his teeth, while with his pocketknife he severed its
+connection with the piece in his hand, to the imminent peril of his
+nose.
+
+"I wish I were a freedman: I should soon be off to the Lake myself!
+I am sick of working for the Company. I did not mind it when they set
+me to haul meat from the hunters, or to trap furs for them, but now
+they make me saw wood, or help the blacksmith at his dirty forge:
+what has a 'Tene Jua' to do with such things as these?"
+
+"And I am sick of starving!" said another. "This is the third winter
+that _something_ has failed us,--first the rabbits, then the
+fish ran short; and now we hear that the deer are gone into a new
+track, and there is not a sign of one for ten miles round the Fort.
+And the meat is so low" added the last speaker, "that the 'big
+Master' says he has but fifty pounds of dried meat in the store, and
+if Indians don't come in by Sunday, we are to be sent off to hunt for
+ourselves and the wives and children are to go to Little Lake where
+they may live on fish."
+
+"We have plenty of fish, it is true," said Accomba; "we dried a good
+number last Fall, besides having one net in the lake all the winter;
+but I would not leave the Company, Peter, if I were you,--you are
+better off here, man, in spite of your 'starving times!' You _do_ get
+your game every day, come what may, and a taste of flour every week, and
+a little barley and potatoes. I call that living like a 'big master.'"
+
+"I had rather be a free man and hunt for myself," put in another
+speaker; "the meat does not taste half so good when another hand than
+your own has killed it; and as for flour and barley and potatoes,
+well, our forefathers got on well enough without them before the
+white man came into our country, I suppose we should learn to do
+without them again? For my part, I like a roe cake as well as any
+white man's bread."
+
+"But the times are harder than they used to be for the Tene Jua
+(Indian men) in the woods," said Accomba with a sigh; "the deer and
+the moose go off the track more than they used to do; it is only at
+Fort Rae, on the Big Lake, that meat never seems to fail; for us poor
+Mackenzie River people there is hardly a winter that we are far from
+starvation."
+
+"But you can always pick up something at the Forts:" replied a
+former speaker; "the masters are not such bad men if we are really
+starving, and then there is the Mission: we are not often turned away
+from the Mission without a taste of something."
+
+"All very good for you," said Michel's wife; "who like the white man
+and know how to take him, but my man will have nothing to say to him.
+The very sight of a pale face makes him feel bad, and sends him into
+one of his fits of rage and madness. Oh, it has been dreadful,
+dreadful," continued the poor woman, while her voice melted into a
+truly Indian wail, "for my children I kept alive, or else I would
+have thrown myself into the river many a time last year."
+
+"Bah," said Peter, who being the brother of Michel, would, with true
+Indian pertinacity, take part with him whatever were his offences;
+and, moreover, looking with his native instinct upon woman as the
+"creature" of society, whose duty it was to endure uncomplaining,
+whatever her masters laid upon her. "Bah; you women are always
+grumbling and bewailing yourselves; for my part, if I have to starve
+a little, Kulu (the meat) is all the sweeter when it comes. I suppose
+Michel has killed enough to give you many a merry night, seated round
+the camp fire with some good fat ribs or a moose nose, and a fine
+kettle of tea; then you wrap yourself in your blanket, or light your
+pipe and feel like a 'big master.'"
+
+Peter's picture of comfort and enjoyment pleased the Indians, and
+they laughed heartily and testified their approval, all but poor
+Accomba. She hung her head, and sadly fondled the baby at her breast.
+"You may laugh, boys," she said at length, "and you know what
+starving is as well as I do, though you are pretty well off now; it
+is not for myself I speak, I can bear that kind of thing as well as
+other women, but it comes hard for the children. Before Se Tene, my
+man, killed his last moose, we were starving for nearly two moons; a
+little dried fish and a rat or two, and now and then a rabbit, was we
+got: even the fish failed for some time, and there was hardly a duck
+or partridge to be seen. We had to eat two of the dogs at last, but,
+poor things, they had little flesh on their bones."
+
+"Eh! eh! e--h!" exclaimed the Indians, who however undemonstrative
+under ordinary circumstances, can be full of sympathy where they can
+realize the affecting points of a story.
+
+"And the children," asked one of the party, "I suppose the
+neighbours helped you a little with them?"
+
+"One of my cousins took little Tetsi for a while," replied the poor
+woman, "and did what she could for him, but they were all short of
+game as we were, only their men went off after the deer, and plenty,
+of them got to the lakes for duck; but Michel,--"
+
+"Well, what did he do? I suppose he was off with his gun the first
+of any of them?" said Peter. "I'll venture there shall not be a moose
+or deer within twenty miles, but Michel the Hunter shall smell him
+out."
+
+"Yes, he went at last," sighed Accomba; "but my man has had one of
+his ugly fits upon him for all the winter; he would not hunt anywhere
+near the Fort, for fear of meeting a white face; and he vowed I was
+making friends with them, and bidding them welcome to the camp, and
+so he was afraid to leave it; and then at last, when I begged him to
+go and get food for his children, he swore at me and called me a bad
+name, and took up his gun to shoot me."
