The Polk County post. (Independence, Or.) 1918-19??, July 23, 1918, Image 3

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    DOINGS O F T H E V A N LOONS
Pcrhap» Father Isn’t the right kind of teacher
ah <3 ewei was atone witn ms blear-
eyed wife, but a glance sufficed to tell
Mackenzie, that the news was already
old. So he plunged at once into the
business, shifting the beaded sheath
prominently to the fore as advertise­
ment of the betrothal.
*
“O Thllng-Tlnneh, mighty chief of
á e Would • Wooing Go to
~ ._u - *
the Sticks and the land of the Tanana,
ruler of the salmon and the bear, the
rr • Win Him an In d ian B rid e
*
til
moose and the cariboo 1 The white1
man is before thee with a great pur­
pose. Many moons has his lodge been
empty, and he Is lonely. And his heart j
has eaten Itself ln silence, and grown
hungry for a woman to sit beside him
«
Copyright by Jack London
in his lodge, to meet him from the
hunt with warm fire and good food.
He has heard strange things, the patter
of baby moccasins and the sound of
AN rarely places a prop* dred words oi tneir vocaDuiary, children’s voices. And one night a
er valuation upon his wom­ and he had likewise conquered vision came upon him, and he beheld
ankind, at least not until their deep gutturals, their Jap­ the raven, who is thy father, the great
anese idioms, constructions, and hon­ raven, who 1 b the father of all the
deprived of them. He has
orific and agglutinative particles. So Sticks. And the raven spake to the
no conception of the subtle
he made oration after their manner,
atmosphere exhaled by the satisfying their Instinctive poetry-love lonely white mun, saying; “Bind thou
sex feminine so long as he bathes In with crude flights of eloquence and thy moccasins upon thee, and gird thy
snowshoes on. and lash thv sled with ,
It; but let it be withdrawn, and an metaphorical
contortions.
After food for many sleeps and fine tokens i
ever-growing
void
begins . to
_
.
,
. munifest
.
Thllng-Tlnneh and the Shaman had for the Chief Thllng-Tlnneh. For thou
Itself in his existence, and he becomes
nded ln klnd, he mude trifling
shalt turn thy face to where the mid­
hungry, ln a vague sort of way, for a Drosent8 t0 the menfo,k>
, n their spring sun Is wont to sink below the
B n t n n f h l n o so
o n indefinite
f n r l n f l n t o that
t h n t he
h i * cannot
Pfliilint
.
.
.
something
singing, and proved an expert ln their land, and Journey to this great chief’s
characterize it. If Ills comrades have flfty-two-stick gambling game.
hunting grounds. There thou shalt
no more experience than himself, they
It was slow work and a stiff game: j make big presents, and Thllng-Tinneh,
[will shake their heads dubiously and but
it Scruff Mackenzie maneuvered ' who is my son, si
shall become to thee
dose him with strong physic. But the cunningly, with an unconcern which
as a father. In his lodge there is a
hunger will continue and become served to puzzle the Sticks. He took
maiden into whom I breathed the
stronger; he will lose interest ln the great care to impress the men that
breath of life for thee. This maiden
'things of his every-day life and wax he was u sure shot and a mighty hunt­
shalt thou take to wife.’
morbid; and one duy, when the empti­ er, and the camp rang with hts plaudits
“O chief, thus spake the great raven;
ness has become unbearable, a revela­ when he brought down u moose at six
thus do I lay many presents at thy
tion will dawn upon him.
hundred yards. Of a night he visited fe e t; thus and I come to take thy
r In the Yukon country, when this in Chief Thling-Tluneh's lodge of daughter 1”
comes to pass, the man usually pro­ moose and cariboo skins, talking big
The old man drew his furs about him
visions a poling boat, if it be summer, and dispensing tobacco with a lavish
J k r t
and if winter harnesses his dogs, and hand. Nor did he fail to likewise with crude consciousness of royalty,
heads for the Southland.
