UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 ILLir ~tS LIBRARY 
 
 AT UF A-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 ILL HIST. SURVEY

 
 THE TOTEM OF BLACK HAWK
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk," he cried 
 
 [Page 350]
 
 THE TOTEM OF 
 BLACK HAWK 
 
 A Tale of Pioneer Days in Northwestern Illinois 
 and the Black Hawk War 
 
 By 
 
 EVERETT McNEIL 
 
 Author of "The Boy Forty-Niners," "in Texas with Davy Crockett,' 
 "With Kit Carson in the Rockies," etc. 
 
 Illustrated by 
 
 HENRY S. WATSON 
 
 CHICAGO 
 A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
 
 1915
 
 Copyright 
 
 A. C. McClurg- & Co. 
 1914 
 
 Published October, 1914 
 Second Printing, December, 1915 
 
 , f. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO
 
 To 
 the Boys and the Girls 
 
 of America 
 
 who are interested 
 
 in knowing something of 
 
 how our Great West was wrested 
 
 from the savage and the wilderness 
 
 this tale of pioneer life in 
 
 Northwestern Illinois 
 
 is affectionately 
 
 and hopefully 
 
 dedicated 
 
 V 
 
 L 

 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Arrival I 
 
 II. Gideon Goes Deer Hunting ... 12 
 
 III. Impromptu House Building ... 21 
 
 IV. Silas Wegg 26 
 
 V. The Race 40 
 
 VI. Bad News 53 
 
 VII. The Bobcat 66 
 
 VIII. Homemade Furniture 74 
 
 IX. Old Whitenose 84 
 
 X. Unexpected Guests 95 
 
 XI. The Totem of Black Hawk ... 109 
 
 XII. The Day of the First Plowing . . 120 
 
 XIII. The Killing of Old Whitenose . . 127 
 
 XIV. Days of Suspense 152 
 
 XV. The Wilderness Itch 164 
 
 XVI. Building the Log House .... 173 
 
 XVII. The Great Wrestling Match . . . 181 
 
 XVIII. The Coming of the Deep Snow . . 200 
 
 XIX. Besieged by Wolves 21 1 
 
 XX. The Hawk Threatens to Strike . . 223 
 
 XXI. The Coming of Ben Block ... 234 
 
 XXII. The Flaming Red Death .... 249 
 
 XXIII. Ben Block Again 267 
 
 XXIV. The Hawk Strikes 280 
 
 XXV. Mike Girty 291 
 
 XXVI. The Young Captain of Volunteers . 302 
 
 XXVII. On the Trail of the Hawk ... 314 
 
 XXVIII. Tied to the Stake 332 
 
 XXIX. Black Hawk 348 
 
 XXX. Au Revoir 362
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " The Totem of Black Hawk," he cried . . . Frontispiece 
 
 " Here's the land, right from the hand of God, all waiting 
 
 for us to make a home on it" 10 
 
 "Howd'y, howd'y, folks;' said the tall stranger ... 32 
 
 " My father's totem," she said proudly. " Keep all time on 
 
 neck" 118 
 
 Everybody present, even Silas Wegg, was dancing . . 180 
 
 Captured by the Indians 300 
 
 "Who'll be the first to test Abe Lincoln's courage?" . 326 
 
 " Silence, dog of a white man, Black Hawk has spoken " 356
 
 THE TOTEM OF BLACK HAWK 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE ARRIVAL 
 
 "TTTHOA!" and, with a downward thrust of 
 * the handle of his long ox whip, Big Tom 
 Clay brought the tired oxen to a welcomed halt. 
 " Martha," and he turned a pair of shining eyes to 
 the woman, who, with a baby in her arms, was 
 seated on the front seat of the huge covered wagon 
 that the weary oxen had been drawing, "Martha 
 Home! " and his eyes, sweeping the surrounding 
 scene, returned quickly and a bit questioningly to 
 the face of the woman. "Here's the land, right 
 from the hand of God, all waiting for us to make 
 a home on it. I hope it looks as good to you as it 
 does to me. It's the pick of the whole Rock River 
 Valley. Plenty of wood and water, and the soil 
 good enough for a king and ready right now for the 
 plow, without no grubbing out of trees or burning 
 of brush. I reckon 'twon't take us no time to make 
 ourselves mighty comfortable here. It's all that I 
 pictured it, ain't it? You ain't none disappointed, 
 be you?" and a look of affectionate anxiety came 
 into the eyes of the big man. 
 
 "No, Tom, I ain't disappointed," and Mrs. Clay 
 turned her eyes from the surrounding scene to the 
 
 i
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 face of her husband. " It's better than I thought it 
 was going to be. Now, give me a hand, I want to 
 set my feet on our own ground." 
 
 Big Tom promptly lifted up both hands and 
 helped his wife, with their baby in her arms, to the 
 ground. 
 
 "It is glorious!" Mrs. Clay said, drawing in a 
 long breath of satisfaction, as her eyes slowly cir- 
 cled the beautiful scene. " Looks as if it was made 
 a-purpose for a home a home for us and the chil- 
 dren," and her eyes rested tenderly for a moment 
 on the smiling face of the baby in her arms, and 
 then turned, glowing with mother pride, to two 
 children, a boy and a girl, who were hurrying 
 toward them from a second ox-drawn wagon that 
 had halted a short distance behind the first. 
 
 "Is this the place? Have we reached our own 
 land?" the boy called excitedly at sight of his 
 mother's face. 
 
 " Yes ! " shouted back Big Tom joyously. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " yelled the girl, catching quick hold of 
 her brother's hand and racing alongside of him to 
 the spot where their father and mother stood. 
 
 " Well, what do you think of our new home, Gid ? 
 Like it better than you did back in Ohio ? " queried 
 the father, smiling down into the excited boy's face. 
 
 "I reckon I will," answered Gideon soberly, his 
 eyes slowly scanning the surrounding country. " It 
 looks just about right and " 
 
 " But," interrupted the girl, looking around anx- 
 iously, "I see no house. Where is our house?"
 
 The Arrival 
 
 "Right there in them big trees, Ruth," grinned 
 Big Tom, pointing to the heavy timber that 
 stretched along the edge of the prairie on which 
 they had halted. 
 
 " Where ? I I can't see it," and Ruth, shading 
 her eyes with one hand, searched the spot indicated 
 eagerly. 
 
 "Well," laughed her father, "it's there, right in 
 them big trees, just waiting for our axes to cut it 
 out" 
 
 " O," and the lights in Ruth's eyes danced with 
 excitement, "you mean, we've got to cut down the 
 trees and make a house out of them! But, where 
 will we live until the house is made ? " and her face 
 sobered. 
 
 "That's a great question for a pioneer girl to 
 ask," laughed Mrs. Clay. "Why, we've all out- 
 doors to camp in!" 
 
 "But but just camping out isn't like home- 
 living. I thought we'd have a real house to live in, 
 when we got to our land. I'm tired of camping out. 
 The cooking is so smoky and I am always afraid of 
 snakes, specially since dad shot that rattler off the 
 top of my blanket the other morning," and Ruth's 
 face whitened and she shivered at the thought of 
 that dreadful experience. 
 
 "Well, if that's all that is troubling you," cheered 
 her father, " your troubles will soon be over. We'll 
 have some sort of a shelter up before a Dutchman 
 could say Jack Robinson. 'Twon't take no time to 
 put up a half-faced camp; and that will do splendid
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 until we can get the house up. O, we'll soon be as 
 snug as four bugs in a rug." 
 
 " Five," smiled Mrs. Clay, " counting the baby." 
 "Right," grinned Big Tom. "Couldn't keep 
 house nohow without the baby. Now, just see the 
 little rascal grin. Reckon she fancies we're doing 
 all this for her special benefit, the conceit of her ! " 
 and he chucked the baby under the chin with one of 
 his big fingers. "But then I reckon it's just the 
 woman breaking out in her," and he winked one eye 
 at his wife. " Howsomever, talk and looks never 
 built a house; we must get busy. It's past noon 
 now," and he glanced up at the sun ; " and we've got 
 enough to do before sleeptime to keep six men busy. 
 Gid," and he turned to the boy, "unyoke and turn 
 the critters loose to feed. We'll leave the wagons 
 right where they be. Now, Martha, just give me a 
 hand, and we will get some of the things we need 
 first out of the wagon," and Big Tom sprang into 
 the back end of one of the big canvas-topped 
 wagons, while Mrs. Clay gave the baby to Ruth 
 and made ready to help her husband with the un- 
 loading. 
 
 Gideon, with eager, practiced hands, hurriedly 
 unyoked the three pairs of oxen hitched to each 
 heavy wagon, and turned the tired and hungry ani- 
 mals loose to feed on the rich grass that covered the 
 prairie, together with the three cows and the two 
 horses that the pioneers had brought with them. 
 Then, with a long indrawing of his breath, he 
 stopped, for a moment, near where his sister sat on
 
 The Arrival 
 
 the grass, the baby in her arms, and looked around 
 him. 
 
 The trip westward from their rude Ohio home to 
 this beautiful forest-fenced Illinois prairie had been 
 a wonderful journey for the boy and the girl. A 
 year before their father had mounted his horse and, 
 rifle in hand, had ridden off into the mysterious 
 West in search of a new home. Four months later, 
 near the close of one never-to-be-forgotten day, 
 they had seen him come riding home from out the 
 unknown land of the setting sun, bronzed and 
 weather-beaten, but hale and hearty; and with a 
 wonderful tale of the beautiful country in the dis- 
 tant Rock River Valley in northwestern Illinois, 
 where he had purchased, for two dollars an acre, 
 the virgin land on which to build a home. 
 
 Then had followed the long winter months it 
 had been too late in the fall when Mr. Clay returned 
 to think of making the long wagon journey that 
 year during which hardly a day had passed when 
 Gideon and Ruth had not dreamt of the new home 
 they were to build in that wonderful Illinois coun- 
 try, and of the long overland journey into the 
 unknown mysteries of the West that they would 
 have to make to take them to it. And all winter 
 long, with an ever increasing interest, they had 
 helped their father and mother prepare for the long 
 journey and the building of the new home. Then 
 had come spring and the final preparations for the 
 departure; and, at last, one early April morning, 
 the oxen were yoked to the two heavily-loaded,
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 canvas-topped wagons and headed westward. The 
 long-looked-ahead-to journey had actually begun. 
 
 The country between their home in Ohio and the 
 Rock River Valley in Illinois was then, 1830, almost 
 an unbroken wilderness, with the few settlers, scat- 
 tered at irregular intervals through Ohio and 
 Indiana, constantly becoming fewer and farther 
 apart as they journeyed westward, until, when 
 Illinois was reached, there were days at a time when 
 our lonely travelers did not see any signs of human 
 habitation, save those made by the Indians. There 
 were no roads ; only trails made by the Indians and 
 the few pioneers that had preceded them. The 
 rivers were bridgeless, and had to be forded or 
 ferried. For food they were obliged to depend 
 almost entirely on the supplies they had brought 
 with them and on their rifles; but wild turkeys, 
 prairie chickens, and quails were plentiful and easily 
 shot, and hardly a day passed when the rifle of 
 father or son did not bring down a deer. Con- 
 sequently there was no lack of good wholesome 
 food, even though the cooking had to be rudely 
 done over the hot coals of a camp fire. At night 
 Gideon and his father rolled themselves up in their 
 blankets and lay down on the ground, the stars 
 above them and all outdoors around them. Mrs. 
 Clay and the baby and Ruth slept in one of the 
 wagons, except on warm, clear nights, when they, 
 too, sometimes made their beds on the ground, or 
 did, until some ten days back, when Ruth had been 
 awakened one morning by the crack of her father's
 
 The Arrival 
 
 rifle to find, to her horror, that he had just shot 
 the head from a large rattlesnake that, during the 
 night, had curled itself up on her blanket. After 
 that she and her mother slept in the wagon, no 
 matter how warm and clear the night might be. 
 
 Thus, slowly, day after day for six weeks, the 
 patient oxen had drawn the heavy wagons west- 
 ward, over the hills and through the forests of 
 western Ohio and across the swamps and through 
 the great woods of northern Indiana, and over the 
 rich prairies of Illinois, until, at last, they had come 
 to this beautiful forest- fenced prairie in the north- 
 western part, where, as we have seen, Big Tom 
 Clay had brought the wearied animals to a halt 
 and had declared the long journey ended. 
 
 At first this free outdoor life, this constant chang- 
 ing of scenery, this ever moving westward into new 
 and unknown regions, had been very fascinating 
 and interesting to Gideon and Ruth. After some 
 four or five weeks of it, however, its disagreeable 
 features hard, cold beds at night, smoky fires, 
 swarming flies and mosquitoes, storms, from which 
 there was no shelter, frequent deep mud and loose 
 sand of the trail, through which the oxen could 
 pull the heavy wagons only with the greatest diffi- 
 culty, dirt and grime, and a hundred other petty 
 inconveniences all these disagreeable things began 
 to dull the edge of their enjoyment of the wild 
 free life they were living and to make them long 
 for the quiet and the comforts of a home, how- 
 ever rude and humble it might be. So, when their
 
 8 The Totem of Black Hawk _. 
 
 father had declared the journey ended; that they 
 had at last reached their own land, the site of 
 their new home, the children welcomed the news 
 eagerly much more eagerly than they would have 
 welcomed it four weeks before. 
 
 " Well, what do you think of our new home, 
 Ruth?" Gideon asked, after he had stood for a 
 minute or two by the side of his sister contemplat- 
 ing the beautiful scene, primeval in its wildness. 
 "Looks as if it was going to be right lonesome, 
 doesn't it? Don't believe there is another human 
 being, unless it is Indians, within a hundred miles 
 of us. But it is beautiful ! " And again his eyes 
 swept the broad prairie, untouched by the plow of 
 man, gorgeous now with the green of the rich grass 
 and the bloom of the many-hued flowers, and fol- 
 lowed the long stretch of virgin forest that fenced 
 the prairie on one side as far as he could see. 
 
 "Yes, it is very beautiful," agreed Ruth; "and 
 so quiet looking and peace ful-1 ike. But I guess 
 you were right when you said that it's going to be 
 lonesome. I heard dad tell mother that our nearest 
 neighbor was a good fifteen miles away to the 
 south of us, and that the next nearest one was more 
 than twenty miles north. I do hope that some- 
 one will come in and settle down near us ; and that 
 they will have girls and boys. I can't see how we 
 can have much fun without anyone to play with; 
 but, I suppose we've just got to make the best of 
 it," and Ruth sighed and snuggled the baby up 
 closer in her arms.
 
 The Arrival 
 
 " Pshaw ! " laughed Gideon, " 'twon't do no good 
 to get gloomy over it. Besides, we'll be too busy, 
 for a time at least, to do any playing. Now I 
 wonder where dad is going to build the house. I 
 think the top of that little hill over yonder, with 
 the clump of willows growing round the big rocks 
 near its bottom, would make a fine place for a 
 house, don't you?" 
 
 "That's the very spot I picked out for the 
 house," declared Ruth, jumping quickly to her feet, 
 her face lighting up with interest. "Come, let's 
 tell dad," and followed by Gideon she hurried to 
 where her father and mother were still getting 
 things out of the wagon. 
 
 " O, Dad ! " she cried, excitedly, the moment she 
 came to where her father and mother were unload- 
 ing, "we've picked out a splendid place for the 
 house. It's right there on top of that hill," and 
 she pointed to the flat top of the little hill that 
 rose above the level of the prairie a few rods 
 away. 
 
 " Don't you think it is the place for the house, 
 Dad?" and Gideon, too, pointed excitedly to the 
 little hill. " It's high and dry, and there's plenty 
 of room for barns and stables." 
 
