Oowikapun, or, How the Gospel reached the Nelson River Indians — John Shaqi
Oowikapun, or, How the Gospel reached the Nelson River IndiansYoung, Egerton Ryerson
History
Oowikapun, or, How the Gospel reached the Nelson River Indians
Young, Egerton Ryerson
Indians of North America -- Missions -- Fiction
When he came to himself he found he was out in a cold shed and very
miserable. His head ached and he was very sore. His coat was gone, and
so were his beautifully beaded leggings and moccasins. His gun was
gone, and so were his bales of rich and valuable furs. His wife was
also gone, and there he was, half naked and alone.
Alarmed, he cried out for his things, and asked how it was that he was
in such a sad plight. Hearing him thus calling out, some of those white
men who had pretended to be his friends came to him and said, "Begone,
you poor Indian fool!"
"Where are my furs?" he asked.
With a laugh they said, "We have taken them for the whisky you drank."
"Give me my furs," he cried, "or pay me for them."
"But," added the old man, "they were stronger than I, and had taken
away, not only my gun, but my axe and knife, so I was helpless before
them."
"`Where is my wife?' I then asked. But they only laughed at my
question, and it was weeks before I heard that they had insulted her,
and would have foully treated her but that she had pulled out her knife
and threatened to kill the first man that touched her. While keeping
them away with her knife she moved around until she got near an open
window, when she suddenly sprang out and fled like a frightened deer to
the forest. After long weeks of hardship she reached the far-off home.
She had had a sad time of it and many strange adventures. Footsore and
nearly worn out she had been at times, but she bravely persevered. Her
food had been roots and an occasional rabbit or partridge which she
snared. Several times she had been chased by wild animals. Once for
several days the savage wolves madly howled around the foot of a tree
into which she had managed to climb for safety from their fierce
attacks. Fortunately for her a great moose deer dashed along not far
away, and the wolves which had been keeping watch upon her rushed off on
its trail. Hurrying down, she, although half starved, quickly sped on
her way. Thus had she travelled all alone, her life often in jeopardy
from savage beasts; but she feared them less than she did the rude white
men from whom she had just fled. The clothing she had on when she
reached home, was principally of rabbit skins taken from the rabbits she
had captured, and made to supply that in which she had started, but
which had been almost torn in rags by the hardships of the way."
The man when kicked out of the place of the white traders had
fortunately for himself, after a couple of days' wanderings, fallen in
with some friendly Indians, who took pity on him, clothed and fed him,
and sent him back in care of some of their best canoe men. The result
was he reached home long before his brave wife, who had to work her way
along as we have described.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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