The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-02

\ mucn OpIigpu, ne SAID, but he was not.
| fit to marry this maid Of the wild, and
! the Indian went away.
News of the nearness of the unmar.
! ried man spread as news will even in
| the wilderness. and on the following
/ Sunday the Cree came back, bearing
! with him a whole harem on horseback.
! The fact that these Indians had horses
in their own night attested their stand.
! ing in the tribe. They all had dinner
with Bannihan, one particularly inter
esting girl sitting next TO the host and
stealing side glances at the fine face of
the young 1rishman.
When they had packed up and were
ready to take the back trail the Cree,
pointing AT the comely girl, grunted:
"This one?' Bannihan was surprised
it was so sudden-bu, managed to
thank the Cree and offer his hand 10
the girl-not for life, bot Just to say
goodbye. Something in the sad. wist-
ful eyes Of the Indian girl. the warm
clasp of her plump hand, the last back.
ward glance at the lone cabin-some-
thing. or many things-stirred the rel
blood Of Bannhan and made him stand
and stare after the trailcrH, until they
reached bend in the trai! and disap-
peared down the river. Long lie sat IN
the almost interminablc twilight, think.
ing, thinking, thinking. A brown bird
came down and dined upon his rude Ia.
BILE, while a tiny wood mouse crept up
and gathered the crumbs about his hob
nailed boots. Presently, in the dusk,
n deer came out of clump Of Jack
pine and passed so near that he could
hear her startled breathing at sight of
him, and count the spots on the side of
her fawn, and the prongs on the
antlered buck who came bounding after
his precious family, And then. though
il was not vet dark, Bapnihan, unspeak
ably lonely, sought the quiet Of his
couch and drifted into dreams Of an
Eveless Eden in the heart of the wild.
where the deer and the bird. the moose
piled while the Adam lorded il alone.
Two days dawned and died, and then,
in the twilight of the third day the
dusky daughter of the gentle Cree came
to Bannihsn S cabin bringing gifts and
peace offerings from her father and a
pouch of pemmican on her own account.
Bannihan had harbored a goodly mum
her Of Cree words, and these he en-
ployed now TO thank the girl for her
Kindness. He warmed the beans, fried
some speckled trout, boiled coffee and
set feast for his visitor. Like all
Crces, she could talk much better and
more entertainlngly than the average
Indian Her father, who was brother
TO noted chief. was celebrated ora
tor, given to fine phrases and poetic
flights As the lrishman and the In
dian sat face to face over their fish
bones. il occurred to the man that he
did not know the maiden S name. He
asked, and she answered with a string
Of short words that, In type. would re-
semble train of dinkey dump cars,
with link couplings. He wondered what
it all meant and managed TO ask her.
Her dark face frightened as she made
hlm understand that it meant. first.
bird. little bird, little singing bird,
me- she said in Cree. for short.
\ ic k-Kah Moo We Hea YahC SIS.
singing Bird And then, as she went
on telling him how she happened to be
named so-how she happened to be
her face grew almost beautiful.
"Many years ago. she began (she
was all of lS), "my father and my
mother lived alone in the wilderness,
They were young, then. my father and
my mothcr-voung as you and G-and
thev were very, very lonely, and they
asked Yves "A -ka- chack 10 send them
little papoose to keep my mother com
panv when my father went into the
forest to tend his traps. This was IN
the moon of the golden leaf, and then
came the snow and the trapping time;
and when my mother was much alone
she prayed to Wes-a ka-chack to hurry
MP with the baby she had asked Tor.
And when the ice went out and the
wild geese came back there came a
great white swan, whittier than the snow,
and more beautiful, my mother said,
than any other bird. and it brought to
my mother-well, me, only not like /
am now-just llttle-blrd -wlth-no-
wings she said. and so she called me,
''After that my mother was very
| happy, and so, in our house, Wes-a- -ka-
chack is loved and worshiped. And
| that is why we find it hard to follow
| the mission man who comes over from
| Dunvegau to ask rs TO close our house
and our hearts to Wes-a ka-chack and
worship the spirit which the white man
worships, IT is not an easy thing TO
turn against the God of our fathers,
who has always been good to us-who
| long before the white man came, Kept
lis in the hollow of His hand, Just as
/ would hold the egg of bird. Do
YOU think she asked eagerly, leaning
toward him, ''the white man 8 God
would send us a little Papoose If we
asked him -
"Ouien sabe-I don't know said
( Bannihau, who remembered that this
dusky damsel did not speak Spanish:
&" But Wes-a ka.chack, she said with
the faintest hint of a smile about the
mouth. "hc would -
And when Baunihau only gazed up
on her wistful face. showing no inter
est in her, her God or the gift he could
give. she erept toward him. leaning or
the little table, and asked: Have
YOU wife-somewhere?
II had-once, he stammered,
"Where is she now?'
Bannihan, remembering his "Littlt
Eva" half smiled AS he pointed up
ward To undertake with his limited
Cree vocabulary to explain how, ano
why. and all the rest of it, would have
been n hopeless task; SO he handed heI
large white lie. and let her 60 on.
"'Was she eautiful-boautiful white
skin. so?i and she touched his face.
"Fairer-a thousand times faire
than !. - be answered, glad to be abl'
to tell her the truth this time.
After that she sat silent for spac'
and then asked if he still loved IN,
other one who was fair and beautiful
and when he said he was trying TO for
get she limited nnOcently that sh