Harper's Round Table, November 3, 1896 — John Shaqi
Harper's Round Table, November 3, 1896Various
History
Harper's Round Table, November 3, 1896
Various
Children's periodicals
Then the King said: "These men will follow you wherever you go, Moguizi.
They know every tree, every path of the forest. They know where the game
is to be found." Then, addressing them, he said: "Go make your guns
ready; see that their flints are right so that they do not miss fire,
and cook food enough for three or four days. Be here in two days." They
followed me to my house, and I gave to each what I promised. At night I
called the King, gave him a brand-new flint-gun, two brass kettles, ten
brass rods, and several bunches of beads. He was delighted, and took
hold of my foot as a token of submission, which meant that he would obey
me.
PAUL DU CHAILLU.
HAROLD WHITE'S PERIL.
BY G. T. FERRIS.
"I tell you, Captain Heald, this is an awful responsibility you're
shouldering. Not one, but two hundred lives hang on it. General Hull
could never have meant his orders to be absolute. At such times
something must be left to the commanding officer. He must know better
than a superior two hundred miles away."
The swarthy brows of Kinzie, the Indian trader, who knew redskin nature
better than any other man at Fort Dearborn, were puckered with anger and
contempt. It was the hour for a quick-witted and resolute soldier, not
for a timid martinet, the slave of the letter and not of the spirit of
his orders. The commander of that little garrison of fifty, many of whom
were non-effectives, was "a round peg in a square hole"--and a hole,
too, that yawned big and deep for human life.
"You're not a military man," was the peevish answer. "My business is to
obey orders and not reason on them. The General has determined to
withdraw all garrisons from outlying posts, and I must do my duty at any
risk."
"At risk to yourself, yes! but not to helpless women and children and a
lot of sick soldiers not able to pull a trigger or stagger five miles in
a broiling sun," John Kinzie retorted, quickly. And pointing through the
gate of the palisade, he continued: "Look at those savages on the beach
watching like vultures. A thousand lie within call of a war-whoop. How
many scalps would remain at the end of an hour if you put yourself in
their hands? D'ye think Black Partridge would have said those words last
night if there had been a ray of hope?[1] You have ample stores and
ammunition, and can hold out for a month or more behind these timber
walls. Anything else is madness. As for me," said the trader, with an
air of noble pride, "the danger is less. So I don't speak for myself or
mine. I have dealt with every tribe for two hundred miles about. I have
never tricked a savage in trade. They have eaten of my dish and drunk of
my cup, and found shelter under my roof. My wife has been a guardian
angel to their sick and needy. But be sure of one thing: friendship for
the Kinzies will never save the life of any other pale-face at the hands
of a redskin."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account