A few j onor the Shuman; for he realized the but deluyed reply while a youngster
crept ln, delivered a quick message
'months later, supposing him to be pos­
Swayed a Momen and Pitched Forward.
medicine man’s influence with his peo­
sessed of a faith In the country, he ple, and was anxious to make of him to appear before the council, and was uoues oe scimereu in too suow uu me now Jelehs is angry with his children,
gone.
springtime lay them bare.”
returns with a wife to share with him an ally. But that worthy was high
and they are grown to a handful, and
“O white man, whom we have named I It was threat anil counter-threat he will not help. For they have for­
;in that faith, and Incidentally in his and mighty, refused to be propitiated,
hardships. This but serves to show and was unerringly marked down as a moose-killer, also known us the wolf, Mackenzie’s bronzed face flushed dark­ gotten him, and done evil things, and
and the son of the wolf! We know ly. He raised Ills voice. The old trod tad trails, and taken his enemies
the Innate selfishness of man. It also , prospective enemy. *
thou comest of a mighty ra ce; we are squaw, who till now had sat an impas­ Into their lodges to sit by their fires.
brings us to the trouble of "Scruff”
Though no opening presented for an
Mackenzie, which occurred ln the old interview with Zarlnska, Mackenzie proud to have thee our potlach guest; sive spectator, made to creep by him And the raven Is sorrowful at the
days, before the country was stamped-! stole many a glance to her, giving fair | but the king-salmon does not mate with for the door. The song of tlie men wickedness of his children; but when
ed and staked by a tidal wave of che- warning of his intent. 1 And well she the dog-sulmon, nor the raven with the broke suddenly, and there was a hub­ they shall rise up and show they have
cha-quas, and when the Klondike’s knew, yet coquettishly surrounded her-! wolf." *
bub of many voices as he whirled the come back, he will come out of the
only claim to notice was Its salmon self with a ring of women whenever! “Not so 1” cried Mackenzie. “The old woman roughly to her couch of darkness to aid them. O brothers! the
daughter of the raven have I met in skins.
flre-bringer has whispered messages to
fisheries.
the men were away and he had a
Scruff Mackenzie bore the earmarks chance. But he was ln no hurry; be­ the camps of the wolf—the squaw of
“Again I cry—listen, O Thllng-Tln- thy slinman ; the same shall ye henr.
of n frontier birth and a frontier life. sides, he knew she could not help but Mortimer, the <pmw of Tregldgo, the neh ! The wolf dies with teeth fast- Let the young men take the young
His face was stamped with twenty-five think of him, and a few days of such | squaw of Barnuby, who came two ice- locked, and with him there shall sleep women to their lodges; let them fl.v
runs .back, and I have heard of other ten of thy strongest men—men who at the throat of the wolf; let them be
years of incessant struggle with na­ thought would only better his suit.
squaws, though my eyes beheld them are needed, for the hunting is but be­ undying in tlielr enmity I Then shall
ture in her wildest moods, the last
At last, one night, when he deemed j
gun, and the fishing Is not many moons their women become fruitful, and they
two, the wildest and hardest of all, the time to be ripe, he abruptly le ft! not.”
“Son, your words are true; but it tnvay. And again, of what profit should sliuil multiply Into a mighty people 1
having been spent ln groping for the the chief’s ’ smoky dwelling and hast­
'gold which lies in the shadow of the ened to a neighboring lodge. As usual, were evil mating, like the water with I die? I know tl|e custom of thy peo­ And the raven shall lead great tribes
Arctic Circle.
