“How come, buck man?”
USUALLY OUR HUNTERS WERE SUCCESSFUL
“No thing,” he grunted.
“Too much sit down,” I said.
“No sit down!” he protested. “Wakwakwak (walk), all tam wak. Me no see. How can shoot um me no see?”
There was no argument there. If he saw nothing he certainly could bag no game. But this Indian was superstitious, as all are. He got an idea that there was black magic in my camera, and it bothered him.
“Too much humbug,” he said, pointing to my camera which I happened to have with me. “You tak picture all tam, put um picture on paper and sho all mans. Deer know this and be bexed (vexed) see um picture on paper. Run away. How go for catch if no see?”
This was a lengthy outburst for an Indian. He had reference to my taking his picture as he came into camp with various kinds of game over his shoulders. He believed that the dead game knew its picture was taken and that its spirit warned the living game to keep away because the picture taking was an insult. He did not reason that the game would be warned to keep away from him to save its life, but only to escape the insult of having its picture taken. Hence his argument that the game was “bexed” and kept out of sight.
“No get um. Must catch beena,” he said, earnestly. A “beena” is some sort of a rite or charm that the hunters go through in order to give them good fortune or luck or whatever it is they most desire. There is a different sort of beena for each thing. I gave him a half day holiday to “catch beena.” Being especially anxious to bag deer he was going to “catch deer beena.” The sly fellow had hidden away somewhere, just for this emergency, the nose of a deer.