Part 8 (1/2)

”O, Great Mystery, we hear thy voice in the rushi+ng waters below us! We hear thy whisper in the great oaks above! Our spirits are refreshed with thy breath from within this cave O, hear our prayer! Behold this little boy and bless hireat as thou didst randfather”

And with this prayer the little warrior had co

V FAMILY TRADITIONS

I: A Visit to S us as a preserver of history and legend He was a living book of the traditions and history of his people A his effects were bundles of small sticks, notched and painted One bundle contained the number of his own years Another was co the important events of history, each of which was marked with the number of years since that particular event occurred For instance, there was the year when so many stars fell from the sky, with the number of years since it happened cut into the wood

Another recorded the appearance of a coreat national catastrophes and victories were reckoned

But I will try to repeat some of his favorite narratives as I heard them from his own lips I went to hile-feather; not to buy his MSS, but hoping for the privilege of hearing him tell of some of the brave deeds of our people in rereeted me with his usual courtesy and thanked , I well reraciouswarrior--for such you will be soreat deeds of your ancestors That is a good sign, and I love to repeat these stories to one who is destined to be a brave man I do not wish to lull you to sleep with sords; but I know the conduct of your paternal ancestors They have been and are still a the bravest of our tribe To prove this, I will relate what happened in your paternal grandfather's fao

”Two of his brothers wereman of their own band The deed was coreed to punish the randfather was approached with this suggestion, he replied that he and the re brothers could not condescend to spill the blood of such a wretch, but that the othersthe warriors of the Sioux, and no one questioned their courage; yet when this calaht upon them by a villain, they refused to touch him! This, my boy, is a test of true bravery Self-possession and self-control at such aheart

”You have heard of Jingling Thunder the elder, whose brave deeds are well known to the Villagers of the Lakes He sought honor 'in the gates of the enemy,' as we often say The Great Mystery was especially kind to hio there was a great battle, in which Jingling Thunder won his first honors It was forty winters before the falling of many stars, which event occurred twenty winters after the co of the black-robed white priest; and that was fourteen winters before the annihilation by our people of thirty lodges of the Sac and Fox Indians

I well reo

However, I will count , Smoky Day produced his bundle of variously colored sticks, about five inches long He counted and gave them to me to verify his calculation

”But you,” he resumed, ”do not care to re, and care only for the event and the deed It was veryhappened that I am about to tell you, and yet our people speak of it with as much enthusiasm as if it were only yesterday Our heroes are always kept alive in the minds of the nation

”Our people lived then on the east bank of the Mississippi, a little south of where Imnejah-skah, or White Cliff (St Paul, Minnesota), now stands After they left Mille Lacs they founded several villages, but finally settled in this spot, whence the tribes have gradually dispersed Here a battle occurred which surpassed all others in history

It lasted one whole day--the Sacs and Foxes and the Dakotas against the Ojibways

”An invitation in the usual forht to the Sioux by a brave of the Sac and Fox tribe, to eneral attack upon their coness in the sareed to meet upon the St Croix river, preparations were i our people there were many tried warriors whose nae was desirous of e novices issued from every carandfathers and grands An old worandchild, the ree band who had all been killed at three different times by different parties of the Ojibways, was conspicuous aers

”Everyone who heard, cast toward her a syrandson constituted the re indicated that her precious child had attained the age of a warrior, and was now about to join the war-party, and to seek a just revenge for the annihilation of his fa Thunder, also familiarly known as 'The Little Last' He was seen to carry with him some family relics in the shape of war-clubs and lances

”The aged woling Thunder!

Upon the silvery path Behold that glittering track--