Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-21
PAGES u TO 20.

Der two with long fork of cherry wood,
seemed to show that affairs were advancing
toward a solution of the girls wonder.
Sarah made one or two efforts at CONVERSE
tion with the younger girl. who had given
to them such welcome as they had. But
any reader of these lines who, after the full
French course Of the New Padua Female
Seminary, Z" has found out, say in Normandy,
how little the average French peasant un-
derstands of the French language, will read
ily believe that the two young women did
not obtain much mutual information.
Whether the Shawnee women had any boat
or canoe by which Sarah and her companion
could cross to the western shore, she could
not lind out. Where they were going them
selves she could not find out nor why
they were there together on the island, with
NO stmen folks" visible. Sarah had never
heard that invaluable counsel, "The dumb
mans borders still increase" But she was
forced to fall back on the greattruth hidden
in it, whether she would or no. She and
Mary, however, had all the more CONVERSE
ton because the communion with the In
dian girl was 50 unsatisfactory. Mary con-
suited her as to the prOpriety of their eat
ing, or perhaps drinking, the provision in
the pot.
''My dear child, )" said Sarah, s'if they ask
us, we had certainly better take what they
will give, asking no questions for con-
sciences sake 1 am sure that dear DR..
Bentley would tell US that this was good
sense and good Scripture. I am not SO
doubtful about eating, for 1 had but little
dinner, as am about what we shall eat
with. But we are as well off as Adam and
Eve were"
And this matter was soon tested. Hag
number two announced by sundry "ughs,
and more definitely by lifting the pot from
! the Goals, that she was satisfied with her
| studies Of the contents. Hays number one
and number three then rose from the sand
where they had been erouching, and, at q
call from them, three or four children apr
peared, who had kept away before. The
three hags and the interpreter produced
such articles of table furniture as were at
hand or were thought necessary. These
were first long bit Of bark which was
laid on the sand Of the upper part Of the
| beach, and supported with stones that it
might not roll. To Sarah's surprise and re-
lief two or three little bowls of cracked
earthen ware, two or three half gourds and
three small wooden trenehers appeared. A
treneher was given to Mary and half
gourd to Sarah, who kept it from rolling by
sticks and little shells from the ground. The
old pot was then set on the stones just
| above it. a rude earthen pot
appeared in the hands of hag number one,
| and this was set upon the bark. Then hag
number two, with long gourd from which
one large slice had been cut, so that it made
an excellent dipper, Labeled out the contents
of the iron pot into the earthen one. She
uttered several grunts, probably Of approval,
though of this let no one speak certainly.
Certain discussion in the Shawnee tongue
followed, of which there is no record in any
earthly archives. But it was clear enough
that none of the party were dissatisfied.
Sarah suspected already, what proved to be
true, that the basis of their meal would be
boiled hominy.
So soon as the mixture had a little
cooled, hag number two practically an
nounced that condition Of things to the
others by plunging deep with large shovel
made from an elk horn into the mass at the
bottom and bringing up two or three loads
of the more solid substances. As Sarah had
guessed, the principal material was pounded
! corn. and the boiling had made tolerable
hominy But this was interspersed with
| the joints of two or three squirrels which
had been added.
As soon as bag number two had discovered
that all was cool enough, she labeled out from
| pot No. 2 mass of the whole compound,
| and distributed it in the several gourds and
| platters. Then, and not till then, did hag
/ number three produce several wooden ano-
| horn spoons of various shapes ana sizes and
| distribute them. Mary was beside herself
with eagerness to begin. and was relieved
| from certain fear which she had had that
she could not take the hominy in her
| fingers. There was no semblance on the
part of any one Of waiting for proper
moment to begin. As soon as the hag filed
| gourd its possessor for the moment began
| to empty it. Poor little Mary followed an
| example so excellent. She burned her
mouth little at first, but this experiment
gave her caution. us there no salt, dear
auntie," she said after a minute. 'tNone,
I'm afraid, this side the Kentucky icks,"
said Sarah laughing. 1--WE must thank
| God for hominy and eat it without salt"
"But here are big pepper-oorns, auntie, il
they only tasted5 like pepper" No, they
only simulated pepper in shape. They
were dried berries. which had been puffed
out by the hot water. In truth, they had
lost most of any flavor which they had had
in the drying.
The quirrels had been cut or torn to pieces
before they were put in the pot, and Mary
had no difficulty in managing them with
her fingers, expressing to her so-called aunt
her wonder as to what her mother would say
if she saw such defiance Of the deeorous
table habit of Essex county. 1t seemed,
| however, that something more was expected
| at the feast than these elements provided.
| This something more appeared, after the
| various joints of the squirrels had been
| selected by one and another of the party,
when two of the hags, diving again in the
first pot with fork made of wood, brought
out q fish which Sarah recognized as q
small catfish, such as she had herself more
than once cooked since they had been on
| the river. In moment more another was
brought forth from the same depths. There
was little talk of the methods of carving.
So soon as the fish were cool enough to eat,
a smart blow from little hatehet divided
each of them into two pieces, and the four
! halves thus created were torn to pieces by
| the ready fingers of the darker-eolored unem-
ber Of the company. In the distribution,
however, Sarah Paris and her younger
friend were not neglected, and large flakes
| of the fish were assigned to them.
| Before the feast was all over, even the
long summer twilight was over also, and it
was finished under such light as the flicker
| ing fire gave. Very little was said as it
went on. Whether what was said was ap-
| probation OF the cooks or severe criticism,
Sarah could not guess, so passionless was
! the tone of the speakers. But when all was
over, the various dishes and gourds were
! taken by one and another to the river and
| roughly washed, and then piled all together
upon driftwood, well up from the beach.
| The English-speaking woman, if so she
may be called, who had a vocabulary Of
perhaps 20 words OF English, then resumed
| her care of the two waits who had been
| flung upon the shore. She beckoned Mary
and led Sarah to a sort of tent, roughly
| made of two buffalo robes stretched upon
branches of cottonwood, which our friends
had not seen before, hidden as it was by
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