The Washington times., 1902-08-17
BOOK ILAwAzINS.

| I REMEMBER 'poising naked upon
rock, ready to dive into Lake
i George This memory stands at
the end of diminishing vista; the
extreme point OF coherent recollection
My body and muscular limbs reflected in
the water filled me with savage pride.
/ knew, as the beast knows its herd,
that my mother Marianne was hanging
the pot over the fire pit in the center of
our lodge; the children were playing
with the papooses: and my father was
hunting down tie lake. The hunting and
fishing were good. and we had plenty Of
meat Skenedonk, whom I considered
person belonging to myself. was strip
ping more slowly on the rock behind me.
We were heated with wood ranging
Aboriginal life. primeval and vigor-giy-
ing. lay behind me when l plunged ex-
pecting to strike out under he de-
licious forest shadow.
When l came uD the sun ha1 van
gone. So were the Indian children play
ing on the shore, and the shore with
them. My mother Marianne might still
be hanging her pot in the lodge. B-t
all the hunting lodges Of our people
were as completely lost as If had en-
tered another world.
Ny head was bandaged. as | discovered
when / turned it to look around. The
walls were not the log walls of our
lodge, chinked with moss and .opped by
a bark roof. On the contrary they were
grander than the inside of ST. Regis
Church where 1 took my first COM
munion. though that was built CT stonc.
These walls were paneled. as learned
afterward to call that noble finishing.
and ornamented with pictures, and crys-
tai sockets for candles. The use OF tee
crystal sockets was evident. for one
shaded wax light burned near me. The
ceiling was not composed CT wooden
beams like some Canadian hes-a. bat
divided itself into panels also, rsfle-llns
the light with dark rosy shin;.,a. l-a-s
work finer than a nriest's white gar
ments futtered at the windows.
l had dived early in the afternoon,
and it was night. Instead of finding my
self still stripped for swimming. / had
a loose robe around me, and a coverlet
drawn uD to my armpits. The couch un-
der me was b. no means OF hemlock
twigs ard skins. like our hunks at home.
but soft and rich. l wondered IL | had
died and gone to heaven; and just then
the Virgin moved past my head and
stood looking down at me. I started
to jump out of a window. but felt so lit
tie power to move that 1 only twitched
and pretended to be asleep. and watched
her as we sighted game. with eyes near
ly shut. She had a poppet of a child
on one arm that sat up instead of lean
ing against her shoulder. and looked at
me. too. The poppet had cap on its
head and was dressed in lace, and she
wore a white dress that let her
neck and arms out, but covered
her to the ground. This was
as the Indian women COW
cred their necks and arms, and wore
their petticoats short. l could see this
image breathe, which was a marvel, and
the color moving under her white skin.
Her eyes seemed to go through you and
search all the veins, sending shiver Of
pleasure down your back.
Now l knew after the first start that
she was a living girl holding a living
baby. and when my father, Thomas Will
liams, appeared at the door OF the room.
1t was certain could not be in heaven.
1t came over me in flash that l nyssll
was changed. In spite of the bandagea
my head was as clear as If all its facul.
ties were washed and newly arranged
| could look back into my life and per-
ceive things thst had only sensed as
dumb brute. A fish thawed out after
being frozen. and terminated through
every sparkling scale and tremulous in.
could not have felt its resurrection more
keenly. My broken head gave me M
trouble at all.
The girl and baby disappeared as soou
as | saw my father, which was not sar-
prising, for he could not be called .
half breed. His lower lip
protruded and hung sullenly. He had
heavy brows and shaggy thatch of hair.
Our st. Regis Iroquois kept to the buck-
skins. though they often had hun.ina
shirts of fu,led flannel. and my fathers
buckskins were very dirty.
A little man. that did not know, was
In the room. shufied across the foal
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