The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-11-18
CHAPTER X.
Trailing z Goddess.

The morning would bring my res
cuers and the breaking up of house
keeping in my cave. I had no wish
that profane eyes should look upon
the portrait or the devout worship Of
my beloved cannibals.
Now that I was leaving them I real
feed that they were beloved. In my
memory doomed a hundred acts Of
simple courtesy.
The portrait I took down from it's
shrined position; the Damascus dag.
gers I put again into their places, and
the mandarin's kimono I folded care
fully into a package. On all these
things, as on the era for which they
stood, I dropped the lid of the mates
chest.
The morning came on, brilliant and
fresh with the cleansing sweep of the
trades. Sky and . sparkled in a
diamond clarity, and below me on the
beach patiently waited the dignitaries
Of my tribe in festival regalia. Since
this was our parting, I, too, came out
decked in the fnery of bird-plumage.
I did not allow them to climb to the
10 empty shrine, but led them down
with me to the beach, where shortly
a boat came bobbing over the water.
A queer enough spectacle we must
have made, like a flock of blackbirds
patched with the orioles orange and
the cockatoo's rose. I myself, burned
out of my Caucasian birthright, Diff
fered from them only in my size.
For a time the handful Of white
men in the boat hesitated to risk the
chances of landing and being kali
kaied. As they circled at a distance I
made my throat raw shouting reassur-
ances in English, while my wondering
blacks contemplated with deep awe
this talking of the gods.
At last the escue rowed in, and
I waded out waist-deep to meet them.
The officer in command was a great
Scotchman with a ruddy face and an
honest mouth, as stiffly sober, az
though it had never yielded to the Sc
duction of q smile. He gave me a de-
tail of two Kanakas, whose brawny
arms carried down the chest and its
contents.
At last came the moment I had
dreaded. I must break the news to
these waiting children that the
priests from the stars had not come
to bring them new and permanent
wonders, but to take back to the lands
Of mystery their goddess and myself.
wished then for a fuller knowledge
Of their tongue, that I might soften
the tidings; but I could not bring N.Y.
self to the mendacity of promising a
return, though they pleaded. When
It came to parting with Ra Tuiki, I
forgot my quasi-divinity and seized
the old head hunters hand in an un-
godlike, Anglo-Saxon grip.
Their island would now be charted.
Missionaries would come to them
with teachings Of a new faith, but
treading on their heels would come
men Of another sort; and as I thought
Of these I wished that we might be
able to leave the place unchronicled.
The contract-trader would soon ar
rive, supported, If need be by the au-
thority Of his flags navy, bringing to
my canniballs, or some Of them, long
terms of peonage under hard planta-
ton masters.
'eWhat, If I may ask" suggested the
solemn-visaged Scot at the helm,
when the bow was turned outward
and the boat crew was bending to tho
oars, twas all the demonstration Of
tn ~niggersf"
''They were saying good-by,T OK
planned. I'VE came to have a very
satisfactory understanding"
He pondered my answer for a time
IN sober silence, then dismissed the
matter with q single observation.
They took it cruel hard. SIR"
Over the side Of the Gretchen I
went to 4 kindly reception. I told Ill
of my story which ! wished to toll, i'd
3. E#