Indian Boyhood | Page 6

carried in this way the smaller
children as well as the baggage.
This mode of travelling for children was possi- ble only in the summer,
and as the dogs were some- times unreliable, the little ones were
exposed to a certain amount of danger. For instance, when- ever a train
of dogs had been travelling for a long time, almost perishing with the
heat and their heavy loads, a glimpse of water would cause them to
forget all their responsibilities. Some of them, in spite of the screams of
the women, would swim with their burdens into the cooling stream, and
I was thus, on more than one occasion, made to partake of an unwilling

bath.
I was a little over four years old at the time of the "Sioux massacre" in
Minnesota. In the general turmoil, we took flight into British Columbia,
and the journey is still vividly remem- bered by all our family. A yoke
of oxen and a lumber-wagon were taken from some white farmer and
brought home for our conveyance.
How delighted I was when I learned that we were to ride behind those
wise-looking animals and in that gorgeously painted wagon! It seemed
almost like a living creature to me, this new vehicle with four legs, and
the more so when we got out of axle-grease and the wheels went along
squealing like pigs!
The boys found a great deal of innocent fun in jumping from the high
wagon while the oxen were leisurely moving along. My elder brothers
soon became experts. At last, I mustered up courage enough to join
them in this sport. I was sure they stepped on the wheel, so I cautiously
placed my moccasined foot upon it. Alas! before I could realize what
had happened, I was under the wheels, and had it not been for the
neighbor immediately behind us, I might have been run over by the
next team as well.
This was my first experience with a civilized vehicle. I cried out all
possible reproaches on the white man's team and concluded that a dog-
travaux was good enough for me. I was really rejoiced that we were
moving away from the people who made the wagon that had almost
ended my life, and it did not occur to me that I alone was to blame. I
could not be persuaded to ride in that wagon again and was glad when
we finally left it beside the Missouri river.
The summer after the "Minnesota massacre," General Sibley pursued
our people across this river. Now the Missouri is considered one of the
most treacherous rivers in the world. Even a good modern boat is not
safe upon its uncertain current. We were forced to cross in buffalo-skin
boats--as round as tubs!
The Washechu (white men) were coming in great numbers with their
big guns, and while most of our men were fighting them to gain time,
the women and the old men made and equipped the temporary boats,
braced with ribs of willow. Some of these were towed by two or three
women or men swimming in the water and some by ponies. It was not
an easy matter to keep them right side up, with their helpless freight of

little children and such goods as we possessed.
In our flight, we little folks were strapped in the saddles or held in front
of an older person, and in the long night marches to get away from the
soldiers, we suffered from loss of sleep and insuf- ficient food. Our
meals were eaten hastily, and sometimes in the saddle. Water was not
always to be found. The people carried it with them in bags formed of
tripe or the dried pericardium of animals.
Now we were compelled to trespass upon the country of hostile tribes
and were harassed by them almost daily and nightly. Only the strictest
vigilance saved us.
One day we met with another enemy near the British lines. It was a
prairie fire. We were sur- rounded. Another fire was quickly made,
which saved our lives.
One of the most thrilling experiences of the following winter was a
blizzard, which overtook us in our wanderings. Here and there, a family
lay down in the snow, selecting a place where it was not likely to drift
much. For a day and a night we lay under the snow. Uncle stuck a long
pole beside us to tell us when the storm was over. We had plenty of
buffalo robes and the snow kept us warm, but we found it heavy. After
a time, it became packed and hollowed out around our bodies, so that
we were as comfortable as one can be under those circumstances.
The next day the storm ceased, and we dis- covered a large herd