+
+"Oh, I suppose he only said that in sport," said another of the
+party; and yet it was plain that Accomba's story had produced a great
+sensation among her auditors.
+
+"_In sport!_" exclaimed Accomba, now fairly roused to excitement by the
+apparent incredulity of her listeners; "_In sport_, say you? No, no,
+Michel knows well what he _says_, though sometimes I think he is hardly
+responsible for his actions; but look you, boys, my husband vowed to
+shoot me once, and I stayed his arm and fell on my knees and tried to
+rouse him to pity; but I will do so no more, and if he threatens me
+again I will let him accomplish his fell purpose, and not a cry or sound
+shall ever escape my lips. But you, Tetsi," continued the poor woman,
+who was now fairly sobbing, "you are his brother, you might speak to him
+and try to bring him to reason; and if I die, you must take care of my
+poor children,--promise me that, Tetsi and Antoine, they are your own
+flesh and blood, do not let them starve. 'Niotsi Cho,' the Great Spirit
+will give it you back again."
+
+There was a great silence among the Indians when Accomba had
+finished speaking. An Indian has great discernment, and not only can
+soon discover where the pathos of a story lies, but he will read as
+by intuition how much of it is true or false. Moreover, Michel's
+character was well known among them all, and his eccentricities had
+often excited their wonder and sometimes their censure. The poor
+woman's story appealed to each one of them: most of all did it appeal
+to the heart of Sarcelle her brother, who was another occupant of the
+room that evening.
+
+"It is shocking, it is monstrous." exclaimed he at full length. "My
+sister, you shall come with me. I will work for you, I will hunt for
+you and your children. Michel shall not threaten you again, he is a
+'Nakani' man; he does not know what he says or what he does, he is a
+bad 'Nakani.'"
+
+"I think some one has made medicine on him," said another; "he is
+possessed, and will get worse till the spell is off him."
+
+This medicine making among the Northern Indians is one of the most
+firmly rooted of all their superstitions. The term is by no means
+well chosen or descriptive of the strange ungodly rite; it is in
+reality a charm or spell which one man is supposed to lay upon
+another. It is employed for various purposes and by different means
+of operations. You will hear of one man 'making medicine' to
+ascertain what time the Company's boats may be expected, or when
+certain sledges of meat may come to the Fort. Another man is sick and
+the medicine-man is summoned, and a drum is beaten during the night
+with solemn monotonous 'tum, tum, tum', and certain confidential
+communications take place between the Doctor and his patient, during
+which the sick man is supposed to divulge every secret he may
+possess, and on the perfect sincerity of his revelation must depend
+his recovery.
+
+The accompaniments of this strange scene vary according to
+circumstances. In some cases a basin of blood of some animal is made
+use of; in most instances a knife or dagger plays an important part.
+I have seen one of these, which, by-the-by, is most difficult to
+obtain, and can only be seen by special favour. It is made of bone or
+ivory, beautifully carved and notched at the edges, with various dots
+or devices upon it, and all, both dots and notches, arranged in
+groups of sevens! After some hours the spell may be supposed to work,
+the sick man feels better, the excitement of the medicine-man
+increases, all looks promising; yet at this moment should a white
+face enter the house or tent, still more, should he venture to touch
+either doctor or patient, the spell would be instantly broken, and
+the whole process must be commenced anew.
+
+The spell has been wrought upon a poor Cree Woman at Ile la C. She
+is perfectly convinced as to who did her the injury, and also that it
+was her hands which it was intended should suffer. Accordingly each
+Spring, for some years past, her hands are rendered powerless by a
+foul-looking, scaly eruption, which comes over them. Indians have
+been known to climb an almost inaccessible rock, and stripping
+themselves of every vestige of clothing, to lie there without food or
+drink, singing and invoking the wonder-worker until the revelation of
+some secret root was made known, by which their design for good or
+evil might be accomplished!
+
+A Cree Indian, a man of sound education, related once the following
+story:--"I was suffering in the year 18----from great distress of
+body, and after seeing a doctor and feeling no better, I began to
+think I must be the victim of some medicine-man. I thought over my
+adventures of the last year or two, to discover if there were any who
+had reason to wish me evil. Yes, there was one man, a Swampy Indian.
