The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1879-12-20

banks of the Mackenzie, and here they
found the women and children of the
party who had attacked them camped,
their canoes dragged high above the
waters. A fire burned brightly; around
it sat, in silence, the women OF the
Athabascas Sitting, they counted the
warriors as each emerged from the
gloom of the trail. All were
alive; none was wounded. Then
arose the hays, clamoring
with delight and curiosity. The
three captive women were turned over
to them for examination. Eagerly these
miserable creatures took possession of
the bundles the three captives carried.
Two had been unrolled. They con-
tanned jerked meat, dried fish, and robes.
Wakuzza's bundle was then placed on
the earth, by the fire, the ends I'M
tapped, and it was rolled out. There,
on its back, lay the little cradle, and the
baby, open-eyed at the novel scene,
cooed loudly and held out its hands.
Wakuzza sprang forward, snatched the
infant from its cradle, turned slightly
away, and placed him to her breast.
Unseen by her, an Athabasca woman
ran lightly to her, and, catching the
nursing child firmly by the ankles, jerked
it away from the mothers arms, and,
swinging it above her mead, dashed its
brains out on granite rock. Coolly
she turned to the horror-stricken mother,
wickedly she threw the quivering corpse
to her, saying, "Suckle it." The poor
mother, stupefied with horror, mechan-
ically held the corpse until ordered to
get into canoe. Then another woman
jerked the little body from her and
threw it far out into the water of the
Mackenzie, saying: at win make good
fish bait" Quiyering, blood-stained,
dumb, Wakuzza stood and watched the
body of her dead baby float short dis
lance, and then, with sudden jerk, dis
appear under the swollen July waters
of the mighty river. Her benumbed
mind had not realized its loss when her
Owner--as she, the chief prize, had been
allotted to the leader of the midnight
attack-thrust paddle into her hands
aud babe her get into the canoe and go
to work. Slowly the party assembled the
stream to the Great Slave Lake. They
padded across this to the mouth of the
Athabasca River, then up that stream
to the Lesser Slave Lake, and here they
made their winter encampment. Daily
for two months had Wakuzza toiled pad
ding her owner and his family to their
home and away from hers-toiled to
carry herself into slavery.
The evening that work was finished
on the winter encampment, the wife OF
her owner, who was the woman who
had Drained her baby, told her that she
was to become her captor's wife-nO
longer to be a slave, but q wife. Wakuz-
"a ragged inwardly with fury of horror
at this fate of sharing the bed of the
woman who had SO cruelty murdered
her child; but it was the raging of q
slave, who dared not give voice to hel
feelings. The simple marriage cere-
mony being performed, she soon became
her captOr's fay0rite.' Daily the abhor.
renee of her unchosen husband grew on
her. Spring came, and with it the pc
Rod of deep unrest and disturbance that
fills the hearts of all red women at that
time. The desire to escape, to go, she
cared not where, became intense, and
no longer able or caring to resist It, she
resolved to risk her life in trying to es.
cape. Selling an opportunity, made by
the residents of the camp gathering
around some moose the hunters had
just brought in (the Indians being poor,
very poor, loved to gaze on their meat
before eating it), she united the lightes1
and fastest canoe, and, getting in, start.
ed for the Athabasca River, not far dis
tant. Wakuzza had with her, when she
fed for her home, q few deer sinews, a
piece of iron hoop four inches long and
one and half wide, little bit of iron
shaped like an awl, that had an eye in
il, and could be used for sewing, and
her clothing. The early night was bare
of moon. Toward morning q crescent
moon threw faint light over the waters
of the swelling river, and added to the
energy of her stroke. She was padding
for her life, and bending to her worf
the broad blade was nervously, silently
thrust in and out of the cold water. The
sun arose. On she swept, high noon
and the handsome, determined face Of
the woman showed signs of anxiety
She had forgotten the many windingl
of the river and lakes, and did not
know the way. The 1.-THE, active body
spurred to action by her strong will
swayed regularly to and fro, and the
speed of the light canoe never slack
ened. Aturn in the river; pool, where
small stream discharging from the
swamps of the northwest joined the Ath.
abasca River. Never hesitating, LOSING
no time in useless consideration of the
probable result of venturing into the un,
known, untrodden swamp, she padded
the canoe into the pool, and began the
ascent of the small stream that slug