Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 272 — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

18 —_ -— Curious to know what was coming, the young man followed the chief out of the lodge and through the camp tothe borders of the river, when Si ting Bull sat down and fixed his eyes en Slocum, saying: ‘‘ Be seated, if you areafriend. If youwarea foe, stand up.” Slocum sat down on the ground at once, and the Sioux began: “ You bave come here fora purpose. Have you told the father?” Siocum shook his head. He bad not told De Smedt, though the Jesuit had divined his on. The Sioux chief looked him full in the eye, ‘Monsieur, as you are aware, I have lived among your people, and learned to hate them; but you are different from the rest. You are young, and have not yetinjured us, I offer you your life on a condition.” ‘* Name it,” was Slocum’s only reply. * Join our tribe; become one of us, and let all your knowledge be ours,” said the chief, slowly. Bebold, monsieur, lam not a fool as you think. I know well that this struggle can only end one way. I desire to throw out anchors, to save my people from extermination. I know that toey are poor and ignorant, and that our foes are many. You are a member of our Order, and lack one step of the Supreme Mys- tery. Join us, and you shall bea prince like myself.” “lam desirous of joining you,” said Slocum, feeling much relieved at this address, ‘‘I am a foe to none here,” “Then why do you come?” asked Sitting Bull, quick asa ; “ To trade, as well as to behold how the Black Cloud p ) ‘*Be itso. I will give you full value for all reas goods,” said Sitting Bull. ‘‘ You shall go rich and make a fortune, if you will.” sé How ” ** By becoming our friend and spy, and being the man to bring us arms and ammunition. We need it, and the Government keeps a sharp look- eut on the traders. You, as a man of the rail- road, will not be suspected, and can,be made useful to smuggle rifles and powder.” Slocum answered instantly: ‘** I shall be glad to belp you; but I fear that they will not trust me any more.” “ Why not?’ ‘‘ Because I stole away from Gladstone in the night, and stampeded the horses of a whole scouting: party: which are here,” Sitting Bull looked surprised. | “The Horse Chief told me nothing of this. How did it happen?’ He kept his eyes fixed on the young engineer while be told his story of the march, and when Slocum um had finished Sitting Bull observed: “T am glad you told me this. It makesa difference, for it makes you one of us, whetber night. or no, You will prepare for the council So saying, he rose and stalked back to his lodge, followed by Slocum, who knew not quite what to make of the change. When they arrived'there, the great iron pot, which bangs in every Indian lodge, was ing forth its most savory fumes, and the chief | ed to Slocum, saying: : _ “My brother is hungry, and there is meat in my lodge. Enter and eat,” | t was the first time he bad extended any sort of an invitatiun, and Slocum was proportionate- encouraged by the fact, for he could not but k that hospitality would not be extended to him, were further harm meant toward him. He ate with the chief and quite a little crowd of warriors and bangers-on; for an Indian lodge is common property, and dead beats in an Indian camp are as common as at acountry tavern. By that time the sun was setting, and the were gathering in the north, high and dark, with a faint southerly breeze blowing. Slocum saw one or two old Indians t to the north and make signs to each other that a storm was coming before long, but be had no time to think of it, as the hour for his ordeal Ls Spang F. soon as it was dark, Sitting Bull said to ‘*Come, my brother, the council will assemble in the Great Medicine Tent. There you will meet all the brethren, and they will question ou, he Iam mpany replied the young man, and he followed the chief tothe temple of mystery. It stood by itself, between two of the ds, and was surrounded by a circle of guards, each hav- ing a little fire at bis feet. _ Sitting Bull went forward alone, and was ad- mitted within the circle, when the young en- gineer followed. He was instantly confronted by one of the ards, who called out in Sioux a question he por understaud, pointing a rifle athim as he spoke, Slocum, without any hesitation, made the entrance sign of the Order, and pronounced the password in Mohawk, following it by the same word in French. __. The Sioux guard hesitated a moment, but the ad "er Sw eee ww a Seth Slocum, Railroad Surveyor. voice of Sitting Bull from within the circle called out some