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diff --git a/6658.txt b/6658.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b2b37e --- /dev/null +++ b/6658.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1377 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Owindia, by Charlotte Selina Bompas + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Owindia + +Author: Charlotte Selina Bompas + +Posting Date: March 20, 2014 [EBook #6658] +Release Date: October, 2004 +First Posted: January 10, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OWINDIA *** + + + + +Produced by 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. +HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + + +OWINDIA: + +_A TRUE TALE OF THE MACKENZIE RIVER INDIANS_, + +NORTH-WEST AMERICA. + + +By Charlotte Selina Bompas + + + + +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 of Owindia, by Charlotte Selina Bompas + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OWINDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 6658.txt or 6658.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/6/5/6658/ + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Juliet Sutherland, Charles +Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. 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