Meade County news., 1917-03-22

Hardy smiled. "Have no fear, DIN
ma. He is too great chief to kill a
guest in his camp. Tell him ! came
to the reservation to be friend to the
tribe. Though / am a chief Of the
Longkniyes, my heart is good toward
his people. 1t would be foolish Of
him to kill or drive away the friend
of his people"
This time M-owa-kOnza gave the in
truder an open stare of contempt. The
surrounding bucks glared more fero-
ciously than ever.
Olnna translated the reply. "He says,
If you are friend, why did you say
at the council that you would punish
all the. tribe for the killing of NogenT
'That is a mistake. did not say
would punish the tribe"
Oinna interpreted the answer and
the grim old chiefs rejoinder: "The
Longknife's mouth was big at the
agency. Here he is alone in my camp
and his mouth is small"
II talk as l talked at the agency.
What m-owa-konza claims said about
Furnishing the tribe is not the truth.
There must have been a mistake in
the Interpretation, or the chiefs did
not hear Alright. 1 had only peace and
friendship in my heart. / said that l
did not blame the killing of Mr.. NOgen
on the tribe"
This statement failed to break
Thunderbolt's mask of stolidity,
though some of the other Indians
slightly relaxed their menacing atti-
tude. Hardy took off his hat to show
the red scar above his temple, and
spoke again:
II do not blame the killing of Mr..
Nogen on the tribe; nor do blame
the tribe for the wrongdoing of the
bad-hearted Indian who shot me in
the head FIVE days ago. The same
man, or another man with bad heart,
tried to shoot me, after sundown to-
day, as came up the trail over on the
other side of the bro&en-topped noun
tain"
Oinna's Interpretation was met by
cultural ugh" of surprise even from
the chief. Re asked shrewdly: "If the
Longknifa does not lie, is he not afraid
to be In my camp? 1t is the nearest
to the trail"
Hardy smiled and held out his open
palm to the chief. Il trust Ti-owa-
konza and his people. There is only
one bad Indian, and even he may come
to feel good in his heart toward me
when he learns that / am the friend of
the tribe"
Still the old C4ners face remained
inscrutably immoDfle. , He popdered,
and, at last made another sharp query,
"TRe Longknife claims that he is a
friend. Why, then, did he say at the
council that ne will do, the way NQgen
did and 'fhake' my people dig stones
and dirt from the big Adfes; without
giving them neutrality-suspicious. their,
work."
iHardy's clear eyes dimmed for a
mpment, and. then snaEkled, With .Gom1
prehension. He answered with an
earnest SINCERITY Of~t0Sffe thai" cofn''
Il now see stthnf9't thaf9 at tie e council ii Eli Red
bear mfst6dk much Of What I told him
! to say, or else, inttheiE:anger; :Ttowa"
konza and his subchiefs failed to I'M
derstand Alright the Interpretation. The
place. where sstopes ARE dug lis on. In
dian ground. 1t belongs to. the tribe.
No white man has any right to make
your people dig stones, II they are
willing to dig, they must be given
trade goods for their work"
The response to this statement was
unmistakable. The moment that Oinna
had interpreted it the last trace Of
menace disappeared from the bearing
of the Indians, and even the chief
began to relax. Yet he had still an
other query:
"Did the Longknife say he would
stop the issue to the tribe of all gov
ernment goods and that he would take
away from the tribe all their lands
and give them to the white menT
At last the real cause of the failure
of the council was disclosed. Either
Intentionally or through stupid bun
dering, Redbear had made the chiefs
furious by a twisted Interpretation
that had given the exact reverse Of
what had been intended. With the
key to the situation in his hands,
Hardy at once began to make clear
what he had tried to tell at the coun-
Gil. He explained why, the issues of
goods would cease the. following
spring, and what was meant by an al
lotting Of tribal land in severalty: He
added that If, there was gold on any
of the reservation land it would be
wen for the ettribeSto sell that pdrt of
what q they seg1lsd =, otherwise .sbad
white men WOULD sooner or. later,
come IN and steal 1t. q.
More" tl!Sn haiE eohGihced of 'Hdr;
dy's sincerity, though with still lin
gering SUSPICION, EFfSwU-&enza ex-
I d,plaipea Instnrns that me tribe Was 1Qt
4'oGly willing to ailot tlie farming land
of the reservation and sell the min
eraf land, but treaty to that effect
had been agreed upon BY the tribe; the
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