CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
ARRIVAL OF STRANGE INDIANS.
About this time a band of strange Indians came in with a large supply ofvaluable furs. They had heard, they said, of the establishment of thenew post, and had gladly come to trade there, instead of making theircustomary long journey to Muskrat House.
The change to these Indians was, in truth, of the utmost importance, forso distant were some of their hunting-grounds from Macnab'sestablishment, that nearly all the ammunition obtained there--theprocuring of which was one of the chief desires of their hearts--wasexpended in shooting for mere subsistence on the way back to theirhunting-grounds. It will be easily understood, then, that they receivedus with open arms.
By this time we were quite prepared for their visit. The twodwelling-houses for ourselves and the men were completed, so also wasthe store for our goods. There only remained unfinished one or twoouthouses and our back kitchen, the latter a detached building,afterwards to be connected with the main dwelling by a passage. Thestore was an unusually strong log-house of one storey with a very soliddoor. It was attached to the side of our dwelling, with which it wasconnected by an inner door, so that we could, if necessary, enter itwithout having to go outside--a matter of some importance in case weshould ever be forced to defend the fort.
I had just returned, much dispirited, from a visit to the camp of ourown Indians, when this band of strangers arrived.
Remembering my last conversation with Waboose, and being very curious toknow what were the contents of the mysterious packet she had mentioned,I had gone to the camp to visit her, but, to my extreme regret, foundthat Big Otter and several of the Indians had struck their tents andgone off on a long hunting expedition, taking their families with them--Waboose among the rest.
On finding, however, that strange Indians had arrived with a goodlysupply of furs to trade, thoughts of all other matters were driven outof my mind, the depression of spirits fled, and a burst of enthusiasmsupervened as the thought occurred to me that now, at last, the greatobject of our expedition was about to begin in earnest. I verilybelieve that the same spirit of enthusiasm, or satisfaction--call itwhat you will--animated more or less every man at the fort. Indeed, Ibelieve that it is always so in every condition of life; that men wholay claim to even the smallest amount of spirit or self-respect,experience a thrill of justifiable pride in performing their duty well,and earning the approval of their official superiors. My own thoughts,if defined, would probably have amounted to this--
"Now then, here's a chance at last of driving a good trade, and we willsoon show the Governor and Council of the Fur-traders that they werewell advised when they selected John Lumley as the chief of this tradingexpedition into the remote wilderness!"
"Come, Max," cried my friend, whom I met hastening to the store as Iarrived, "you're just in time. Here's a big band of redskins withsplendid packs of furs. I fear, however, that what is our gain will tosome extent be poor Macnab's loss, for they say they used to take theirfurs to him in former years."
"But, then," said I, "will not the company gain the furs which used tobe damaged, and therefore lost, on the long voyage to Muskrat? Besides,the Indians will now be enabled to devote the time thus saved to huntingand trapping, and that will also be clear gain."
We reached the store as I said this, followed by a dozen Indians withlarge packs on their shoulders. These were the chief men of the tribe,who were to be attended to first. The others, who had to await theirturn with what patience they could command, followed behind in a body togaze at least upon the outside of the store--that mysterious temple ofunknown wealth of which all of them had heard, though many of them hadnever seen or entered one.
Putting a large key into the lock, Lumley turned it with all duesolemnity, for it was his plan among savages to make all acts ofimportance as impressive as possible in their eyes. And this act ofvisiting for the first time the stores--the palace of wealth--the abodeof bliss--the red-man's haven of rest--was a very important act. It maynot seem so to the reader, but it was so to the savage. The very smellof the place was to him delicious--and no wonder, for even to morecultivated nostrils there is an odour about the contents of amiscellaneous store--such as tea, molasses, grindstones, coffee, brownpaper, woollen cloths, sugar, fish-hooks, raisins, scalping-knives, andsoap--which is pleasantly suggestive.
