Red Plume — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

PUSILLANIMITY. 83 region, and did not suppose that they would dare to venture near the whites. Why should they fight, unless they were obliged to? Why should they expose themselves to be slain, unless a fight was forced upon them? If the Blackfeet came, they would content’ themselves with taking the horses, and the Néz.Percés could easily procure others. Was it not better to lose the horses, than the lives of their young men? If they were obliged to fight, and were worsted, they could re- tire upon,the camp of the white’ men, where they would be safe. When the Blackfeet came, they would find the Néz Percés ready for them; but they would prefer to see, before they believed. Notwithstanding their promise to be ready, these heroes did nothing but send their women and children to the cover of Captain Steele’s camp, Their horses were still allowed to roam the plains, as if for a temptation to marauders, and they themselves smoked and talked as calmly and Uneonveritedly as if there were no Blackfeet in the world. Such Quaker-like conduct, as may be supposed, did ‘not suit the hot-hearted renegade, and he quitted his allies in disgust, in order to place his La-la under the protection of the whites. For his own part, he was determined to fight,-if he had to fight on his own hook. | On the way, he told Lala how he had seen the spirit of old Nip-muck-we ; how it had mysteriously risen out of.the ground, and as mysteriously disappeared; how it had glared upon him with fiery eyes, and had pointed at him with a hand all ~ aflame ; how he had fled from it in fear; and how it was ore} in the Blackfeet: camp that the “Fat Bear ‘had been brought to life. Lats was greatly frightened by the account of the ghostly vision, She, as well as her lover, placed no faith in the rumored resuscitation of the chief, but fully believed that Kotselo had seen thé ghost of the murdered man, and ‘that such a visitation betokened his speedy death. She entreated him, with tears, to keep out of the fight, for she was sure he would be slain, and she would not lose him then for all the wealth of the prairies. But, her lover was obstinate ; not eyen for her sake would he rétrafia from taking venvetHtéonh the tribe in which he had been humiliated ; the Néz-Percés commicbooks. com