The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-06-10
CHAPTER XIII.
THE Pow-wow AT ROARING RUN

LIE EO"- WOW AL fOAftlrNI HON.
The habitation of Poppy Miller at the
mouth of the run had been seen by
few of the valley people-a( least by
day. The children OF the region for
half a century and more had been
taught to avoid the uncanny place
and by no means to approach 1t save
under dire necessity, and then only In
the prescribed way: at dead OF night,
In dark Of the moon, In storm, II pos
sible, and never by the road. No one
in the region confessed to having made
the fearful trip, but a strange tale It
might be were all known. u
The seat Of power In the old cabin
was Grammar Miller, a mysterious,
| dreaded parsonage whom few had ever
seen save those who had visited her
on midnight missions. or her origin
and antecedents there were only tradi-
tions, She was not a native Of the val
ley. She and Poppy Miller had sud-
denly appeared one summer, so lone
ago that the date had been, forgotten.
He was manifestly Dutch" but she
was OF a type utterly foreign to the
region, and In half a century or more
she had not once been seen outside of
the limits of the Run farm. OF the
surmises and conjectures of the years,
that had now grown into a solid body
OF tradition by many accepted as verl-
table history, 1t is needless to speak.
One thing, however, was certain:
Grammar Miller had power-not the
power that nov disease, for all
must know that what brings disease
and disaster will not remove it--but
the power that touches the internal
agencies. For ordinary diseases, FOR
rheumatism, and warts, and liver
crowd" children, n such like, there
were NANNY pow-wowers, but when II
came to dealings with the unknown
only Gran'maw Miller could avail. II
was firmly believed that she had in
her possession one of the few copies
now extant of that fearful volume
The Seventh Book of Moses" the
book which in the motherland in the
old days had cost so many their lives
and which a few, 1t is well known, took
with them at the risk of body and
soul in their flight to the new world
Thus the little valley and a wide cir
Gle beyond 1T had ever their court OF
last appeal. Would a nix-nuX have the
spell removed, or a maiden win back
her faithless lover, or a father rescue
his hayward son-who could avail but
Grammar Miller? And there were
dark whispers of vengeance wreakeo
on enemies, of lightning called from
the skies, of men n women suddenly
cut down by internal agencies-deeds
too horrible even to think about. Al
| lLG1C NLllll6S liz "NSAASo a bSCA
done on black nights in the Miller
kitchen, and there are those even to-
, day who, could it be known, carry OF
their breasts CHASTITY scars Of crosses
and caballstic symbolry done at mid,
night when the lightning was cleaning
on the rocks of Roaring Run.
AS to the origin Of this belief, 81
potent in the Seven Mountains anC
beyond, one might say much. On
might trace the incanations anC
, witch lore to the German Palatiuate
whence this race sprung; then h,
might study with certainty the wilt
fetch elements added by the African
and the still more awful lore borrowe'
from the Indian. But this is not
treatise.
The night of the 9th Of May wa
dark and stormy. There was no moon
the rain came in spurts and swirls; tn,
fog had smeared out every trace o
light as with an inky thumb. From tn
top of Heller's Ridge and from tn
2 neighboring gaps came down ever an
anon the whimpering of the wins
among the snags, rising at times I
/ long Whines. The trees along the pix
shuddered Inc twisted, though the,
were as invisible as If in a cavern.
1t was almost midnight. The las
light in the valley farm houses ha
gone out hours before: the storm an
the night dominated completely tn
] landscape. In all the region there wa
t not a soul astir save at one singl
t point: at the mouth Of Roaring Run
: woman, muffied beyond recognition
? was stealing through the wet shrub
j berry.
She did not pause or hesitate. A
s she rounded a projection, guided nj
terly by the sense Of touch, and b
i the snarl of the Run close on her lef
( q ray OF light flashed into her eyes
I a single thin ray as from a dark lar
: tern. She quickened her pace an
!. walked more confidently. A momer
> and the outlines Of q window becam
1 visible. The light was filtering throug
a hole In q blind. but 1t gave no hir