The record-union., 1897-11-28

gloat over their horrible slaughter. they
FASTENED toward the main Indian
settlement. where they had last seen a
happy. animated crowd. A spectacle
even more terrible than the one they
had just left awaited them. Blood
stood in pools everywhere: the walls of
the huts We're stained and the grass
eolored red. Lying around Were bodies
of both sexes, and all ages, from the
old man TO the infant. Some had their
bodies literally hacked to pieces, 9TH
ers had been beaten into jelly with
clubs, and still others pierced or cut
with bowie knives.
From one to another Nanika Went,
as in a trance. turning over rigid forms
to identify them. There lay the VEN
cradle old patriarch Of the rancheria; a
| little farther on was her sisters body
piled on top of her little infant; Aiki.
and his robust boy, of whom he had
been so proud, grinned mockingly at
her. The sight of all her loved ones
thus bruised and battered was too much
for her. They walked on TO the other
end of the island, down to the waters
edge. The trail was lined with chill
Qiel, SQudNS bQtho, NhOr III thCAi
attempt to escape, had been overtaken
and butchered. The brutal murderers
had done their work well, splitting open
| skulls, beating out brains, cutting
throats and otherwise varying their
hellish outrages. Probably only four
or five men escaped by reaching the
water and swimming for their lives.
Some had run into muddy ground, and
| nd St, aC thay-
mired.
! barking dog reminded them of their
danger, and, retracing their steps. they
got into the canoe. Nanika cast long
| ing look toward the spot where rested
!! her spouse. her protector, her lord.
| WHITTIER shall we go?' asked her
companion.
| ITO my father" she answered sadly.
y - .
| Five years had elapsed since that
horrible and revolving butchery, one of
the foulest records that blots the pages
of history. Who the whites were that
did the heinous deed or how many par
ticipated was not found out. Their
crime was so dastardly and so great
was the sympathy aroused for the un-
fortunate victims that no one dared to
acknowledge the truth. Shortly after
wards it was further ascertained that
several other massacres had taken place,
notably at the entrance to Humboldt
Bay and near the mouth of Eel River.
| They had been attacked on the same
night, February %, 1860, in the same
manner and with similar results.
Later the Indians committed a few
| depredations and murders, war of
determination followed, and, when they
| had lost all their best men, they sur
rendered to the Government authori-
ties, and nearly 1000 hostiles were
placed upon the new Hoopa Valley Res
Grafton. which was set apart for their
use. Only few who We're. perfectly
peaceful and could be relied upon as
dependents upon the whites were al
lowed to remain in or near the small
towns.
Nanika, or Nanny" as the white
women called her, was one of the ia
vored. She took things philosophical
ly and made the best of the situation,
although her heart was filled with
hatred for these alleged Christians, who
with one prodigious blow had robbed
her of her lord, her father. her sister,
and, in fact, all whom she had loved
most dearly. But time heals all wounds,
and Indians as a rule do not brood
over the past, although they never for
get. Nothing remained to remind her
of her former life except a plump lit
tie dark-skinned boy. who was the i'm
age of Wanatah, but who, alas. would
never have the pleasure of seeing his
father. Kaitah, now a full-fiedged
buck, remained on the reservation most
Of the time.
1t was hot summer day as Nanika
trudged through the streets with her
little son dangling at her heels. She
wore dark gingham dress, set off with
a scrupulously clean white apron, while
her feet We're neither encased in moe
casins nor shoes. She was on her way
to her favorite patron, for now she had
to earn her own living and did house
work and washing.
She unfastened a gate inclosing an
unpretentious dwelling, and wiping
her dusty feet upon the doormat,
knocked lightly at the back door, A
small, slender little woman admitted
her, and from her appearance it was
evident that she was cooking
We'll Nanny?" she asked kindly.
'You busy?" inquired the squaw
Eyes, Nanny answered the other
digging her hands vigorously into
batch of dough. why? Can do any
thing for you?'
Nanny opened a parcel and displayed |
g gaudy- -fowered piece of calico.