Two months in the Camp of Big Bear | Page 8

had gone through.
Just then Big Bear's braves came into the tent; there were nearly thirty
of them, covered with war paint, some having on my husband's clothes,
and all giving vent to those terrible yells, and holding most murderous

looking instruments. They were long wooden clubs. At one end were
set three sharp shining knife blades. They all looked at me as I eyed
those weapons (and they well matched the expression of their cruel
mouths and develish eyes) thinking my troubles would soon be over I
calmly awaited the result. But they sat down around me with a bottle
full of something that looked like water, passing it from one Indian to
the other, so I put on a brave look as if I was not afraid of them. After
this they all went out and the most bloodcurdling yells that ever pierced
my ears was their war-whoop, mingled with dancing and yelling and
cutting most foolish antics.
I saw a little baby that I thought must be dead, lying in one part of the
tent, they had it done up in a moss bag. I will try and give an idea of
what it was like: they take a piece of cloth having it large at the top,
and cut it around where the feet should be, and on both sides, of this
little bag they have loops of very fine leather, then they have a small
thin cushion laid on this, the length of the child, and three or four
pieces of different colored flannels, then they dress the baby in a thin
print gown and put it in this bag, and its little legs are put down just as
straight as a needle, covered over with moss, which they first heat very
hot; then the arms are put down in the same way and the flannels are
wrapped around very tight and then they lace the bag up, and all that
can be seen is the little brown face peeping out.
Just then Pritchard's little girl came in where I was; she could talk a few
words of English. I asked her where her pa was, and she said that he
was putting up a tent not far away, and then I had some hope of getting
from the Indians.
After I had been there for four hours, Louis Goulet and Andre Nault
came in, and Goulet said to me "Mrs. Gowanlock if you will give
yourself over to the half-breeds, they will not hurt you; Peter Blondin
has gone down to where the mill is, and when he comes back he will
give his horse for you." I asked them to interpret it to the Indians in
order to let me go to Pritchard's tent for awhile, and the Indians said
that she could go with this squaw. I went and was overjoyed to see Mrs.
Delaney there also. After getting in there I was unconscious for a long

time, and upon coming to my senses, I found Mrs. Pritchard bathing
my face with cold water. When Blondin came back he gave his horse
and thirty dollars for Mrs. Delaney and me. He put up a tent and asked
me to go with him, but I refused; and he became angry and did
everything he could to injure me. That man treated me most shamefully;
if it had not been for Pritchard I do not know what would have become
of me. Pritchard was kinder than any of the others.
After I had been a prisoner three days, Blondin came and asked me if I
could ride horse back, and I said "yes," and he said if I would go with
him, he would go and take two of the best horses that Big Bear had and
desert that night. I told him I would never leave Pritchard's tent until we
all left, saying "I would go and drown myself in the river before I
would go with him."
Late that same night a French Canadian by the name of Pierre came
into the tent, and hid himself behind us, he said the Indians wanted to
shoot him, and some one told him to go and hide himself, ultimately
one of the half-breeds gave a horse to save his life. Mrs. Pritchard told
him not to stay in there. She did not want to see any more men killed,
and one of the half-breeds took him away and he was placed under the
protection of the Wood Crees. This man had been working with Goulet
and Nault all winter getting out logs about thirty miles from Frog Lake.
CHAPTER VIII.
PROTECTED BY HALF-BREEDS.
On the 3rd of April Big Bear came into our tent and sitting down beside
us told us he was very sorry for