words, and the Indian threw up his rifle and made the sign of amity, extending bis bund. . Slocum answered it with hisown, and they ex- changed the peculiar grip of the brethren of the Order, when the young man passed on, feeling that he had surmounted one peril. Within the circle he met several other guards, of whom some challenged him in Sioux, others in French dialect, learned from the Canadian voyageurs and hunters who are still common in the Northwest. All seemed to understand him when he an- swered in French, and he oe bis en- trance into the Great Medicine Lodge, and took his stand in the midst of a circle of dark ehiefs and warriors, They were crowded round a ring less than twelve feet in diameter, from whence they radiated outward, closely packed in circles, to the edge of the tent, in twelve rows. As the young man entered, he made a basty computation tbat there were nearly five bun- dred people in the lodge, but be had no time to do more than glance at them, when Sitting Bull told himin French to take bis post in the inner circle to be questioned, He advanced therefore and took his stand, looking all round the circle, and finding every ve fixed on bim in a keen watchful gaze that bad nothing of the usual stare of an audience, There was something in the glare that told him every man in that circle was an enemy trying to pick some flaw in his conduct, and not one kindly glance met his. However, he was used to meeting the Eastern Indians in their councils, and knew that they always affected this stony glare to intimidate new candidates, an element of cee joking pervading the Black Cloud Brot erhood, similar to the ways of all secret societies. He therefore faced them boldly and began the s he had prepared, telling them how he had come from their brethren in the East by the great lakes, and how pleased he was to see such a prosperous membership in the Order, with other soft words, to which red as well as white men are susceptible. He spoke in Cana- diau-French and seemed to be pretty fairly un- derstood by most there. At the end of every sentence he paused, and saw that Sitting Bull and several other warriors were translating bis words into the sign language as he went, BAying received all his instruction from QWastern Indians, who do not use this sign lan- lage he felt ata disadvantage in not knowing it more fully than he did, but continued his address till he came to the place where he asked to be examined, and, if found worthy, to be ad- mitted as a visiting brother to the illustrious circle of the Black Cloud, When he bad finisbed there was a long silence, after which an Indian arose in the inner circle, and made a speech in Sioux, which Bat Richards translated into French, word by word, as it was yas Slocum had not seen Bat among the rest when he entered, and only recognized him now by his voice, for all the Indians had their blankets over their heads, and he could only see their gleaming eyes and a little of the dark faces, so that all looked exactly alike, | The old Indian said: ‘‘T am Standing Bull, who bave taken as many white scalps as 1 bave fingers and toes on my hands and feet, I bave been a Brother of the Black Cloud since I first went on the war- path. I bave met warriors of all Indian nations and we have spoken to each other as brothers; but never yet met I a white man that belonged to our Order. This white stranger does not ak our language. How can he be one of us? t him tell us that?’ Slocum instantly answered him that he came from the East, where were many men who be- lon to the Order who had never seen the plains, and where white men and red were equal in the Order. He wished to be ex- amined, Standing Bull gave a grunt ag he listened and called aloud: ‘Let the head medicine chief examine him then, and let the Horse Chief give us bis answers as he makes them,” ‘‘l am ready,” replied Slocum, as soon as the request was translated, , orth with Sitting Bull began questioning him in French, and Bat Richards repeated the sub- stance of the examination in Sioux, till Slocum had answered all questions ever put to a candi- dates in the lower grades, The further he advanced, the cooler he be- came, and he was satisfied, from the occasional emphatic grunts of the dark brethren around, that they were surprised at the clearness and precision of his answers. As soon as the answers had progressed to a certain point, there was a general grunt of satis- faction; and, asif by one consent, nine-tenths of the Indians rose and came up to Slocum in single file, each offering bis hand and saying in an emphatic