“When I recovered, I reasoned with him, that, if they could not get up out of the dust, they were not able to do what I could; and that, instead of being worshipped as gods, they deserved to be down in the dust, where I had thrown them. My father was implacable, and said he would disinherit me, and, as the first step to it, sent me away from his house. He relented, however, on his death-bed, and left me all his wealth.”
Jumping Rabbit’s Story.
CHAPTER II.
I am carried to an Indian village.—The scene described.—Am insulted by the young Indians.—They get well punished.—Painful thoughts.
I do not know how long it was after the scene I have described, when I so far recovered my senses as to notice the objects around me. When my consciousness returned, I was lying on the ground, and no one appeared to be near me. I attempted to rise, and nearly got upon my feet, when I became giddy, and was obliged to sit down. I was distressed with a pain in the head and a burning thirst.
I now saw at a little distance a group of Indians, and about the same time one of them noticed me. He spoke and pointed to me, upon which an Indian woman and two children ran towards me. I held out my hands and begged them to have pity on me. The woman spoke to me, but I could not understand her. The children, who were Indians, and fierce-looking creatures, stood at a little distance for a time, as if afraid of me. Pretty soon they came nearer, and, in order to discover what kind of a creature I might be, one of them took a stick and gave me a pretty sharp poke in my back.
I writhed and groaned, for it hurt me; but this only made the young Indians laugh. The woman scolded them, however, and as the youngsters gave me another poke, she flew toward them, and aimed a blow with her hand at the head of the aggressor. It missed, however, and the two imps ran laughing to a distance. There, in safety, they stood gibbering and jeering, like two monkeys, till the woman, in a rage, set out after them; but diving into a thicket, the young rogues easily escaped and disappeared.
The woman now helped me upon my legs, and took me to a tent, around which were several Indians, mostly women and children. I noticed, also, several other tents, and knew that I was in an Indian village, or encampment. How I had been brought hither, I did not know, nor did I ever afterwards ascertain. It is probable, however, that it was by the care of the Indian woman, in whose charge I now was. She took me into a tent, and procured me some water. This refreshed me greatly, and I was soon able to take notice of the things around me.
The tent was made of dried deerskins, and was supported by poles about twelve feet long. The whole tent was about fourteen feet across. There were in it, a few skins of bears and buffaloes, a bow and some arrows, two or three gourd-shells, a small brass kettle, a buffalo’s pate with the horns attached, a bunch of long, crooked bear’s claws, and a bundle of human scalps. These were all the articles I noticed.