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
"I had many adventures. The snow was deep; but I had my good snow-shoes
and plenty of ammunition, and, as there was considerable game, I managed
very well. One night I had a supper of marrow bones, which I got hold
of in a strange way. I was pushing along early in the forenoon when I
heard a great noise of wolves not very far off. Quickly I unstrapped my
gun and prepared to defend myself if I should be attacked. Their
howlings so increased that I became convinced that they were so numerous
that my safest plan was to get up in a tree as quickly as possible.
This I did, and then I drew up my sled beyond their reach. Not very
long after I had succeeded in this, I saw a great moose deer plunging
through the snow, followed by fierce grey wolves. He made the most
desperate efforts to escape; but, as they did not sink deeply in the
snow, while he broke through at every plunge, they were too much for
him, and although he badly injured some of them, yet they succeeded in
pulling him down and devoured him. It was dreadful to see the way they
snarled and fought with each other over the great body. They gorged
themselves ere they went away, and left nothing but the great bones.
When they had disappeared, I came down from the tree, in which I had
been obliged to remain about six hours. I was nearly frozen, and so I
quickly cut down some small dead trees and made up a good fire. I then
gathered the large marrow bones from which the wolves had gnawed the
meat, and, standing them up against a log close to the fire, I roasted
them until the marrow inside was well cooked; then, cracking them open
with the back of my axe, I had a famous supper upon what the wolves had
left.
"I had several other adventures," said Oowikapun; "but the most
interesting of all, and the one most pleasing to me, was that I reached
Beaver Lake in time to rescue an old man from being eaten by the wolves.
His relatives were some very heartless people of the Salteaux tribe.
They were making a long journey through the country to a distant hunting
ground, and because this old grandfather could not keep up in the trail,
and food was not plentiful, they deliberately left him to perish. They
acted in a very cruel and heartless way. They cut down and stuck some
poles in the snow, and then over the top they threw a few pieces of
birch bark. This in mockery they called his tent. Then seating him on
a piece of a log in it, where he was exposed to view from every side,
they left him without any fire or blankets, and gave him only a small
quantity of dried meat in a birch dish which they call a _rogan_.
There, when he had eaten this meat, he was expected to lie down and die.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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