Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-05-15
THE GREAT WHITE CHIEF.
ByGIIbert Parker.
copyright, 1896, by the Author.

the White Chief, as they called him.
This was his"-holding up the knife
land this" taking watch from his
pocket. "He gave them to me. was
with him in the Circle on the great
journey"
Tell us about him, then" Medallion
urged, 'for there are many tales, and
who knows which is the right one?"
1.-THE right one is mine. Holy, he
was to me like father-then 1 know
the truth. " He paused a moment look
ing out ON the river where the hot sun
was playing with all its might. then
took off his cap with deliberation, laid
it beside him, and speaking as it were
into the distance began:
81 He had been trader of the Hudson
Bay company. OF his birth some said
one thing, some another. know he was
<Seaucoup gentil, and his heart, it was
a lions. Once, when there was trouble
with the Chipp'ways, he went alone to
their camp, and said he would fight
their strongest man to stop the trouble.
He twisted the neck of the great fight
ing man of the tribe, so that it went
with a snap, and that ended it, and he
was made chief-for, you see, in
their hearts they all hated their strong
man. Well, one winter there came
down to Fort o. God two Eskimos, and
they said that three white men were
wintering by the Coppermine river.
They had travelled down from the frozen
seas when their ship was locked i'll the
ice, but could get no farther. They were
sick with the evil skin and starving
The white chief said to me, 'Galloir,
will you go?' l would have gone with
him to the ends of the world-and this
was near one end. "
The old man laughed to himself,
tossed his jet black hair from his wrin
killed. face, and after moment con-
tinued "There never was such winter
as that. The air was so still by times
that you could hear the rustic of the
stars and the shifting Of the northern
lights, but the cold at night caught you
by the heart and clamped it-mon
Dieu, how it clamped it'll We crawled
under the snow and lay in our bags of
fur and wool and the dogs Rugged close
to us. We were sorry for the dogs, and
one died, and then another, and there
was nothing SO dreadful as to hear the
dogs howl in the long night-it was
like the cries of ghosts in an empty
world. The circle Of the sun got smaller
and smaller, till he only travelled along
the high edge of the northwest. We got
to the river at last and found the camp.
There was one man dead-only one,
l,,t nh
you not guess what thing it is to look
upon the bones of men, and know
that
Medallion put his hand on the old
man. arm. "Wait minute, he said.
Then he poured out coffee for both, and
they drank before the rest was told.
Its a creepy story" said Medallion,
''but go Oh"
SENell, the White Chief looked at the
d1.d man as he sat there i'll the snow,
with a book and piece of paper beside
him, and the pencil i'll the book. The
face was bent forward to the knees
The White Chief picked up the book and
pencil, and then knelt down and peered
up i'll the dead mans face, all hard like
stone and crusted with frost. thought
he would never stir again he looked so
long. think he was puzzled. Then he
turned and said to me, SO quiet, so aw-
full, Galloir = and got up. Well, but it
was cold then, and my head seemed big
and running about like ball of air
But l lighted spirit lamp and made
some coffee. and he opened the book and
began to read. All at once l heard a
cry, and saw him drop the book on the
ground and 90 to the dead man and jerk
his fist as if to strike him in the face.
But he did not strike
Galloir stopped and lighted his pipe,
and was so long silent that Medallion
had to jog him into speaking. He pulled
the smoke SO that his face was i'll the
cloud, and he said through it: "No, he
did not strike. He got to his feet and
spoke, 'Ah, Jesu, pardonP like that,
and come and took up the book again
and read. He eat and drunk and read
the book again, and 1 knew by his face
that something more than cold was
clamping his heart.
"'Shall we bury him in the snow?'
said NO, he spoke, let him sit there
till the judgment This is wonderful
book, Galloir, he went on. He was q
brave man, hut the rest the rest p
then under his breath almost, She was
SO young, but child. 1 not understand
that We started away soon, leaving
the thing there. for four days, and then
l sa-r chat the White Chief would never
get K to Fort Pentecost, but he read
the dead man s book much.
81 cannot forget that one day He
lay looking at the woodworking but
the waves of snow, shining blue and
white, on and on. The sun lifted an eye
of blood in the north, winking like q
devil as / tried to drive death away b!
calling in his ear. He walked all at once
but his eyes seemed asleep He told IN,
to take the book to great man in Mont
real. He gave me the name. Then h
took out his watch-it was stopped
and this knife and put them into IN.
hands, and then he pat my shoulder
He motioned to have the bag draw
over his head. 1 did it. OF cours
that was the end !"
Galloir took out the watch and turne
it round in his hand, held it to his ca
and gave silent little laugh. "Eh, tina
was good watch. F"
"But what about the bookY' Medal
lion asked.
UThat hOOk9 IT. was stranoe I too