 " Now, just see how great minds run in the same 
 channel," Big Tom grinned, as he straightened up 
 from the heavy bureau that he and Mrs. Clay had 
 just lifted from the wagon and placed on the 
 ground, " for that is the identical spot I picked 
 out for the house when I bought the land, and your
 
 io The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 ma, not more than five minutes ago, remarked that 
 that identical hill looked as if the good Lord had 
 put it there on purpose for us to build our house 
 on top of it. So it looks as if the election of that 
 spot for the house was unanimous, as the district 
 chairman back East used to say; and it certain is 
 as fine a building spot as a body could want. 
 There's about the cleanest looking spring I ever 
 saw, with the coolest and best tasting water that 
 ever passed my lips, bubbling up right from under 
 one of them big rocks, where you see the little 
 clump of willows near the bottom of the hill, that 
 will give plenty of good drinking water for our- 
 selves and the animals." 
 
 " Then I want a drink out of it right now," and 
 Gideon started off on the run toward the spring. 
 
 " Hi, there ! " called his father. " Come back and 
 take a pail with you. I reckon we all want a 
 drink." 
 
 Gideon quickly caught up a wooden pail and hur- 
 ried off to the spring of water. In ten minutes he 
 was back, with the pail full of water and his eyes 
 shining with excitement. 
 
 " Dad," he cried, as he sat the pail of water down, 
 "there's a big buck and four does feeding about 
 half a mile beyond the spring and near the edge of 
 the timber. I am sure, by going into the woods, 
 I can creep up near enough for a shot. Can I have 
 a try?" 
 
 " Gosh, yes ! " answered Big Tom, his own face 
 lighting up with interest. "If there's any fresh
 
 " Here's the land, right from the hand of God, all waiting 
 for us to make a home on it "
 
 The Arrival n 
 
 venison near, we want some of it; but get back 
 as soon as you can. If I wasn't so tarnal busy I'd 
 go with you. Now," he cautioned, as Gideon hur- 
 ried to the wagon for his rifle, "no chasing after 
 the deer. If you can get one without going too far 
 from camp, all right; but I've no time to hunt for 
 a lost boy." 
 
 "No danger," Gideon called back, as he caught 
 up his rifle and flung powder-horn and bullet pouch 
 over his shoulder. " I'm not so green as to get 
 lost, even if this is new country. I'll be back 
 inside of a couple of hours with the saddle of one 
 of those deer on my back, unless luck is plumb 
 against me." 
 
 " Get the buck, if possible," called his father, as 
 Gideon started off. 
 
 "Do be careful and not go too far from the 
 camp," warned his mother. " It's new country, 
 and the Lord only knows what's in it." 
 
 " O, I'm not a baby any longer, Mother," Gideon 
 laughed back. "Never fear; I'll be back, right 
 side up with care. Have a good hot fire ready, 
 for I'm calculating on having a slice of that big 
 buck for supper tonight," and, with a final laughing 
 " good-by," he was off in the direction of the woods 
 that edged the prairie some forty rods away.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 GIDEON GOES DEER HUNTING 
 
 GIDEON CLAY was an unusually large and 
 strong-muscled boy for a lad of fourteen years, 
 and well-versed in all the ways of the rough out- 
 door life of the pioneer. He had often hunted 
 deer and smaller wild animals back in his Ohio 
 home; and once he had gone with his father on a 
 bear hunt to the Big Woods in the northern part 
 of the state and had helped him kill a large black 
 bear. Consequently deer hunting was no new sport 
 to him and he knew, as well as any man, how to 
 creep, unobserved, upon the timid and wary ani- 
 mals; but this hunt was in a new country and he 
 must be extra cautious, for, as his mother said, 
 the Lord alone knew what was in it. There 
 might be larger and more dangerous animals than 
 deer. Bears, he had heard, were sometimes found 
 in the woods ; and he knew that Indians still hunted, 
 in savage wildness, over the prairies and through 
 the forests of these unsettled regions. He had the 
 pioneer's scorn for the cowardly black bear and 
 he did not much fear the Indians, notwithstanding 
 the rumors, which had reached them on the route, 
 that trouble was brewing between the Indians and 
 the settlers in northwestern Illinois. Still, even 
 black bears were sometimes dangerous; and the 
 pioneers had long since learnt, to their cost, never 
 
 12
 
 Gideon Goes Deer Hunting 13 
 
 to place complete trust in the friendliness of In- 
 dians; besides, the country in which he was now 
 was absolutely unknown to him; therefore, it is 
 not to be wondered at, if Gideon's heart did beat 
 a little faster than was usual, even when hunting 
 deer, and if the grip on his rifle was a little tighter 
 than usual, when he entered the dark shadows of 
 the unknown woods and began creeping cautiously 
 toward the feeding animals. 
 
 There was considerable underbrush growing be- 
 neath the trees and this made Gideon's cautious 
 progress slow; but, gradually, with eyes and ears 
 keenly alert, he drew near the spot where the deer 
 were still quietly feeding, not more than seventy- 
 five yards from the edge of the forest. The buck 
 stood the nearest to the woods; and Gideon, who 
 was now close enough to see the animal distinctly, 
 thought he had never before seen so fine a buck. 
 
 " I must surely get him," he mused. " I don't 
 believe that dad himself ever shot as splendid a 
 buck as that," and he stopped to get a clearer view 
 of his surroundings and to pick out the spot from 
 which to make the shot. 
 
 Some two rods from the edge of the woods and 
 almost in a direct line between him and the deer 
 he saw a half dozen huge rocks that jutted up 
 above the level of the prairie to the height of a 
 man's head. 
 
 " That is the place from which to make the shot," 
 he thought, as his eyes noted that the rocks were 
 considerably nearer to the buck than was the edge
 
 14 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 of the woods, "and if I can't get the buck from 
 there, then I'm no son of Big Tom Clay," and 
 moving with the utmost care he began working his 
 way slowly through the underbrush toward the 
 rocks, throwing himself flat on his belly and worm- 
 ing his way through the grass, when he left the 
 shelter of the woods, and being very careful to make 
 no noise and to keep the rocks between him and the 
 buck. 
 
 At last, with his heart thumping against his ribs, 
 he reached the rocks and drew himself up behind 
 their shelter to make ready for the shot. 
 
 In those early days the modern rapid-fire rifle 
 had not yet been invented, and the hunter was com- 
 pelled to depend on one of those muzzle-loading, 
 single-shot guns, fired by a flintlock, now found 
 only in museums. It was loaded from the muzzle. 
 First, the right amount of powder had to be poured 
 into the barrel. Then the bullet, usually " patched " 
 with a piece of greased cloth to make it fit the bore 
 of the barrel snugly, was driven down tightly on 
 top of the powder with the ramrod. And, finally, 
 a very small quantity of powder was poured from 
 the horn or jarred, by a smart blow of the hand, 
 from the barrel into the fire-pan, to catch the sparks 
 from the flint. Sometimes this powder would get 
 shaken out of the fire-pan ; and the cautious hunter 
 usually, if he had time, poured fresh powder into the 
 pan before risking a shot. Another thing, with 
 such a slow loading rifle there would be no oppor- 
 tunity for a second shot; consequently the hunter
 
 Gideon Goes Deer Hunting 15 
 
 must kill at the first shot, or see the frightened game 
 escape before he could reload. 
 
 Gideon, the moment he reached the shelter of the 
 rocks, glanced down quickly into the fire-pan of his 
 rifle to make sure that it held sufficient powder. 
 He found it nearly empty, and swiftly pouring a 
 little powder from his horn into it to make 
 sure that the gun would go off at the first pull of 
 the trigger, he began slowly and cautiously to raise 
 himself up from behind the broad flat rock, 
 back of which he had concealed himself, intending 
 to rest the heavy barrel of the rifle on its firm top 
 while taking aim at the buck. He knew that noth- 
 ing was so apt to frighten a deer as a quick move- 
 ment, and, therefore, as his head approached the 
 top of the rock he was careful to move it upward 
 very, very slowly, so slowly that the movement 
 would be imperceptible to the deer. First the top 
 of his head projected slightly above the rock, then 
 slowly his forehead, and, at last, his eyes and, 
 to his astonishment, he found himself staring 
 straight into the round little eyes of a huge black 
 bear that lay stretched out flat on his belly on top 
 of the rock not six feet away. 
 
 The bear, evidently, was on a deer hunt too, and 
 was patiently waiting for one of the deer to come 
 near enough to the rock for him to spring down 
 on his back. Likewise he was as fearfully and as 
 unexpectedly startled as was Gideon. 
 
 There was nothing slow in the next movement of 
 Gideon. Terribly as he was startled frightened,
 
 16 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 he did not yell, he did not turn his back on the 
 bear and run; but, with the record leap backward 
 of his life, he threw his rifle instinctively to his 
 shoulder, took a quick aim at one of the little 
 wicked round eyes, and, just as the startled brute's 
 jaws opened for a savage growl, he pulled the 
 trigger. 
 
 The bear, with a horribly ugly growl and a con- 
 vulsive spring, flung himself bodily off the rock and 
 almost on top of Gideon, who stood stock-still, as 
 if every muscle in his body had been suddenly 
 frozen rigid, until the nails of one of the huge 
 paws tore through the strong deerskin that cov- 
 ered his legs and cut a long scratch in his skin 
 almost from hip to ankle. 
 
 The scratch seemed to awaken Gideon to his 
 peril, and with a cry that was not so much from 
 fear as it was from pain and rage, he leaped out 
 of reach of those nail-armed paws and drew the 
 long-bladed hunting knife that he carried in his 
 belt. 
 
 He did not think of running. His was not the 
 running breed of manhood. He only thought of 
 defending his life from the brute with every ounce 
 of strength in his body. 
 
 But there was no need of defending himself 
 further, for, after a few convulsive jerks of the 
 huge frame, the bear lay motionless. 
 
 Gideon stood for a minute, knife in right hand, 
 rifle in left, staring at the bear, every muscle tense as 
 a steel spring. Then, seeing that the bear still
 
 Gideon Goes Deer Hunting 17 
 
 remained motionless, he swiftly sheathed his knife 
 and, still keeping an eye on the bear, began rapidly 
 reloading his rifle, and not until the rifle was 
 reloaded did he take a step nearer the animal. He 
 knew too well the value of the rule of the wilder- 
 ness, never to approach dangerous game, however 
 dead it might appear, with an unloaded rifle, or, 
 indeed, to remain anywhere in the wilderness a 
 moment longer than was necessary with an unloaded 
 rifle in the hand. 
 
 When the rifle was reloaded Gideon stepped close 
 to the head of the bear. But there was no need 
 of another shot. The bullet had gone true, through 
 the eye and into the brain, causing almost instant 
 death. 
 
 For a moment Gideon stood staring at the body 
 of the bear. He could hardly realize that the huge 
 animal was really dead. He thrust out the barrel 
 of his rifle and cautiously poked the limp, motion- 
 less body with its muzzle. It lay motionless, inert 
 as a bag of grain. 
 
 For a brief moment, as he realized all that had 
 so suddenly happened, all that might have happened, 
 his blood seemed to stop flowing, his knees trem- 
 bled; and then the blood surged back through his 
 veins and he threw back his head and gave a whoop 
 of triumph. 
 
 He had killed his first bear! 
 
 "Gee-mi-ma, but he is a whopper!" and his 
 eyes proudly measured the great hairy form. "I 
 don't believe dad ever shot a bigger bear than that.
 
 1 8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 I reckon it will take a yoke of oxen to drag that 
 monster into camp. I must tell dad," and with a 
 last look at the dead beast Gideon started off on 
 the run for the camp, his eyes and face glowing 
 with excitement. 
 
 The moment he came within sight of his father 
 and mother and Ruth, he swung his hat around his 
 head and yelled. 
 
 "Gid is some excited," grinned Big Tom, as he 
 looked up and saw the running boy. " Reckon he 
 got the buck No, I reckon from the way he's 
 acting it's a whale," he added, laughing. " One 
 would think he had never seen a deer before, much 
 less shot one. Say," he called, as Gideon rushed 
 up, flushed, panting and almost breathless, " where's 
 the whale?" 
 
 "The whale?" and Gideon stared blankly at his 
 father. 
 
 " Yes. I reckoned from the way you were yell- 
 ing and swinging your hat that you must have shot 
 a whale at least," and the grin on Big Tom's face 
 broadened. 
 
 "I did! I did! A whale of a bear! The 
 biggest" 
 
 "You are hurt!" and Mrs. Clay, who had just 
 caught sight of his torn leg, which had bled suffi- 
 ciently to look much more serious than it really was, 
 hurried to him, her face white with dread. 
 
 "Pshaw! That's just a scratch!" and Gideon 
 motioned her back. "But, Dad, I've killed the 
 biggest bear you "
 
 Gideon Goes Deer Hunting 19 
 
 " What's that, my son ? " and with a long stride 
 Big Tom was by the side of Gideon, a look of 
 concern on his face. "A bear; and hurt!" and 
 he was down on his knees by the side of Mrs. Clay, 
 examining the long scratch made by the death- 
 swipe of the bear. 
 
 Not until both had assured themselves that it 
 really was nothing more than a scratch, would they 
 listen to the boy's excited account of how he killed 
 the bear. 
 
 Mrs. Clay carefully washed the long scratch made 
 in Gideon's leg by the bear's claws and rubbed a 
 little homemade ointment on it; and then Gideon 
 and his father yoked up a couple of the oxen, tied 
 a long drag-rope to the ring in the yoke and started 
 off after the carcass of the bear. 
 
 "He sure is a whopper!" declared Big Tom, as 
 he halted the oxen by the side of the body of the 
 dead bear and measured the hairy form with his 
 eyes. " I reckon you got the champion of the Rock 
 River Valley, Gid," and his eyes turned, with just 
 a little pride in their look, to the flushed face of 
 the boy. " Now, just hold up the head, while I tie 
 the drag-rope around the neck." 
 
 Gideon seized the head of the bear with both 
 hands and held it up, while his father tied the long 
 rope, fastened to the ring in the yoke, firmly around 
 the hairy neck. This done the oxen were started 
 camp- ward and soon the body of the dead bear lay 
 on the ground, near the blazing camp fire that had 
 been kindled midway between the two big wagons.
 
 20 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Mr. Clay at once skinned the dead animal, cut 
 out the choicest portions of meat; and then again 
 tied the drag-rope to the carcass and had the oxen 
 draw the remains far out on the prairie away from 
 the camp. 
 
 That night our pioneer friends feasted on bear- 
 steak, instead of venison; and I doubt if there was 
 a prouder or a happier boy in all that western 
 country than Gideon Clay, as he sat at the rude 
 supper table, spread out on the top of an old chest, 
 and ate the meat cut from his first bear. Of course 
 the meat tasted extra good to him; but, to the 
 others, it seemed just a little strong and tough.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 IMPROMPTU HOUSE BUILDING 
 
 "TVTOW," Mr. Clay declared, as he arose from 
 ^ his somewhat hurriedly eaten supper, " we 
 must rush up some sort of a shelter for the night 
 and for the two or three days that must pass before 
 we can get the half-faced camp in shape. Let me 
 see, what shall it be ? " and his eyes looked search- 
 ingly around the little encampment. "I have it," 
 and his face cleared. "We will make a roof out 
 of one of the wagon tops. We can spread out the 
 bows, so as to widen the top and give us more space 
 beneath and tie the ends of the bows to strong stakes 
 driven into the ground. This will give us the frame. 
 We will need eight better make it ten straight 
 stakes about eight feet long and as big around as 
 your wrist, Gid, so take your ax and hurry to the 
 woods and cut them, while your mother and I are 
 getting the top off the wagon and making things 
 ready. You can go with Gid," and he turned to 
 Ruth, who had made a little nest of soft grass for 
 the baby, in which she was sleeping soundly, " and 
 help him with the stakes. Hurry back ! " he called, 
 as Gideon and Ruth started off on the run toward 
 the woods. 
 
 In half an hour the two children were back with 
 the ten stakes. 
 
 21
 
 22 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 By this time Mr. and Mrs. Clay had the canvas 
 top, with its four bent hickory bows, off the wagon, 
 the ground cleared, and everything in readiness for 
 the projected little house. 
 