way: | ‘‘How! How!” | This was to the young man the hardest part eS oe a —— a an a oa ee = — we re of the ordeal, for the Indians were anything but Si ni ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————e > clean, and the odor in the tent, closely packed with their bodies, was, by this time, fairly sick- ening. He was ery amine encouraged, however, b his success to stand it, and be noticed that eac Indian, after giving the grip, filed out of the tent, leaving less than fifty men, all chiefs of bands, still squatting on the inner circles, never moving their heads or eyes, — No sooner was the tent cleared than the Sit- ting Bull gave some orders in Sioux, which re- sulted in the place being surrounded by a dark circle of Indian brothers of the lower degrees, acting as guards to prevent any intrusion from the camp; as, just before, the neophytes and apprentices of the Order had guarded the place for them out of earshot of what was going on. Even Bat Richards was left outside, and the examination commenced in the higher degrees before an audience of chiefs, of whom almost all seemed to understand more or less Frencb. In this examination Sitting Bull and Stand- ing Bull officiated as examiners and interpreters to each other, and the success of the stranger was still more marked, the ritual being fresher in bis memory, When it was over, he had been taken through several more degrees, and all but five of the oe rose to depart, greeting him as they went, The men of the last degree were Sitting Bull and four others Slocum had not yet seen, CHAPTER XXI. THE NORTHER,. THE tent was closed again, and Gitting Bull said in French: ‘‘ Messieurs, we of the upper circle are now together. So far as the rules of the Order are concerned, I bave already found that this gen- tleman answers all the requirements, and will} vouch for him as a member, regularly entered. But to us, who know what is not revealed to the lower ranks of the Order, thereis more ean A needed. Brother Giraud, what think you Slocum looked round bim more carefully now, at the five men who were left. Three of them were evidently of mixed blood, for they had not been able entirely to eradicate their beards. The fourth was a young Indian of slender build and handsome boyish face, with dark, melting eyes like those of a girl. Tbe man addressed as Giraud—a short, ver broad-shouldered hualf-breed—spoke in a thi Canadian patois; ‘I think that we need to find why he came here? What say you, Canot?” Another half-breed replied in the same tone and language: ‘‘ Why did be come here? Yes, why?” ‘*To see how the Order was getting on in this part of the world,” said Slocum, boldly, The three half-breeds grunted, and Canot re- torted, grufily: ‘** No need to come here to see that, You are not of us if you are a member. You are not the right color, | ‘What of that, if I can answer all the ques- tions you put to me? Under your oath, you are bound to receive me,” returned Slocum, as boldly as before. Giraud allowed an ugly smile to contract his. face as he replied: “That is true, if the the answers are true, but how if they are false?” “Then you must prove the answered Slocum, “I deman in PS ae dak itting Bull spoke out: “Tbe brother demands an examination. He shall bave it. Form the circle. Let Le Mar- moset keep the door,” The handsome young Indian, who had not. said a word, bowed and went to the tent door to see that no one approached, and the examin- ation in the last degree was taken up with a merciless severity that compelled Slocum to tax his memory to the utmost, the ritual being long and very complicated and mystic, Its general tenor was different to all the lower degrees, in that the member was obliged to rofess great love of the red race and batred of e white, and to anticipate with joy the time when all the whites should be exterminated. To Slocum, who bad learned it as am empty formula, the words had never sounded so fierce as now, when they were pronounced with earnestness and conviction by men whom he knew as the relentless foes of bis race. When the last ordeal was over, Sitting Bull look round and asked: ‘‘' What is the judgment, brothers?” There was a deep silence. He spoke again. ‘“‘What is the judgment, brothers? Is the stranger found worthy?” Still no answer till he had repeated the ques- tion to each individually, when each man siow- ly and grudgingly said: * He is worthy, if he has told truth.” _ Only Le Marmoset, when questioned, an- swered without q on: are not true,’” to be examined books EE le _ Nic CO - ‘ co } n 7 ny v 2 Ps s* a, is e@ “ ae 2) i. .