When the yearning she sat with squaws and maidens about the sand, like the snowflake with the ple; thy share of my wealth shall be of their fathers and their fathers’ fa­
sickness came upon him he rwas not her, all engaged in sewing moccasins sun. But met you one Mason and his very small. Grant me tliy child, and thers from out of the North; and they
squnw? No? He came ten ice-runs It shall nil be thine. And yet again, shall beat back the wolves till they
surprised, for he was a practical man and bendwork. They laughed at his „¿¿Lithe
first of ail the wolves. And
and had seen other men thus stricken. entrance, and badinage, which linked
ray brothers will come, and they are are as last year’s campfires; and they
with
him
there was a mighty man, many, and tlielr maws are never filled; shall again come to rule over all the
But he showed no sign of his malady, Zarlnska to him, ran high. But one
save that he worked harder. All sum­ after the other they were unceremoni­ strnlght ns a willow-shoot, and ta ll; und the daughters of the raven shall land 1 ’Tis the message of Jelehs, the
mer he fought mosquitoes and washed ously bundled into tile outer snow, strong as the bald-faced grizzly, with a bear children In the lodges of the wolf. raven.”
the sure-thing bars of the Stuart river whence they hurried to spread the tale heart like the full summer moon; My people are greater than thy people.
This foreshadowing of the Messiah’s
his”—
for a double grub-stake.
Then he \ through all the camp.
It is destiny. Grant, and all this coming brought a hoarse howl from
“Oh!” interrupted Mackenzie, recog­ wealth Is thine.”
floated a raft of house-logs down the
the Sticks as they leaped to their feet.
His cause was well pleaded, in her
Yukon to Forty Mile, and put together tongue, for she did not know his, and nizing the well-known northland fig­
Moccasins were crunching the snow Mackenzie slipped the thumbs of his
as comfortable a cabin as any the at the end of two hours he rose to go. ure— “Malemute Kid 1”
without. Mackenzie threw his rifle to mittens, and waited. There was a
“The same—a mighty man. But saw
camp could boast of. In fact. It showed
“So Zarlnska will come to the white you aught to the squew? ¡Jhe was full cock, und loosened the twin colts in his clamor for the Fox, not to be stilled
such cozy promise that many men man’s lodge? Good! I go now to
Uelt.
till one of the young men stepped for­
elected to be his partner and to come have talk with thy father, for he may sister to Zarlnska.”
“Grant, O chief 1”
ward to speak.
“Nay, chief; but I have heard. Ma
and live with him. But he crushed not be so minded. And I will give him
“And yet will my people say no.”
"Brothers! The Shaman has spok­
their aspirations with rough speech, many tokens; but he must not ask toe i son—far, far to the north, a spruce
“Grant, and the wealth Is thine. en wisely. The wolves have taken our
peculiar for its strength and brevity, i much. If he say no? Good! Zarlnska tree, heavy with years, crushed out his Then shall I deal with thy people : women, and our men are childless,
and bought a double supply of grub shall yet come to the white man’s life beneath. But his love was great, after.”
j We are grown to a handful.
The
and he had much gold. With this, and
from the trading-post.
“The Wolf will have it so. I will wolves have taken our warm furs and
lodge.”
her
boy,
she
Journeyed
countless
sleeps
He was a sturdy traveler, and his j
take his tokens—but I would warn given for them evil spirits which dwell
He had already lifted the skin flap!
wolf-dogs could work harder and trav- | to depart, when a low exclamation toward the winter’s noonday sun, and him.”
ln bottles, and clothes which come not
el farther on less grub than any other brought him back to the girl’s side. She there she yet lives—no biting frost, no
Mackenzie passed over the goods, j from the beaver or the lynx, but are
snow,
no
summer's
midnight
sun,
no
team In the Yukon. Three weeks later brought herself to her knees on the j
taking care to clog the rifle’s ejector, made from the grass. And they are
he strode Into a hunting camp of the bearskin mat, her face aglow with true j winter’s noonday night.”