 All worked fast and hard; and in a short time 
 they had the eight stakes driven deep into the 
 ground at the proper distances apart, the ends of 
 the four wagon-bows firmly tied to the tops of 
 the stakes, in such a way that they formed an 
 arched frame above the ground, and the cloth of 
 the canvas wagon-cover drawn over this frame and 
 tied in place. The sides and one of the ends were 
 now closed with skins and blankets firmly tied to 
 the stakes; and to keep the water from running 
 inside the enclosure and soaking the ground, should 
 it rain, Gideon and his father dug a shallow trench 
 all around the little house, throwing the dirt up 
 against the bottom of the blankets and the skins 
 to hold them firmly down and to keep the air out. 
 
 "There, I call that a pretty fair impromptu 
 house," Big Tom declared, with satisfaction, when 
 the last shovelful of dirt had been thrown up against 
 the sides of this rude shelter. "It's large enough 
 to protect all, if we sit close, and to furnish cover 
 for such goods as the weather might harm. I 
 reckon we can make ourselves comfortable in it for 
 a few days, don't you think so, Martha?" 
 
 " Yes," agreed Martha, heartily, " it will do fine. 
 It beats all what you have done with a few yards 
 of cloth and skins and poles. You are a genius, 
 Tom, when it comes to making something out of
 
 Impromptu House Building 23 
 
 almost nothing," and her eyes turned admiringly 
 to the face of her husband. 
 
 " Have to be in a new country, where everything 
 is raw/' laughed Big Tom. "Now it is getting 
 late and we must hurry and get things under shelter 
 and herd up and hobble the critters. Don't want 
 to be chasing all over the country after them in the 
 morning. Gid," and he turned to the boy, "you 
 get the critters together; and Martha and Ruth 
 and I will carry the things into the house and get 
 the place shipshape." 
 
 In a short time, Gideon had the cattle and the 
 horses herded together near the camp and securely 
 hobbled, to prevent their wandering during the 
 night, while his father and mother and Ruth had 
 moved into the rude shelter, that had been so 
 quickly and ingeniously improvised, things that the 
 rain or the dew might harm. 
 
 "Now, for our beds," grinned Big Tom, and, 
 picking up a scythe, he began, with swift strong 
 strokes, cutting the long grass that covered the 
 prairie, while Gideon and Ruth carried it into the 
 little house and spread it out over the hard ground 
 where they were to make their beds for the night. 
 Then Mrs. Clay placed blankets and skins over 
 the grass and as soft and as comfortable beds 
 as tired bodies could wish were ready. 
 
 Already a huge camp fire was blazing brightly a 
 few feet in front of the house-opening, with a large 
 pile of wood near-by with which to replenish it 
 during the night, giving warmth and cheer and an
 
 24 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 added picturesqueness to the quaint wilderness 
 camp. 
 
 "Reckon we've done all we can do for today," 
 Big Tom declared, at last, as he straightened up his 
 huge form and, standing by the side of the camp 
 fire, glanced searchingly around. "Everything 
 'pears to be about shipshape ; therefore, seeing that 
 it's getting late and that we're all about tuckered, 
 I move that we retire to our downy grassy, I 
 mean couches. ' ' 
 
 " Second the motion," laughed Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "Carried, unanimous," asserted Big Tom, auto- 
 cratically. "All get inside our mansion at once. 
 Remember, sunup, everybody up," and, with a final 
 searching look around the peaceful encampment, 
 he suddenly grabbed Gideon up under one big arm 
 and Ruth under the other and carried them, laugh- 
 ing and kicking, into the house and threw them 
 down on the blanket-covered grass. 
 
 There was little undressing to be done; and in a 
 short time all were reposing on their "grassy 
 couches." 
 
 Gideon lay near the opening, where he could look 
 out into the mystery of the night; and tired as he 
 was, it was long before he closed his eyes in sleep, 
 so fascinated was he by the weird beauty of the 
 scene. 
 
 A full moon shone down from a cloudless sky; 
 and Gideon thought that never before had the moon 
 looked as big and as bright and the stars as numer- 
 ous and as luminous as they did now. From where
 
 Impromptu House Building 25 
 
 he lay he could see far out over the peaceful prairie, 
 now almost soundless with the silence of night. 
 The hoot of an owl, softened by the distance, came 
 from the neighboring forest. An eerie rustling, 
 like the lazy flappings of innumerable soft wings, 
 indistinctly heard, seemed to come from the air all 
 around. A katydid called from the grass outside. 
 But these sounds did not break, rather they seemed 
 to Gideon to accentuate the silence of the night. 
 Then, suddenly, from far out on the prairie, came 
 the prolonged howl of a wolf, answered almost in- 
 stantly by another howl, and then another, and 
 another, until the surrounding air seemed filled with 
 the distant howlings, gradually coming nearer and 
 concentrating at a point a half mile or more from 
 the camp. 
 
 Gideon raised himself up on one elbow and lis- 
 tened apprehensively. Were the wolves about to 
 attack the camp? He turned to his father, who 
 lay next to him. Ruth and his mother were asleep. 
 
 " The tarnal critters have found the body of the 
 dead bear," Big Tom growled, "and are holding a 
 pow-wow over it according to their wolfish natures. 
 The fire will keep them away from the camp. Lay 
 down and let them howl. It's their own lungs that 
 is furnishing the wind," and he rolled over and 
 pulled the blanket up over his ears. 
 
 Gideon lay down; and soon the distant howling 
 and snarling of the wolves began to mingle in with 
 his dreams; and, at last, lulled to rest by this wild 
 lullaby of the prairies, the tired boy slept.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 SILAS WEGG 
 
 IDEON did not awaken the next morning until 
 his father had half pulled him out from under 
 his blanket and had shaken him vigorously; but, 
 the moment he had rubbed the sleepy seeds out of 
 his eyes, he was up on his feet and eager to begin 
 the day's work. Mrs. Clay was already up and at 
 work about the camp fire, cooking the breakfast. 
 Ruth and the baby still lay, side by side, fast asleep 
 on the blankets. 
 
 "Where's Dad?" Gideon asked, as he stepped 
 outside into the cool morning air. 
 
 " 'Tending the cattle," Mrs. Clay answered, look- 
 ing up with a smile of welcome. "Good sleep?" 
 
 "Bully!" Gideon replied, as he hurried off to 
 help his father. 
 
 "Hello, son," Big Tom greeted, as Gideon ran 
 up to where he was unhobbling the cattle and the 
 horses. " Great country for sleep, isn't it ? Thought 
 I'd have to yank you plumb out of your hide, be- 
 fore I could get you back from dreamland. Feel 
 all right?" 
 
 "Like a colt," and Gideon jumped up and 
 cracked his heels together twice before he came 
 down. "Isn't this air great?" and he drew in a 
 long breath of the cool, invigorating morning air. 
 
 26
 
 Silas Wegg 27 
 
 "Feels just as if I'd like to go swimming in it. 
 And the sun! Did you ever see such a glorious 
 sun?" and he pointed to where the sun was just 
 rising above the eastern horizon, glowing red and 
 golden through the morning mists that rose from 
 the prairie. " Why, it looks as big around as the 
 bottom of one of ma's washtubs! Now, what are 
 we going to do today?" and he turned eagerly to 
 his father. 
 
 " Get to work on the half-faced camp. We must 
 have some sort of a solid house up just as soon as 
 possible, something that will stand a heavy wind 
 and rain and give us plenty of elbow room. Here, 
 you get the pail and milk Brindle and then unhobble 
 her. I'm going to see if I can't get one of them 
 gobblers for dinner. That bear meat is tougher 
 than boot leather," and Big Tom hurried to the 
 house for his rifle and started off toward a couple 
 of big trees that towered above the edge of the 
 woods half a mile away, from the direction of 
 which, about every two minutes, came the gobble- 
 gobble of wild turkeys. 
 
 Gideon had just finished milking Brindle when 
 he heard the crack of his father's rifle; and a quarter 
 of an hour later he was back, with a large turkey 
 gobbler hanging from the barrel of his shouldered 
 rifle. The bullet had cut off the head of the gob- 
 bler as cleanly as if it had been done with a knife. 
 
 After breakfast Gideon and his father yoked up 
 a couple of the oxen to the emptied wagon, threw 
 their axes into the wagon box; and, rifles in hands,
 
 28 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 started off for the woods to procure the posts and 
 poles needed in building the half-faced camp. 
 
 "There, that tree will do for one of the back 
 posts," Big Tom declared, pointing to the straight 
 trunk of a tree some six inches in diameter, as he 
 brought the oxen to a halt at the edge of the woods. 
 "You cut it down, Gid, while I look for another 
 back post. Cut it close to the ground, trim off all 
 the lower branches close to the trunk; but be sure 
 and leave those forking branches at the top. They 
 are just what we need to hold up the roof poles." 
 
 " All right, Dad," Gideon responded heartily ; and 
 a moment later the keen blade of his axe was biting 
 deep into the trunk of the tree. 
 
 In a short time Gideon and his father had the 
 four corner and the two center posts cut and 
 trimmed and loaded into the wagon. Then they 
 filled the wagon box with roughly trimmed poles, 
 ranging in length from eight to fifteen feet. 
 
 " I reckon that will be enough to give us a start," 
 Big Tom said, when the box was full. "Now 
 we'll get back to camp," and, shouting to the oxen, 
 he started the loaded wagon campward. 
 
 A couple of rods from where they had built the 
 rude little house the night before was a smooth, 
 level bit of ground, some thirty feet square and a 
 little higher than the surrounding land. Big Tom 
 halted the oxen at this spot. 
 
 "Looks to me as if the best place for the half- 
 faced camp was right here," he declared. "You 
 know we will have to live in it for some time, and
 
 Silas Wegg 29 
 
 so we want to make ourselves as comfortable as 
 possible. What do you say, Martha?" and he 
 turned to Mrs. Clay, who was busy bending over 
 the fire, broiling the turkey on a spit, made by run- 
 ning a long sharpened piece of a hickory limb 
 lengthwise through the body of the turkey and 
 thrusting the other end deeply into the ground at 
 the proper distance and slant for the turkey to 
 hang directly over the coals of the fire. A forked 
 stick, driven into the ground under and at right 
 angles to the limb and in such a way that the limb 
 rested in its fork, helped support the weight of the 
 turkey. 
 
 Mrs. Clay slowly straightened up, a long fork, 
 with which she had been testing and turning the 
 turkey, in her hand, and critically examined the 
 spot indicated by Big Tom. 
 
 "Yes," she assented, after her eyes had carefully 
 scrutinized the bit of ground, "that will make 
 a good place for the camp ; and it is near the spring. 
 How big were you thinking of making it?" 
 
 "I calculate about fifteen feet by twenty will be 
 about the right size. We don't want it too big; 
 and yet we want plenty of elbow room. What do 
 you think ? " 
 
 For a moment Mrs. Clay stood with puckered 
 brows. She was evidently doing some rapid mental 
 figuring. Then her face cleared. 
 
 "That'll be plenty big enough. Now, be sure 
 and make the ground for the floor as smooth and 
 level as possible. I'll be powerful glad when I can
 
 30 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 get on a wood floor again," and with a swift glance 
 in the direction of Ruth and the baby, who were 
 playing on the grass near-by, she returned to her 
 turkey, which was now browning finely, and sending 
 out the most savory odors. 
 
 By the time the wagon was unloaded and the 
 oxen unyoked and turned loose to feed with the 
 other animals, the dinner was ready. 
 
 Mrs. Clay and Ruth the baby was now kicking 
 and crowing in a nest of soft grass near-by had 
 improvised a table out of a couple of old boxes 
 turned bottomside up, over which they had spread 
 a white tablecloth and placed thereon their best 
 dishes. 
 
 "My, but we are getting stylish," grinned Big 
 Tom, as he seated himself on an upturned box in 
 front of the smoking turkey, which lay on a large 
 pewter platter. " What's it all in honor of ? Tain't 
 nobody's birthday " 
 
 "It's yours! Yours!" yelled Ruth, making a 
 rush for him. "You are forty years old today; 
 and I am going to give you forty thumps on the 
 back and a great big one to grow on." 
 
 " I swun, if it ain't! " and Big Tom's grin broad- 
 ened. "If it wasn't for you and mother, I'd plumb 
 forget I ever had a birthday. Thump away. I 
 deserve them all." This to Ruth, who, with all her 
 young might, was now thumping her father's broad 
 back and conscientiously counting each thump. 
 
 " Thirty-eight ! thirty-nine ! ! forty ! ! ! Now 
 for that great big one to grow on!" and Ruth
 
 Silas Wegg 31 
 
 threw both arms around her father's neck and gave 
 him a smack on the cheek with her two rosy lips 
 that sounded like the crack of a pistol. " There, 
 I hope you will have forty more happy years ! And 
 here's here's something I made for you," and 
 she handed her father a small parcel, carefully 
 wrapped up in a piece of old paper, and stood by 
 his side, with eyes dancing with excitement, while 
 he, with many remarks of wonder and surprise, 
 unwrapped it. 
 
 "A coonskin cap! I declare, you couldn't have 
 hit on anything that would have pleased me more. 
 And you made it all yourself!" and he held the 
 cap up where he could examine it better. 
 
 "Every bit of it. Didn't I, Mother?" and the 
 delighted girl turned to her mother for confirmation. 
 
 k ' Yes," smiled Mrs. Clay, " Ruth sewed every 
 stitch of it." 
 
 "And it's lined with silk!" affirmed the pleased 
 man, as he placed the cap on his head, so that its 
 long, ringed tail hung down his back. " Fits as if 
 it had growed there. I'd be proud to wear it at a 
 reception to the President of the United States." 
 
 " Honest," Ruth was now dancing up and down 
 with pleased excitement, " I made every bit of it. 
 Mother only showed me how; and Gid shot the 
 coon and tanned the skin; and I made it on the 
 sly; and you never once caught me; and " 
 
 "You're the best and smartest girl in seventeen 
 states! And this tells you how much your dad 
 loves you," and the big arms suddenly swung out
 
 32 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and caught her up and hugged her close, while the 
 bearded lips pressed the plump cheeks again and 
 again. 
 
 At this advantageous moment Mrs. Clay and 
 Gideon both made a rush for Big Tom; and began 
 pounding him on his back and shouting and laugh- 
 ing, so that it is no wonder not one of them saw or 
 heard the tall, lank man, completely dressed in deer- 
 skin, from the beaded moccasins on his feet to the 
 long fringed coat that hung loosely about his frame, 
 until he spoke. 
 
 " Howd'y, howd'y, folks," said the tall stranger, 
 as, dropping the long-barreled rifle from his shoul- 
 der and resting the butt on the ground, he gripped 
 the barrel with both of his hands and stood regard- 
 ing this little tableau of domestic affections with 
 amused and quizzical eyes. 
 
 All jumped and quickly untangled themselves, 
 while Gideon and Ruth turned on the stranger two 
 pairs of startled and wondering eyes. 
 
 He was a very tall man, some six feet four 
 inches in height, with a scrawny, bony frame that 
 looked as if it might be made out of iron, strung 
 together with steel wires and covered over with 
 wrinkled brown leather, so strong-looking was it 
 and so sun-bronzed and weather-beaten was the 
 skin of the face and the body where it had been 
 exposed to the weather. The face was thin and 
 narrow, with small black eyes, set close to the 
 base of a long hooked nose, a wide mouth and a 
 chin that came squarely to an end. Altogether
 
 
 Howd'y, howd'y, folks," said the tall stranger
 
 Silas Wegg 33 
 
 there was something of the piercing look of an 
 eagle in the thin face, with its clear eyes and 
 beaklike nose. 
 
 At first sight of his face, Gideon and Ruth were 
 quite sure that they would not like the man; but, 
 when he turned his bright eyes, twinkling with 
 good-humor, in their direction, both felt that back 
 of the queer face and form was a very likeable 
 personality; and from that moment he was their 
 trusted friend. 
 
 Big Tom had sat for a minute, staring at the 
 tall stranger; then, with a look of surprise and 
 pleased recognition on his face, he jumped to his 
 feet and held out his hand. 
 
 "I swun," he exclaimed, "if it ain't Silas Wegg! 
 Say, but you are a sight to make sore eyes well ! " 
 and the two hands gripped and the two pairs of 
 eyes looked straight into each other. 
 