+I had quarrelled with him, and then we had had words; and I spoke,
+well, I spoke bitterly (which I ought not to have done, for he was
+the injured man) and he vowed to revenge himself upon me. This was
+some years since, however, and I had never given him a thought since
+the time of our quarrel, but now I was certain a spell was over me,
+and he must have wrought it,--I knew of no other enemy, and I was
+determined to overcome it or die. So I saddled my horse and rode
+across country for thirty miles till I reached the dwelling of the
+Swampy. The man was outside, and started when he saw me, which
+convinced me more than ever that I was on the right scent. I put up
+my horse and followed my man into the house whither he had retreated;
+and wasting no time, came to the point at once. Drawing my revolver
+and pointing it to his heart, 'Villain,' I exclaimed, 'you have made
+medicine on me: tell me your secret or I shall shoot you dead.' I
+never saw a more cowed and more wretched-looking being than my man
+became. I expected at least some resistance to my command; but he
+offered none; for without attempting to stir or even look me in the
+face, he smiled a ghastly smile, and muttered, 'It has done its work
+then--well, I am glad! Look in your horse-saddle, and never provoke
+me more.' I hesitated for a moment whether to loosen my hold upon the
+man, and to believe so improbable a story; but on the whole I deemed
+it better to do so. He had fulfilled his threat of revenge, and had
+caused me months of suffering in body and mind; he knew me well
+enough to be sure that I was in earnest when I told him that his life
+would be forfeited if the spell were not removed. So I released my
+hold and quitted the house. On cutting open my saddle I discovered
+that the whole original lining had been removed and replaced by an
+immense number of baneful roots and herbs, which I burnt on the spot.
+How this evil deed had been effected I could not even surmise, but so
+it was, and from that hour I was a different man--my mind recovered
+its equilibrium, I was no longer affected by pain and distress of
+body, or haunted by nightly visions. Those who smile at the medicine-
+man, and are sceptical as to his power, may keep to their own
+opinions; I believe that the Almighty has imbued many of His
+creatures, both animate and inanimate, with a subtle power for good
+or evil, and that it is given to some men to evoke that power and to
+bring about results which it is impossible for the uninitiated to
+foresee or to avert!"
+
+But we have wandered too far from Accomba and her sad history. We
+must now transport the reader to that portion of the shores of the
+Mackenzie which was described at the opening of our story. The scene
+indeed should be laid a few miles lower down the river than that at
+first described, but the aspect and condition of things is but little
+altered. A number of camps are there, pitched within some ten,
+twenty, and thirty yards of each other. The dark brown, smoke-tinted
+leather tents or lodges, have a certain air of comfort and
+peacefulness about them, which is in no wise diminished, by the smoke
+curling up from the aperture at the top, or the voices of children
+running in and out from the tent door. These are the tents of
+Mackenzie River Indians, speaking the Slave tongue, and mostly known
+by name to the Company's officers at the neighbouring forts or
+trading posts, known also to the Bishop and Clergy at the Mission
+stations, who have often visited these Indians and held services for
+them at their camps, or at the little English churches at Fort
+Simpson, Fort Norman, etc. etc., and those little dark-eyed children
+are, with but few exceptions, baptized Christians. Many of them have
+attended the Mission Schools for the few weeks in Spring or Fall,
+when their parents congregate round the forts; they can con over
+portions of their Syllabic Prayer-books, and find their place in the
+little Hymn books, for "O come, all ye faithful," "Alleluia! sing to
+Jesus;" and "Glory to thee, my God, this night," while such anthems
+as "I will arise," and others are as familiar to the Slave Indians as
+to our English children. Yes, it is a Christian community we are
+looking at; and yet, sad to say, it is in one of those homes that the
+dark deed was committed which left five little ones motherless, and
+spread terror and confusion among the whole camp.
+
+It was a lovely morning in May, 1880. The ice upon the Mackenzie
+River had but lately given way, having broken up with one tremendous
+crash. Huge blocks were first hurled some distance down the river,
+then piled up one above another until they reached the summit of the
+bank fifty or sixty feet high, and being deposited there in huge
+unsightly masses, were left to thaw away drop by drop, a process
+which it would take some five or six weeks to accomplish. Some of the
+men had lately returned from a bear hunt, being, however,
+disappointed of their prey--a matter of less consideration than
+usual, for Bruin, being but lately roused from his long winter sleep,
+was in a less prime condition than he would be a few weeks later.
+Michel, the hunter, had one of his "ugly fits" upon him;--this was
+known throughout the camps. The women only shrugged their shoulders,
+and kept clear of his lodge. The men paid him but little attention,
+even when he skulked in for awhile after dark to smoke his pipe by
+their camp fire. But on this morning neither Michel nor his wife had
+been seen outside their camp; only one or two of the children had
+turned out at a late hour and looked wistfully about, as if longing
+for someone to give them food and other attention.
+
+Suddenly, from within the lodge a shot was heard, and a terrible
+muffled sound, which none heard without a shudder. Then came the
+shrieks of the terrified children, who ran out of the lodge towards
+their neighbours. By this time all the Indians were aware that
+something horrible had occurred in Michel's camp, and from every
+lodge, far and near, they hurried out with looks of dread and
+inquiry. The farthest lodge was not more than sixty yards from that
+of Michel, and the nearest was hardly a dozen yards removed, although
+a little further back from the edge of the bank. When the first man
+entered the lodge it could not have been more than a few seconds
+after the firing of the fatal shot, for Michel was still standing,
+gun in hand, and his poor wife sighing forth the last few
+breathings of her sad and troubled life. She had kept her word, and
+met her death without one cry or expostulation! It might have been
+heard from far, that groan of horror and dismay which sprung
+spontaneous from the one first witnessing the ghastly scene, and then
+from the whole of the assembled Indians.
