Evening journal., 1907-03-06
BY Lawrence Mott.

The ZAP of my tent was hurriedly
pushed aside and Jimmy shoes eN-
cited, bronzed face appeared (my
head guide), saying, DAT pay man
es comen" and vanished.
In explanation OF this first paragraph Of
my article ] state that tho scene "a Gull
River, west shore Of Nipigon Lake, one
hundred and nfty miles from civilization,
an the province Of Ontario; and the occa-I
sion the arrival Of the Indian agent who
comes once a year 10 pay the wild men
their "a a soul IN return for the wilder
ness, which now belongs TO the govern
ment
went out among the three hundred and.
odd Indians. 1t was suning evening inl
the latter part Of July. AS the red sun
dwindled over the tall, silent forests ~
shed It's last rays ON the Canadian flag at
the masthead of the little craft that had
brought the agent across Nipigon Lake.
The dend water stream was mlrrorllke-l
broken here and there by the swlrls OF
pike and pickerel chasing mlnnows. All
the Indians we're drawn mp I'm line, and
every buck that owned any sort of gun
worked n frantloally The din was terri
bic, what with the sharp spang of rifles
the smooth roar of muzzlc loaders and
the reverherant boom Of shotguns The
bright tongues of flame leaped into thel
evening air ike red fingers, while clouds
Of pungent smoke hung acldly and dead
over everything There was no wind, and
tle CHEEKY "Ah-hei Ah-heii' OF the
agents Indian crew as they tugged az
the sweeps came softly over the marshes
when the nring ceased. Then the squaws'
yelis and shriekings disturbed the stiffness
ngaini
AT last the "pay man" landed nccom-
panied by Father Dug0ts, Jesuit priest of
the Niplgon, Tongue Lac and Fort Hope
districts "Bo-ioul Bo-ioul" came from
overywhere-this salutation being used By
Indians whether Il be morning, noon or
IIHH uII rod
on the shore and solemnly shook hands;
then they scattered noiseessly and nres
cleaned uii about as the squaws cooked
the suppers
For some moments I watched the ami
mated, though quiet scene. Moving sui
ienly toward the lake, Gun River re-
Elected accurately the thousand night
lights OF the heavens, and the North star
fickered brightly faithful guide that 10 g.
Mosquitoes shrillcd and b-z-z-zd while
myriads Of sandnles took possession of
the atmosphere. retreated.
Pere Dugats and the agent a.. U. Bonln)
uincd with me, and ] am greatly indebted
20 both for much useful information and
data with regard 10 the Indians and for
confirmation OF my own Investigations as
10 the methods OF the Honorable Hudson
Ray Company in collecting their 'dcht /.
also OF their treatment Of the Indians in
ibis section. of which ] shall write later.
Tho priest WAS distinctly human, broad
minded type OF man. with a magnificent
physique, and delightful conversations
nllsf.
The supper passed thus pleasantly until
Shoe entered with a deferential grin and
spoke with the father ln the Oiibway
language. When he had gone Pere Du-
gats laughed "Icy ask ir zey can have a
dancel" and he chucked At my ques-
tion he related how the reserve Indians
had had a "dance" with vengeance
few weeks before, urged on 10 an sorts
Of devilment by a scoundrcl named Hogan
who sold the poor creatures rotten whis-
key az enormous pront. They all got
hghunE mad, OF course. And how he did
lecture ana threaten them with the wrath
or "Dieu' the following sunday at the
little mission church.
"zince zen. voyez vous. zey do not quite
know whe3aire 4 VIII permit zem TO dance
Or not; bur zere Is 90 wheeskey here to-
night and 7 zal LET zom have funs-l zan
watch An oul, I zall watchi" He laughed
again.
This sentence OF the fathers shows his
great influence. 10 is not TO be- wondered
that be has it Ho plays ball with his
sports Of an kinds, and in this way gains
their confidence As DE so truly said;-
zone cannot do AIMING ~ you have not
zein absolute trust
So unlike Us that man TO the ordinary
narrow minded relgonist, That ], Will
his permission. dwell on his close rela-
tlonship with what he calls his cen.
fants" and admire bis personality alsc
the hard work he has done and is steadily
The preliminary winnings of a nddie in.
terruptcd us.
"AllOnsN
Bonin ana I followed the massive figure
THE DANCE.
The dance house" was small los
kt.4f t1Ilf vii
and rooted with axe split cedar shingles
half dozen candles spluttered and
wavered in birch bark stands as light for
the great occasion; and Denny Demilohr
$50 called because he once stole that
amount OF whiskey successfuliy), fiddler.
valiantly scraped and cajoled an old worn
out instrument 90 respond 40 his energetic
efforts with doleful squeaSs and whimper-
ings. -Four couples Of a buck and squaw
faced one another. There was "a pause
until Joe Bouchard. my half breed cook
and master of ceremonies hitched ms
trousers an inch or two. grinned At me
and announced hravely in "a high sing
song voice.
"Bow ter yer pardners right and lef'
the-e-n gr-ran' pr M 'nde all aroun'F
The dance was on
Strangely enough. though not an Indiar
present understood "a word OF English, Jol
called all sorts Of figures ia that lar
guage. Mr.. Bonin explained that the In
long, long ago, and used them, knowin
only what they represented IN dance ng
uree and not their meaning.
The sQuaws wore partly civilized cloti
ing. Here and there among the crowd O
the benches a factory made shirt wai'
was obvious because OF its gay, hnrin
colors: otherwise they wore caribou moo
casine and short skirts 10 match, the
neat, trim ankles flashing Ia and ol
from under them as the bucks Wnlrlt
them roughly 20 and fro. The atmosphei
became hotter and more dense. what Wit
a hundred breaths and eighty pipes ~
old women that were not dancing smoke
hard. The violin squcaied SIN more nerc
~. ITS agitator doubled up fantasucally d
he tried 10 play fast and above the sir
ping, shutting sound of m0ccasned fe'
Joes can came harshly.-
Lad-eee en- IN midi. all hans roun
Gents en- th midi. an hans roun '-no-o
gr-r-ran che-an an, an kep-it-upl Ne
wei have "a bow an bow % yer ler hal
pardners the-en jeee step by th' nlcl
and
HIS voice droned On ana on. The swe.
sifeamed but the black eyes Of the dam
ers sparkled with lie and enjoyment
it continued When oue set were absolute
ly fassed oli Is fresh Dog took thc aon
PITY ihe niiiar