3J
n
a
PORTLAND,' OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 4, 1915.
"O
II '
i Ufi
mimmmmK mm
'Mr r fwtejm &j mix w
. ia !fi Mi. -VW.'..
of" the
Grave of a Pale foe
of
HE moon, steal
ing softly across
the heiTeni)
spread a carpet
of shim maring
silver over tlia
hushed waters,
and through the
sagging branches
of the veteran pine a faint and soft light
filtered down. Out in the lake a fish
leaped twice its length Into the moonlight
amid a shower of liquid radiance. From
a distance the mournful cry bf a loon
floated through the heavy silence and
then the mystery of the night closed in
again.
Gradually I realized that the old In
dian was speaking, and as I listened the
words shaped themselves into a legend
sacred In the traditions of the once
mighty tribe of which this storm-beaten,
grizzled son of the forest was the sole
survivor.
Thr ough the spell of the night, like a
mystic charm weaving It tighter and
tighter, droned the voice of the venerable
warrior, and as the years rolled back
yard before me this Is the tale he told :
"Many years ago, when the father of
my father's father was a young brave
among the lodges of his people, the tribe
of the Crawling Tortoise was Indeed
mighty. The sturdiest hunter could not
reach in seven days' journey , land which
was not theirs, and the Great Spirit
smiled on his favorite son; and the
warmth of his smile made them, great
and strong.
"One day, when the frost king had fled before the spirit of spring, and the
song of the river hummed all day, a band of hunters, returning from a. Journey,
saw strange eights. Where the bed of the river joined with the shouting stream
that flowed to the southward they had watched the smoke of many fires. Stegfr
Ing through the trees, they came close and wondered at what they saw.
"Warriors whose skins were as white as the mantle of the frost king sat
about the fires, and as they sat they smoked and talked ; but it was in a strange
tongue, and with many pointings to the north. And as the hunters of my people
watched the strange warriors broke camp and departed with their faces set
toward the north, with my people hurrying before them.
"'From the cluster of palms where my people lay hidden there came the signal
croak of a bullfrog and the air filled with arrows. Three of the white warriors
lay dead on the ground, but the rest, forming a hollow square, faced the onrush
of my people, and from where they stood came a blinding flash of fire and the
ground shook as with the thunder of the storm spirit
"Ten of the bravest red warriors would speak no more, and yet not one had
been struck by an arrow not one pierced by a knife. Again came the thundering
roar, and again our warriors dropped like leaves. Then the red warriors fled
as before an evil spirit But the fair-skinned fighting men who breathed death
and fire through war sticks did not pursue them and vanished Into the forest.
"When the shadow of the night closed about the deserted lodges the people
of the Tortoise cautiously . returned. To the south of the awe-stricken village,
where two palm, trees guarded a grassy knoll, the father, of my father's father
sat and watched and through his mind ran many strange thoughts. From the
deep black of the forest there came no sound but the whine of the panther or
the cry1 of the owl.
"Then upon the night wind there came to the ears of the watcher on the
knoll a faint groan. Again it came, and again. A. patch of moonlight fell
through the trees, and as the warrior gazed about him he saw lying at his feet
the body- of a man a body with a white face shrouded In a robe of sable.
Through, the fair hair ran a red streak where an arrow had bitten its way.
For a second the father of my father's father stood motionless ; then he stooped,
and, taking the body of the wounded white warrior in his arms, strode swiftly
toward the lodges of the Tillage.
;
"Three days followed the struggle on the borders of the village. ' In the lodge,
strongly guarded, lay the wounded white-haired warrior; and by now his mind
had been given back to him. But he said no word, only gazed about him and
slept, for. as yet the fever was strong upon him. ' ' '
"In the council lodge the fathers of the tribe had already passed sentence.
For all the red blood drawn from the veins of the Tortoise there should be
paid back In full measure the blood of the white stranger who . came with
death and fire into the land of happiness. It was so ordered. ;
,-.. "For two more days the paleface slept and dreamed, and on the third day he
was awake. And on this day the father of my father's father, who was one of
those set to watch, over him, saw him take from about his neck a
, And he kissed it, and spoke to it, and seemed happy. And the story of the white
man's worship spread through the lodges,' and said the braves:. .'We shall see
if the white man's medicine makes him strong at the hour of death.'
"When .the sun drew dose to the green shoulders of a near-by hill the word
went forth, and before the council lodge gathered (he fighting men of the Tillage.
