Westward hoboes : $b ups and downs of frontier motoringDixon, Winifred Hawkridge
General
Westward hoboes : $b ups and downs of frontier motoring
Dixon, Winifred Hawkridge
Automobile travel; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Once out of Piute Canyon, we camped at the Tanks, a series of
waterholes worn in a dry river bed of solid rock. A group of piñons
sheltered our camp, but before the tents were fairly up a downpour of
rain drove us wet and uncomfortable to huddle together in one tent.
The horses slanted into the driving storm with drooping heads and limp
haunches. Saddles and provisions were hastily covered with Navajo rugs.
Through it all Hostein Chee in overalls and drenched sack coat moved
about his business with neither joy nor sorrow. He showed no animation
until over the great roaring fire our supper was cooked, and he could
once more, with bland and innocent smile shake the bag of sugar into
his coffee, murmuring “Sooga.”
The sheep killed by the Navajos had not died in vain. Again it formed
the staple of our meal. With each appearance it seemed to lose some
of its resiliency. Mutton, most unimaginative of meats, with the rain
drizzling on it was less inviting than ever. Nor was it improved by
being set down on the ground, where a shower of sand was unwittingly
shaken into it by each person who went to the fire to fill his tin
plate. Still we chewed on, and in the end besides the exercise, got a
little nourishment. We did not care; we wanted to eat, and get back to
our tents out of the downpour. It was one of those days all campers
know and enjoy--afterward.
I woke toward morning and peered through the tent window to see dawn
banding the windy sky. Against its dramatic light, stood Hostein
Chee, the Red Man, beside a campfire blazing shoulder high. His body
slanting back, his face frozen to exalted calm, he gazed fixedly at the
glory of the sky. His inscrutable nature seemed touched and wakened. I
called softly to Toby.
“Look--he is saying a prayer to the dawn!”
We looked reverently. The white men were sleeping, but the Indian kept
his vigil. He raised both arms above his head, removed his hat,--and
scratched vigorously. This done, he repeated the process wherever he
felt the need. Toby’s awed interest turned to mirth, mainly at my
expense. Yet even engaged in so primitive a gesture as scratching,
Wah-Wah invested it with the stately grace we noticed in his every
move. Though I knew I should not, I watched him make his toilet,
fascinated. He removed the trousers he slept in, and in which we
daily saw him accoutred, revealing (I had turned away in the interim)
an under pair, similarly tailored, of a large black and red checked
flannel. He scratched thoroughly, took off his vest, scratched, and
then dressed. Then he blew his nose as Adam and Eve must have, and
shouted “De-jiss-je!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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