Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1912-06-13
1907. by the Outing Publishing
Company

H1Suls Qdy after Qdys dlOuc, MltuOut
shelter. almost without food, In such
agony of terror as might have been
natural even had her solitary protector
been possessed of all his faculties-l
say cannot dwell upon that because
it makes the cold sweat stand on my
face even now to think of it. So will
say only that one time | awoke. She
told me later that she did not know
whether it was two or three days we
had been there thus. She told me that
now and then she left me and crept
to the top of the ridge to watch the
Indian camp, She saw them come in
from the chase, their horses loaded
with meat. Then, as the sun came out,
they went to drying meat, and the
sQuaws began to scrape the hides. AS
they had abundant food they did not
hunt more than that one day. and no
one rode in our direction. Our horse
she kept concealed and blindfolded I'M
til dark. wheE she allowed him to feed.
This morning she had removed the
blanket from his head because now,
as she told me with exultation, the In
dams had broken camp, mounted and
ridden away, all of them, far off to-
ward the west. She had cut and dried
the remainder of our antelope meat,
taking this hint from what we saw the
Indians doing, and so most of our re-
naming meat had been saved
l saw that her belt was drawn
tighter about a thinner waist Her
face was much thinner and browner,
her eyes more sunken. The white strip
Of her lower neck was now brick red.
]. through the nights, because she had
used the blanket to blindfold the
horse She had followed out place
for my hips to lie more easily and
pulled grasses for my bed. In all ways
thoughtfulness and unselfshness had
been hers AS l realized this put my
hands over my face and groaned aloud.
Then felt her hand on my head.
How did you eatT / asked her.
''You have no fire.
"Once | had a fire." she said. 81
made it with flint and steel, as saw
you do See" she added and pointed
to ring of ashes, where there were
bits of twigs and other fuel
sNow you must eat," she said. you
are like a shadow. See, have made
you broth"
.'Broth?' said /. "HowY
s'In your hat" she said. my father
told me how the Indians boil water
with hot stones | tried it in my own
hat first. but it is gone. A hot stone
burned it through" Then l noticed
that she was bareheaded lay still
for time. bordering feebly, as best
could, on the courage and resource of
this girl, who now no doubt had saved
my life, unworthy as it seemed to me.
At last looked up to her.
After all, may get WELL" | said.
go now to the thicket at the head of
tie cottonwood trees. Auberry told me
that the inner bark is bitter. 1t may
act like quinine and break the fever
SO presently she came back with my
knife and her hands full of soft green
bark which she had found. st is Bit
ter said she, "but If I boil it it will
spoil your BROTH" / drank of the
crude preparation as best might and
ate feebly as might at some of the
more tender meat thus softened. And
then we boiled the bitter bark. and
drank that water. the only medicine
we might have. Alas. 1t was our last
use OF my hat as q kettle. for now it..
too, gave way.
Now she said to me, II must leave
you for a time. am going over to
the Indian camp to see what can
fnd.''
She put my head In the saddle for a
pillow and gave me the remnant of
her hat for a shade. l saw her go
away, clad like an Indian woman. her
long braids down her back. her head
bare. her face brown, her moccasined
feet slipping softly over the grasses,
the metals Of her leggins tinkling. My
eyes followed her as long as she re-
NAMED visible, and 1t seemed to me
hours before she returned. l missed
her.
She came back laughing and joyful.
GEEt Slit CACidtlnCA 40dAy lAlASos
/ have found knife, and have
found broken kettle. and here is an
awl made from bone, and here is
something which think their women
use In scraping hides She showed
me all these things. last the saw edged
bone or scraping hoe Of the squaws
used for dressing hides as she had
thought.
ssNow / am squaw." she said, smil-
ing oddly. Eyes, we are savages now
She looked down at me at length as
/ lay. Have courage. John Cowles, :
she said. "Get well now soon so that
we may go and hunt Our meat is
nearly gone"
'sBut you do not despair" said !,
wondering. She shook her head.
.4~~ - III -EN s--