 "Mother," and Big Tom turned to Mrs. Clay, 
 "this is Silas, Silas Wegg. You've heard me 
 tell of Si Wegg. He's fought more Indians and 
 killed more bears than any other man west of 
 the Alleghanies." 
 
 Mrs. Clay greeted and welcomed Silas warmly; 
 and Gideon and Ruth shook his ironlike hand and 
 looked up into his face with the shy awe of 
 childhood in the presence of a hero; for the fame 
 of Silas Wegg, as an adventurous hunter and 
 trapper and old Indian-fighter, was well known to 
 both. 
 
 " Sit right down," Mrs. Clay urged hospitably,
 
 34 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the moment the greetings were over, "and help 
 us celebrate Tom's birthday. He's forty years old 
 today." 
 
 "Yes, do," joined Big Tom. "I reckon there's 
 turkey enough for all and to spare. It was about 
 the biggest gobbler I ever shot. Get up and give 
 Silas your seat, Gid." 
 
 "No,- stay whar yew be," and Silas waved 
 Gideon's proffered seat aside. " I'll squat on this 
 box 'longside th' missus. I allers was partial tew 
 good lookin' wimen," and, with a broad grin, Silas 
 Wegg pulled up an old box to the table and 
 "squatted" down on it by the side of the smiling 
 Mrs. Clay. "Now," and he turned to Big Tom, 
 " start some o' that turkey this way. I'm as hungry 
 as a b'ar." 
 
 "Sounds like old times, Si, to hear about your 
 famished condition," grinned Big Tom, as he cut 
 off a huge slice of the turkey and passed it to 
 Silas. "Reckon I've heard you make that remark 
 about being as hungry as a bear something like 
 ten thousand times." 
 
 "Reckon yew have," grinned back Silas. "I 
 allers was subject tew stumick emptiness. 'Peers 
 sort o' chronic. Doctor says I've got tew eat or 
 I'll die," and, with a solemn glance at Gideon and 
 a sly wink of the eye next to Ruth, he opened a 
 cavernous mouth and rilled it with a forkful of 
 turkey. 
 
 "Man, but I was surprised when I looked up 
 and saw you standing there!" Big Tom declared,
 
 Silas Wegg 35 
 
 as he filled his own plate with savory slices of the 
 turkey. " The last I heard of you, you'd gone 
 across the Mississippi to hunt buffalo; and that 
 was a good five years ago! Now, how in creation 
 did you manage to drop down on us out here in 
 this Illinois wilderness?" 
 
 "Jest one o' God's coinsidents, as Preacher 
 Cartwright used tew say. Was out huntin' b'ar 
 an' seed your trail an' it sorter smelt like it had 
 been made by a good cook, so I follered it up. I 
 kalkerlated tew hit yew 'bout dinner time; for I 
 knowed yew'd got wimen folks with yew; an' it's 
 wuth a twenty-mile walk eny day in this female- 
 fersaken country tew eat wimen's cookin'. I shore 
 was right; for I never knowed a turkey tew taste 
 as good afore," and he turned a pair of appreciative 
 eyes in the direction of Mrs. Clay. " Yew see I've 
 sort o' settled here in northern Illinoia, leastwise 
 I've been livin' here in my own log cabin for th' 
 last tew years an' jest hunted an' trapped round 
 promiscuslike, when I took th' notion. But," and 
 Silas shook his head gloomily, "I reckon I'll soon 
 have tew pull up an' cross th' Mississippi. Th' 
 settlers are a-gettin' that thick that a feller can 
 hardly put a foot down without steppin' on one 
 on 'em. Why, thar's more'n a dozen families 
 already in th' Rock River Valley; an' some on 
 'em's not more'n ten miles apart; an' that's tew 
 close fer th' kumfert o' eny white man what's use 
 tew livin' whar thar's plenty o' breathin' room. 
 Now, yew ain't thinkin' o' settlin', be yew?" and
 
 36 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 his shrewd eyes glanced swiftly and suspiciously 
 around the little encampment. 
 
 "That I am," grinned Big Tom; "and right 
 here on my own land. Bought it last summer of 
 the Government, two hundred acres ! " 
 
 "An' yew're a-goin' tew plow it, an' dig it up with 
 a hoe, an* put in corn an' wheat an' sech, an' work 
 like a hoss, 'stead o' a human, when all yew've 
 got tew dew is tew shoulder your rifle an' roam 
 th' wilderness a king!" and the eyes of the old 
 hunter brightened and his back unconsciously 
 straightened. 
 
 "Yes," answered Big Tom softly. "Yes, Si, 
 I am going to make a home for the wife and the 
 children. You forgot the wife and the children, 
 Si. I don't mind working like a horse for them. 
 You'd do the same, if you had a wife and children." 
 
 "I might, I sw r un I might try, 'specially if th' 
 wimen was a good cook, tew settle down an' be a 
 plow-pusher. 'Twould be mighty temptin', 'specially 
 th' cookin'; but, I reckon, 'twouldn't be more'n a 
 month or tew afore I'd git tew feelin' kindy choked 
 an' cramptlike an' jest have tew shoulder my old 
 gun an' light out for all outdoors, whar a feller 
 can breathe free an' easy an' have a-plenty o' elbow 
 room. It's powerful hard tew teach an old dog 
 new ways o' huntin'; an', I reckon, I'll allers have 
 tew live as I allers have lived. But," and the 
 quizzical look came back into the eyes, " sech grub 
 as this," and he made a sweeping gesture that 
 included the whole table and ended in a flourish in
 
 Silas Wegg 37 % 
 
 front of Mrs. Clay's nose, " is powerful temptin' ; 
 an' them tew yunks," and his eyes passed swiftly 
 from the face of Gideon and rested longingly on 
 the dimpling cheeks and laughing eyes of Ruth. 
 " is enough tew make a lone man like me have 
 heartache every time he looks on 'em/* 
 
 "They sure do get in a feller's heart and keep 
 it warm; and, likewise, they keep him scratching 
 powerful lively to keep them in enough to eat. I 
 reckon they're mostly stomachs," and the grin 
 came back on Big Tom's face. "But, your plate 
 is empty ! Won't you let me fill it up again ? " 
 
 " Don't care if I dew, seein' it's in cel'bration o' 
 yewr birthday," and Si passed his emptied plate 
 up to Big Tom. " So yew're forty years old, be yew ? 
 Wai, yew ain't no spring chicken no more, nor yit 
 a tough old rooster, with spurs worn smooth an' 
 comb a-gettin' a leetle shy on top, but still spry o' 
 legs an' sound o j wind, same as I be. Now," and 
 he turned questioningly to Mrs. Clay, "how old 
 would yew take me tew be?" 
 
 For a minute Mrs. Clay eyed the wrinkled, 
 leatherlike face of the old hunter, with its keen 
 clear eyes and look of vigorous power, and noted 
 the lean strong frame that showed not a sign of 
 the weaknesses of age, then she smiled. 
 
 "Yours is a deceiving face," she said, "but I'd 
 take you to be somewhere between fifty-five and 
 sixty; and powerful well preserved at that." 
 
 "Sixty-seven my last birthday!" ejaculated 
 Silas Wegg, with a triumphant chuckle. " An' still
 
 38 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 able tew outwalk, outshoot, out jump, outrun an' 
 outeat eny man o' my length in th' country. 
 That's what comes o' livin' in th' open, whar thar's 
 plenty o' God's air, an' leavin' likker an' sech 
 contraptions o' th' devil alone. Never drank a 
 drap o' likker, not even a drap o' hard cider, sence 
 I war old enough tew see what likker does tew 
 'em what uses it; an' I've never knowed a sick day 
 in my life. Sixty-seven years old an' never knowed 
 a sick day in my life! " 
 
 " Do tell ! " and Mrs. Clay gazed in open admira- 
 tion at the hardy old exponent of total abstinence 
 and outdoor life. "You sure don't look your 
 age and you don't act it. Why, you're as spry 
 moving as a young man ! " 
 
 " So I be ! So I be ! Why, I reckon I kin out- 
 run an' outjump yewr old man; an* th' feller, 
 young or old, who kin outrun or outjump Big 
 Tom Clay ain't no slouch, I kin tell yew. Bet yew 
 twenty loadin's o' powder ag'in twenty loadin's 
 that I kin beat yew in a hundred-yards run or 
 a-jumpin'. Dew yew take th' bet, Tom?" and 
 Silas turned, his black eyes snapping, to Big Tom. 
 
 "Not right now," laughed Big Tom. "Not 
 until this turkey has had a chance to settle. I'm 
 that stuffed I couldn't beat a mud turtle now. But, 
 'long about the middle of the afternoon, when I'm 
 feeling lively again, I don't mind if I give you a 
 whirl. I sure would be proud to beat Silas Wegg 
 running or jumping! If I did, I reckon I'd be the 
 first man that ever did. Now," and he shoved his
 
 Silas Wegg 39 
 
 plate away from him, " I'm plumb stuffed. Couldn't 
 drive another mouthful down me with a pile driver." 
 
 (" Nor me," and Silas shoved back from the 
 table. " A powerful good dinner, a mighty powerful 
 good dinner, Miss Clay. If Tom ever gits tired o' 
 yewr cookin', jest let me know. Now," and his 
 eyes turned to the unloaded posts and poles, "it 
 looks as if yew war a-plannin' tew put up a half- 
 faced camp. S'posin' I sot tew an' help yew. I'm 
 powerful anxious for some more o' that cookin'," 
 and, with a wink of the eye in the direction of 
 Mrs. Clay, he jumped up and started off toward 
 the pile of posts and poles, followed by Gideon 
 and his father, who were overjoyed to obtain such 
 efficient help.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE RACE 
 
 A HALF-FACED camp to our eyes, accustomed 
 as they are to the comfortable and often 
 luxuriant homes of the present, would hardly look 
 like a fit habitation for human beings, however 
 humble their circumstances might be. It was a 
 floorless shed, rudely made by planting four 
 forked corner posts firmly in the ground, at the 
 proper distance apart to enclose the space desired. 
 Then, to support the roof and the sides, long poles 
 were laid from the forked top of one post to the 
 forked top of another and firmly bound in place 
 with thongs of buckskin. Across these poles other 
 poles were now stretched and lashed into place 
 with strings of deerskin, in such a way as to form 
 the framework of a roof that sloped sharply down- 
 ward from the rear, the back posts having been 
 left several feet higher than those in front. Over 
 this roof-bed slabs or " edgings " or long strips of 
 bark were arranged so as to shed the rain, and 
 held in place by heavy stones and poles. The rear 
 side and the two ends were "sided" with poles, 
 stood upright side by side and as close together 
 as possible, their bottoms sharpened and driven 
 into the ground and their tops resting against the 
 roof-poles, to which they were tied to 'hold them 
 
 40
 
 The Race 41 
 
 firmly in place. The many openings between the 
 poles were then "chinked in" with chips and 
 plastered up with clay, until the sides were prac- 
 tically wind proof. The remaining lower side was 
 not "sided" with poles; but rudely enclosed by 
 hanging blankets and skins from the roof -pole. The 
 ground inside was smoothed off and pounded down 
 hard for a floor, and a ditch dug around the outside, 
 to keep the water, during a rain, from running 
 inside. Sometimes a crude fireplace and chimney 
 were built in one end or side of the structure; but 
 often the cooking was done over a camp fire, 
 outside when the weather permitted, and inside 
 when it was stormy. 
 
 Such was the half -faced camp, as usually built 
 by the pioneer a rude habitation, indeed, for man 
 to live in; and yet it sheltered as much real con- 
 tentment and happiness as do the more costly and 
 pretentious residences of today. 
 
 As soon as the party reached the piles of poles, 
 Big Tom at once marked out the site of the half- 
 faced camp, by measuring off the proper distances 
 and then driving stakes into the ground at the four 
 corners and connecting them with a strong string. 
 Then he and Silas set to work digging the corner- 
 post holes, while Gideon cleaned and leveled off 
 the ground inside the string for the floor. 
 
 The two men and the boy worked fast and hard ; 
 and by the middle of the afternoon they had the 
 rude framework of the camp up the four corner 
 posts and the two center posts firmly set in the
 
 42 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 ground, the roof poles tied in their places in the 
 forked tops of the posts and the ground inside 
 smoothed and leveled off to the satisfaction of 
 Mrs. Clay, who had critically supervised the work. 
 
 "There, I reckon that frame will stand any 
 wind that blows in Illinois short of a hurricane," 
 and Big Tom gripped one of the corner posts with 
 his two hands and attempted to shake the structure. 
 " Firm as an oak tree," he declared. " We're 
 getting on like a house afire. Say, but it is right 
 neighborly of you to pitch in and help, Si," and 
 Big Tom turned to Wegg with a look that 
 expressed even more satisfaction over his help 
 than did his words. " You are a wonder. You are 
 good for two men's work yet." 
 
 "Jest 'bout as good as I ever was, so far as I 
 kin see," and Silas straightened up his tall form 
 and threw back his shoulders. "Now, how 'bout 
 that bet? Twenty loadin's o' powder ag'in twenty 
 loadin's that I kin still beat yew runnin' or a-jumpin'. 
 Ain't afeared tew race a sixty-seven-year-old man, 
 be yew?" and Silas chuckled. 
 
 "Try him, Dad, try him," urged Gideon 
 excitedly. He had unlimited confidence in his 
 father's physical prowess, never yet having seen 
 him beaten at any of the rude backwoods sports. 
 " I know you can beat him running or jumping or 
 wrestling or anything." 
 
 "If you don't, I'll have to race him myself," 
 laughed Mrs. Clay. " I wouldn't let a sixty-seven- 
 year-old man stump me ! "
 
 The Race 43 
 
 " Did you hear that, Si ? " grinned Big Tom. 
 "Reckon I'll have to race you, just to keep you 
 from getting beat by a woman," and he chuckled. 
 "But if they knowed you as well as I know you, 
 they wouldn't have so much confidence in yours 
 truly's ability to win. You look fit to race a deer," 
 and his eyes glanced admiringly up and down the 
 lank bony frame of the old hunter, with its long 
 staglike legs, unencumbered by an ounce of useless 
 flesh. " I swun, Si, you seem to get tougher and 
 stronger the older you grow. Howsomever, it 
 looks as if it was up to me to do my best for the 
 credit of the Clay family," and Big Tom dropped 
 the ax with which he had been sharpening some 
 of the poles, threw off his loose deerskin coat and 
 stood ready for the race, as splendid a specimen of 
 vigorous manhood as the eye could wish to see, with 
 his two hundred and twenty-five pounds of solid 
 bones and powerful muscles, standing six feet and 
 two inches in his moccasined feet. 
 
 " This will dew for th' finishin' line," and Silas 
 picked up a piece of string some twelve feet long 
 and tied one end to a wagon-wheel and the other 
 to a stake driven into the ground. "We'll pace 
 off one hundred yards from this line; an' startin' 
 from thar, th' fust one tew tech this line wins th' 
 heat. Best tew out o' three heats wins th' race. 
 Th' missus kin be th' judge, an' Gid kin start us," 
 and Silas threw off his deerskin coat and tightened 
 up his belt. 
 
 "O. K.," agreed Big Tom. "Come on, Gid,"
 
 44 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and, followed by Silas and Gideon, he began pacing 
 off one hundred yards, starting from the line tied 
 to the wagon- wheel, while Mrs. Clay and Ruth 
 took up their station where they could best see the 
 one to touch the line first. 
 
 At the one-hundred-yard point, Big Tom thrust 
 a sharpened stick into the ground, to the end of 
 which was fastened a bit of white cloth, to mark 
 the spot. 
 
 "We will each toe the stick," he said; "and Gid 
 can give the word to go. All ready at the finishing 
 line?" he shouted to Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " All ready ! " came back the answer. 
 
 "We are ready, son/' and Big Tom turned to 
 Gideon, as the two men each placed a foot alongside 
 the starting stake and crouched ready for the word 
 to go. 
 