and capping the burgain with h not wurm, and our men die of strange
Upper Tanana Sticks. They mar­ Eve-light, and shyly unbuckeled h is ' A second messenger Interrupted with kaleidoscopic silk kerchief. The Sha­ j sicknesses. I, the Fox, have taken no
veled at his temerity; for they had a heavy belt. He looked down, per­ Imperative summons from the council. man and half a dozen young braves woman to wife; and why? Twice have
bad name and had been known to kill plexed, suspicious, his ears alert for As Mackenzie threw him Into the entered, but he shouldered boldly I the maidens which pleased me gone to
— — ---------- — ----- -------- --- . snow, he caught a glimpse of the sway-
white men for as trifling a thing ns a
| the camps of the Wolf. Even now I
the
sound without. But her ing forms before the council Are, heard among them and passed out.
sharp ax or a broken rifle. But he next slightest
“Pack 1” was his laconic greeting to have laid by skins of the beaver, of
move disarmed his doubt, and he the deep hawses of the men ln rhythmic
went among them single-handed, his smiled with pleasure. She took from
Zarlnska as be passed her lodge und the moose, of the cariboo, that I might
bearing being a delicious composite of her sewing-bag a moosehide sheath, chant, and knew the ShamaD was fan­ hurried to harness his dogs. A few win favor ln the eyes of Tbllng-Tln-
humility, familiarity, sang-froid, and brave with bright beadwork, fantastic­ ning with anger of his people. Time minutes later he swept Into the coun­ : neh, that I might marry Zarlnska, his
insolence. It required a left hand and ally designed. She drew his great pressed. He turned upon the chief.
cil at the head of the team the woman ' daughter. Even now are her snow-
“Come! I wish thy child. And now
d ^ p k n o w led g e jrfth e bMbaric mlnd huntlng knlfe' gale(j reverently along
by his side. He took his place at the shoes bound to her feet, ready to break
See
1
here
are
tobacco,
tea,
many
caps
effectually to handle such diverse the keen edge, half tempted to try it
upper end of the oblong, by the side trail for the dogs of the Wolf. Nor do
weapons; but he was a paat master with her thumb, and shot It into place of sugar, warm blankets, handker­ of the chief. To bis left, a step to the I speuk for myself alone. As I have
in the art, knowing when to conciliate ln Its new home. Then she slipped the chiefs, both good and large; and here, rear, he stationed Zarlnska—her prop­ done, zo has the bear. He, too, had
and when to threaten with Jove-Uke sheath along the belt to Its customary a true rifle, with many bnllets and er place. Besides, the time was ripe fain been the father of her children,
much powder.”
wrath.
for mischief, and there was need to and many skins has he cured there-
resting-place. Just above the hip.
“Nay,” replied the old man, strug­
He first made obeisance to the Chief
I to. I speak for all the young men who
For all the world. It was like a scene gling against the greet wealth spread guard his back.
Thllng-Tlnneh, presenting him with a of olcMh time—a lady and her knight.
The ringing and dancing ceased, and know not wive*. The wolves are ever
before
him.
“Even
now
arc
my
people
couple of pounds of black tea and to­ Mackenzie drew her up full height and
the Shaman flared np In rude elo­ ' hungry. Always do they take the
bacco, and thereby winning his most swept her red Ups with his mustache— come together. They will not base quence.
Through the rinuoritlea of choice meat at the killing. To thu
this marriage.” '
cardial regard. Then be mingled with the, to he*, foreign caress of the wolf.
their vast mythology, he worked cun­ ravens are left the leavings
"B
a
t
thou
art
chief.”
the men and maidens, and that night I t wss a meeting of the atone age and
“There Is Gugklat” be cried, bru­
“Yet do my young men rage because ningly upon the credulity of hts peo­
gave a potlach. The snow was beaten the steel.
p le The case was strung. Opposing tally pointing oat one of the women»
the wolves have taken their maidens the creative principles as embodied la who was a cripple. "B ar tegs ate
down la the form of an oblong, per­
There was a thrill of excitement hi
haps a hundred feet la length and the air as Scruff Mackenzie, a bothy so that they may not many.”
