Part 19 (1/2)

The parents were allowed no voice whatever in the discussion which followed, for they were regarded as incoes, under the circumstances It was finally decreed by the council that the man's life should be spared, but that he , and resign all his earthly possessions to the parents of his victim This sentence was carried into effect

In our nomadic life there were a feritten laws by which our people were governed There was a council, a police force, and an executive officer, as not always the chief, but a iven number of days There were also the wise old e, and acted as judges in the rare event of the coovernment of ours was supported by the issue of little sticks about five inches long There were a hundred or so of these, and they were distributed every few days by the police or soldiers, who kept account of them Whoever received one of these sticks must return it within five or ten days, with a load of provisions If one was held beyond the stipulated time the police would call the delinquent warrior to account In case he did not respond, they could come and destroy his tent or take away his weapons When all the sticks had been returned, they were reissued to other e was supported

It was the custouished himself upon the war-path could destroy the home of another This was a necessary qualification for the office of an Indian policeman These policemen must also oversee the hunt, lest some individuals should be well provided with food while others were in want No aame scouts, and the discovery of a herd reported at once to the council, after which the time and manner of the hunt were publicly announced

I well recall how the herald announced the near approach of buffaloes

It was supposed that if the little boys could trip up the oldhis rounds, the success of the hunt was assured The oftener he was tripped, the nal or call for buffaloes was a peculiar whistle As soon as the herald appeared, all the boys would give the whistle and follow in crowds after the poor old enerally too quick for hi and for war In one sense every Indian was a scout; but there were soth of tianized hunt; but he was liable to punishment at any time If he could kill a solitary buffalo or deer without disturbing the herd, it was allowed He aovernment as this, there was apt to be inconvenience and actual suffering, since a great body of people were supported only by the daily hunt Hence there was a constant disposition to break up into smaller parties, in order to obtain food more easily and freely Yet the wise e bands of froether for a period of soe a body could not be easily supplied with the necessaries of life; but, on the other hand, our eneovern as possible The police did all they could to keep in check those parties ere intent upon stealing away

There were many times, however, when individual bands and even fa to separate theain a better support It was chiefly by reason of this food question that the Indians never established peranized themselves into a more formidable nation

There was a sad o, was fa us A certain band became very independent and unruly; they went so far as to wilfully disobey the orders of the general government The police were directed to punish the leader severely; whereupon the rest defended him and resisted the police But the latter were competent to enforce their authority, and as a result the entire band was annihilated

One day, as ere following along the bank of the Upper Missouri, there appeared to be a great disturbance at the head of the cavalcade--so ht our people had been attacked by a war-party of the Crows or soer, even the women and children hurried forward to join the men--that is to say, as many as were not upon the hunt Most of the warriors were out, as usual, and only the large boys and the oldwith the women and their domestic effects and little ones

As we approached the scene of action, we heard loud shouts and the report of fire-ar for a considerable distance, and all was over before we could reach the spot It was a great grizzly bear who had been bold enough to oppose, single-handed, the progress of several hundred Indians The council-men, who usually walked a little in advance of the train, were the first to ht of this advance body, and thus audaciously defied the these council-men--all retired chiefs and warriors whose ardent zeal for the display of courage had long been cooled, and whose present duties were those of calm deliberation for their people's welfare--there were two old, distinguished war-chiefs Each of these men still carried his war-lance, wrapped up in decorated buckskin As the bear advanced boldly toward them, the two old men promptly threw off their robes--an evidence that there still lurked within their breasts the spirit of chivalry and ready courage Spear in hand, they both sprang forward to co up their positions about ten feet apart

As they had expected, the fearful beast, after getting up on his haunches and growling savagely, came foridely opened jaws

He fixed his eyes upon the left-hand man, as ready to meet him with uplifted spear, but with one stroke of his powerful paw the weapon was sent to the ground At the saht-hand rizzly's side

The bear uttered a groan not unlike that of a man, and seized the spear so violently that its oas thrown to the ground As the ani recovered his own, stabbed him with it on the other side Upon this, he turned and knocked the old ain endeavored to extract the spear

By this tis and men were at hand Many arrows and balls were sent into the tough hide of the bear Yet he would probably have killed both his assailants, had it not been for the active s hiht him down

The old men were badly bruised and torn, but both of the titles of ”Fought-the-Bear” and ”Conquered-the-Grizzly”

XI The Laughing Philosopher

THERE is scarcely anything so exasperating to me as the idea that the natives of this country have no sense of humor and no faculty for mirth

This phase of their character is well understood by those whose fortune orthem day in and day out at their hoh away fro in laughing with thes when the recognized wit or story-teller of the village gives a free entertainment which keeps the rest of the community in a convulsive state until he leaves theestures and inflections of the voice as in words, and is really untranslatable

Matogee (Yellow Bear) was a natural humorous speaker, and a very diffident man at other times He usually said little, but when he was in the e company in a roar This was especially the case whenever he met his brother-in-law, Tamedokah

It was a custom with us Indians to joke more particularly with our brothers- and sisters-in-law But no one ever complained, or resented any of these jokes, however personal they ht be That would be an unpardonable breach of etiquette

”Ta on to his tail,” said Matogee, laughing ”I believe that feat cannot be performed any ht us the knife, the 'mysterious iron,' and the pulverized coal that makes bullets fly Since our ancestors hunted with stone knives and hatchets, I say, that has never been done”

The fact was that Ta, and as he was about to dress hiot up and attempted to run, whereupon the Indian launched forth to secure his ga the tail of the deer, and was pulled about all over the meadows and the adjacent woods until the tail caood a joke to be lost