West (U.S.) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Western stories
olde woman danced and sung, while my father bourned tobacco on a stone.
They gave me a blew coverlitt, stockings, and shoes. I layed with her
son & did what I could to get familiarity with them, and I suffered no
wrong, yet I was in a terror, for ye fatal songs came from ye poore
Hurrons. Ye olde man inquired whether I was Afferony, a ffrench. I
affured him no, faying I was Panugaga, that is of their nation, for
which he was pleased.
[Illustration: 19 THE OMEN OF THE LITTLE BLUE BIRDS]
My father feasted 200 men. My sisters made me clean for that purpose,
and greased my haire. They tyed me with 2 necklaces of porcelaine &
garters of ye same. My father gave me a hattchett in my hand.
My father made a speech, showing many demonstrations of vallor, broak a
kettle of cagamite with a hattchett. So they sung, as is their usual
custom. Ye banquette being over, all cryed to me “Shagon, Orimha”--that
is “be hearty!” Every one withdrew to his quarters.
Here follows a long account of his daily life among the Indians, his
hunting and observations, which our space forbids. He had become
meanwhile more familiar with the language. He goes on:
My father came into ye cabbin from ye grand castle & he sat him downe to
smoke. He said ye Elders had approved after much debate, & that ye
ffrench dogg was not a witch, but ye great warrior Mahongui, gone
before, whose spirit had rose up into ye ffrench dogg & had spyed ye
ffrench. Att ye council even soe ye dogg had walked into ye centre of ye
great cabbin, there saying loudly to ye Elders what he was & that he
must be heard. His voice must be obeyed. His was not ye mocking cryes of
a witch from under an olde snake-skin, butt a chief come from Paradise
to comfort his own people. My father asked me if I was agreed. I said
that witches did not battile as openly as ye dogg, butt doe their evil
in ye dark.
[Illustration: 20 YE SPIRIT DOG STRODE FROM YE DARKNESS]
These wild men are sore beset with witches and devils--more than
Christians, as they deserve to be, for they are of Satan's own
belonging.
My father dreamed att night, & sang about itt, making ye fire to bourne
in our cabbin. We satt to listen. He had mett ye ffrench dogg in ye
forest path bye night--he standing accross his way, & ye forest was
light from ye dogg's eyes, who spake to my father saying, “I belong to
ye dead folks--my hattchett is rust--my bow is mould--I can no longer
battile with our Ennemy, butt I hover over you in warre--I direct your
arrows to their breasts--I smoothe ye little dry sticks & wett ye leaves
under ye shoes--I draw ye morning mist accross to shield you--I carry ye
'Kohes' back and fore to bring your terror--I fling aside ye foeman's
bulletts--go back and be strong in council.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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