Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-11-23

oh, how handsome he was. how fear
less, as he stopped before the fireplace
and said to the white man, White
mani Great chief This girl, your
slave, I love and she loves me. Ten
horses, ten good. big horses give you
for herr
"Charboneau sprang to his feet and
ragged at the youth, who could not
understand a word Of his French
speech. Dog Mandan,' he howled, go
away from herei Col Col Never enter
this lodge again. Whenever you see
this Snake girl go way around and
never speak to her. Get out of hereP
white Grass made no answer TO
that; he Just stared at the still shout
ing, arms-waving white man, and
slowly turned to go. AS he passed he
said to me: Take courage. sweetheart.
go, but shall return. go to make
name for myself, to take horses and
still more horses from the enemy, and
scalps, too, and when come again he
win not dare to refuse to give you
to me-
corn. Nearly blinded by my tears,
was feeling my way along when the
white man Numbered at me to stop,
and then told his Minnetaree woman
to go with me to the corn, TO watch
me and see that the young Mandan
never came near. The poor, sick won-
an did as she was told, and thereafter,
wherever Otter Woman and I went,
she was obliged to go with us. But her
heart was not with her white man;
it was with us. The very next day,
when we were in the corn, she
all who came from it. while White
Grass circled in from the hills AND
had last talk with me. Otter Woman
sat by my side while he told me again
and again how much he loved me, and |
I promised that, no matter how long |
I should have to wait, would be his !
woman. He then kissed me four times, |
the sacred number, and mounted his
horse and rode away down the flat.
MY friend that was the last time |
eyer saw my Mandan lover. He had
not been gone moon before word /
came to us from the Mandan village I
that, on their way to the Pawnee |
country, the war party which he had /
accompanied had been ambushed by I
the Arickarees, and all but two had
been killed. The two survivors told
that my sweetheart had fought braveIy
to the very last, and had killed a
great warrior of the Arickarees, chief
named Turtle.
Wife Of CharbOneau."
THE white man laughed when this
news came to us in our lodge, and
laughed long and loud and looked at
me- And although felt that my
heart was going out from mel would
not let even one tear fall before him,
nor in any way show that this sad
news was anything to me.
DAY by day the Minnearee woman
became more thin and weak, and with
the first snow Of winter she took TO
her couch and soon died. The white
man did not seem to care. He ordered
us to help her relatives put up a scat
fold out on the flat and lash her robe
bound body upon 1t. When we had done
that and had returned to the lodge,
he said to me: Now that the old wom-
an is gone, you two shall be my wives
You shall be my head wife; your place
Is here beside me on this couch. AS
you are the head wife I look to you
10 keep this lodge in good shape. Yours
will be the blame If there is not al
ways garden food In the pot, plenty Of
wood on hand. And what time you are
not otherwise busy, you will tan the
hides I bring in. If you are not fool
you will make your friend work as
hard as you do, and even harder
IT was so scared of him that I had
not the power to move finger. Otter
Woman was scared too; she was cry
ng The white man was silent. could
near him breathing hard, as he did
when angry, but I could not look at
him. Then, soon, I heard him spring
from his couch; he seized me and
threw me over on his couch, crying
)ut: III teach you to mind mel Now
stay right there where you belong
Ny friend, 1t was so that became the
head wife of Charboneau."
CROP ROTATION