+
+"Se tue! Se tue!" "My sister, my sister!" cried the women, as one by
+one they gazed upon the face of the departed; then kneeling down,
+they took hold of the poor still warm hand, or raised the head to see
+if life were indeed extinct; then as they found that it was truly so,
+there arose within that lodge the loud, heart-piercing Indian wail,
+which, once heard, can never be forgotten. Far, far through the
+tangled wood it spread, and across the swift river; there is nothing
+like that wail for pathos, for strange succession of unusual tones,
+for expression of deep need--of the heart-sorrow of suffering
+humanity!
+
+In the meantime the chief actor in that sad tragedy had let the
+instrument of his cruelty fall from his hand; it was immediately
+seized by one of the Indians and flung into the river. Michel made no
+resistance to this, albeit even at that moment it might have occurred
+to him that being deprived of his gun, he was shorn of well nigh his
+only means of subsistence. He turned to leave his tent, and with a
+scared, wild look, slowly raised the blanket which hung at its
+entrance; but he was not suffered to escape so easily: the men of the
+surrounding camps were gathered close outside, and as with one
+consent, they laid hold of the miserable culprit and pinned him to
+the spot; then ensued a fierce Babel of tongues, each one urging his
+own opinion as to the course of treatment befitting the occasion. The
+din of these many voices, mingled with the sad wail of the women in
+the tent, made an uproar and confusion which it would be hard to
+describe. It ended, however, by one of the Indians producing a long
+coil of babiche, and to this another added some pieces of rope, and
+with these they proceeded to bind their prisoner hand and foot, and
+then again to bind him to one of the nearest trees. Having succeeded
+in doing this effectually, but one thought seemed to seize the whole
+community,--to flee from the spot. But one other duty remained to be
+performed, and this they now prepared to carry out.
+
+The funeral rites of the North American Indian, it need hardly be
+remarked, are of the very simplest description; indeed, it is only of
+late years, and since Christianity has spread among them, that they
+have been persuaded to adopt the rites and ceremonies of Christian
+burial. Formerly, in many instances, the body of the deceased would
+be wrapped in its blanket, and then hoisted up on a wooden stage
+erected for the purpose; after which the friends of the departed
+would make off with the utmost speed imaginable. Sometimes even this
+tribute to a lost friend would not be forthcoming; the Indian has an
+unspeakable dread of death, and of the dead; from the moment that the
+heart of his best beloved has ceased to beat, he turns from the
+lifeless form, nor cares to look upon it again. The new blanket
+which, perhaps, was only worn a day or two by the departed, will now,
+with scrupulous care, be wrapped around his dead body; for although
+he were blanketless himself, no Indian could be persuaded to use that
+which had once been a dead man's property. Then, it may be, the
+corpse would be left lying in the leather lodge or tent, which would
+afterwards be closely fastened up; and it has sometimes devolved upon
+the Missionaries to spend the night outside, watching the camp and
+keeping a fire burning in order to ward off dogs or wolves, which
+would otherwise undoubtedly have broken into the tent and made short
+work of the lifeless body deserted by all its friends and neighbours
+and dearest connexions.
+
+In the case of the wife of Michel, however, there arose a feeling
+among her people in the camp, which appeared to be unanimous, not to
+leave her poor mangled body deserted in the lodge, but at once to
+commit it to the earth. Accordingly the women ceased their wailing,
+there was a call for action, and each one bestirred himself with as
+much earnestness and self-restraint as possible. Two or three of the
+men started off to dig the grave (a work of no small labour at that
+time when, be it remembered, the frost was hardly out of the ground),
+others gathered round the women who were wrapping the deceased in her
+blanket, with her shawl and handkerchief, her beaded leggings, and
+moccasins, which were hunted out, one by one, and put on her with
+loving, albeit trembling hands. Then the poor lifeless form was
+lifted out of the tent, and carried a few yards further back from the
+river, to where the grave was being made ready. Here all was soon
+prepared; silently, reverently the body was lowered into its shallow
+resting place; the earth was thrown over it, then a young fir-tree
+was cut down, shorn of its bark, and driven upright in the ground,
+and a few streamers of coloured rag or ribbon, furnished by the
+women, tied on to the top of the pole. The task was ended, and the
+young mother of twenty-eight years, who awoke that morning in the
+full bloom of health and vigour, was left to slumber on in that long
+sleep, which shall be broken only on the morning of the Resurrection!
+
+And now, indeed, there was nothing more to be done, they must flee
+from that desecrated spot as soon as possible. With one accord, every
+tent and lodge was taken down, bundles were packed, canoes were
+lifted into the water, and in less than two hours from the
+commencement of these operations, the whole work of packing and
+dislodging was effected, and six good-sized canoes, with three or
+four smaller ones, were bearing their freight of men, women, and
+children, to the opposite bank of the river.