 " I'll count three and then say go," Gideon said, 
 as he took his station a little to the front and to 
 one side of the two men. "Are you ready, Dad? 
 Ready, Si?" 
 
 "Yes," Big Tom answered, crouching until one 
 knee almost touched the ground. 
 
 "On th' scratch," replied Silas, his tall form 
 bent nearly double and his small black eyes snap- 
 ping with excitement. " Let her go, son ! " 
 
 Gideon raised his hand. 
 
 "One! "and the hand fell. 
 
 " Two ! " again the raised hand fell. 
 
 " Three ! Go ! " he shouted. 
 
 With a bound like that of two startled stags, the
 
 The Race 45 
 
 two men were off, with Gideon, in great excitement, 
 racing after them. 
 
 For the first fifty yards, so far as the eye could 
 judge, there was not an inch's difference in the 
 positions of the two men; and when they crossed 
 the finishing line, they were so close together that 
 Gideon, who was not a dozen yards behind them, 
 could not tell which one had won the heat. 
 
 "Who beat? Who won?" he shouted, panting 
 with excitement and his exertions, rushing up to 
 his mother. 
 
 "Your dad, by a good three feet!" cried Mrs. 
 Clay triumphantly. 
 
 " Hurrah for dad ! " shouted the joyous boy, 
 flinging his cap up into the air. " I knew he could 
 do it. I never saw the man yet who could beat 
 dad. But," he added consolingly, turning to Silas, 
 "I never saw another man come as near beating 
 him as you did." 
 
 "Shucks!" grunted Silas. "Th' fust heat was 
 jest tew limber up my legs. I'll turn on the steam 
 th' next run." 
 
 " So'll dad," Gideon replied confidently. 
 
 The two men and Gideon now returned to the 
 starting stake for the second heat. 
 
 " Reckon I'm going to give you a tussle for your 
 powder this time, Si," Big Tom said, as he planted 
 one of his feet by the side of the stake. 
 
 " I shore'll have tew put in my best licks," replied 
 Silas, as he placed his foot alongside of Big Tom's 
 on the other side of the stake. " But, I reckon, I
 
 46 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 kin beat yew yit. No man ever beat me afore; 
 an' I don't kalkerlate tew let yew do it now. I 
 am ready, boy," and his lips came together tightly 
 and he fixed his eyes on the goal and crouched low. 
 
 " Ready, Dad ? " and Gideon turned to his father, 
 his face flushing with excitement. 
 
 "Yes, Son," Big Tom answered, his own eyes 
 on the goal and his great body tense as a hound's 
 held back by the leash. 
 
 Again Gideon counted; and again, at the word 
 "go," the two men shot forward, with the boy 
 racing after them as fast as his legs could take 
 him; and again they ran so even that the eye could 
 not tell who was in the lead, until just before the 
 goal was reached, when, somehow, Silas seemed to 
 inject an extra quantity of speed into those long 
 legs of his, and he shot swiftly ahead and touched 
 the finishing line a good six feet in the lead. 
 
 There was no need of Gideon asking who had 
 won the heat this time. His own eyes had told 
 him ; and it was a very much disappointed boy that 
 hurried up to where the two men stood panting by 
 the side of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "I knowed I could dew it," chuckled Silas tri- 
 umphantly, turning to the chagrined boy. "Knowed 
 that these long legs wouldn't go back on me atter 
 all these years. But yewr dad came th' nighest tew 
 beatin' me o' eny man I ever raced with yit. He 
 shore made me put on full steam." 
 
 "But, you haven't won yet," exclaimed Gideon, 
 his face lighting up. "There's another heat to be
 
 The Race 47 
 
 run ; and dad's 'most sure to beat you in that. He 
 he didn't run his best this last time, did you, Dad? " 
 
 " I sure did, Son," disagreed Big Tom frankly. 
 "Never tried harder in my life to beat any one. 
 But, I reckon, there's too much ginger in them long 
 Ie s for me yet. Howsomever, it's the next heat 
 that will tell ; and I'm going to turn on every ounce 
 of steam I've got, if I bust the boiler. Come on," 
 and he hurried off toward the starting stake. 
 
 There was no smile on the face of either man 
 as he now took his station by the side of the 
 starting stake and awaited the signal. Each was 
 proud of his physical prowess; and each had a 
 hard-won reputation to sustain. All throughout 
 that Western country Silas Wegg was famous for 
 the speed with which those long legs could propel 
 his tall body over the ground. No man yet had 
 ever beaten him in a running race. To win a race 
 from him, even now when he was sixty-seven years 
 old, would leave the victor the unquestioned cham- 
 pion of the Western frontier. Big Tom Clay had 
 beaten every man he had run with, except Silas 
 Wegg; and now there was a chance of his beating 
 even him. He certainly would improve it to the 
 very best of his ability. Silas Wegg had the pride 
 of the never-beaten man. He, too, would certainly 
 do his utmost to win the race. Hence it was that 
 this third heat, the crucial heat, found each of these 
 two men so desperately determined to win the heat 
 from the other. 
 
 "All ready?" queried Gideon, as he stepped to
 
 48 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the fore to give them the starting word, his young 
 form aquiver with the excitement of the moment. 
 
 " Ready," answered the two men, crouching until 
 the fingers of their hands nearly touched the 
 ground. 
 
 "Do your durndest, Dad!" and Gideon lifted 
 his hand to begin the count. 
 
 " One ! Two ! ! Three ! ! ! Go ! ! ! " he shouted. 
 
 As if shot forth by the same spring, the two men 
 leaped forward, again with Gideon racing wildly 
 after them and shouting as he ran, "Go it, Dad! 
 Go it, Dad!" 
 
 And " dad " did " go it ! " At the fifty-yard point 
 he was a good six feet in the lead and still gaining. 
 Then again came that wondrous injection of extra 
 speed into the long legs of Silas Wegg; and his 
 lank body seemed to shoot forward as if propelled 
 by an extra set of invisible and powerful springs. 
 In ten yards he had made up the half of Big Tom's 
 lead; in ten yards more the two men were running 
 neck and neck ; and when the goal-line was crossed, 
 Silas Wegg was at least ten feet ahead! 
 
 "I knowed I could do it! I knowed I still had 
 my running legs under me, soon as I got 'em 
 warmed up ! " Silas panted, as he halted near Mrs. 
 Clay and Ruth. "Purty good for a sixty-seven- 
 year-old man," he chuckled. "Th' old man is tew 
 much fer yew yit, Tom," and still chuckling with 
 pride and satisfaction he turned to Big Tom. " I'll 
 thank yew for them twenty loadin's o' powder, 
 Tom," and the chuckle became a low laugh.
 
 The Race 49 
 
 "You shall have a whole horn full of powder, 
 you old race horse," and Big Tom clapped him 
 heartily on the back. 
 
 "But but, I'll bet you dad can beat you 
 wrestling, any hold," Gideon challenged eagerly, 
 anxious to see his father defeat this wonderful old 
 man in something. 
 
 " No, yew don't," and Silas winked and grinned. 
 "I onct wrestled yewr dad; an' he came mighty 
 nigh drivin' me head fust through th' earth, plumb 
 down tew China ; an' I didn't make a move for th' 
 next six weeks without a groan. I'll jest stick tew 
 my gifts, which is runnin' an' jumpin' an' eatin'," 
 and Silas shook his head emphatically. 
 
 This frank admission by Silas of Big Tom's 
 wrestling superiority mollified Gideon and caused 
 Mrs. Clay and Ruth to smile with pleased satisfac- 
 tion and put all in good humor, even the baby, who 
 cooed and kicked with delight in her nest of grass. 
 
 "Well, seeing that the racing is over, let's get 
 to work again," Big Tom said, after the excitement 
 had somewhat cooled down. " I'm specially anxious 
 to get the camp up as soon as possible, so that I 
 can get to work in the field. I want to plant at 
 least enough corn and potatoes and wheat and oats 
 to keep us and the stock until harvest time next 
 year. If I don't, I reckon someone will be going 
 hungry. Come on," and he led the way back to the 
 pile of poles and the unfinished half-faced camp. 
 
 The remainder of the afternoon all helped, even 
 the baby by being so good that she needed no
 
 50 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 attention; and when night came, they had one end 
 and a part of the side "poled" and "chinked in" 
 and the structure began to take on some of the 
 looks of a rude house. 
 
 "There, that will do for today," Big Tom 
 declared, when it became too dark to work to 
 advantage. "And I call it a mighty good day's 
 work, too. If we can do as well tomorrow, I reckon 
 we can come mighty nigh finishing the sides and the 
 roof. What do you think, Si?" 
 
 "We shore kin," answered Wegg. "An* it's 
 goin' tew make a powerful kumfer table home, as 
 long as th' warm weather lasts. But yew ain't 
 kalkerlatin' on livin' in it through th' winter, be 
 yew ? Th' winters here are cold enough tew freeze 
 th' hair off a b'ar." 
 
 " No," answered Big Tom. " I count on having 
 a log house up afore then. But I see Martha has 
 supper ready. Supposing we eat." 
 
 " That hits me right. I'm as hungry as a b'ar," 
 and Silas started for the supper table. 
 
 That was a wonderful night for Gideon and 
 Ruth; for after the supper was eaten and the few 
 chores done, Big Tom and Silas lighted their pipes 
 and sat down near the camp fire and Silas told tales 
 of his adventurous life. He had been a scout in 
 the army of Mad Anthony Wayne when he 
 conquered the brave Miami chief, Little Turtle, at 
 the battle of Fallen Timbers, in 1794; and he was 
 with General Harrison in the fight at Tippecanoe 
 and, later, at the battle of the Thames, where the
 
 The Race 51 
 
 famous Indian chief, Tecumseh, was killed. He 
 had served all through the War of 1812 as a scout 
 on the Indian frontier; and his earlier boyhood 
 days had been passed in the midst of the exciting 
 times of the Revolutionary War. He had seen and 
 spoken to Washington and Lafayette and to other 
 Revolutionary heroes; and when the war was 
 over, he had turned to trapping and hunting and 
 had wandered all over the Western wilderness; 
 and had had innumerable hairbreadth escapes from 
 Indians and wild beasts, from floods and storms 
 and fires and the other perils of war and the 
 wilderness. Consequently he had an inexhaustible 
 fund of thrilling experiences from which to draw; 
 and, in addition, he was a natural story-teller, 
 bringing out the dramatic points of the tale like a 
 skilled novelist and picturing the scenes so vividly 
 and so forcibly that each stood out from the body 
 of the narrative like the rudely engraved relief of 
 a cameo. Then there is no other place in the world 
 quite as appropriate for the telling of such tales 
 as he told as a lonely camp fire, in the midst of a 
 wilderness, with the dark mysteries of night around 
 and above you. 
 
 No wonder Gideon and Ruth sat like two children 
 in a trance, hardly venturing to move while Silas 
 was telling his tales, and that Mr. and Mrs, Clay 
 were almost as absorbed as they were in the stories 
 and their teller. Not one of them thought of the 
 passing time, of how late it was getting, until, at 
 the close of one of his most thrilling narratives,
 
 52 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Silas abruptly stopped, knocked the ashes out of 
 his pipe and arose to his feet. 
 
 "It is my sleeptime," he said. "Good night," 
 and, picking up a blanket to cover him, he lay down 
 near the camp fire, without another word, except 
 a brief refusal to share the family's rude shelter, 
 declaring it too close and stuffy for him. 
 
 " I could have sat and listened to him all night," 
 Gideon sighed, as he rolled himself up in his blanket 
 by the side of his father. "I wonder if anything 
 like that will ever happen to me ! " 
 
 " Let us hope not," Big Tom answered fervently. 
 " War and bloodshed, and scalping, torturing Indians 
 are mighty interesting in stories, but are dreadful 
 realities that no sensible human wants anything to 
 do with. Now, shut up and get to sleep just as 
 soon as you can. We must be up with the sun in 
 the morning," and he rolled over and pulled the 
 blanket up close around his neck and was soon 
 sound asleep. 
 
 Gideon was very tired, so tired that, in spite of 
 his aroused imagination, it was not many minutes 
 after his father's snores had announced his slum- 
 bers that his eyes grew heavy and closed in sleep.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 BAD NEWS 
 
 'TpHE next morning, when Big Tom thrust his 
 -* head out of the rude shelter where the family 
 slept, he saw Silas Wegg sitting on an old box 
 before the camp fire meditatively smoking. 
 
 "A coonskin for your thoughts," he greeted, 
 as he hurried over to where Wegg sat. 
 
 "They're wurth more'n a coonskin," Silas 
 retorted. "But I've been a-waitin' tew give 'em 
 tew yew for nothin'. Be th' missus an' th' yunks 
 still sound asleep?" and he lowered his voice and 
 glanced in the direction of the rude hut that 
 sheltered Mrs. Clay and the children. 
 
 " Yes," answered Big Tom, a shade of anxiety in 
 his voice. " What is it, Si ? " 
 
 "Come over yonder by th' wagin, whar our 
 voices'll be out o' reach o' their ears," and Silas 
 rose slowly to his feet, knocking the ashes out of 
 his pipe as he did so and stowing it away in his 
 pocket. "I've got somethin' I want tew tell yew 
 that, I reckon, it's better tew keep from th' wimen 
 an' th' yunks jest at presint," and he walked over to 
 the wagon. "I'd have told yew fust thing yister- 
 day," he began, when seated on the wagon-tongue, 
 "atter I found out yew was a-kalkerlatin' on a- 
 settlin' down here, if 'twon't for th' wimen an' th' 
 
 53
 
 54 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 yunks heerin'. Reckon thar's no call tew scare 'em 
 jest yit." 
 
 "Now, what are you driving at, Si?" Big Tom 
 spoke impatiently and his face whitened. There 
 were so many dangers that might threaten in this 
 new unknown country ; and Silas Wegg was not the 
 kind of a man to alarm one lightly. " Out with it. 
 There is no need of your beating about the bush 
 with me, Si." 
 
 "I ain't beatin' 'bout no bush," Silas answered, 
 "but jest gittin' ready tew enter it th' right way. 
 Yew've heered tell o' Black Hawk, chief o' th' 
 Sacs an' Foxes?" 
 
 " Yes," answered Big Tom shortly. " 'Tain't no 
 Indian devilment, I hope?" 
 
 "Not right now, but it is a-comin' sartin, an* 
 it's bound tew come afore long. Th' Government 
 claims that th' Injun chiefs have sold out all th' 
 rights o' th' tribes tew th' land in th' Rock River 
 Valley an' agreed tew move across th' Mississippi. 
 Black Hawk says it is all a lie, that no sech treaty 
 was ever signed by eny chiefs who had a right tew 
 sign it, that it's jest a dirty trick o' th' whites tew 
 git th' land away from th' Injuns; an' he's madder'n 
 a b'ar with a sore ear; an' is a-talkin' 'bout resistin' 
 an' a-boastin' o' what he'll dew if th' whites try 
 tew drive him an' his warriors from th' land o' 
 their fathers, specially from his village at th' mouth 
 o' th' Rock River, whar he's lived for so many 
 years an' whar th' bones o' his ancesters are buried. 
 An', jest tew aggrevate things, last winter, when
 
 Bad News 55 
 
 th' Injuns o' th' village was off on their annual 
 hunt, a lot o' whites moved right in an' took pos- 
 session o' sech o' th' Injuns' houses as they wanted 
 for their own use an' tore down most o' th' others 
 an' even started tew raisin' craps on th' Injuns' 
 graveyard. An' when Black Hawk an' his Injuns 
 got back this spring, thar was mighty nigh a 
 massaker right then an' thar. Howsomever, they 
 somehow patched up some sort o' a peace; but 
 Black Hawk an' his warriors are feelin' ug'ler 'n 
 mad bulls; an' somethin's li'bel tew happen eny 
 minit tew send 'em ragin' on th' war-path. An' 
 then, God pity yew lone white settlers! I thought 
 yew otter know 'bout this, Tom, afore yew settled 
 down here for good, seem' yew've got yewr wimen 
 an' th' yunks with yew," and Silas looked up solici- 
 tously into Big Tom's face. 
 
