Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 152: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

138 He fingered his necklace of scalps lovingly and stared boldly into the smiling face of Le Borgne. The Minnetaree gazed at him fixedly for some time, possibly speculating on the advantage and disadvantage of having such a pronounced fighter in his village. Shifting his gaze back to me, he asked— “You are Bosheiltochresha?”’ (men who bring black clotl—English). ~ “Manceechteet’’ (long knife—American) T corrected. “You work for the English?” “T work for the big chief, father of the white medicine-woman,’’ I replied. “Your people are cowards.” “They are the bravest of the. brave. They can come out here and eat you up.” He laughed aloud and mocked— “And yet you work for the English.”’ “Because they want very brave men. The chief of the Pillager Chippewas works for me. Why? Because I need a very brave man.’ He ceased laughing aloud.and pondered over my words, seeming to find them logical, for he nodded his head slowly as if in in- dorsement. Then he abruptly demanded— “Ts she your woman?” ‘She is no man’s woman. She can be no man’s woman.”’ “Why is she with you if she is not your woman?” “Her medicine helps me make good trades for her father.” “Why does she come here if not to be my woman?” he puzzled, his grin now quite ghastly. “Her medicine made my road smooth in coming here. The northern Indians know her and run away when she is angry. The Sioux grow blind when they see her hair.” This engaged him in thought for some minutes, for, although one of the greatest of the plains Indians, he was yet a savage and a victim of his superstitions. “Is her medicine stronger than my manito?”’ he asked, nodding at the buffalo heads. “Much stronger,’ I promptly assured. “If she wanted to become your wife your manito would be jealous. Your manito would fight with her medicine and would be killed. You would die when your manito died.” Again he was silent, his one eye focused Adventure on the two skulls. head and said— “Let us see this mighty white weman.”’ He called out and Choke-Cherry bounced in, his fat face alive with fear. The chief ordered him to go and bring Miss Dearness. I affected a composure I was far from feeling. Flat Mouth’s hand rested on his hip near the little knife hidden”in his clout, while the war-fires sprang up in his small eyes. While we waited, Le Borgne ended the silence by saying: “T lost a wife while on the hunt, She was young and good to look at.” “She died of the bad cough?” I pelitely inquired, knowing many of the Indians were suffering from it. He shook his head and the terrible grin widened and showed his teeth far back. “She is not dead yet,” he said. I was nonplussed and was searching for some intelligent observation when he enlightened me a bit by adding: “She went to live with a young man.’ I decided from his low chuckling that he accepted her infidelity very philosophically. He remarked: “T look about for another woman to take her place. They say the white woman is not like any woman ever seen in the In- dian’s country.”’ Flat Mouth’s hand touched my arm, but I had already heard the sound of a light foot at the door. Choke-Cherry threw the door open, and the girl entered. Her sleepless night had left an unusual pallor on her face. She wore her capote like a hood and looked like a nun as she advanced. I rose and stood beside her. Then he threw up his E BORGNE. turned his head, tilted it and for fully a minute glared in- to her white face, his grin tightening and growing more wolfish. She met his gaze steadily, staring at him as if she were look- ing through him and not at him. With a snap of his strong teeth he muttered: “She is very white. I never saw one like her. I never knew women like her lived. Where is her medicine-hair?” As the Pillager interpreted the girl hesitated, then, catching my side glance, she threw back her capote and allowed the glory of her hair to show. A shaft of sun- light from the small window opening back of the chief intensified the effect. Eomichbooks ee ee Beg eS ae ae ie ee (E(O) im ee ee, ES ee en NO te ye ae Oe RE