Entering, then, with the dozen Indians, this important place, of which Iwas the chief and only clerk, Lumley salesman and trader, and Salamanderwarehouseman, the door was shut. Becoming instantly aware of a suddendiminution in the light, I looked at the windows and observed aflattened brown nose, a painted face and glaring eyes in the centre ofnearly every pane!
When I looked at this band of powerful, lithe, wiry, covetous savages,and thought of the hundreds of others whom they could summon by a singlewar-whoop to their side, and of the smallness of our own party, I couldnot help feeling that moral influence was a powerful factor in theaffairs of man. No doubt they were restrained to some extent by thecertain knowledge that, if they attacked and killed us, and appropriatedour goods without the preliminary ceremony of barter, the white menwould not only decline to send them goods in future, but would organisea force to hunt down and slay the murderers: nevertheless, savages arenot much given to prudential reasoning when their cupidity or passionsare roused, and I cannot help thinking that we owed our safety, underGod, to the belief in the savage mind that men who put themselves socompletely in their power, as we did, and who looked so unsuspicious ofevil, _must_ somehow be invulnerable.
Be that as it may, we calmly acted as if there could be no question atall about our being their masters. Lumley conveyed that impression,however, without the slightest assumption of dignity. He was allkindness, gentleness, and urbanity, yet treated them with thatunassertive firmness which a father exercises--or ought to exercise--towards a child.
"Now then, Salamander," said Lumley, when he was inside the counter, andthe Indians stood in a group on the other side, "tell the principalchief to open his pack."
Lumley, I may remark, made use of Salamander as an interpreter, until hefound that the dialect of those Indians was not very different from thatto which he had been accustomed. Then he dispensed with his services,and took up the conversation himself, to the obvious astonishment aswell as respect of the Indians, who seemed to think the white chief hadactually picked up a new language after listening to it for only half anhour!
The principal chief opened his pack slowly and spread its contents onthe counter with care. He did not hurry himself, being a very dignifiedman. There were beavers, martens, otters, silver-foxes, and many othervaluable furs, for which large sums are given in the European markets.To obtain these, however, the Company of Traders had to expend verylarge sums in transporting goods into those northern wilds, and stilllarger sums would have to be paid to voyageurs, clerks, and employesgenerally, as well as risks run and time spent before these furs couldbe conveyed to market and turned into gold--hence our red chief had tocontent himself with moderate prices. These prices, moreover, he didnot himself put on his furs. Lumley did that for him, according to thetariff used by the fur-traders all over the country, every article beingrated at a standard unit of value, styled a "made-beaver" in some partsof the country--a "castore" in other parts. On the counter was marked,with a piece of chalk, the value of each fur--a beaver was valued at somany castores, according to its quality, a fox at so many--and when thesum was added up, the total was made known by a number of goose-quillsbeing presented to the chief, each quill representing a castore. TheIndians, being acquainted with this process, did not require to have itexplained.
Profoundly did that chief gaze at his bundle of quills on receiving themfrom Lumley after Salamander had swept his furs into a corner. He wasstudying, as it were, the credit balance of his bank-account beforeinvesting.
"Now then, chief," asked Lumley, with an urbane expression ofcountenance, "what shall I give you?"
The chief gazed
solemnly round the store with his piercing black eyes,while all the other piercing black eyes around gazed at him expectantly!At last his gaze became riveted on a particular spot. The surroundingblack eyes turned to that spot intently, and the chief said:
"_Baskisigan_."
"Ah, I thought so--a gun?" said Lumley; "hand one over, Salamander."
The interpreter went to a box which contained half a dozen of the commoncheap articles which were supplied for the trade. Long,single-barrelled affairs they were, the barrels of blue metal, stocksextending to the muzzles and stained red, brass mountings of toy-likeflimsiness, and flint-locks; the entire gun being worth something lessthan a pound sterling. These weapons were capable, nevertheless, ofshooting pretty straight, though uncomfortably apt to burst.
One having been handed to the chief he received it with a grasp ofalmost reverential affection, while Lumley extracted from his funds therequisite number of quills in payment.
