Red Plume — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

EBEN AS A PROPHET. 79 The Yankee was unable to prove an alibi,as he had slept alone; but he endeavored to convince his audience of the extreme improbability of the old woman’s account, showing that he could hardly lift the Fat Bear, much less carry him from the lodge, saying that it was his business to cure, not to kill, and arguing that no physician would be so foolish as to seek to.make way with his patient, after doing all he could to save his life. | His statements and arguments were received with manifest _ tokens of dissent. Some. of the Blackfeet actually believed the marvelous story of the old woman, and others were simply incredulous concerning the Yankee. Their disappro- bation was made known to him, and he was ordered to set to work and cure the chief without delay. In the mean time, a guard was placed at the lodge, and one or more warriors fol- lowed him wherever he went. Eben applied himself to his task with a sad and despondent heart. It was plain that he had lost caste with the Blackfeet. He had risen to the highest rank as a medicine-man very sud- denly, and appeared likely to fall as rapidly. He had gone up like a rocket, and seemed destined to come down like a stick. He had achieved wonders in the eyes of the Indians, but—he had done nothing since. He must do something to regain his prestige, and what that something should be, was a problem that the Yankee laboriously racked his brain to solve. it was necessary, above all things, that he should keep life in Nip-muck-we, if he wished to retain his own life, and he lost no time in doing all he could for that difficult subject. In the morning, when he had succeeded in putting some sho of life into the Fat Bear, Eben was visited by a delegation o chiefs and warriors, who desired to consult him concerning grand war-party that was to start out that day. The expedi tion was to be a very important one, and they wished the dis- tinguished medicine-man and prophet to inform them whethe it would succeed. Here was a new perplexity for the Yankae; a question wa presented which he felt himself no more competent to decid than to solve a problem in differential calculus. Somethin must be done, however, and he resolved to make a rougl guess, and trust to luck for the fulfillment of the prophec , COMMCWOOKXSsCO© tee