The Forged Note: A Romance of the Darker RacesMicheaux, Oscar
General
The Forged Note: A Romance of the Darker Races
Micheaux, Oscar
African Americans -- Fiction
"So, before any knew, the white man had made Winnetkha his own, and took
her to live in a real house, that he had made the Indians build for him,
of straight ash logs, with bark peeled off and hewn on the inside, until
the white wood glistened like silver.
"That was the beginning of the breeds, and after that, many became
crossed and have not stopped until recently; but Bettleyon and Stinking
Eye never got over it, and when the pale face was spending his time
herding the cattle that were now replacing the buffalo, they intrigued
cruelly against him.
"Winnetkha overheard their plan, and informed him when he came from the
herd that night, and so he kept watch. They came late, with a band of
picked men and loyal followers, and began at once to make war on the big
house. All night they fought, but the Indians were shrewd this time,
and fought from long range. They shot at the house with arrows that were
heated red hot on the point, until at last they set it on fire. This, of
course, drove the white man and his squaw out. They managed to escape
and reached safety ere they were discovered. But the white man was
angry, and he swore to have revenge, so, loading his rifle, he saddled
his horse and came down single-handed on the Indians and killed many,
and routed the rest.
"He was not bothered any more for years afterward, but the Indian, you
know, never forgets, so, one day, when he was grazing his herds near the
top of the hill, he looked up to find himself almost hemmed in by the
skulking red devils. He rushed to safety behind the rocks at the top,
where you see them. Here he fought until his ammunition was exhausted,
and he was without defense, with the Indians all about him.
"And it was then that he looked about for other weapons of defense, and
discovered a den of rattlers. Then, one at a time, he allowed the
Indians to approach him, and as they did and went to look for him, they
were struck in the face by a rattler. More than twenty were bitten, so
'tis said, and more than half died from the effects. And then they
killed him.
"Old Go-Catch-The-Enemy made war on them afterward and a reign of
outlawry began; but to the white man, his son-in-law, he gave a great
funeral, and did not bury him on a tree top, where buzzards picked the
bones, as had been the custom; but the Indians preferred such a burial
rather than that a coyote should dig them up from the earth. He was
buried on the top of the little hill to the side, as you see, with
stones arranged about him, and so deep in the earth, that the wolves
never bothered.
"So, that is the legend of those hills that you see, and they are the
land mark. Those who live here will not soon forget it."
They stood on the banks of the Ponca now, and listened to the happy
birds that filled the air with music like thousands of little bells. As
they stood, arm in arm, they appreciated all that life held in store for
them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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