Winamac High School - Totem Yearbook (Winamac, IN)

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THE TOTEM 21 THE WIND KNOWS IT ALL The prairie stretched out before him in an unbroken plain. Milts and miles away toward the horizon be eould see a long dark line which he knew to be the great forest, and be- yond the dark forest Little Hawk knew tli.it Silver Bell and Singing Bird were awaiting his return in their little log cabin. The wind arose and blew playfully around Little Hawk and aroused him from his meditations. ••Heap far to go tonight, he mut- tered in broken English, looking down at some object at his feet, that was nearly covered by the long prairie grass. It was bis pony — one of its lens was broken and an arrow stuck in its heart. The unfortunate beast had stepped into a gopher hole and had broken its leg; its owner had pat an end to its suffering with the kind but fateful arrow. The sun went down and with the daikness came the night chill. Little Hawk drew his buckskins closely about him. lifted a bag containing provisions from the ground to his shoulders, and set out with a nois: ' - less step in the direction of the dusky line on the horizon. Over the great forest the wind shrieked and shook the great oaks and pines as if they had been the merest saplings. It flew from the forest to a little cabin in the clearing, and flung itself with such terrible force against the unshuttered win- dows that the inmates of the cabin were aroused from their sleep and I he cry of an infant arose from with- in. A light soon shone in the window and an Indian mother could be dis- cerned in the pale radiance rocking a baby in a. crude cradle. The wind was not the only one who peeped through the window and saw the mother croning to her babe. A weary traveler looked through the window and the bright tire in the fireplace seemed to beckon to him. The wind whistled rudely in his ears and a feeling akin to homesickness came over him. The Indian woman ceased roeking the cradle and listened when the door rattled. Could it be someone knock- ing 1 ? No; it was surely but the wind. But the knock came again, loudly and more imperatively than before. Maybe Little Hawk come back. the woman said, so she arose and opened the (h or. But no; it was uot Little Hawk. A stranger, dressed in Indian garments, stood on the thresh- old ami coarse black hair hung down to his shoulders; but for all that face wa.s as refined as that of a white man. and when be spoke he employed the purest id ' English. Good woman, mav I spend the nighl here . ' ' he asked. Silver Bell she no make nobody g ' way. ' the squaw replied, open-

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20 THE TOTEM

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22 THE TOTEM ing the door wide and hospitably bid- ding her guest enter. The wind be- came strangely quiet, as if it wished to hear what this man would say to his hostess. 1 am Silver Bell; this Little Hawk ' s home, and her (indicating the baby) Singing Bird. 1 am Mudwayanshka and I come from the rising sun and I go to meet my squaw. I shkoodah over where the sun sinks in the sea. As he finished speaking the wind burst into a wild and derisive shriek, as if to ridicule him. Little Hawk he go to white man ' s village to trade; me not know why he no here yet. A troubled look came into Silver Bell ' s face as she glanced out of the window into the inky dark- ness. She had scarcely finished speaking when for the second time that night she was summoned to the door to let in some belated traveler. This surely is Little Hawk this time, said Silver Bell, as she un- locked the door. Her supposition was correct, for when she opened the door a tall Indian, dressed in buckskin and hearing a bag on his shoulder, entered. The hostess introduced the newcomer to the guest and Little Hawk gazed intently at the stranger, for the face looked strangely familiar to him. If him dressed in white man ' s clothes, him look like man 1 trade with in In , the Indian said to himself. A gleam of recognition came into Mudwayanshka . ' s eyes, and he turned his face from the light. The wind laughed mockingly. About a year before the opening of this story Charlie Wesley had brought his pretty delicate wife to the little town, R , hoping that the dry wes- tern air would revive her health. But Lily (for that was what Charlie always called his little golden- haired wife), found that there were other evils in the world than delicate health. There were black eyes and round, rosy cheeks and coquettish manners. These attributes all be- longed to Felicia Jefferson. She had come to R a short time before the Wesleys did and being somewhat of a stranger in the town, she often spent the evening with Charlie and Lily., Charlie felt fettered as he com- pared his invalid wife with Felicia, rosy and lively. He became so dis- contented with his lot that he began to pity himself and blame Lily. The feeling so increased that he almost grew to hate his wife and sought con- solation in Felicia ' s smiles. From a gentle and careful husband he be- came irritable and careless. This pained Lily ' s sensitive nature and the work of the western climate was almost undone, and she grew worse again. With the decline of his wife ' s health Charlie became more unbear- able. Then one day Felicia returned to the city where she had formerly lived and Charlie seemed to forget her, and for one blissful week Lily was happy. But, alas; her happiness was only short-lived. One morning Charlie re- ceived a letter and he told his wife that he was suddenly ( ' ailed away on business. He was an agent tor a big real estate establishment, and il was