Still seeking" strength from the golden Image (It was in the shape, of a
crossed stick), the white-haired warrior was led to the end of the death line
and his hands unbound. An Instant the white warrior stood still, and then
bowing his head walked slowly: to the opening of the lane. ' - .' -. .
"Truly, his medicine stood him well. ' .
1 V I V vCVv i
wmmmm. , r ..... a,
7 Jtt&klPk
j
1 r,'j - i -
v5NV
7 . r-''-
t-t ? j v
V,
5. W-
dashed among the sharp-pointed recks throat out an arm and It
closed about the Uttle chief. ;
"On the banks the sons of the Tortoise watched the battle with
. the river spirit j A dozen red warriors were slipping through the
waters to the rescue, but ere they could reach the white-haired one
he was thrown against the rocks and he became stilt The hand
of the nearest brave reached out and seized the little chieftain from
the grasp of the sinking paleface.. A score of hands bore him safely
to the shore, and; with him came the crushed form of the white man.
"The great chief strode to the river; . bank. And he stopped
and knelt down before the silent form of the stranger." The heart
of the great chief bad been touched and. the paleface was car
ried tenderly to the chieftain's own lodge. Then were summoned' the mighti
est medicine men of the village, but the Great Spirit had called the white
haired son to himand he was dead.
"The rising sun beheld the sons of. the Tortoise a nation of mourners. In
the center of the village reposed the body of the stranger, and about It was
heaped high the flowers of the Southland. Gifts were strewn about his feet and
the maidens of the village chanted softly the death song of the 'Tortoise.' Upon
the still breast of the fallen one lay the golden Image blazing in the sunlight, and
as the warriors gazed upon It they bowed their heads.'
"He was buried when the sun had half crossed the heavens, buried as be
fitted a great chieftain. That night in the council lodge the old men of the vil
lage sat long and smoked, and as they smoked they talked.; And It was only of
the departed warrior who came from the land of the rising sun and who was
a man. ; v (6 - -
"Again the voice of spring had frightened the frost king from the South
land, and the warm sunshine brightened the lodges, of the Tortoise. It was
morning, and the father of my father's father, returning from the haunts of the
hunter, came toward the Tillageand as he came he passed the burial, mound
of the sleeping wfclte warrior!. ABOVE THE MOUND A FLiO WElt, WHITE
AS THE "" DRIVEN SNOW, .SWAYED GENTLY IN THE MORNING WIND.
It was the spirit of the white man's medicine sent, by the Great Father to watch
over him. An through the spring the flower bloomed, and came again the next
spring. And the sons of the Tortoise, marveling greatly, spoke In whispers of
the fair flower and knew that all was welL
"Summers passed and the sons of the Tortoise" moved to the North. The
white-haired people came to the deserted lodges ohe Tortoise in great numbers
and built strong wooden lodges and the land waa ever after their own. Qn the
mound where the white lily nodded In the sunlight there was built a lodge of
logs, and on It there stood a crossed stick in the form of the Image of the sleep
ing white warrior. But it was of wood and not of gold. Here gathered the sons
and daughters of the rising sun- and they worshiped the Great Father, who
watched over them. And the lodges of wood grew and grew until they became
a mighty city.
'The quiet of the forest is no more and the tribe of the Tortoise has long
been forgotten. Where the white warrlor slept his last sleep, where the white
Illy so carefully guarded his slumbers, now stands a mighty temple of the Great
Father, and Its towers reach high Into thehearens. Above them, catching the
rays of the sun, stands the image of the crossed stick, a golden image, such as
he who came to die In the lodges of the Tortoise bore with Mau The redmen of
the hills are no more and the white man rules the.land.'V V
So ended the legend of the lily. ' i
til i . , I : . tsw
'4
yMrv-irrn-tn .w" , r - .
V
.. "He already was, within the-circle of the drawn knives when a
shoot went up from the river bank. And' as the warriors gased about
- them, startled, the head of little Lightning Cloud, son of the chief,
and future ruler of , the Tortoise, 'floated outward .on the rushing
waters. A dozen braves rushed to the bank but before them all
sprang the white-faced stranger. . j
' "Already the rushing rapids had borne the form of Lightning
Cloud far out into their midst. But with mighty strokes the white
haired one followed close upon him, and where the shouting waters
25
n
rrH2,5rd
0