 "I ought to have knowed about it afore I left 
 Ohio," Big Tom answered, his face showing the 
 anxiety and dreadful apprehensions the news of 
 Silas had caused him. "Then I'd knowed enough 
 to have left the wife and the children where they'd 
 be safe. But, as dad used to say, there is no use 
 crying for cream after the milk is spilt. They are 
 here now; and I reckon the good Lord and our 
 rifles will have to protect them," and his face 
 hardened. " Besides, Martha wouldn't go back 
 now, nohow, not unless the Indians were actually 
 on the war-path. She's grit, clean through," and 
 his face lighted up with pride. " It will take more'n 
 threats to scare her, and, if I understand you, there
 
 56 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 has been nothing but Indian threats so far; and 
 threatened men sometimes live long lives." 
 
 "But I know Black Hawk,'* Silas answered 
 earnestly; "an* he ain't th' kind of an Injun tew 
 fergit or fergive sech treatment. He ain't no 
 vain boaster neither. He's been a fighter ever since 
 he was sixteen years old, when he won a warrior's 
 rights by killin' his man. He's 'bout sixty now; 
 an' as strong an' as tough as a hickory knot. He's 
 liked by all th' young bucks; an' most all on 'em 
 is a-sidin' in with him an' jest waitin' for him tew 
 give th' word tew dig up th' war ax. I ain't no 
 prophet, but it don't take no prophet tew tell that 
 thar's bound tew be bloodshed atween Black Hawk 
 an' th' whites, Black Hawk bein' th' Injun that he 
 is, an' th' whites bein' atter his land an' determined 
 tew git it by fair means or foul ; an' it's bound tew 
 come afore long; an' when it comes, what kin yew, 
 with yer two rifles, dew ag'in' a hundred murderin' 
 savages ? " 
 
 " There'll be three rifles then, Si," Big Tom said 
 quietly. "You don't know Martha. She has her 
 own rifle and can shoot 'most as good as I can. 
 She was in an Indian fight, back in Ohio, afore I 
 married her; and she has killed her Indian, killed 
 him to save her younger sister; and now she will 
 be fighting for her own children! No, you don't 
 know Martha, Si, if you are counting on only two 
 rifles if the Indians attack us. Besides, as I said 
 afore, it's all talk yet ; and it will take a sight more'n 
 talk to scare Martha. She wouldn't go back now,
 
 Bad News 57 
 
 nohow, outside of being driven out by the Indians. 
 But, there she is." 
 
 As Big Tom spoke, Mrs. Clay lifted the deerskin 
 that hung in front of the entrance to the rude 
 shelter, and stepped out. 
 
 "We'll leave it to her. I'll do just as she says. 
 Hi, Martha," Big Tom called. " Come here." 
 
 Mrs. Clay looked quickly in the direction of the 
 two men and then hurried toward them. 
 
 "What is it?" she asked anxiously, the moment 
 she reached their sides, for the looks on their 
 faces warned her of trouble. "Something gone 
 wrong?" 
 
 " Yes," answered her husband. " Si brings bad 
 news, the worst kind of news. He says there is 
 liable to be an Indian outbreak at any time; that 
 one is sure to come afore long and that, when it 
 does come, we'll be in very great danger; and that, 
 consequently, the Rock River Valley at present is 
 not a safe place for women and children. I reckon, 
 he thinks if we showed sense, we'd pack up and 
 yoke up and take the back trail out of here at once. 
 And Si, Martha, ain't given to warning afore there's 
 need. We must remember the children, as well 
 as ourselves, Martha," and Big Tom's eyes turned 
 solicitously to the face of his wife. 
 
 Mrs. Clay's face had whitened at the first mention 
 of Indians. She knew what horrors an Indian 
 outbreak meant; and for a moment she stood 
 silent, while her eyes studied apprehensively the 
 faces of the two men, then she turned and slowly
 
 58 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 surveyed the surrounding beautiful scene of peace- 
 ful prairie and quiet woods, with their camp, already 
 beginning to look homelike to her eyes, in the 
 midst. 
 
 ' 'Twould be powerful hard to leave here now," 
 she said, again turning to the men, "just as we 
 are getting started in our new home and things 
 are beginning to look homelike. After all," and 
 her face lighted, " it's only an Indian scare; and I've 
 lived unhurt through many an Indian scare. There 
 has been no bloodshed yet?" and she turned her 
 anxious eyes inquiringly to Silas. "Just talk and 
 rumors of an outbreak?" 
 
 "That's all yit; but it's sartin tew come, unless 
 my jedgment has gone askew 'bout ten thousand 
 miles," answered Silas. 
 
 "Well, then," and Mrs. Clay's face hardened, 
 "I reckon 'twould be foolish for us to give up all 
 this, just on account of rumors. We've come here 
 to build a home for us and the children; and we're 
 going to stay and build it, Indians or no Indians. 
 It's a woman's duty, just as much as it is a man's, 
 to take risks and brave dangers ; and I'm not going 
 to back out, when I know Tom would not think of 
 quitting if it wasn't for me and the children." 
 
 "What'd I tell you, Si?" and Big Tom turned 
 a bit triumphantly to Silas. "You see, 'twill take 
 more'n Indian talk to scare Martha." 
 
 "Yew shore have th' right pluck," and the look 
 in Silas's eyes showed how fully he appreciated 
 the courage and determination of Mrs. Clay. " But
 
 Bad News 59 
 
 it's goin' tew be powerful risky stay in' ; an', I reckon, 
 if yer bound tew stay, yew'd better put up a good 
 strong bullet an' arrer proof log house, jest as soon 
 as yew kin, an' not put it off 'til fall." 
 
 " Right," answered Big Tom. " But I've got to 
 get the crops in first. Might just as well be scalped 
 as starved. We'll get to work on the log house 
 just as soon as the crops are in the ground. That 
 is," and the look of solicitude deepened on his face 
 as he turned to Martha, " if you are sure it is best 
 for us to stay. 'Twill be powerful risky, as Si says ; 
 and we must think of the children, of Ruth and 
 Gid and the baby, as well as ourselves. I reckon 
 we could make our home with your folks back in 
 Ohio until the Indian trouble is settled." 
 
 "And leave all this," and again the eyes of Mrs. 
 Clay glanced around the beautiful, peaceful sur- 
 rounding scene, "scart out by talk of an Indian 
 outbreak ! And make that long wearisome journey 
 back again to Ohio! No; of the two evils, I'll 
 take my chances with the Indians. Besides, 
 'twouldn't show much pluck for us to back out now 
 and go sneaking back to Ohio. That's not the 
 kind of grit that runs in our families, Tom. We've 
 got to take our chances with the rest of the pioneers, 
 and make the best of whatever comes. You don't 
 really want to go back to Ohio, do you, Tom?" 
 and her eyes looked searchingly into her husband's 
 face. 
 
 " No, I don't," Big Tom answered frankly. " But 
 I'd feel a powerful lot more comfortable if I
 
 60 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 knowed you and the children were where you'd be 
 safe in case anything should happen." 
 
 "Then we'll stay," Mrs. Clay spoke decisively. 
 A wife's place is with her husband and children 
 and the children's place is with their father and 
 mother; and if we've got to fight Indians we'll fight 
 them for our home and our children." 
 
 "Shake!" and Silas Wegg jumped up and 
 reached out and seized the hand of Mrs. Clay and 
 shook it warmly. "Yew're as good as eny man 
 I ever knowed; an' if it comes tew a tussle at ween 
 yew an' Black Hawk, I'll bet on yew every time. 
 Tom sartin showed sense when he married yew." 
 
 "I surely did," agreed Big Tom heartily. 
 
 Mrs. Clay blushed like a young girl, and then, 
 catching sight of Gideon and Ruth hurrying toward 
 them from the door of the little hut, she turned 
 quickly to the two men. 
 
 "Hush!" she warned. "Not a word of this 
 where the children can hear. Now I must get to 
 work at the breakfast," and she hastened back to 
 the camp fire, taking Ruth with her. 
 
 After breakfast the work on the half- faced camp 
 was resumed by all hands; and when the darkness 
 of night again settled down on the prairie, so 
 swiftly and faithfully had all worked, that it found 
 the roof and the sides of the enclosure completed. 
 
 "We'll get things straightened out inside and 
 move in tomorrow," Big Tom declared with satis- 
 faction, when the last slab of wood and piece of 
 bark had been firmly fastened in its place on the
 
 Bad News 61 
 
 roof and the work for the day was over; "and 
 another day will see the furniture ready; and then 
 I can start right in plowing. Si, you've been a 
 godsend!" 
 
 " Shucks, Tom! If yewr stumick had been 
 a-hankerin' for wimen's cookin' in vain as long 
 as mine has, yew'd think it more'n a godsend tew 
 stumble on sech a wimen cook as I have. When 
 I fills up on her cookin'," and he nodded toward the 
 smiling Mrs. Clay, "I'm powerful glad tew git a 
 chance tew work, so I kin work up a big appetite, 
 so I kin fill up ag'in. I've been thinkin' o' offerin' 
 tew work for yew for th' next week free gratis, 
 if th' missus will promise tew keep my stumick 
 filled; an' I'd shore git th' best o' th' bargain at 
 that," and he winked an eye at Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "Done," laughed Big Tom. "I'll engage you 
 for a month on them terms and guarantee to fill 
 your stomach plumb to the top three times a day." 
 
 " Reckon a week'll be 'bout my limit this time," 
 grinned back Silas. " But I'd shore like tew make 
 it a month; an' I would, if 'twon't that I promised 
 Old Man Kellogg tew go with him on a b'ar hunt 
 down tew th' Big Swamp next week atter Old 
 Whitenose, a monstrous big b'ar with a white nose 
 that's been defy in' us for th' last tew years. Want 
 tew go 'long?" 
 
 "O, do, Dad; and let me go with you!" and 
 Gideon, who was sitting near the two men, jumped 
 excitedly to his feet. 
 
 " I sure would like to go," and Big Tom glanced
 
 62 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 questioningly toward his wife. "How long will 
 you be gone, Si ? " 
 
 " Not more'n three or four days ; an' th' b'ar is a 
 monster, th' biggest ever seen in these parts/' 
 answered Silas. 
 
 "I've a notion to " began Big Tom, and 
 stopped abruptly. He had suddenly remembered 
 the threatened Indian outbreak; that it would not 
 be safe to leave his w r ife and children alone. At 
 the same moment the face of Silas showed that 
 he, too, remembered. For an instant the two men 
 looked into each other's eyes ; then Big Tom spoke. 
 
 " I sure would like to go, Si," he said regretfully ; 
 "and I would, if 'twon't for leaving Martha and 
 the children here alone. No telling what might 
 happen while I was away. Besides, I have no time 
 to spare. I must get the crops in the ground and 
 the log house up just as soon as the good Lord 
 will let me." 
 
 "Reckon yew're right," agreed Silas. "If I'd 
 thought o' th' wimen an' th' yunks, I'd knowed 
 better than tew have asked yew. O' course they 
 kin't be left with no men folks tew look atter 'em. 
 But," and Silas hesitated and glanced doubtfully 
 toward Mrs. Clay, "perhaps yew kin spare Gid fer 
 three or four days? I'd like tew show him how 
 we hunt b'ar in Illinoia." 
 
 "O, can I, Dad? Can I go?" Gideon was now 
 jumping up and down with excitement. " I'd like 
 nothing better in the world than to go bear hunting 
 with Silas. I can go, can't I, Dad?"
 
 Bad News 63 
 
 "I'll keep an eye on him all th' time," promised 
 Silas. " 'Twould dew th' youngster good ; an' he'll 
 be as safe as he would with his own dad." 
 
 "'Tain't that, Si," and Big Tom hesitated. "I 
 know he would be just as safe with you as he would 
 with me; but," and he glanced doubtfully toward 
 his wife, " if anything should happen while he was 
 away " 
 
 "He couldn't stop it happenin'," broke in Silas. 
 " Besides, nuthin' is li'bel tew happen th' few days 
 he'd be gone. Black Hawk's gone north tew visit 
 th' Winnerberger Injuns an' won't be back for a 
 couple o' weeks or more." 
 
 "Black Hawk?" and Gideon turned quickly to 
 Silas. "Do you mean Black Hawk, the Indian 
 chief, who fought with the British against the 
 United States in the War of 1812? I've heard a 
 lot about him. Does he live near here? I'd like 
 to see him." 
 
 "That's th' identickle red repteel," answered 
 Silas. "Th' Hawk's allers been ag'in th' United 
 States; an' allers friendly with th' Britishers. His 
 village is down at th' mouth o' th' Rock River. 
 But we're wanderin' from our subjict. Want tew 
 go on that b'ar hunt, Gid? Yew'll have tew bunk 
 on th' ground an' eat rough food." 
 
 "Pshaw, that's nothing!" and Gideon's face 
 showed how little the thought of such hardships 
 troubled him. " I've slept on the ground hundreds 
 of times; and I once ate dad's cooking for a week." 
 
 " Reckon yew kin stand our cookin' then,"
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 grinned Silas. "Kin he go?" and he turned to 
 Big Tom. " I shore would like tew have him 'long ; 
 an* I'll work for yew for a week, atter we git back, 
 tew make up fer his time an'," he added, with a 
 quick grin, " for a chance tew fill up ag'in on 
 wimen's cookin'." 
 
 "What do you say, Mother?" and Big Tom 
 turned to Mrs. Clay. " He'll be as safe with Si as 
 he would be with me." 
 
 For a minute Mrs. Clay hesitated. So many 
 things might happen to her boy while he was away. 
 But she was of sturdy pioneer stock, accustomed 
 to seeing her dearest brave dangers and endure 
 hardships, with the fortitude almost of a Spartan 
 mother. 
 
 "If you and Si think it is all right for Gideon to 
 go, I reckon it is," she said quietly. "Do just as 
 you think best, Tom." 
 
 " Bully for you, Mother! " cried Gideon joyously. 
 " Now, Dad, it is all in your hands," and he turned 
 expectantly to his father. " I can go, can't I ? " 
 
 " Yes, Son," answered Big Tom, after a moment's 
 hesitation. "But" 
 
 " Hurrah ! " yelled Gideon, not even knowing, in 
 his excitement, that he had interrupted his father, 
 who laughed and saved his words of caution for 
 another time. "When are we going?" and the 
 happy boy whirled about and turned to Silas. 
 
 "Next week, Thursday, bright an* early," 
 answered Silas. " Be shore yew have yewr rifle in 
 good shootin' trim an* yewr huntin' knife razor-
 
 Bad News 65 
 
 sharp. Old Whitenose is king b'ar o' these regions 
 an' he'll die like a king." 
 
 "I sure will," answered Gideon soberly. "I 
 wish it was next week Thursday tomorrow ! " 
 
 That night Gideon went to bed to dream of 
 hunting white-nosed bears as large as elephants.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE BOBCAT 
 
 "DIG TOM proved a true prophet, for the next 
 *-* day found the half-faced camp ready outside 
 and inside for occupancy; and that night the Clay 
 family moved into its, to them, comfortable quar- 
 ters. True, the floor was nothing but the ground, 
 smoothed and pounded down hard; and the walls 
 and the ceiling were nothing but the bare poles of 
 the sides and the rudely covered roof ; and there was 
 but one door and window, and that was the unpoled 
 open side, protected only by hanging skins and 
 blankets; and yet in two hours the woman art of 
 Mrs. Clay and Ruth had given this rude place a 
 homy look. 
 
 There was no furniture, save the little they had 
 brought with them in the wagons a couple of 
 easy chairs, one of them a rocker for Mrs. Clay; a 
 home-made cradle for the baby, a large bureau, a 
 couple of trunks, a spinning-wheel and the needed 
 kettles, pans, etc., for the cooking. Tables, chairs, 
 bedsteads, cupboards, and the other familiar house- 
 hold furnishings would all have to await their 
 making at the rudely skilled hands of Mr. Clay; 
 the most necessary articles at once, the others as 
 time and leisure permitted. 
 