+
+In describing the events of that morning but little mention has been
+made of Michel's children; they were not, however, forgotten. As soon
+as the first shock of the discovery was over, and the women had a
+little expended their feelings and emotions in the tears and wail of
+sorrow, they began to turn their attention to the motherless little
+ones. And first they gave them food, which would be an Indian's
+preliminary step under every emergency; then, they folded kind
+motherly arms around them, and imprinted warm kisses on the terror-
+stricken faces; and by all such fond endearments they strove to make
+them forget their sorrow: for an Indian, passive and undemonstrative
+as he may be under ordinary circumstances, is full of love and
+tenderest offices of pity when real occasion calls them forth. It was
+thus, then, that the children were taken and dispersed among the
+various families in the rapid flight from their recent camping
+grounds. The canoes had started, and were being paddled at full speed
+across the river, when suddenly, to the dismay and amazement of every
+one, the figure of Michel was seen standing by the river brink! Had a
+spectre at that moment presented itself before them, they could
+hardly have been more astonished; but the poor man's actions were at
+all times strange and unaccountable; and that he should have released
+himself in so short an interval from his bonds, was only consistent
+with the whole character of the man who had always proved himself
+equal to every emergency, and defied any attempt to thwart his
+designs. The language used by the miserable man on the present
+occasion was bitter and abusive; it related to his children, who he
+said were being taken away that they might be delivered to the white
+man; but his words fell idly upon the ears of the Indians, who only
+shuddered as they gazed upon his dark visage now distorted with
+passion; and his whole figure, to which portions of the cords which
+had bound him were still clinging, presenting the appearance of a man
+possessed, the veritable Nakani--(wild man of the woods,) in whom the
+Indians believe, and whom they so greatly dread.
+
+It was not until the Indians had reached the other side of the
+river, which at that part may be a mile and a quarter wide, that they
+collected together and became aware that _one of the children was
+missing!_ That this should be so, and that in their terror and
+haste to depart they had forgotten or overlooked the baby, still a
+nursling, who must have been crawling about outside the camp during
+the fatal tragedy of that morning, may seem strange. More strange
+still, that not one of that party should have thought of going back
+to seek her. But the female infant occupies an insignificant place
+among those uncivilized people: the birth of one of them is greeted
+with but a small fraction of the honours with which a male child
+would be welcomed.
+
+And into the causes of the death of not a few of these girl-babies
+it would perhaps be painful to enquire; but many a poor Indian mother
+will delude herself into the belief that she has done a merciful act
+when the little infant of a few hours' life is buried deep under the
+snow, the mother's sin undiscovered, and "my baby saved from
+starvation."
+
+And so the poor Indians of our story troubled themselves but little
+about the missing babe, and there was certainly a bare possibility
+that the father might come upon it and succour it--for Michel had
+always been a kind father, that he might possibly find and carry the
+child to one of the camps not far distant, where it would, for a time
+at least, be cared for. The camps therefore were pitched in the new
+camping ground; the men of the party were soon off, laying their fish
+nets; the women, gathering round their camp fires, renewed their
+wailing and lamentations; the little ones slept, worn out with
+fatigue and sorrow, and ere nightfall every sound was stilled. The
+stars shone out on those few clustered tents,--and on that solitary
+grave the other side of the river. The Aurora spanned the northern
+sky, and played with bright and flickering light, now tremulous upon
+the blue ether, then heaving and expanding, spreading itself out with
+indescribable grace and beauty. Then it would seem to gather itself
+together, folding its bright rays as an angel might fold its wings:
+for a time it is motionless, but this is but the prelude to more
+wondrous movements. Soon it commences to play anew, sending its
+flaming streamers in new directions, and now contracting now
+expanding, filling the whole heavens with glory of an ever-changing
+hue.
+
+But there is yet another wonder connected with this, which of all
+the phenomena of Nature, nearest approaches to the supernatural: it
+has uttered a sound--that beautiful sheaf of many tinted flames!
+Once, twice, we have heard it, or if it were not _that_, it was
+an angel's whisper! In that great solitude there is no fear of any
+other sound intruding to deceive our ear. There, is such deep silence
+over hill and dale that scarcely a leaf would dare to flutter
+unperceived, and the ear might start to catch the sighing of a
+breeze. But this faint sound, given on rare occasions by the Aurora,
+unlike any sound of earth, yet seems in perfect keeping with the
+marvellous and spiritual beauty of the phenomena, and but increases
+and deepens the awe with which it must ever be beheld.
