The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-02-10

NOgen on the tribe; nor do L 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 shutdown to-
day, as I came up the trail over on the
other side of the broken-tOpped noun
tain"
Oinna's Interpretation was met by
cultural ''UghI'' of surprise even from
the chief. He asked shrewdlE: If the
LOngknife 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 Tf-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 1 am the friend OF
the tribe"
Still the old chiefs face remained
inscrutably immobile. He pOndered,
and at last made another sharp query:
1.-The LOngknife claims that he is
friend Why, then, did he say at the
council that he Will do the way NOgen
did and make my people dig stones
and dirt from the big holes, without
giving them any trade goods for their
work7''
Hardy's clear eyes dimmed for
moment, and then sparkled with COM
prehension. He answered with an
earnest sincerity of tone that COM
PEELED belief:
ST fhs,- ct %I,n oil Cd
bear mistOok much of what 1 told him
to say, or else. in their anger, Ti-Owa-
kOnza and his subchiefs failed to IN
derstand Alright the Interpretation. The
place where stones are dug is on In
dian ground 1t belongs to the tribe.
No white man has any right to make
your people dig stones. If 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
sup Tic ISSUE " lu0 lItUE VI oil CIV
eminent goods and that he would take
away from the tribe all their lands
and give them to the white men?'
At last the real cause of the failure
of the council was disclosed. Either
Intentionally or through stupid blum
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-
ell. He explained why the issues of
goods would cease the following
spring, and what was meant by an al
lOtting of tribal land in severaIty. He
added that if there was gold on any
of the reservation land it would be
we'll for the tribe TO sell that part of
what they owned; otherwise bad
white men would, sooner or later,
come in and steal it.
More than half convinced of Har-
dy's sincerity, though with still a lin
gering suspicion. Ti-owa-kOnza ex-
planned in turn that the tribe was not
only willing to aIlot the farming land
of the reservation and sell the min
eral land, but treaty TO that effect
had been agreed upon by the tribe, the
previous year. All that remained to
be done was for the white chiefs at
Washington to agree on the price to
be paid for the mineral land and for
a delegation of tribal chiefs to go to
Washington and put their marks on
the treaty paper.
A question or two from Hardy
brought out the angry complaint that
when Nogen began to dig stones he
| told the chiefs there would be no
treaty, and that the tribe must dig
the stones for him, or they would re-
ceiye no more issue goods. Chief Van
and plymouth Dupont) had tried to
get Nogen to give trade goods to the
young men and women who had dug
| holes. But NOgen would not allow it.
Then a bad Indian had shot Nogen.
and Van had shot the killer. The tribe
did not blame Chief Van. But they
had felt bad toward Nogen and they
had felt bad toward the new agent be
cause they thought he would do as No
gen had done. Now they would like
the new agent. No Indian would wish
to kill him when it became known
what he intended to do for the tribe.
After the old chief finished this ex-
PLANTATION. Hardy found himself a well
come and honored guest In the camp.
at his suggestion Ti-owa-konza readily
agreed to send out runners in the
morning to call a council at the mine
the day after. Hardy, in turn, prom
ised to draw up papers to make smooth
the way OF the delegation of. chiefs in
] Washington
At sign from her grandfather, DIN
ma now brought food to the guest.
While he ate he talked with her about
her experience In the camp. She told
him .jOyously that her mothers father
and all his family and band had been
very kind to her and had been hospIt-
able, though not so kind. TO her broth
er.
But when Hardy casually inquired
whether Redbear had left the camp at
the same time as VanderFyn, the girls
flow Of conversation came to an abrupt
stop. She blushed and sfzmmered and