the craw and the raven, he stigmatised Uke the riba at a birch canoe,
“Listen, O Thllng-Tlnneh! Ere the Mackenzie as the wolf, the fighting cannot gather wood nor carry the
g oarttr as many across. 'D o w s the bundle under his anh, threw open the
center a long fire was boiit, while flap of Thling-Tlnneh’s te a t Children aight has passed lato the day, the W d f and the destructive principle
of the hunters. Did the wotvea
shafl tads hU dogs to the mcBBtalas of
s h carpeted wtth spruce
"Ay. my broth ere Jelehs Is all-pow­
were running about la the open, drag-
the east sad far« forth te the w u a b ? er 1 Old ha not bring hea vso-born fire
(C ontim ed Friday.)
that wu might ha warm? DM he aa«
draw the ana, asooa aad stain f i t *
Twire-a week Polk Cbunty Post,
their holes that we might saaf Did ha
ONLY ONE IN COUNTY “
asfi. Mach as that wu a M t fight the
Phone M ala 621.
(he d o o the flash a t Qw watt, i
sntrits o< fhm lae and efi fra » ?
The Son of the Wolf
By JA C K LONDON
i
B IL L S ALLOWED B T COUNTY"
COURT AT JU L Y SESSIO N
(Continued from Page 2.)
Shop 963.05, Oregon Gravel & Con­
struction Co. $79.65, J . N. Jones
9136.50, Earl Ruef 9144, Henry Leh­
man $57, Ralph lim iter $12, George
Wilson $21, Jam es Morgan $18, W .
T. House $5. Total $536.20.
Road District No. 10
Form ers Slate Bank $109.05, Ore­
gon Gravel & Construction Co. $72.
W. J. Steele $102, A. R. McCallum
$36, Adolpli Aebi $10, A. T. Steele
$102. Total $191.05.
Road District No. 11
W. C. W illiam s $3.50, Chas. Leh-
I man $38.50, Rex W om er $237.50, E.
M. Turner $150, P. L. Lewis $54, E.
J). Brown $24, Eric Petre $73.20,
Darrell T u rn er $15, W. H. Stoue-
j hocker $257.40, D. N. Turner $144,
¡C. E. Staats $145.20, Cecil Embree
$54, W m. Boyer $84, Fred Boyer
¡ Boyeb $42, Guy L. W isecup $24, W.
IB . W hittington $36, J. W . M cBee
$42, C. II. Nentlel $78, II. C. Nendel
$42, II. C. Byerley $58.50, Glen Had­
ley $69, L. B. Miller $33, W iley Nor­
ton $81, Francis Sturgis $21, J . Bug-
ley $133.20, Fran k Sm ith $84, E. W.
Stunts $222, V. L, Sta a ts $151.20,
Percy Hadley $120, J . W. Powell
$100.20, Otto Fleischm an $67.20,
George Rhodes $124.20, H. P. W hit­
aker $105, .1. B. Embree $126, M. D.
Coulter $115, A. F. Huber $194.40,
W. E. W illiam s Jr. $42, p. M. Sch ­
weizer $24, E. E. Stunts $135, H. Yost
*57, H. P. Mathnny $12, Leroy Byer­
ley $70.20, Clifford Calkins $43.20.
Total $3732.80.
Road D istrict No. 12
Total 1016.75.
Road District No. 14
Total $89.
Road District No. 16
John Underwood $97.50, John
W alker $94.50, Lee Roberts $87, C.
W hipple $90, Hurry Heffloy $81, Lou
Chase $49.50. Total $499.50.
Road District No. 17
Total $1298.75.
Road District No. 18
Total $43.33.
Road District No. 19
Total $1202.25.
Road District No. 20
Total $982.50.
Road District No. 21
Total $020.50.
Rond District No. 22
Total $453.
Road District No. 24
Total 154.50.
General Road Fund
Total $3268.40.
Total Road W arrants $22315.18.
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