+
+But on this memorable night there was yet another sound, which from
+time to time broke upon the almost unearthly stillness: this was the
+cry of an infant, coming from the neighbourhood of Michel's camp. The
+little one, of whom mention has already been made, had, it seemed,
+been, forgotten by all, or if once thought of, there was yet no
+effort made to save it from the doom which, to all appearance, now
+awaited it,--the Indians comforting themselves with the hope that the
+father would look after it, and the father supposing, not
+unnaturally, that all his children were together taken off by their
+indignant friends and relatives. And so the little one, who had been
+but a few hours previously nestling in her mother's arms, spent that
+cold night of early spring unsheltered and alone on the high bank of
+the river whither she had crawled in the early morning hours. One
+could fancy its plaintive cry increasing in vehemence as the hours
+wore on, and cold and exhaustion overcame her, with a sense of
+weariness and desolation unknown, unfelt, before. There must have
+been a sad feeling of wonder and perplexity at the unwonted silence
+which reigned around her, at the absence of all familiar sounds and
+voices. True, her father's dogs were there, faithful watchers through
+the night, who had helped to keep the family in food and fuel through
+the long winter months, hauling the sleighs, laden with moose or
+deer's meat; or with good-sized fir trees, morning by morning, for
+their camp fires. Strong, faithful creatures they were, patient and
+enduring, sharing all the hardships and privations of the Indian,
+with a fortitude and devotion to be met with nowhere else. It would
+have been hard enough to tell when those four watchers of the little
+one had had their last good meal; the scraps awarded to most dogs
+seldom could be spared for them,--the very bones, picked bare by the
+hungry masters, were grudged them, being carefully kept, and broken
+and melted down for grease (that most necessary ingredient in
+Northern diet.) Sometimes indeed their famished nature would assert
+itself, and they would steal something, it might be a rabbit caught
+in the snare near the camp (a most tempting bait for a hungry dog) or
+perchance a choice piece of dried fish hung high, yet not quite high
+enough to miss the spring of "Capri" or "Muskimo;" or a piece of soap
+lately purchased of the white man, or even a scrap of moose-skin
+reserved as shoe leather. All helped to assuage the pangs of hunger,
+yet these indulgences would be dearly purchased by the inevitable
+cuffs and blows which followed, till the poor brutes, scarred and
+bleeding, were fain to creep away and hide in some hole, until the
+imperative call or whistle made fresh claim for their services.
+
+How little do we know for whom we are pleading, when, morning by
+morning, we beseech our dear Lord to "comfort and succour all them
+who in this transitory life are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness,
+or any other adversity!" And still less able are we to realize the
+countless answers to our feeble prayers already winging their way to
+every portion of the inhabited globe; o'er moor and fen, o'er lake
+and sea and prairie, in the crowded town and in the vast wilderness.
+Was it in blessed England, where the sun has long past the meridian;
+while here in the far North-West, there are but the first faint tints
+of early dawn:--was it in England, or in some far distant isle of the
+sea, or on some outward bound ship--where the sailor finds time but
+for a few hurried words of daily prayer--that that heartfelt
+petition went up, offered in the Blessed Name, which won for the
+helpless infant on the river-bank the succour brought her?
+
+A small birch-bark canoe was wending its way up the river on the
+morning following that on which Michel's wife had met her death. It
+came from Fort Little Rapids, and was proceeding to Fort Simpson,
+some 500 miles up the rivet. There were three men in the canoe, a
+Cree, or Swampy Indian, in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company,
+and two Slaves or Etcha-Ottine of Mackenzie River. They were paddling
+rapidly, having lately been ashore for breakfast, and being anxious
+to reach Fort Simpson as soon as possible. La V.'s custom was to take
+the left bank of the river going up stream; but on this occasion, for
+no particular reason which he could give, he agreed with his men to
+take the right side. They had not long past the region of the smoky
+banks [Footnote: "The region of the smoky banks." These fires, called
+"Boucanes" by the Canadians, occur in several parts of the Mackenzie
+and Athabasca district. In the neighbourhood of Lake la Biche, and
+also along the miry bank, a number of jets of hot steam find vent
+through the mud, and make the waters of the river bubble. Above Fort
+Norman, on the Mackenzie, in several spots the banks give out smoke
+and occasionally flames. These fires have existed for ages, and are
+regarded with the greatest awe and superstition by the Indians. A
+little higher up the river there are hot springs and a small
+Solfaferra, like the larger one near Naples.], when a sound was heard
+which caused the three men simultaneously to stop their paddling and
+listen. It occurred again and yet again, at long intervals; one man
+pronounced it a dog, but La V. shook his head, and declared it to
+be the cry of an infant, and that he would put ashore and ascertain
+if it were not so. Very faint was that cry, and waxing, even as they
+listened, still more feeble; were it dog or infant, the cry was
+evidently from one in the very last stage of exhaustion. Soon, as
+they drew closer to the bank, the fir poles of the lately forsaken
+camp suggested the probability of the spot from whence the moans
+proceeded. The men drew to shore, and hauled up the canoe, while La
+V., whose curiosity was much excited, sprang out and proceeded to
+climb the bank. On the summit of the bank close to the edge lay four
+dogs; or rather they had lain there, but they all started up, and
+looked defiance, as soon as steps were heard approaching their
+charge. Close within the circle they had formed around her, lay a
+little bundle of rags, wrapping the now nearly lifeless form of a
+thirteen months old child. Apparently, the moans which had met the
+ears of the men in the canoe were her last, for on lifting her up in
+his arms, La V. could detect no signs of life. For how many hours had
+she lain there, without food or warmth, excepting that afforded by
+the dogs, who lay closely round her? But there was no time to
+speculate. Without a moment's delay the men cut down three or four
+young fir trees, and proceeded to make a fire; and La V., folding the
+little one in his "capot"--sat down and tried to bring back life and
+warmth into her. In a short, time, a kettle was boiling on the fire;
+tea was made, and, with womanly tenderness, a few drops were
+administered. After a little time the men had the comfort of seeing a
+favourable result of their efforts. A little natural warmth returned
+to the poor body, some action at the heart was perceptible, and the
+dark eyes opened and sought--the Mother!
