Deerfoot on the Prairies

by Edward Sylvester Ellis

Black Elk was so pleased with the boys that he still urged Mul-tal-la to go with them to his village and stay for a long time. The Blackfoot finally convinced the chief that being on his return to his own home, from which he had been absent many moons, it would not do to linger on the road. He had sad news to carry to his people and to the relatives of the companion who had met his death in the East. He would be blamed if he delayed in bearing the sorrowful message to them.

So finally the two parties separated. Black Elk shook hands with each of the three, and the grim warriors came forward and did the same. Then the Shoshones passed down the slope and headed toward the rocks on the other side of the valley, where George and Victor Shelton first caught sight of them.

The horses being ready, our friends mounted and started forward again. Their course was a little to the east of the range through which they would soon have to force their way in order to reach the Blackfoot country. Mul-tal-la explained that he had a pass in mind, which was a day’s ride away, and probably would not be entered before the following morning. It will be remembered that our friends had partaken of no food since the previous evening. None referred to it, for they could well wait until the middle or, if necessary, until the close of the day.

The weather continued favorable. Summer had come, and in the lower portions of the country the heat at midday was often oppressive. Mosquitoes had begun to annoy the travelers, who might count upon being plagued by them for the rest of their journey. These pests are more unbearable in cold regions, during the brief summer season, than in the temperate regions of a country.

The sun shone clear and strong, but the three were already upon elevated ground, and the nearness of the mountains doubtless helped to cool the air. At intervals they came upon the interesting creatures peculiar to the West and known as prairie dogs, their dwellings consisting of holes burrowed in the ground, often covering acres in extent, beside which the little animals would sit and gaze at the horsemen as they filed past. Sometimes they emitted queer whistling noises, and, upon observing anything suspicious on the part of the travelers, whisked into these openings and vanished in a twinkling. Then they could be seen peeping out, and, when the seeming danger had passed, they clambered back to their posts, as lively and watchful as ever. To-day the prairie dogs have become so harmful to agriculture in some parts of the West that the problem of extirpating them is under consideration and is a serious one.

The Blackfoot as usual kept his place at the front, while the brothers rode side by side, talking when disposed, and sometimes going for miles without exchanging more than a few sentences. This conversation revealed the fact that both did not feel entirely at ease regarding Black Elk and his Shoshones. At the time of which I am writing this tribe numbered more than five thousand people, and was one of the most important in the West. Their main villages lay to the westward of the Rocky Mountain range, about the headwaters of the stream now known as South Fork of the Lewis River. With so many warriors, it was not strange that some of their hunting parties often came through the passes in the Rockies and roamed over the level country on the east. Since they were generally provided with horses, it seemed singular that Black Elk and his companions were on foot. Mul-tal-la said beyond a doubt all owned animals, which were at no great distance.

When the Blackfoot was told by the boys of their fears, they were surprised to find that he shared them, though not to the same extent. He explained that for some time to come the chieftain’s principal emotion would be that of exasperation against his sons for the sorry showing they had made against the two white youths. They were sure to receive punishment at his hand for running away that would last them a lifetime.

But after the first burst of passion was over, Black Elk would begin to think of the two white lads that had brought this disgrace upon the royal household, and, as he mused, his resentment would kindle toward them. All the Indians not unnaturally looked upon every white man as an intruder. Though history shows that the aborigines welcomed their visitors, yet the action of the latter was so cruel that the friendship of the red men was turned to enmity. Thus most of the trappers and hunters who ventured into the West and Northwest took their lives in their hands, and many never came back from the wild solitudes. The story of the settlement of our country is a continuous one of outrage and massacre, in which the fault lay almost always at the door of the palefaces.

Black Elk could not fail to feel resentful over the fact that the disgrace of his sons had been inflicted by members of that hated race. It was quite likely, therefore, that, repenting the magnanimity he had shown, he would try to visit his vengeance upon the two youths while they were yet within reach.

The duty of our friends, therefore, was plain: they must lose no time in hurrying beyond danger. When Mul-tal-la was asked what the result would have been had the apparently honest invitation of Black Elk been accepted, the Blackfoot smiled.