The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1899-01-07
The WoLE AND The EAGLE.
A Legend of Two Young Saranac In
inra III ri

dian Warriors.
When we think of the Indians, we are
apt to remember only the harsh and
cruel traits that they have shown; but
in their stories and legends many
noble qualities are hidden under their
cruelty, like pearls in the uncouth shell
of the oyster.
In one of these legends we are told
that there used to be a great many Wiz
ards among the tribes, or sachems, as
the Indians called them, who were coun-
selors in the camp, but whose chief de-
light was in doing evil. They worked
so much mischief in the hunting
grounds that at last the Great Spirit
locked them in the hollow trees that
grew along the trail.
Some of them, in their struggles to es-
cape, thrust their arms out of the trees.
but the closing wood imprisoned them.
and they may be seen tothis day, twist
ed and distorted in agony, as gnarled
roots and witherad trunks and
branches.
Others survived this terrible trans
formation, and among them was Oqua-
rah, a bent, decrepit, aged sachem, cruel
and evil minded, and jealous lest his
power should wane, or be eclipsed by
that of a rival. The fate of his brother
sachems did not arouse pity in his heart,
nor did it soften him to know that he
had been spared.
Oquarah lived with a tribe of the
Saranacs, in which were two young
warriors, whose bravery and truth COM
manded the admiration and love of
their companions. One of these braves
was called the Wolf, the other the
Eagle, and they were friendly rivals in
all deeds of valor.
One day, in the moon of great leaves,
when the hunting groundswere starred
with flowers, and the soft south wind
blew over the land, the Wolf and the
Eagle left the camp and set out upon
hunt.
The hours passed, and the Wolf re-
turned-alone.
Loud and angry cries greeted him as
he appeared thus, but he stood silent,
till, by the sternness of his look, he
quelled the tumult. Then he told them
that he and the Eagle had hunted for
hours together, but at last had become
suparated; and that when the time
came to return, he had searched in
vain for the Eagle.
His words were received in silence;
but presently Oquarah spoke, Oquarah,
the cruel sachem.
st hear forked tongue" he said. "It
says that the Wolf was jealous of the
Eagle, and that his teeth have cut into
the heart of his friend!"
1.-THE Wolf cannot lie!" answered the
young chief, and then he stood pas
sive, quiet.
Then the sachem clutched his hatchet,
and cried in rage:
"Where is the Eagle?"
''The Wolf has spoken" answered the
young chief.
At that, Oquarah raised his hatchet
and struck at the Wolf, but the VOLTS
wife threw herself before her husband,
and the hatchet sunk into her head.
Then, with a cry of rage. the Wolf drew
his knife, and a moment latter the sa-
chem fell with mortal wound in his
heart.
Great excitement and discord fol-
lowed these tragic events, and finally
the tribe divided, half of them following
the Wolf down the Great Sounding
river in search of new hunting grounds.
But the Wolf was very unhappy. He
had lost his friend and his wife, and
his tribe had been broken up; all
through the evil suspicious of the cruel
sachem.
Many years passed, and the Wolf be-
came great in his tribe. But when
ever his tribe met the other, the ground
between their hunting ground was wet
with blood.
One day the tribe on the Upper Sar-
anac saw q canoe appear on the Lake of
the Silver Sky, and in it was the Eagle.
He told them how he had been sepa-
rated from the Wolf, and had fallen
into q cleft of great rock, from which
he was rescued by some soldiers from
Canada. They had taken him with
them, and he had fought with the Brit
ish against the French. AS the years
passed, and he grew old, however, his
heart yearned for the people of his
tribe, and he had come back to die
among them.
When he heard that the Wolf had
been accused of his death, he was very
sad, but he called a meeting of the war
riors of the two camps, and peace was
made between them. So the Eagle
died, at last, happy in the knowledge
that he had cleared his friend and re-
united his people.-Philadelphi Times.