The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-26

froZe us. Still nOt sign Of any white topped wagon from the east nor any dust cloud of troopers from the west served to break the monotony of the shimmering waste that lay about us on every hand We were growing gaunt now and haggard. but still we lay waiting for our men to grow strong enough to travel or to lose all strength and so be laid away.
 "Injuns is strange critters. few of us has married among Injuns and lived among them. and we have seen things you wouldn't believe if 1 told you" Thus spake Auberry.
 Tell some of them." said Orme. 'I, for one, might believe them.''
 Well, now." said the plainsman, 'eI will tell you some things l have seen their medicine men do. and ye can be lieve me or not, the way ye feel about it
 '1 have seen 'em hold a powwow for two or three days at a time. some of 'em settin' round dreamin'. as they call it. all of 'em starvin'. whole camp howlin', everybody eatin' medicine herbs. Then after while they all come and set down just like 1t was right out here in the open. Somebody pulls naked Injun boy right out in the mid dle of them. Old MT. Medicine Man. he stands up in the plain daylight. and he draws his bow and shoots arrer plum through that boy. Boy squirms a heap and Mir Medicine Man socks another arrer through him. cool as you pIease-I have seen that done. Then the medicine man steps up. cuts of the boys head with his knife holds it up plain so everybody can see it. That looked pretty hard to me first time l ever seen it. But now the old. medicine man takes a blanket and throws 1t over this dead boy. He lifts up a corner of the blanket. chucks the boys head under it and pulls down the edges of the blanket and puts rocks on them. Then he begins to sing. and the whole bunch gets up and dances round the blanket After awhile. say a few minutes. medicine man pulls of the blanket and thar gets up the boy. good as new. his head growed on good and tight as ever and not a sign of an arrer on him 'cept the scars where the wounds has plumb healed up?'
 Belknap laughed long and hard at this old trapper's yarn. and. weak as was myself. was disposed to join him. Orme was the only one who did not ridicule the story. Auberry him. self was disgusted at the merriment "I knowed you wouldn't believe it. he said. There Is no use tellin' a passel of tendPrfeet anything they hain't seed for theirselves. But l could tell you a heap more things. Why. l have seen their buffalo callers call a thou sand buffalo right in from the plains and over the edge of cut bank where they'd pitch down and bust theirselves to pieces. can show you bones of a hundred such places. Buffalo don't do that when they are alone-thay have got to be called. tell you.
 ''Injuns can talk with other animals they can call them others too. I have seed an old medicine man right out on the pIain ground in the middle of the village go to dancin'. and l have seed him call three full sized beavers right up out'n the GTound-seed them with my own eyes. l tell you! Yes. and 1 have seed them three old beav CTS standin' right there turn into full growed old men. gray haired l have seed 'em Sit down at a fire and smoke, too. and finally get up when they got through and clean out-just disappear back into the ground. Now. how you all explain them there things l don't pretend to say. but there can't no man call me liar. fur l seed lem and seed 'em unmistakable."
 Belknap and the others only smiled. but Orme turned soberly toward An. berry. "l don't call you a liar. my man." said he. "On the contrary. what you say is very interesting. I quite believe it. although l never knew be fore that your natives in this country were possessed of these powers
 ''It ain't all of 'em can do it." said Auberry. 'only a few men of few tribes can do them things. but them that can shore can. and that's all know about it.''
 Quite so." said Orme. ''Now. as it chances. l have travelled bit in my time in the old countries of the east. have seen some wonderful things done there"
 ''I have read about the East Indian 1ugglers." said BeIknap. interested ''Tell me, have you seen those feats And are they feats or simply liesT"
 '"They are actual occurrences" said Orme "l have seen them with my own eyes. just as Auberry has seen the things he describes. and it is no more right to accuse the one than the other of us of untruthfulness.
 "For instance. l have seen an Indian juggler take plain bowl. such as they use for rice. and hold it out in his hand in the open sunlight, and then 1 have seen a little bamboo tree start in it and grow two feet high. right in the l middle of the bowl, within the space | of a minute or so.