East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-09-19

1 four iin.y as big. The eleven ~
| themselves in q circle ar)n1; hin. tte
leader climbed upon the stone elk
bctl
! At first the treasurer-seeker was
abashed, but he had come to find
! hiaqua and he went on digging. AT
| every thirteenth stroke the leader OF
The otters tapped the stone elk with
his tall, and the eleven followers tap
ped the snow with their tails. Once
they all gathered closer and whaeked
the digger good and hard with their
tails, but, though astonished and badly
bruised, he went on working. Pre-
emily he broke his elkhorn pick, but
the biggest otter seized another in his
teeth and handed II to him.
Finally his pick struck flat rock with
hollow sound, and the offers all drew
near and gazed into the hole. breath
Ing excitedly. He lifted the rock. and
under II found a cavity filled to the
hrim with pure-wh'te hiaqua ever,
shell large. unbroken. and beautiful
All were hung neatly on strings.
Near the treasure-quest so success
full. The otters, recognizing him as the
fayorite OF Tamanous. retired to a dis
lance and gazed upon him respectful
iy,
but the miser," writes the nara
tor, ''neyer dreamed of gratitude,
never thought to hang string from
the buried treasure about the salmon
md kamas Tamanons stones. and two
etrings around the elk's head no, all
must be his own all he could carrs
now. and the rest, for the future"
Greedily he loaded himself with the
booty and laboriously climbed to the
rim of the bowl prepared for the des-
cent of the mountain. The offers. |
putting in concert. plunged again into |
the lake, which at once disappeared |
under a black cloud.
Straightway a terrible storm arose |
through which the voice of Tamanous |
screamed taunt.ngiy. Blackness clos
ed around him. The din was horrible |
Terrified, he threw back into the bowl
behind him five strings OF hiaqua 20
propitiate Tamanous, and there fol-
lowed a momentary lull, duri.- which
he started homeward. But immedi
ately the storm burst again with roar
ngs like ten thousand bears.
Nothing could be done but throw
bask more h.aqua- Following each
sacrifice came another lull, followed
n turn by more terrible outbreaks and
80 string by string, he parted with
Ill his gains Then he sank to the
,round insensible.
When. he awoFe he lay under an
in a meadow of camas.
lie was shockingiy stiff and every
movement panied him. But he man
ged to gather and smoke some dry
and eat of few camas-
ulbs. He was astonished to find his
air very long and. matted. and him
ELF bent and feeble "Tamanous." 1
e muttered. Nevertheless. he was
aim and happy. Strangely he did not
egret his lost strings of hiaqua. Fear
as gone and his heart was filled
ith love.
Slowly and painfully he made his
ay home. Everything was strang-
y altered. Ancient trees grew where
rubs had grown four days before.
edars under whose shade he used to
aep lay rotting On the ground. =
here his lodge had stood now he saw =
new and handsome lodge. and pre-
ntly out of it came a very old, de- n
epit squaw, who. nevertheless. e.
]
emed strangely familiar to him. Her W
oulders were hung thick with hiaqua u
rings. She bent over a pot of boiling es
lmon and crooned. ct
"My old man has gone. gone, gone,
My old man to Tacoma has gone.
To hunt the elk he went long ago.
When will he come down, down.
down
To salmon pot and me?"
He has come down" quavered the
urned traveller, at last recognizing
wife.
He asked no questions. Charging
all to the wrath of Tamanous. he
cepted fate as he found it. After
, II was a happy fate enough in the
d, for the old man became the
eat Medicine Man of his tribe by
ha lx,