Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-02-17

+, OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, the big chief,
the king-was very i'll. and his mes
sage, brought by them. was that
Erskine should come back to the
tribe and become chief, as the
chiefs only daughter vas dead anil
his only son had been killed by the
palefaces.
They knew that in the fight at the
fort Erskine had killed the Shaw
nee. his tormentor, for they knew
the arrow, which Erskine had not
had time to withdraw. The dead
Shawnee's brother--Crooked Light
ning-was with them. He 1t was
who had recognized the boy the day
before, and they had kept him from
killing Erskine from the bushes.
He sat on his horse like a king
and spoke as a king. He thanked
them for holding back Crooked
Lightning's evil hand, but-con-
temptuously he spat toward the
huge savage-he was not to die by
that hand. He was a paleface and
the Indians had slain his white
mother. He had forgiven that, for
he loved the old chief and his foster
mother and brother and sister. and
the tribe had always been kind to
him. Then they had killed his white
father and he had gone to visit his
kindred by the big waters, and now
he loved them.
II will come when the leaves fall"
he concluded, "but Crooked Light
ming must pitch his lodge in the
wilderness and be an outcast from
the tribe until he can show that his
heart is good" And then with an
lmperious gesture he waved his hand
toward the west:
Now go!"
1t was hard even for Dave to
realize that the lad, to all purposes,
was actually then the chief of q
powerful tribe, and even he was a
little awed by the instant obedience
of the savages. who, without a word,
melted into the bushes and disap-
peared.
1t was nearing sunset and from a
little hill Dave pointed to a thin blue
wisp of smoke rising far ahead from
the green expanse.
There's the fort boys" he cried
The green of the wilderness dulled
and burst into the yellow scarlet
and the russell. This glorJ in turn
dulled and the leaves, like petals of
withered flowers. began to drift to
the earth.
Through the shower of them went
Erslsine and Firefly.
From his coonskin cap the bushy
tail hung like a plume; his deerskin
hunting-shirt, made by old Mother
Sanders, was beaded and fringed--
fringed across the breast, at the
wrists, and at the hem, and girded
by a belt from which the horned
handle of a scalping-knife showed
in front and the head of a tomahawk
behind; his powder-horn swung
under one shoulder and his bullet
pouch, wadding, flint, and steel un-
der the other; his long rifle across
his saddle-bow. For food he car
ried only a little sack OF salt. for
his rifle would bring him meat and
the forest would give him nuts and
fruit.
On the fourth day he reached the
river and swan 1t holding rifle and
powder-horn above his head. On the
seventh he was nearing the village
where the sick chief lay, and when
he caught sight of the teepees in a
little creek bottom, he fired his rifle.
and putting Firefiy into a gallop and
with his right hand high swept into
the village.
The flaps OF the chiefs tent part
ed and his foster-mother started to-
""hu III VI q SuaoSi iCoili VI
tears and turned quickly back. The
old chiefs keen black eyes were |
waiting for her aud he spoke before
she could open her lips:
white Arrow! 1t is well. Here
at once!"
Erskine had swung from his
horse and followed. The old chief
measured him from head to foo.
slowly and his face grew content:
You must ride north 500 to
carry the white wampum and q
peace talk. And when you go you
must hurry back, for when the sun
is highest on the day after you re-
turn. my spirit will pass
He turned his face and went back
into sleep.
The lad saw an aged Indian
emerge from I'M of two tents that
sat apart IN a little rise.
"Who is that?" he asked.
"The new prophet" said his fos-
ter-mother.
An armful of pine fagots was
tossed on the blaze, and in a leap of
light he saw the face of a woman at
the other tent. Startled, he caught
his mother by the wrist: