The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1905-12-23

when sic felt rather than saw a shad-
ow fall across lcr path, and, glancing
up. she saw facing her the woman
whom she had supplanted and the SOL
emn eyed little girl holding tight TO her
doll.
Now, neither tNvoman knew a word
OF the others speech, but Sally was
proficient IN the language of feminini-
ty, and she was not at loss to grasp
the Significance of the purple calico,
the beaded buckskin shirt and the
necklace of ak teeth The half breed
walked as chiefs daughter to the
woman at the tub. and Sally grew sick
and chill despite her white skin and the
gold ring that made Warren Rodney
her man In the face OF the law. The
dark woman held Judith proudly by
the hand as u sovereign might carry
scepter. Judith was her stafY Of office,
her emblem OF authority in the house
Of Warren Rodney.
Singing Stream held out Der hands to
Sally in a gesture Of appeal-and blum
dered OF the chiefs daughter, walk
ing proudly. Sally was afraid: but n
supplicating half breed IN strips OF
purple calico, not even hemmed was q
matter for merrlment Sally put her
hands on her hips, arms akimbo, and
laughed dry cackle The light In the
brown wonian's eyes rs she looked at
the white was like prairie fires rolling
forward through darkness. There was
no need OF a common speech between
them. The whole destiny of woman
was in the laugh and the look that al.
swered 1t.
And the man they could have muir.
dered for came from the house, an un.
heroic figure with suspenders dangling
and a corncob pipe In his mouth, sui.
len. angry and withal abjectly fright.
ened. as mere man inevitably Is when
he shifts woman's battle in the air
The bride, at sight of her husband too,
to Mysteries. She wept. she laughed
and down ,tlimbled her hair She felt
the situation demanded a scene. Rod.
ncy. with marital brevity hardly I'd
be expected so soon, commando Sally
to go into the house and to shut up"
Then he faced Singing Stream and
said to her In her own language: You
must GO away from here. The palu
faced woman is my wife by the white
mans law-ring and Bible. No Indian
marriage about this"
But the brown woman only pointed
TO Judith. She asked Rodney had she
not been good sguaw to him.
And Rodney, who at best was but
poltroon. could only repeat: You got
to keep away from here. It's the white
mans law-one sQuaw for one man"
From within came the sound Of Sal.
ly's lamentatiOn as she called for her
father and brother to take her from
the squaw and contamination. War.
rem Rodney was a man of few words.
II had become his unpleasant duty TO
act, and TO act quickly. He snatched
Judith from her mother and took her
into the house, and he returned with
his Winchester. which was not loaded,
to Singing Stream.
You got to co. he said, and, lev.
cling the Winchester he repeated me
command. Singing Stream looked at
him with the dumb wonder OF forest
thing. II was good squaw to you"
she said and did not even curse him. |
And. turning, she ran toward the foot.
hills with all the length OF purple cal |
leo trailing.
Now, Mrs. Rodney. nee Tumlin, was |
but human. aud her cup OF happiness
as the wife of squaw man was not |
the trimming beaker she had antici- |
pated. The expulsion OF her predeces. |
sor at such time to make room for |
her own home coming was. 1t seemed,
open to criticism. The neighborhood"
Ut included perhaps five families liv-
ing in radius of as many hundred
miles, felt that the Tumlins had es-
tablished II bad precedent. A squaw
man driving out brown wife to make
room for a white is not heroic figure.
1t had been done before, but II would
not hand down well In the traditions
Of the settling of this great country
Trespass of law and order with their
swift. red handed reckoning, was but
ton, but to shove out n brown woman
for white was mean move. Few
stopped at the Rodneys' ranch, though
it marked the first break in the journey
from town to the gold mining country.
Rodney had fallen from his estate az
a pioneer; his political opinions were
unsought in the conclaves that sat
and spat at the stove when business
brought them to the joint saloon and
postotiice. The women dealt with the
question more openly, scorning fem
mime subtlety at this pass us mad
equate ammunition. When they met
Mrs. Rodney they pulled aside their
skirts and glared This outrage
against woman 1t was woman's work
TO seLCle.
The Tumlin family did not remain
long enough in the Black Hills country
to witness Sally's failure as the wife of
pioneer. The restlessness of the
settler" If the paradox be permssi-