+
+That evening the three men and their small burden reached Fort
+Simpson, where the news of Michel's crime and the dispersion of the
+Indians was already known. There was no doubt now as to whose the
+rescued child might be, and it was touching to see how one and
+another of the Indian mothers came forward and offered to adopt it as
+her own. Yet it is no light charge for an Indian to undertake to rear
+a child not her own, at so tender an age; and it is especially hard
+in a country where milk is not to be procured, and where fish or
+rabbit soup is the only substitute for an infant's natural food.
+Minneha tried it, however, for a few weeks. She was cousin to poor
+Accomba, and spent whole nights in wailing and lamenting, saying, "My
+sister! my sister! why might I not die instead of you? Oh, my sister,
+who shall mother your little ones? Who shall work for them? Who shall
+hunt for them, and bring them the young sayoni skin (sheep skin) from
+the mountains? Who shall bring them meat when they are hungry--the
+fine fat ribs, the moose nose, or beaver tail, and the fine bladders
+of grease, which we cook with the flour from the white man's country?
+You were proud of your 'tezone' my sister. She had your eyes, dark as
+the berries of the sassiketoum, and they flashed fire like the aurora
+of winter nights. Your laugh was pleasant. Oh, my sister! like the
+waters dancing over the stones, it fell: it was good to listen to
+your words when we were partners in the days of our childhood. Our
+mothers dwelt together; they loved each other with sisters' love;
+they dwelt together among their own people. Etcha-Ottine were they,
+the finest of all Tinne-Zua (Indian men)! You laughed and sang, my
+sister, when we played in the woods together; when we cut the birch
+trees to make sirop in the spring time; when we sewed the rogans of
+the birch bark, or plaited the quills of the porcupine into belts,
+and made our father's gun-cases, or our own leather dresses for the
+Fall. Many a time we went out in the canoe together; we paddled among
+the islands when the berries were ripe; we spent the night in
+gathering the sweet ripe fruit--moose-berry and moss-berry, the
+little eye-berry, and the sassiketoum. In the summer we went to the
+Forts, and pitched our camps near the white man's house. We sold our
+furs to the 'big master,' and he gave us blankets and dress pieces,
+and beads to make us fine leggings; and tobacco, and tea, and shot,
+and ammunition. Then we went to the Praying man's house, and he kept
+school for us every day, and made us read in the big books; and told
+us of Niotsi N Dethe (Great God), and the poor, silly wife who
+listened to the bad Spirit, and stole the big berry, which God told
+her not to steal; and of the blessed Saviour, who was so good and
+came down from Heaven to save us, because He saw we were so helpless;
+and He loved the poor Indian as well as the white man, and, told the
+praying men to come and seek after us, and pour water on us, and say
+good words for us. Those were good days, my sister! Why did they not
+last? Why did bad Michel come and take you away in his canoe? So many
+wanted you; they wanted you much, and they would have been kind and
+good to you. Tene Sla asked the big master for you, and I think he
+would have got you, but for your mother, who said he was not a good
+hunter; and Nagaja wanted you, and Jemmy, the Loucheux boy; but your
+father was dead, and your mother said you must take a man who would
+hunt for her, and bring her meat; and so bad Michel came and took you
+away to the Praying man and to Yazete Koa (the church), and you
+became his wife. For a time he was kind and good to you, my sister,
+and be loved his children, and was a fine hunter. Many bears did he
+track in the woods: he had a hunter's eye, and could see them from
+far, and a hunter's ear to catch the faintest sound of their feet. He
+would bring you deer's meat, killed by the first shot. No one could
+say that Michel gave his children meat that had run long, and was
+heated and bad for food. He would bring rats in the spring time. When
+the water spread upon the ice, by the water side, he would track
+them: fleet-footed are they, and glide swiftly into their hole; but
+Michel was swifter than they. When Michel sank hooks in the lake, the
+fish came, fine trout from Bear Lake you have eaten; it was hard for
+you to lift it, my sister; its head was a meal for the little ones;
+the best for your tezone, the best for your tezone. But, ah! my
+sister, you have left it now. Oh! cruel Michel has made his children
+motherless! The baby looks pitiful--it looks pitiful: it stretches
+out its hands for its mother's breast; it longs to taste the sweet
+draughts of milk. Ah! Accomba, my sister, my partner, why did cruel
+Michel come and take you from my side?"
