It was a singular story, as she regarded it.
Some white miners had established themselves near Crazy Snake’s village; which, to the Indian mind, was bad of itself; and then one of the miners, falling ill of measles, and not knowing what it was, the disease had been communicated to the Blackfeet.
Treated by Indian medicine men, whose sole idea of medication was to rattle tomtoms and howl themselves hoarse in efforts to drive away malignant spirits, the Blackfeet died like flies. One of the victims of this scourge of the measles was Crazy Snake’s only son.
Believing that the white men had sent this curse on the Blackfeet for the purpose of destroying them, that they might secure the Indian lands for mining purposes, Crazy Snake and some of his warriors attacked the miners’ camp, and slew all in it, including the man who was ill of measles, but who was at the time convalescing. Not content with this summary vengeance, Crazy Snake was now threatening the white people everywhere.
The mark of his visitation was an arrow of blood scored with a knife on the breast of each victim.
This was the startling story Lena Forest brought home to her father.
“The Blackfeet will not trouble us here,” said Forest. “I don’t think they know we’re here, anyway; for not one has come near us all the time we’ve been here. But if trouble seems threatening, we’ll cut out in time to escape it.”
The truth is, that though Forest feared more than he would say, he believed he was at the moment on the verge of opening up that wonderful seam of gold, and the golden lure chained him there. Every day, even every hour, he was sure that the next stroke or two of the pick, or the next few scrapes of his shovel, would reveal the gleam of the shining metal for which he had worked so hard!
No, he could not go just yet, even though Blackfeet threatened. Besides, none had been seen near the house, nor in the hills near it. Really, he tried to persuade himself, there was no danger.
Lena Forest, uneasy, went to the town again, to gain further news of the threatened Blackfoot trouble.