Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 151: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Gentlemen of the North Miss Dearness bore herself well, although she had passed a miserable night pacing the hut and making, as her woman at- tendant fully believed, some very powerful medicine. quarters in a hut near-by and had joined the girl with the first light. Now that she knew we were to meet Le Borgne she was deeply troubled. Old Choke-Cherry never would have surmised it as she paced from one side of the big hut to the other, her hair towering in a fiery mass above her proud head. . “T send good thoughts with you,” she murmured after following us to the door. “You have all of ours,” I assured her. “Don’t be afraid. If an American can’t help an English girl he must have very weak medicine.” Flat Mouth caught the last word and ~gravely told her: “The white woman’s medicine makes me feel very strong. I can throw a buffalo bull when her eyes watch me.”’ She forced a smile and we left her. On entering Le Borgne’s hut Choke- Cherry accompanied us only to the door. We found the chief seated at the left and facing the fire-hole, gravely contemplating his medicine-log. He sat on a couch raised a foot from the floor by willow mats and several heavy robes. On the cottonwood log before him stood -two skulls of buffalo bulls, decorated with red earth. These were his greatest treasures, personifying his manito. Bees Behind the log hung his weapons of war and the chase, and the trophies of battles, such as scalps. He was alone, having cleared the hut of his women in anticipation of our coming. He turned his head as we entered and I was hard put to maintain my composure, for over his sightless right eye was a white patch. ' He continued swinging his head, and in the = = s Fe Sa ig ~ : i — —— eS eS ee ee boring gaze of his left optic I found enough fire to more than make up for his half sight. Like all the Minnetarees he had an extra- ordinary beak for a nose. His big mouth was further widened by a habitual grin, his permanent expression. When he was pleased he grinned. When he was con- sumed with rage he continued to grin. That Choke-Cherry stood in fear of him was shown by the fashion in which the old rascal poked his head inside the door to - . ; 2 s * ~ . —* an > — > ~ OL ee ee le ae ee ce Flat Mouth and I had found © 137 see if anything was wanted and then ducked back. I stood in advance of Flat Mouth. Le Borgne’s first words to me were— ~ “Ho! I like white men.” The Pillager interpreted this over my shoulder. Le Borgne’s lips writhed and twisted over his big teeth as he sought to give his smile an amiable cast. From his medicine-log he took a long-stemmed, redstone pipe and filled it with Missouri tobacco. Lighting the stuff, he took a whiff and puffed it toward the heavens and passed the pipe to me and motioned for me to sit beside him. Flat Mouth squatted on his heels beside me to translate the chief’s words. Our host began: “T like whitemen. They bring me goods. We trade with the Spaniards through the Cheyennes and southern tribes when we are not at war with them. They say you come from a big white chief on the Assini- boin, who is to send traders here.” s wv “We come to make the road smooth for ~ our traders, who will bring many goods and guns,” I replied. -“They say the daughter of the big chief comes with you. They say she comes to be my wife.” : With an effort I controlled my voice, making it careless in tone as I responded: “The white woman is a medicine-woman. She can not marry. If she did marry her medicine would kill her and her husband.” His brows drew down as he cogitated this, but his smile continued. Being on his right side, it was necessary for him to turn his head to look at me. The effect was curious when the white patch slowly ~ moved to one side to allow his sound eye to study me. Without commenting on my disclosure he said: “They say your Chippewa is.a very brave man and will live with my people. He has been here once before. We did not know then he was such a great warrior.”’ The Pillager spoke up haughtily, an- nouncing: 3 “Eshkebugecoshe, the Sioux-Killer, has driven all the enemies away from the land of his people and now looks round for a brave people who need him in making war. They must be very brave. They must be at war with the Sioux. I come here with the medicine-woman. After I have gone with her to her father I will come back and see if the Minnetarees are good fighters.” MMIC OOO KMS (E@)