Jack Among the Indians; Or, A Boy's Summer on the Buffalo Plains

by George Bird Grinnell

Suddenly the negro threw back his head and laughed very heartily for a long time; then he said to Jack, "Come on, sonny, and get your gun; we'll go to your camp with you. Seems queer, you all goin' up to see the Piegans, meet a Piegan war party down here. I'm a Piegan, myself. This here's young Bear Chief, and there's five other young men in this brush all around us. We see you when you come down, and young Bear Chief see the old man, and knowed him; but I thought we'd better make sure, and when he went upon the hill, and you come down here and went in swimmin', I thought we'd talk to you. You see, we're friendly," and he stepped up to Jack and shook hands with him heartily, and the Indian did the same.

"My name's Hezekiah Alexander," said the negro. He seemed delighted to have an opportunity to talk English. "I have been with the Piegans more'n twenty years. I was raised down in Tennessee, myself. I belonged to old Marster Alexander. One day the overseer give me a terrible hard whipping and I run. I was only thirteen years old. I smuggled myself on board a Memphis packet, and got across to the Illinois side, and worked north mighty quick. I came up into this country as boy for Mr. Culbertson, of the American Fur Company, but I didn't stay long with him, but joined these Indians, and been with 'em ever since. I got a wife and four babies in the camp: you'll see 'em this summer."

Jack had passed so quickly from despair to joy, and from joy to confidence that he had hardly recovered his self-possession or his voice as yet. Carrying his gun he led the way up to the camp, where, as soon as he came in sight of it, he saw Hugh standing, frowning, as if angry or puzzled, and holding his gun in the hollow of his left arm. As soon as they were close to camp, Jack called out, "It's all right, I guess, Hugh; these are Piegans;" but Hugh's expression did not alter until the Indian stepped up to him, and tapping his own breast, as he said, "Nínnah okyaíyu," stretched out his hand toward him. Then Hugh's face changed, and he smiled in recognition as he said, "Why, so it is," and shook hands very heartily with the young man.

While Hezekiah and Bear Chief talked eagerly to Hugh in the Piegan tongue, Jack had time to recover his equilibrium, and when he had done this he stared at the two strangers with all his eyes. They were dressed almost alike, but while Bear Chief's face was painted, Hezekiah's was not, and showed a thin mustache, but no beard. Bear Chief's scalplock hung down to between his shoulders, and was ornamented by a large flat pink shell, two inches in diameter. Hezekiah, of course, had no side braids, but he had a little short scalplock, which stuck straight out behind from his woolly head, and at the base of this, an eagle's feather was tied. Jack noticed that as the two talked with Hugh, Hezekiah frequently laughed loudly, while Bear Chief's face was always grave and earnest. Presently the Indian rose to his feet, and strode off into the brush, while the negro turned to Jack, and said, with a broad grin, "I expect you was pretty scairt, sonny, when you see me standing by your gun just now."

"Yes," said Jack, "I was. I never was so badly scared in my life, and I didn't know what to do. I tell you," he added, turning to Hugh, "I wished I'd stayed in camp, as you told me to."

"Yes," said Hugh, gravely, "that's what you ought to have done. If these fellows had been anything else but Piegans, you'd have been killed, likely, and me, too. These men made the tracks we was looking at this morning; they followed that trail that we was on, until they came to where the people had camped, and then they saw that they'd been gone so long, it wa'n't no use to follow 'em, and they left the trail and struck up toward the mountains, to rest. They've been out quite a long time. Where was the camp," he continued, turning to Hezekiah, "when you left it?"

"They was camped on the Mussel-shell," answered the negro, "but they talked of moving up north onto the Marias before long. I expect you'll find 'em there; or, maybe further north, either near the Sweet-grass Hills, or maybe over close to the mountains; maybe over by Chief Mountain, or on some stream near it."

A moment later, Bear Chief returned accompanied by another Indian, and after speaking a few words to Hugh, sat down, and taking his fire bag from his belt, drew out a large, curiously carved, black stone pipe and its stem, fitted them together, and drawing his knife, commenced to cut some tobacco. One by one, other Indians came marching into camp, until, including Hezekiah, there were seven there. They were a stalwart group of men, all young, yet full grown, except two, who were boys, one of them about Jack's age, and the other a little older. As they talked, Hezekiah gave Jack a hasty sketch of what they had done since they left the Piegan camp. They had seen no enemies, and made no war. Once, as they were travelling along, they saw, far off, people coming, making a great dust. They hid on top of a high butte, and watched these people, who passed within a half mile of where they were. They were soldiers, and the Indians kept very close until they had passed out of sight, and then started on to put as great a distance as possible between themselves and the troops. Their food gave out at one time, and they were two days without anything to eat; then, one of the young men killed an elk, and they feasted, and dried a little of the meat. The next day a buffalo bull was killed, and they dried more meat; and since then had had plenty to eat. Now they were thinking of turning their steps northward, following close along the foot-hill of the mountains, hoping to find some camp of enemies, and take some horses.

While they were talking, Hugh built a fire, and gave half an antelope to two of the young men to roast, while he baked some bread and made a pot of coffee. Then the Indians were invited to eat, and feasted on the unwonted luxuries. Again, Bear Chief filled the pipe, and as they sat around in a circle, it passed from hand to hand, each one, except Jack, drawing in several whiffs of the smoke; and each one, also, holding the stem in succession toward the sky, the earth, and the four points of the compass, and speaking a few words. Jack at the time did not understand what this meant, but Hugh afterward explained to him that they were offering prayers. After this was over, Bear Chief stood up and tightened his belt about his waist, and all the others did the same; then, after a few words with Hugh, all gravely shook hands with the two whites, and they filed into the brush. Hezekiah remained a moment behind the others, and said, "Well, good-bye, Mr. Johnson, good-bye, sonny; you'll get to camp before we do, but we'll be pretty close behind you. I don't expect we're goin' to make no war this trip; I dreamed we wouldn't. Don't feel hard toward me, sonny, 'cause I scared you to-day. I wouldn't o' done it, only I was afraid ye might run for your gun, and shoot some of us, if I didn't get there first. Good-bye," and he followed the Indians into the willows. A little later, Hugh and Jack caught a glimpse of them, walking in single file up the valley, their brown bodies glistening in the sun, and the feathers in their heads nodding as they walked.

"Well, son," said Hugh, "I don't know which of us was the most scared this afternoon, but if you was scared as bad as I was, I'm mighty sorry for ye."