At their appearance four or five young men began singing and beating the dance rhythm on their Indian drums; often they shook the si si quoi, a sort of gourd containing dry seeds. The women danced in graceful rhythm, not missing a single step.
Jim thought the dancing beautiful, but he didn’t enjoy it as much as the Indians, because he grew very sleepy long before the dance was over. He didn’t know it would last well into the night.
The next morning, however, the camp was awake early with everyone getting ready to move. The women packed wigwam poles, cattail mats, kettles, winter buffalo robes and the rest of the camping equipment. Wahbunou’s mother packed Jim’s drum carefully among her belongings, so that he wouldn’t have to carry it on the horse.
All the Indians put on their summer clothes, one-piece garments of red or blue cloth. Wahbunou gave Jim one of his blue cloth shirts, just like the one he had been wearing when the Hudsons found him. Then everyone mounted their horses. Once again Jim rode with Wahbunou.
Chief Minnemung started northward with his group. Jim was to learn they would be constantly on the move during the spring and summer, as the Potawatomis had no lands of their own to cultivate. Frenchmen and some neighboring Indian tribes called them squatters because of their habit of moving in on land claimed by both the French and Indians.
As they moved back and forth across the Illinois country searching for game, wild berries and edible roots and herbs, spring gave way to summer. Now the prairie grass was as high as Jim’s head and the woods dense with foliage.
One morning while Jim was helping Wahbunou’s mother skin some squirrels, Wahbunou wandered away on some mission of his own. Wahbunou didn’t like to work; he specially didn’t want to skin squirrels, so he always managed to get away when his mother needed him. He was gone only a few minutes, however, then came rushing back. “Jim. Jim, Chief Minnemung wants to see you at once.”
Jim put down a squirrel and looked up. “Chief Minnemung? Where is he? I wonder what he wants.”
Wahbunou pointed to a group of men under a tree. “He’s over there. See? Talking with my father and some of the other men.”
Jim turned to Wahbunou’s mother. “I’ll be back soon. Chief Minnemung wants to speak to me.” Then he walked over toward the group of men.