+
+Another cry of sorrow was heard from Sarcelle, the brother of
+Accomba, that same night, and on the day following. The poor fellow
+was half distracted at the loss of his sister, more especially as she
+seemed to have anticipated her fate, and to have prepared her friends
+for it. Sarcelle's first impulse was to seize his gun and launch his
+canoe, and to sally forth in pursuit of Michel; but he was a
+Christian Indian, having been baptized at the little English Church
+at Fort Simpson, and further instructed at the Mission School. The
+conflict going on in his own mind between the desire to avenge his
+sister's death, and the higher impulses which his Christian faith
+suggested, were very touching. It ended in his throwing down his gun,
+and bowing his head on his hands while he sobbed aloud, "My sister,
+my sister, I would fight for you; I would avenge your cruel death,
+but the Praying man says we must forgive as God forgives us. I throw
+down my gun; I listen to the Good Spirit speaking to my heart; but
+oh, it is hard, it is hard, my sister, I can see no light in this; I
+feel unmanly to let _him_ go free, who shot my sister to the
+heart, who made her shed tears, and did not comfort her; who made her
+the mother of his children, and left them all so pitiful, with the
+little one lying helpless upon the river side, and only the dogs to
+guard her. I feel unmanly, unworthy of a 'Tene Jua,' but 'Niotsi N
+Dethe' make it plain to me; oh, make me see how I can be a _true
+man_, and yet forgive!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was but a few weeks after Minneha had received the rescued
+infant, and promised to be a mother to it, that she discovered that
+she had undertaken more than she was able to fulfil. It required no
+very searching eye to perceive that the little one was not thriving;
+in truth, she was dwindling away day by day, and those who were in
+the habit of visiting the Camp gazed sadly at the little pinched face
+and shrivelled limbs, and foreboded that it would not be long before
+Michel's child rejoined its mother in the 'silent land.' "Owindia"
+was the name given by the Indians to their deceased sister's child;
+and in truth, Owindia, "weeping one," was well suited to the frail
+creature who since that terrible night was continually uttering a
+feeble moan unlike an ordinary infant's cry, but which appealed to
+all hearts by its thrilling tones.
+
+One day a little bundle was brought to the English Mission House at
+Fort Simpson, by Sinclia, daughter of Minneha. The following message
+accompanied the bundle, which was none other than the poor little
+Owindia, smaller and more fragile-looking than ever: "I am sick; I
+cannot work for the child; _you_ take her." And so it happened,
+that after all his horror of the white man, and his shrinking from
+intercourse with any of his kind, Michel should be destined by his
+own act, to have his child received into the white man's house, and
+to find there in all loving care and tender offices the home of which
+he had deprived her.
+
+Owindia still lives, and is become a strong and active child, full
+of spirit and intelligence, with all the marvellous powers of
+observation which mark the Indian. She was baptized by the Bishop
+"Lucy May," but her name "Owindia" still clings to her, a fitting
+memorial of the sad episode in her infant life, and of those long
+seventeen hours [Footnote: The Indians have a wonderful knack of
+measuring time by the sun and moon--"In two moons and when the sun is
+_there_" (indicating a certain point in the heavens), would be
+an Indian's version of "two months hence at three o'clock p.m."]
+when, forsaken by all her earthly friends, God sent His blessed
+angels to keep watch and ward around her, to guard her from perishing
+from the cold and hunger, from the attack of wild beasts, from
+falling down the steep river bank, or any other danger which
+threatened the little fragile life. Surely by His Providence was the
+timely succour brought out of its wonted course, and the relief
+administered which one half-hour later would in all probability have
+come too late!
+
+Of the unhappy father of Owindia but little remains to be told. He
+wandered about the woods for some time after his merciless deed;
+having neither gun, nor ax, nor fish-net, he was utterly unable to
+provide himself food. When reduced to the very last extremity of
+weakness and starvation, he yet contrived to fasten a few boards
+together and make himself a raft: on this he paddled across the
+Mackenzie, and appeared one morning at Fort Simpson, such a miserable
+object that some of the Indians fled at the sight of him. He was put
+under arrest by the Hudson's Bay Company's officer in charge, who is
+also a magistrate; and an indictment was made out against him. He was
+committed for trial and sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company's fur
+boat in the course of the summer to Prince Albert, some 1800 miles
+distant, where the nearest Courts of Justice are held.
+
+But the whole business of Michel's committal was a farce. The
+Indians are as yet too ignorant and uncivilized to understand the
+nature of an oath, and even if they did so, there is not one man
+among them now living who could be brought to bear witness against
+one of his own race and tribe. When last Michel was heard of, he was
+under nominal restraint, but conducting himself with propriety, and
+professing utter unconsciousness of the wild acts of his past life.
+
+C. S. B.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, OWINDIA ***
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