"What next?" asked Salamander, and again the solemn gaze went slowlyround the store, on the shelves of which our goods were displayed mosttemptingly. Black eyes riveted once more! What is it?
"A green blanket."
"Just so. Fetch a four-point one, Max, he's a big man."
I took up one of our largest-sized thick green blankets, handed it tothe chief, and Lumley abstracted a few more quills from the bundle.
At this point the red-man seemed to get into the swing of the thing, fora white blanket of medium size, and another of very small dimensions,were demanded. These represented wife and infant. After this a tinkettle and a roll of tobacco were purchased. The chief paused here,however, to ponder and count his quills.
"Do you observe," said Lumley to me, in a low voice, "what awell-balanced mind he has?"
"I can't say that I do, Lumley."
"No? Don't you see; first a gun--self-and-family-preservation being thefirst law of nature; then, after thus providing for war and hunting,comes repose, d'you see? a big blanket, which immediately suggestssimilar comfort to the squaw, a smaller blanket; then comes comfort tothe baby, a miniature blanket; then, how naturally the squaw and thesquawker conduct his mind to food--a tin kettle! after which he feelsjustified in refreshing himself with a slight luxury--tobacco! Butyou'll see that he will soon repress self, with Indian stoicism, andreturn to essentials."
Lumley was right for he had barely ceased to speak, when the chiefturned and demanded an axe; then fish-hooks; then twine for lines; thenawls for boring holes in the bark with which he made his canoes; thenpowder and shot and pipes. After this, another fit of tenderness cameover him, and he bought some bright scarlet and blue cloth--doubtlessfor the squaw or the baby--and some brilliantly coloured silk threadwith needles and variegated beads to ornament the same. Soon his quillsdwindled away till at last they disappeared; yet his wants were notfully supplied--would the pale-face chief advance him some goods oncredit?
Oh yes--he seemed a good and trustworthy brave--the pale-face chief hadno objection to do that!
Accordingly I opened a ledger and inserted the man's name. It wasalmost Welsh-like in difficulty of pronunciation, but, unlike aWelshman, I spelt it as pronounced, and set down in order the additionalgoods he required. When Lumley thought he had given him enough oncredit, he firmly closed the account, gave the man a small gratuity oftobacco, powder and shot, etcetera, and bade another chief come forward.
It was slow but interesting work, for, as the Indians grew familiar withthe place and our ways, those of them who were loquacious, or possessedof humour, began to chat and comment on the goods, and on the whiteman's doings in a way that was very diverting.
After the chief men had traded their furs, the rank and file of the bandcame on, and, as is the case with all rank and file, there were someindifferent, and a few bad characters among them. It was now that Iobserved and admired the tact, combined with firmness, of Lumley. Hespoke to these Indians with exactly the same respect and suavity thathad characterised him when trading with the chiefs. When he saw any onebecome puzzled or undecided, he suggested or quietly advised. If aman's eye appeared to twinkle he cut a mild joke with him. If onebecame too familiar, or seemed disposed to be insolent he took nonotice, but turned aside and busied himself in arranging the goods.
At last, however, an incident occurred which called for differenttreatment. There was among the Indians a long-legged, wiry fellow whohad been named Attick, or Reindeer, because he was a celebrated runner.Those who disliked him--and they were numerous--said he was good atrunning away from his foes. However that might be, he was undoubtedlydexterous in the use of his fingers--and it was through this propensitythat we were first introduced to him. It happened thus:
Lumley, whose powers of observation often surprised me, had noticed thatAttick looked often and with longing eyes at a very small roll oftobacco which belonged to one of his comrades, and lay on the countertemptingly near at hand. Slowly, and, as it were, inadvertently, headvanced his hand until it touched the tobacco, then, laying hold on it,when the owner was busy with something else, he carried it towards thebosom of his leather hunting-shirt. Before it reached that place ofconcealment, however, Lumley quickly, yet so quietly that the act wasscarce perceived, seized the elbow of the chief and gave him a look.Attick promptly put the tobacco down and looked at Lumley with a scowl,but the pale-face chief was smilingly giving some advice to the man,with whom he was trading.