 "We'll make a table and the bunks and a few 
 66
 
 The Bobcat 67 
 
 long-legged stools for chairs tomorrow; and the 
 other things can wait awhile," Big Tom said, as 
 all gathered in their newly completed home, after 
 the day's work was over, and were admiring it by 
 the light of a number of homemade tallow candles. 
 "Now, what would you like done most afore we 
 get to bed, Martha?" and he turned inquiringly 
 to his wife. 
 
 "Well, if you ain't too tuckered," Mrs. Clay 
 answered, smiling, "I'd like some hanging pegs 
 to hang our clothes and other things on." 
 
 " That's easy," and Big Tom picked up an auger 
 from one of the trunks. "Whittle some pegs, Si, 
 while I bore the holes. Now, Gid, if you'll hold 
 one of the candles so I can see, I'll get busy," and 
 Mr. Clay, while Gideon held the candle to give 
 him light, and Mrs. Clay and Ruth told him where 
 they wanted the hanging pegs, began boring holes 
 into the poles that formed the sides of the enclo- 
 sure. When the holes were ready, the pegs whittled 
 out by Silas were driven into them, leaving several 
 inches of each peg projecting into the room and 
 the hanging pegs were ready ! 
 
 "There," Big Tom declared, when the last peg 
 was driven into its hole, " I'm too all-fired tired 
 to do another stroke of work tonight. I'm going 
 to bed," and he threw himself down on the rude 
 bed of skins and blankets that had been made for 
 the men on the ground in one end of the camp. 
 
 Gideon and Silas at once followed his example; 
 but, womanlike, Mrs. Clay and Ruth busied them-
 
 68 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 selves about the house for an hour longer before 
 they lay down on their bed, made in the opposite 
 end of the one room. And there was not a house 
 in the United States, however comfortable and 
 luxurious, where its inmates enjoyed more restful 
 and peaceful slumbers than did our friends in their 
 rude pioneer shelter. 
 
 Early the next morning Mr. Clay and Gideon 
 yoked the oxen to one of the wagons, and, accom- 
 panied by Silas, drove to the woods to secure the 
 timber needed in making the table and the chairs 
 and the other household furniture. 
 
 "Well tackle the tree for the table first," Big 
 Tom said, when they had reached the woods. " Let 
 me see," and he looked around. "I reckon that 
 one there will about fill the bill," and he pointed 
 to a large tree, some three feet in diameter, with 
 a straight round trunk undisfigured by knots or 
 limbs for fifteen feet above the ground. "Bet I 
 can cut through my half of the tree first, Si," and 
 seizing an ax from the wagon, he started for the 
 tree. 
 
 "Choppin' ain't one o' my gifts, like racin' an' 
 eatin', but I'll give yew a tussle jest tew make yew 
 earn that brag," and Silas caught up another ax 
 out of the wagon and hurried after Big Tom. 
 
 "Get an ax and cut down a number of small 
 straight trees, about four inches thick," Big Tom 
 called to Gideon, as he halted by the side of the 
 big tree. "We'll need them for bunks and for 
 legs of the table. Ready, Si?" and he turned to
 
 The Bobcat 69 
 
 Silas, who had stationed himself on the opposite 
 side of the tree. 
 
 " Yes," answered Silas, and swung his ax aloft. 
 
 "Let her go, then," and the ax of Big Tom bit 
 deep into the rough trunk of the tree. 
 
 For half an hour the two men swung their axes 
 steadily, then both paused. They had nearly cut 
 the tree in two. 
 
 " I knowed I could beat you chopping," laughed 
 Big Tom, as his eyes scrutinized the two great 
 triangular gashes made in the tree on opposite sides 
 by their sharp axes. "I reckon my cut is a good 
 three inches deeper than yours." 
 
 "So it is," admitted Silas; "but I'll run yew 
 anuther race, if yew want tew," and he grinned. 
 
 "No, you won't," laughed back Big Tom. 
 "We're tree-chopping now, not racing. Reckon 
 'twon't take a dozen cuts more to bring her down. 
 Hi, there ! " he called to Gideon, who was chopping 
 a dozen yards away, " look out ! " 
 
 " All right, Dad ! " Gideon instantly stopped work 
 and fixed his eyes on the tree. It would be a sight 
 worth seeing to see that great mass of trunk and 
 limbs and branches go crashing to the ground. 
 
 "I'll give the death-blows," Big Tom said and 
 swung his ax above his head. 
 
 Once twice three times six times eight 
 times the ax bit deep into the wood. At the ninth 
 blow the great tree shivered. Gideon, from where 
 he stood, could hear the rustling of the leaves. 
 
 " She's a-going, Dad ! " he yelled excitedly.
 
 70 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 At the tenth blow a stronger shudder ran up the 
 huge trunk and the great mass of limbs and branches 
 above swayed; then, with a groan as of mortal 
 agony, the small portion o'f wood still sustaining 
 the huge bulk snapped, and the great tree, with a 
 majestic downward sweep of its mighty limbs, fell 
 earthward, at first moving with stately slowness, 
 but swiftly gathering speed as it fell, until it crashed 
 to the earth with a shock that shattered great limbs 
 and broke down small trees standing in its way. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " yelled Gideon, running toward the 
 fallen monarch, ax in hand, to begin clearing away 
 the tangle of broken limbs and branches. 
 
 "Hi, thar! Look out! Bobcat!" shouted Silas 
 warningly, jumping for his rifle that stood leaning 
 against the trunk of a nearby tree. 
 
 Gideon saw the bobcat, or lynx, almost at the 
 instant of Silas's shout. It had been crouching out 
 of sight on a limb of the great tree, and when the 
 tree fell it had, of course, fallen with it. Now, 
 although not much hurt, it was badly frightened and 
 a thoroughly enraged animal that sprang, spitting 
 catlike with anger, out of the tangled branches of 
 the fallen tree and landed on the ground not a 
 dozen feet directly in front of the running boy. 
 The bobcat's back was arched and its hair stood 
 out straight from its body, making it look nearly 
 twice as large as it really was to the startled lad. 
 
 Gideon tried to stop what boy would not under 
 the circumstances? but so great was his momen- 
 tum that he was almost on top of the bobcat before
 
 The Bobcat 71 
 
 he or the cat could do a thing to avoid the meeting. 
 Instinctively, at first sight of the bobcat, he had 
 swung up his ax, his only weapon; and now he 
 struck, with all his young strength, directly down at 
 the spitting brute, crouched ready to spring within 
 a yard of his feet. 
 
 But even as he struck the bobcat sprang! 
 
 The sharp blade of the ax met the cat's head in 
 midair, splitting it from nose to neck ; and the body 
 of the ugly little animal fell writhing in its death 
 agonies at Gideon's feet. 
 
 " Reckon yew owe yewr future good looks tew 
 that ax blow, Gid," Silas exclaimed, as he hurried 
 up, rifle in hand, to where Gideon stood staring 
 down at the dead body of the bobcat. " He'd a-torn 
 yewr face tew ribbons afore I could have shot him. 
 A bobcat's 'bout th' ugliest critter alive in a tussle, 
 bein' mostly nails an' teeth. But ain't he a beauty? " 
 and Silas bent and stroked the glossy fur of the 
 dead lynx with one of his hands. 
 
 "Hurt, Son?" and Big Tom ran up, his face 
 still a little white from the excitement of the 
 moment. 
 
 "Not a scratch, Dad," Gideon answered, giving 
 the body of the bobcat a contemptuous kick with the 
 toe of his foot. " But I'm powerful glad my ax hit 
 his head before he clawed me, or he sure would 
 have spoilt my beauty, as Si says," and he shud- 
 dered at the thought of his narrow escape from 
 those sharp nails and teeth. 
 
 " The hide'll make a fine cradle-robe for the baby,"
 
 72 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and Big Tom poked the soft fur of the bobcat with 
 the toe of his foot contemplatively. " Now, throw 
 the body into the wagon and get to work on the 
 tree," and, ax in hand, he turned to the prostrate 
 trunk of the great tree. " Bring the saw back with 
 you ! " he called, as Gideon picked up the body of 
 the bobcat by the hind legs and started for the 
 wagon. 
 
 The bobcat, or lynx, is not a large animal, being 
 only a little more than twice the size of a large cat, 
 which it resembles quite closely in appearance, ex- 
 cept in the ears and the tail. The ears of a bob- 
 cat are tipped by an upright, slender tuft of black 
 hairs, about an inch and a half long, and the tail 
 is short and thick, hence the name, bobcat. Conse- 
 quently Gideon had no trouble in carrying the body 
 of the bobcat to the wagon and throwing it into the 
 wagon box. Then he secured the saw his father 
 had asked him to get and hurried back with it to 
 the two men. 
 
 Big Tom took the saw, a long-bladed crosscut 
 saw, with a handle at each end, and, roughly 
 measuring off about ten feet of the length of the 
 great trunk, he drew the sharp teeth of the saw 
 across the log. 
 
 " Reckon that's 'bout the right length," he said. 
 " Catch hold, Si," and, gripping one of the handles 
 with both hands, he thrust the saw blade sharply 
 across the trunk to Silas, who stood on the other 
 side of the tree. Silas gripped the handle at his 
 end of the blade, and swiftly the two men thrust the
 
 The Bobcat 73 
 
 blade back and forth, back and forth between them, 
 while the sharp teeth of the saw bit deeply into 
 the wood of the trunk. 
 
 In this way they sawed the great trunk into 
 lengths of about ten feet each. 
 
 When the first log was ready, Gideon unhitched 
 the oxen from the wagon, fastened a log-chain 
 around one end of the log, caught the hook at the 
 other end of the chain into the ring of the ox yoke, 
 and started campward, with the oxen snaking the 
 log over the ground behind them, while his father 
 and Silas remained in the woods at work. 
 
 By noon three great logs and a wagon load of 
 poles had been hauled to the camp. This was 
 deemed a sufficient amount of material to work 
 with for the present.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 HOMEMADE FURNITURE 
 
 A FTER dinner, during which Silas had again 
 *^ proved that he was "as hungry as a b'ar," 
 Big Tom started in to turn one of the logs that 
 only that morning had been a part of a growing 
 tree, into a table. First he and Silas, with axes 
 and a beetle and wedges, carefully split the log 
 lengthwise through its center. Then they again 
 split each of these halves, thus forming two rough 
 planks some ten feet long by two feet wide and six 
 inches thick, when rudely trimmed into shape with 
 the ax. Big Tom and Silas now carefully smoothed 
 off, with a broad-bladed hand-ax and an adz, one 
 side and the edges of each of these planks, carefully 
 fitted the tw r o planks together, edge to edge, and 
 fastened them with wooden pegs driven into holes 
 bored into the edges. 
 
 Iron nails, in those days, since they had to be 
 forged slowly by hand, were costly and little used, 
 especially by the pioneers, who were usually far 
 away from blacksmith shops and hardware stores 
 and obliged to economize in every possible way. 
 Big Tom had a few of the precious iron nails, but 
 he never used one, unless absolutely obliged to do so. 
 
 The table was now ready for its legs. The legs 
 were made out of poles, sawed off the right length 
 
 74
 
 Homemade Furniture 75 
 
 and whittled off round at one end and driven tightly 
 into auger holes bored through the table top, two 
 at each end and two in the middle. Thus a rude, 
 but strong and serviceable table, had been quickly 
 fashioned out of what that morning had been a 
 tree growing in the forest. 
 
 "Quick work," Big Tom declared, with pleased 
 satisfaction, as he and Silas stood the now com- 
 pleted table on its own legs. " Nothing fancy about 
 it, but it is strong and serviceable and the grub will 
 taste as good off it as if it were made of mahogany 
 by the best tablemaker that ever sawed a board; 
 and, I reckon, that's 'bout all we'll ask of it. How 
 do you like it, Martha?" and he turned with a 
 smile to Mrs. Clay, who had hurried out of the 
 house, as soon as the table was completed, to look 
 it over. 
 
 "Fine!" she declared, as she moved her hand 
 over its smooth top. " Beats all how easy it is for 
 you to do things, Tom. Just think, this table was 
 a growing tree this morning and tonight we're 
 a-going to eat our supper off it! Don't take much 
 to keep house, when folks know how to use the 
 things God gives free, does it?" and she smiled. 
 "Now lug the table into the house. I can use it 
 right now," and she hurried back into the house. 
 
 Big Tom and Silas carried the table into the half- 
 faced camp. 
 
 "Tonight we'll have the best supper I can cook," 
 Mrs. Clay said, as the two men set the table down 
 where she directed, "to sort of consecrate the table
 
 76 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 to hospitality. May no one ever go hungry from 
 it! " and her face sobered; for she had known what 
 hunger meant there were few pioneer families 
 who had not. "But/' and the smile returned to 
 her face, "what shall we sit on?" 
 
 " Chairs, to be sure," grinned Big Tom. " Did 
 you think we would sit on our heels ? " 
 
 "Better get to work making them, then/' ad- 
 monished Mrs. Clay. " We will need about six to 
 start with." 
 
 " All right. Chairs are next on the docket," and 
 Big Tom hurried back to his outdoor carpenter 
 shop. 
 
 In an hour the six chairs were ready. They had 
 been quickly made by splitting another log into a 
 plank about four inches thick; and then sawing 
 the plank up into lengths of about eighteen inches 
 each. These lengths were then roughly rounded 
 and rudely shaped into seats, four holes bored into 
 them for the legs, and the legs, sticks of wood 
 sawed and cut to the right thickness and length, 
 driven into the holes and braced with shorter pieces 
 of wood, lashed firmly into place with thongs of 
 deerskin. They had no backs, but, otherwise, they 
 answered the purpose of chairs quite as well as do 
 the costly and beautiful products of the cabinet- 
 maker's skill in use today; and that was all our 
 friends required of them. 
 
 "Now for the beds," Big Tom said, when the 
 chairs were completed and placed inside the house 
 in an orderly row for the admiring eyes of Mrs.
 
 Homemade Furniture 77 
 
 Clay and Ruth to look at. "Reckon we'll need 
 three beds ? " and Big Tom turned to Mrs. Clay 
 for confirmation. 
 
 "Yes/' and the good woman paused for a mo- 
 ment from her work to consider the problem, 
 "that'll do. Ruth and I can bunk together when 
 we have company." 
 
 Six pieces of wood, about four inches thick, six 
 inches wide and eight and a half feet long, were 
 now split and hewn out of the logs; and auger holes 
 bored in each end of each of these timbers, for the 
 legs and the head and the foot poles. Then the 
 legs and the head and the foot poles were made 
 and the beds were ready to put together in their 
 places inside the house. This was done by driving 
 the legs and the head and the foot pieces into the 
 auger holes bored for them; and then boring holes 
 into the upright poles, which you will remember 
 "sided" the ends and one side of the half-faced 
 camp, at the right height and distance apart to re- 
 ceive the ends of the head and the foot poles, which, 
 on one side, projected several inches through the 
 holes bored in that side of th bed frame. This gave 
 the solid outer frame of the bed. Small holes, about 
 eight inches apart, were now bored along the upper 
 edge of this frame and hardwood pegs driven into 
 them, leaving about an inch of the peg projecting 
 out of the hole. 
 
 "Now get the balls of deerskin and I'll show 
 you how to ' rope ' the beds," Big Tom said, when 
 the three frames were up and pegged, turning to
 
 78 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Ruth, who had been a most interested watcher while 
 the bed frames were being put into their places. 
 
 Ruth hurried to a large bag, in which various 
 odds and ends were kept and which hung from one 
 of the hanging pegs Big Tom had driven into the 
 walls of the house the night before, and quickly 
 returned with a couple of large balls of narrow 
 strips of deerskin. The strips had been cut about 
 an inch wide and as long as possible and then tied 
 together and tightly wound up into the balls; and 
 answered very well all the purposes of a very strong 
 and serviceable small rope. 
 
 Big Tom took one of the balls, tied one end of 
 the deerskin around the head-pole of one of the 
 beds; and then began weaving the deerskin rope 
 back and forth, back and forth, across the bed 
 frame and around the heads of the little pegs driven 
 into the frame, keeping the rope taut and stopping 
 every now and then to tighten it by stretching and 
 pulling up the slack. In this way the entire bed 
 was " roped," making a strong and springy support 
 for the mattress, on which one could sleep as com- 
 fortably and dream as happily as on any of our 
 modern spring beds. 
 
