Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Authors, American -- 20th century -- Biography; Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940
As we were passing his little cabin, just at the edge of the Agency, he
said, "Wait, I get you somesing."
In a few moments he returned, carrying a long eagle feather in his hand.
This he handed to me, saying, "My little boy--him dead. Him carry in
dance dis fedder. You my friend. You take him."
Major Stouch had told me of this boy, a handsome little fellow of only
five years of age, who used to join most soberly and cunningly with the
men in their ceremonial dances; and so when Wolf Voice said, "I give you
dis fedder--you my friend. You Indian's friend," I was deeply moved.
"Wolf Voice, I shall keep this as a sign, a sign that we are friends."
He pointed toward a woman crouching over a fire in the corral, "You see
him--my wife? Him cry--all time cry since him son die. Him no sleep in
house. Sleep all time in tepee. Me no sleep in house. Spirit come, cry,
_woo-oo-oo_ in chimney. My boy spirit come,--cry--me 'fraid! My heart
very sore."
The bronze face of the big man was quivering with emotion as he spoke,
and not knowing what to say to comfort him I pretended to haste. "Let us
go. You can tell me about it while we ride."
As we set forth he recovered his smile, for he was naturally of a
cheerful disposition, and in our long, leisurely journey I obtained many
curious glimpses into his psychology--the psychology of the red man. He
led us to certain shrines or "medicine" rocks and his remarks concerning
the offerings of cartridges, calico, tobacco and food which we found
deposited beside a twisted piece of lava on the side of a low hill were
most revealing.
"Wolf Voice, do you believe the dead come back to get these presents," I
asked.
"No," he soberly replied. "Spirit no eat tobacco, spirit eat spirit of
tobacco."
His reply was essentially Oriental in its philosophy. It was the
_essence_ of the offering, the _invisible_ part which was taken by the
invisible dead.
Many other of his remarks were almost equally revelatory. "White soldier
heap fool," he said. "Stand up in rows to be shot at. Injun fight
running--in bush--behind trees."
We stopped again at The Half-Way Ranch, and the manner in which the
cattlemen treated Wolf Voice angered me. He was much more admirable than
they, and yet they would not allow him to sleep in the house.
He rode all the way back to Fort Custer with us and when we parted I
said, "Wolf Voice, I hope we meet again," and I meant it. His spirit is
in all that I have since written of the red men. He, Two Moon, American
Horse, and Porcupine were of incalculable value to me in composing _The
Captain of the Gray Horse Troop_, which was based upon this little war.
From Billings we went almost directly to the Flat Head Reservation. We
had heard that a herd of buffalo was to be seen in its native pastures
just west of Flat Head Lake and as I put more value on seeing that herd
than upon any other "sight" in the state of Montana, we made it our next
objective.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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