He thought that the man would not attempt anything more of a similarkind, at least at that time, but he was mistaken. He under-estimatedthe force of covetousness and the power of temptation in a savage. Soonafterwards he saw Attick deftly pass a packet of bright beads, belongingto another comrade, from the counter to his breast, where he let itremain, grasped in his hand. Immediately afterwards the owner of thebeads missed them. He turned over his goods hastily, but could not findthe packet and looked suspiciously at Salamander, who had been standingnear all the time, besides fingering the things occasionally.
"A comrade has stolen it," said Lumley, in a quiet voice and withoutlooking at any one save the robbed man.
This was received with scowls and strong marks of disapprobation.
"Not so! The interpreter, the pale-face, has stolen it," returned theIndian fiercely.
Instead of replying, Lumley vaulted lightly over the counter, stoodbefore the astonished Attick, thrust his hand into the bosom of thatsavage, and, by main force, dragged forth the thieving fist still closedover the missing packet. The Indians were too much taken by surprise atthe promptness of the act to speak--they could only glare.
"My friends," said Lumley, still maintaining, however, something ofkindliness in his look of stern gravity, "the Great Master of Life doesnot love thieving, and no thief will be permitted to enter this store."
What more he would have said I know not for, swift as lightning, Attickdrew his knife and made a plunge at my friend's heart. Expecting ascuffle, I had also leaped the counter. Lumley caught the wrist of thesavage; at the same time he exclaimed, "Open the door, Max."
I obeyed, expecting to see the Indian kicked out, but I was wrong, formy friend, with a sharp twist turned Attick's back to his own breast,then, seizing him by both elbows, he lifted him off his feet as if hehad been a mere infant, carried him forward a few paces, and set himgently down outside. Then, stepping back, he shut the door.
A roar of laughter from those without showed the light in which theyviewed the incident, and the amused looks of some of those in the storetold that at least they did not disapprove of the act.
Without paying any regard to these things, however, Lumley returned tohis place, and with his usual air of good humour continued to barterwith the red-men.
Thus the work of trading went on for three days, and, during that time,there was much fraternising of what I may call our home--Indians withthe newcomers, and a great deal, I regret to say, of gambling. We foundthat this evil prevailed to a great extent among them, insomuch that oneor two of them gambled away
all that they possessed, and came to us withvery penitent looks, asking for a small quantity of goods on credit toenable them to face the winter!
I need scarcely say that our amiable chief complied with these requests,but only on the solemn promise that the goods so advanced should not berisked in gambling, and I have reason to believe that these men werefaithful to their promises. This gambling was of the simplest kind,consisting of the method which is known by the name of "odd or even?"
In the evenings the chiefs were encouraged to come into our hall andpalaver. They availed themselves of the invitation to come, andsometimes palavered, but more frequently smoked, with owlish solemnity,squatting on the floor with their backs against the wall.
Nevertheless, on these occasions we gained a good deal of information,and Lumley availed himself of the opportunities sometimes to lecturethem on the sin of gambling. He always, I observed, laid much morestress on the idea that the Great Master of Life was grieved with Hischildren when they did evil, than that He visited the sin withdisagreeable consequences. On one of these occasions an elderly chiefsurprised us by suddenly putting the question, "Do the pale-faces tradefire-water?"
Every pipe was removed from every lip, and the glittering eyes ofexpectancy, coupled with the all but total cessation of breathing, toldof the intense interest with which they awaited the answer.
"No," replied Lumley, "we sell none. We do not love fire-water."
A deep but quiet sigh followed, and the pipes were resumed in silentresignation. And, I must add, I felt devoutly thankful that we did_not_ sell fire-water, when I looked at the strong features and powerfulframes of the red-men around me.