The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-20
BY REX E. BEACH.

went over to the headwaters of the
Tanana. Into the big valley l went
and got lost in the Flats. 'Tis a wild
country, trimmed by high mountains.
full of neighbOrhOods and tundra with
the river windin' clean back to the
source of the Copper. I run out of
grub. We always did them days. and
built a raft to float down to the Yu-
kOn. A race with starvation, and a
dead heat it near proved. toO though
had a shade the best of il. / drifted
out into the main river. ravin' mad,
my 'Mukluks' eat off and my moose
hide gun cover inside of me.
a girl spied me from the village,
and twas her that brought me ashore
in her birch bark and tended me in
her wick-i-up till reason came and the
blood ran through me again.
Il mind seem a white man standin'
around at ties and hearin' him beg
her to leave ne to the old squaws. She
didn't, though. She give me bits of
moose meat and berries and dried sal
mon, and when 1 come to one day
saw she was little and brown and
pleadin' and her clothes all covered
with beads. Her eyes was big and sad,
Cap, and dimples poked into her cheeks
when she laughed.
the white. man. A priest he called
himself: breed. Russian. Maybe he
was but a blacker hearted thief never
wronged a child. He wanted the girl
Meta, and so did I. When I asked
her old man for her he said she was
promised to the Russian. l laughed at
him, and a chief hates TO be Knocked.
You know what sway. the church has
over these Indians. Well, Orloff is a
strong man. He held 'em like a rock.
He worked on 'em till one day the
tribemen came to me in body and
said, Co
Give me the girl and / WILL says I.
"Orloff sneered. She was mine for
a month before We came says he/with
the fiend shown back of his eyes. Do
We want her nOw?'
For a minute I believed him.
struck once to kill, and he went down.
They closed on me as fast as 1 shook
'em off Twas a beautiful site for
ructiOn. on the high banks over the
river, but I was like water from the
sickness. I fought TO get at their
priest where he lay, to stamp out his
grinning face before they drowned me,
but I was beat back to the bluff and
battled with my heels over the edge.
l broke a pole from the fish rack and
ROOQ many went uOWll- linen L nedTQ
Meta calling softly from below.
Jump she said. Big one, jump
"She had loosed a canoe at the land
ing. and now held it in the boiling cur
rent underneath, padding desperately.
AS they ran out of the tents with
their rifles ! leaDed.
"A long drop and cold water, but
hit feet first. When l rose the little
girl was alongside
IT'S a ticklish thing to crawl over
the stern of a canoe in the spatter of
slugs. with the roar of muZzle-loaders
above It's shakin' to the nerves, but
the maid never flinched, not even when
a bullet split the gunnel. She ripped a
piece of her dress and plugged a hole
under the water line while / padded
out of range.
THE next winter at Holy Cross she
ran to me shaking one day.
"'He is herel He is here. Oh, big
man. / am afraid
Who's here" says I.
HE is here-Father Orloff,' and her
ewes was round and scared so that
took her up and kissed her while she
chung to me-she was such a little
girl.
He spoke to me at the water hole,
IT have come for you" I ran very
fast. but he came behind. Where is
George?" he said
Fl went out of the cabin down to the
mission and into the house of Father
Barnum. He was there.
"'Orloff! What do We want?' 1 says.
Father Barnum speaks up-hes
known for a good man the length of
the river. George says he, Father
Orloff tells me you stole the girl Meta
from her tribe. 'Tis a shameful thing
for white to take a red girl for his
wife, but It's crime to live as you
do
'What?' says I.
We can't sell you provisions nor
allow you 10 stay in the village
Orion grins. You must go on, he
says, or give her up.
No, I'll do neither And l shows
the papers from the missionary at Nu-
lato Stain that we were married
Shes my wife says l, and too good
for me. She's left her people and her
gods, and I'll care for her. l saw how
II hurt Orloff, and | laid my hand on
MS shoulder close to the neck. I dis
trust We, and sure as fate yen die the
shocking death if ever harm comes to
the little one
That was the winter of the famine.
though every winter was the same
then, and | went to Anvik for grub
took all the strong men and dogs in
.he village. | was afraid when / left,
too, for twas the time / should have
been with her, but there was no one
else to go.