The making of a man

by W. D. Flatt

Robert had been a one hundred per cent. boy. He was now making himself into a one hundred per cent. youth. By incessant application he had learned to master himself. His early training at home had given him to realize the importance of little things. All this helped to make him a willing pupil in Pete’s hands, and instead of feeling himself, as a good many lads would have done in his place, superior to the Indian, he realized very shortly how much better equipped the red man was than he to meet most of the experiences they were about to enter upon. He was superior to the Indian in many ways, however. He had accepted God as his guide. His forces, both physical and mental, were now being fused into a product of genuine manhood. When he had played in the games at home he had played to win, but he had never forgotten that manliness comes first and that the mere matter of winning occupies a secondary place. He had learned the importance of concentration, and while he perhaps did not realize the significance of it, he had discovered possibilities within himself. His ordeals had been faced bravely and manfully and with an unflinching spirit. Character stood out boldly on his face. He had begun to understand that life was a test of patience and endurance and that he must be continually in action to develop the best that was in himself. He had asserted himself as a boy. He was now asserting himself as a youth. He had come to realize that nothing worth while could thrive in a cold heart, and that if his heart was to be properly warm it must beat to the impulses that were right, noble and true. He had learned to start off being properly thankful every day; that grumbling, growling and criticising do not help either to make up character or to help one along. He had learned that sacrifice would help to lift him a long distance on life’s journey, and from a religious aspect he realized that he was constructing a house within himself that he had to live in; that it was his duty to his God to make that home worthy and beautiful.

Pete began to appreciate some of these things after a very short association with his companion. He had seen the Bibles of some of the white men, but had never before seen one who so faithfully followed every day the practice of spending a little time with the Great Book. After a time Robert told Pete how the gift had come to him from his mother, and before many nights Pete of his accord knelt at Robert’s side when the young man began his devotions and said his own evening prayer. Companionship in the temple of God’s great solitude, accompanied by genuineness of character inevitably leads to friendship, and so these two rapidly grew closer together.

“COMPANIONSHIP IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD’S GREAT
SOLITUDE ... LEADS TO FRIENDSHIP.”

The forest was a never-ending wonder to Robert since, of course, he had never known anything of it in his island home. The seemingly endless rivers were another source of awe. He was a lover of nature, and each day presented to him paintings of God’s great canvas ever fresh and ever new. There seemed a friendliness about the birds, the wild flowers, the trees and the rippling streams which made him wish sometimes that the sun would always shine, so that he might always have the beauty of nature before his eyes. After a time he learned that night in the forest also has its charm. Even the darkest night gave forth the softer tones of shadow and glow. Then the camp-fire threw out wonderful shadow effects on the trees and appeared to spread living pictures all around him. With these bits came also practical things. Wild life was much in evidence. Deer and moose frequently crossed the path and at night the lonesome cry of the wolves was sometimes heard.

When the forest wilds were passed the prairie again was a revelation to Robert. Of course there were no houses in those days, and to him it seemed just a mighty world placed there by the Creator, ready and waiting for man to sow with seeds of golden grain. Here again something that Robert had not even dreamed of made its appearance, since herds of buffalo were frequently to be seen roaming at will over the prairie. Then occasionally bands of Indians came into view, some of these hunting the buffalo for their winter’s food. As time passed Pete made Robert acquainted with the various tribes that were sighted, with their history, and with the dangerous spirit of some of these.

After they were well on their journey Robert’s feet suffered from the effects of the long-continued tramping. He was a sturdy youth, very different from the wiry and hardened Indian, who had spent all his life on these paths of forest and prairie. Pete, however, knew well how to deal with such difficulties, and it was not long before the lad was able to get through the day’s tramp without difficulty. At first, too, the heavy pack caused him considerable discomfort. As the days passed, however, his muscles hardened and the pack grew lighter.

“THE ANIMALS RUSHED TO ONE SIDE LEAVING
ROBERT IN SAFETY.”

Pete had intended to travel by water, using the Company’s canoes for most of the journey after leaving the forest, but the nights rapidly grew colder. That year the frost set in earlier than usual, and consequently they were obliged to change their course and tramp over more of the prairie. This brought to Robert an experience he never forgot. One morning, as they tramped along, the prairie seemed suddenly to be almost black with buffalo, and after a little Pete explained that several Indian bands must have started a drive and that the herds were travelling before them. It was impossible, without making a long detour, to avoid passing near the beasts, and as they paused, suddenly something seemed to frighten a section of the herd and it began to rush toward them. On the animals came, relentless and irresistible. The two travellers shouted and waved their arms, but all to no avail. Apparently nothing could stop the mighty rush. When the animals were almost upon them Pete advanced a little to protect his companion, but notwithstanding his efforts to divert the rush of the herd and his cat-like jump out of the path of the leaders, he was borne down beneath them. His efforts, however, seemed to turn the herd at an angle and they rushed to one side, leaving Robert in safety. So soon as he could the lad hastened to Pete’s side and found that, while his Indian friend was badly bruised and had suffered a broken leg, he was not dangerously injured. Under such conditions and three hundred miles from Fort Garry, their objective, the young man faced an unanticipated difficulty. However, he measured up to the situation. First, attention was given to the injured leg, and here he put into play one of the things he had learned from the Company’s officer during the voyage, and thanks to this was able to set the bones of the leg fairly well, if roughly and at considerable pain to his patient. Pete, with his characteristic Indian stoicism, bore the pain without a murmur. Following Pete’s suggestions, their packs of food and utensils were carefully gone over and everything not actually necessary was discarded. Finally, strapping the pack a little lower than usual, Robert provided for the additional burden, and picking the Indian up, placed him on his back and shoulders. At first the additional weight seemed unbearable, but at Pete’s suggestion the lad adopted the Indian lope, which the guide had taught him during the long journey. This made the burden easier, since at each step it eased it up from the shoulder so that it did not seem like dead weight, and was also easier on Pete. The burden was heavy, but nothing within reason was too great for Robert when he had made up his mind. His will-power and unusual strength made it possible to accomplish tasks that would look impossible to a faint-hearted youth. Pete was surprised at the ease with which Robert carried him, and when he was borne, by the pain in his leg to a partial unconsciousness, he was carried back to the days when he was a little papoose and his Indian mother carried him through the forest paths on her back.