 "There," he declared, when the "roping" was 
 completed, "that'll make about as comfortable a 
 bed as money could buy, and all that it cost was a 
 little work and planning. Just see the spring to 
 it," and, turning quickly, he caught Ruth up into 
 his arms and tossed her, full-length, on the tightly 
 drawn deerskin meshes of the bed; and so great
 
 Homemade Furniture 79 
 
 was the spring of the deerskin that her body 
 bounded nearly a foot up into the air. 
 
 " Do it again ! Do it again ! " Ruth begged, jump- 
 ing off the bed and turning to her father with 
 flushed face and shining eyes. 
 
 " Too busy," laughed Big Tom. " Must get the 
 other beds 'roped' before supper; and I see that 
 your ma is about ready to set the table now. The 
 first helping at the supper table to the one who gets 
 his bed ' roped ' first," and Big Tom turned a grin- 
 ning face to Silas. "Gid can help you and Ruth 
 will help me," and he indicated the two beds 
 remaining "unroped." 
 
 "Let's git a-goin', then," and Silas seized the 
 other ball of deerskin rope. "Th' smell o' that 
 cookin's powerful drawin' tew an empty stumick. 
 I'm as hungry as a b'ar. Lively, now, when I asks 
 for th' ball," and he handed the ball of deerskin 
 to Gideon, and, unwinding a little of the skin, stood 
 ready to tie it to the head-pole of his bed at the 
 word "go." 
 
 "And I'll give the victors an extra piece of the 
 pie that I just took out of the baking pan," laughed 
 Mrs. Clay, pausing to turn a face, flushed with the 
 heat of the fire, in their direction. 
 
 " Now, we've jest got tew win, if we bust our 
 bilers a-doin' it! Ready, Tom?" and Silas turned 
 a grinning face to Big Tom. 
 
 "Yes," answered Big Tom, bending over the 
 head of his bed, skin rope in hand. 
 
 " Let her go, then ! " shouted Silas. " Remember
 
 8o The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the pie!" and his swift fingers began tying the rope 
 around the head-pole. 
 
 For a time, so evenly did the swift fingers of 
 the two men weave the deerskin around the pegs 
 in the beds, it was impossible to tell who was ahead ; 
 then Ruth, in the excitement of the moment, 
 dropped the ball her father had handed to her to 
 hold for an instant, and the ball rolled some dis- 
 tance away. 
 
 "Jumping Moses ! There goes our pie ! " and Big 
 Tom, followed by Ruth, leaped after the ball, with 
 the result that Ruth's head and her father's nose 
 came together, with a thump that caused Ruth to 
 cry out with pain and Big Tom to grab his nose 
 with both hands and run for the wash basin, leaving 
 Silas and Gideon grinning and chuckling with 
 amusement and triumph. 
 
 "Hurrah! The pie is ours!" yelled Gideon, a 
 few minutes later, as Silas tied the final knot in 
 the skin rope that completed the "roping" of their 
 bed. 
 
 " An' th' fust helpin' at th' supper table. Don't 
 fergit that. Say, ain't that supper 'bout ready? 
 I shore am as hungry as a b'ar," and Silas straight- 
 ened up his long frame and turned a whimsically 
 smiling face to Mrs. Clay. " Jest th' smell o' yewr 
 cookin' is 'nough tew give a feller th' appetite o' a 
 hoss." 
 
 " Yes, supper'll be ready as soon as youVe washed 
 up. Take a pail along with you to the spring and 
 bring it back full of water," and Mrs. Clay handed
 
 Homemade Furniture 81 
 
 an empty water pail to Gideon. " Get out the best 
 knives and forks and the silver spoons that your 
 Uncle Frank gave me for a wedding present," she 
 directed Ruth, as the two men and Gideon set out 
 for the spring to " wash up." " Nothing is too good 
 for us tonight," and she smiled happily, as happily, 
 doubtless, as she would have smiled had they been 
 about to eat their first meal in a well- furnished and 
 comfortable house, instead of that pioneer's rude, 
 half -faced camp, which all goes to show how little 
 our material surroundings have to do with our real 
 happiness. 
 
 When Gideon and the two men returned from 
 the spring, after having "washed up," supper was 
 ready. 
 
 A white tablecloth covered the roughness of the 
 table, while the shining pewter plates and drinking 
 cups, brightly scoured knives and forks, glistening 
 silver spoons, a few cherished pieces of china, a 
 large pewter platter and a huge bouquet of the 
 beautiful wild flowers that grew so abundantly all 
 around them gave the table something of the ap- 
 pearance of luxury, when seen in the midst of such 
 humble surroundings. The evening was warm and 
 clear and the protecting skins and blankets that 
 curtained one side of the half -faced camp, were 
 lifted to let in the light and the air. A few feet 
 away, just outside of the enclosure, blazed and 
 crackled a camp fire. Around all was the green of 
 the level prairie, framed on one side by the dark 
 shadows of the forest. In the west the sun was
 
 82 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 just sinking, in a glory of red and golden lights, 
 behind the flame-topped hills. 
 
 " I swun, now," and Silas paused near the camp 
 fire and looked slowly around, "if this ain't th' 
 purtiest picter I've seen in a b'ar's age, so peaceful 
 an' quietlike, an' an' I kin't put th' feelin' it 
 gives me intew words, but, I reckon, yew know what 
 I mean, Tom." 
 
 "Reckon I do, Si," and something very much 
 like tears glistened deep back in Big Tom's eyes. 
 "Leastwise it makes me think of the goodness of 
 God and the beauty of His creation, mixed with a 
 sort of comfortable homelike feeling." 
 
 "That's it," and the face of Silas lighted. "It's 
 th' wimen folks that has warmed th' hull picter 
 with a feel o' home. It takes wimen's taste an' 
 wimen's cookin' tew make a home, it shore does 
 Glory be ! " and he turned quickly to Mrs. Clay, 
 who had just set the platter, loaded with a steaming- 
 hot turkey pie, down on the table, "if th' smell o' 
 that turkey ain't got intew my stumick an' sot it 
 tew beggin' worser'n a Meth'dist parson passin' 
 round a collection box." 
 
 "Well, you can start taking up the collection 
 right off," laughed Mrs. Clay. " Set right down." 
 
 Silas and the others needed no second invitation ; 
 and, in a moment more, all were seated around 
 the table. 
 
 " Tew th' victor belongs th' spiles," grinned Silas, 
 his eyes on the steaming turkey pie. " Fust helpin's," 
 and his hand extended his plate to Big Tom.
 
 Homemade Furniture 83 
 
 "And the pie," exulted Gideon. "Ma, I'll take 
 my extra piece now," and he passed his plate to his 
 mother. 
 
 Mrs. Clay gave Gideon his extra piece of pie, 
 with a smiling remark about eating pie first, while 
 Big Tom loaded the plate of Silas with turkey pie. 
 
 " Good 'nuf for th' Queen o' Sheba or th' Sar o' 
 all th' Russias," was Silas's comment on the supper, 
 when, at last, he pushed his plate from him and 
 declared himself filled up "clean tew th' muzzle."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 OLD WHITENOSE 
 
 "NF W tell us about Old Whitenose, the bear," 
 * ^ begged Gideon, that night, when, the day's 
 work done, all had gathered around the blazing 
 camp fire. "You said that he had been defying 
 you and Old Man Kellogg for more than two years. 
 Now, what did you mean by defying?'* and his 
 eyes, alight with interest, turned eagerly to the face 
 of the old hunter. 
 
 "Wai," and Silas took the pipe he was smoking 
 out of his mouth and carefully laid it down by his 
 side on the log on which he sat, "if b'ar ever 
 defied humans, I reckon Old Whitenose has defied 
 me an' Old Man Kellogg. Fust he stole a pig from 
 Old Man Kellogg's pen. That sort o' riled Old 
 Man Kellogg an' he started out tew git him. Th' 
 trail was plain an' Old Man Kellogg had no trouble 
 in follerin' th' thief, till he come tew whar he'd 
 stopped tew eat th' pig. From thar follerin' th' 
 trail wan't easy; but he managed tew f oiler it till 
 he come tew th' edge o' th' Big Swamp; an' thar, 
 right afore his eyes an' not more'n five rods away, 
 he saw a monstrous big black b'ar, with a white 
 nose, rise up sudden from ahind a big log an' turn 
 an' look at him, not scartlike, but inquisitivelike, 
 as much as tew say, ' Was it me yew was a-lookin' 
 for?' 
 
 84
 
 Old Whitenose 85 
 
 " Old Man Kellogg's powerful quick with his 
 gun an' he swears that afore th' b'ar made anuther 
 move, he'd up with his rifle an' drawed a bead on 
 th' b'ar's right eye an' pulled th' trigger. Now 
 I've seed Old Man Kellogg drive a nail with a bullet 
 from his rifle that far ; an' yit he says that that thar 
 b'ar jest sort o' shook his head, like he heered a fly 
 buzzin' 'bout his ears, at th' crack o' his rifle, an* 
 slid back ahind th' log, not frightenedlike, but slow 
 an' indifferentlike ; an', when atter loadin' his rifle, 
 he hurried up tew th' log, th' b'ar had vanished 
 without leavin' no trail ahind him that Old Man 
 Kellogg could find. 
 
 "That was th' fust time Old Man Kellogg saw 
 Old Whitenose; but he'd heered th' Injuns tell o' 
 a big black b'ar, with a white nose, that lived in 
 th' Big Swamp, which was a devil-b'ar that no 
 bullet or arrer or knife could kill ; an' he had laughed 
 at th' Injuns. Now he shook his head and wondered. 
 
 " One mornin', not more'n six months atter that, 
 I was a-lookin' for a turkey for break fust an' was 
 a-creepin' through some underbrush up tew a big 
 dead tree, whar I knowed a number o' fat turkey- 
 cocks was a-roostin', when, right in front o' me, 
 not more'n three rods away, a big black b'ar, with 
 a white nose, rise up on his hind legs, like he'd 
 popped up out o' th' ground, an' stood an' looked 
 at me, not scartlike, but inquisitivelike, as if he 
 wanted tew know was I looking for him. I was 
 so close that I could see his curious white nose plain. 
 
 "Wai, I sudden concluded I'd have b'ar steak,
 
 86 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 'stead o' turkey, for break fust, an' thro wed my 
 rifle tew my shoulder an' took quick aim for th' 
 b'ar's wicked-lookin' leetle right eye an' fired. An', 
 as shore as I am a-settin' here, that thar b'ar jest 
 shook his head, like a fly was a-buzzin' 'bout his 
 ears, drapt down on all fours, an' slid off through 
 th' woods, not scartlike, but indifferentlike, an* 
 a-turnin' his head back over his shoulder tew look 
 at me an' a-grinnin' scorn ful-1 ike. 
 
 " Wai, I jest stood thar an' stared atter that b'ar, 
 tew 'sprised tew move, for I'd never missed a dead- 
 easy shot like that afore, till th' b'ar got out o' 
 sight, then I begun tew git mad, an' th' more I 
 thought o' that miss th' madder I got. I vowed 
 that no b'ar could stump me like that an' live; an* 
 so I loaded up my rifle an' started tew trail th' 
 b'ar, determined tew git him afore night, if I had 
 tew bust my bilers a-doin' it. 
 
 " It had rained hard th' night afore and th' trail 
 was easy tew foller. Th' b'ar headed straight for 
 th' Big Swamp and I follered. Once I caught 
 sight o' him, as he was crossin' an openin'; but he 
 was tew far ahead o' me tew chance a shot. Then 
 I seed nuthin' o' him ag'in till I reached th' edge 
 o' th' Big Swamp, when he rise up from ahind a 
 big log, sudden, like he'd popped up out o' th' 
 ground, reared up on his hind legs an' looked at 
 me inquisitivelike, as if he might be askin', 'Was 
 it me yew was a-follerin' ? 
 
 1 'Shore,' I says back; 'an' I've got yew this 
 time, sartin,' an' I throwed my gun tew my shoulder,
 
 Old Whitenose 87 
 
 took keerful aim ag'in at that leetle, wicked-lookin' 
 right eye an' pulled th' trigger, th' b'ar not bein' 
 more'n three rods from th' muzzle o' my gun " 
 
 "And and did you get him?" broke in Gideon, 
 too anxious and too excited to await the slow-spoken 
 words of Silas. 
 
 "Th' b'ar," continued Silas, solemnly, "jest 
 shook that white nose o' his, like he heered a fly 
 buzzin' 'bout it, drapt down ahind th' log ag'in, not 
 scartlike or flustered, but unconsarnedlike an' easy, 
 an' disappeared, without leavin' no trail; leastwise 
 I could find none, when I rushed tew th' log, knife 
 in hand, without stoppin' tew load my rifle." 
 
 " Good land ! " exclaimed Mrs. Clay, her eyes 
 round with wonder, " You don't mean that that bear 
 disappeared, in broad daylight, right before your 
 eyes, and you not able to see where he went ? " 
 
 " Not exactly right afore my eyes. He jest drapt 
 down ahind that big log an' when I ran up tew th' 
 log he'd vanished, without leavin' no trail, so far 
 as I could see. But that ain't so curious as it is 
 that I should miss him twice in one day, an' both 
 on 'em dead-easy shots. That's what made me feel 
 kindy queer an' sort o' shaky in th' legs, as I stood 
 aside th' log an' tried tew figger it all out. I never 
 knowed my old gun tew miss hittin' what I aimed 
 it at afore," and Silas shook his head, like one 
 who had given up all hopes of solving the mysteri- 
 ous puzzle. 
 
 " Th' log was a big one," he continued, " more'n 
 five feet through, an' ran on a slant down a leetle
 
 88 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 hill, with th' lower end a-runnin' down intew a 
 leetle pond o' marsh water. Fust off I thought th' 
 log might be holler an' that th' b'ar had crawled 
 intew it ; but he couldn't have done that, 'cause thar 
 wan't no way that I could find for him tew git 
 inside o' it, except through a rotten old knothole 
 not more'n six inches across. Then I thought he 
 might have slipped intew th' water an' swam across 
 th' pond; but he couldn't have done that neither, 
 'cause I searched every inch o' th' bank around th' 
 pond an' I'm ready tew swear that no b'ar crawled 
 out o' that water. If he went intew th' pond, he 
 staid thar. Finally, atter searchin' an' figgerin' an' 
 lookin', I concluded that my bullet must have hit 
 true an' that th' b'ar must have got intew th' water 
 afore he died an' that his body was a-lyin' on th' 
 bottom o' th' pond. That sort o' made me feel 
 better; an' atter restin' a bit, I sot out for home, 
 still puzzlin' over how I come tew miss that fust 
 shot. 
 
 " Wai, I'd 'most fergot 'bout th' big white-nosed 
 b'ar, when one evenin', 'bout six months later, I 
 was a-goin' tew th' spring atter a pail o' water an' 
 was jest a-bendin' over th' water tew fill th' pail, 
 when I heered a sort o' s'prised 'Whoof ! Whoof !' 
 ahind me. I drapt th' pail quick, for I knowed it 
 was a b'ar, an' whirled about an' thar, not more'n 
 tew rods from me, a-standin' in th' path on his 
 hind legs, was that identickle white-nosed b'ar that 
 I thought was a-lyin' dead at th' bottom o' th' pond, 
 a-lookin' at me, not scartlike, but inquisitivelike, an*
 
 Old Whitenose 89 
 
 wrinklin' up his white nose, an' swaying' his head 
 from side tew side. He must have knowed I'd left 
 my gun at th' house, 'cause he stood thar, a-grinnin' 
 an' a-swayin' his head for a couple o' minutes or 
 more, afore, with anuther 'Whoof! Whoof!' he 
 slid down on his feet an' slipped out o' sight in th' 
 willows that growed round th' spring. 
 
 " As for me, I was plumb stumpt an' stood thar, 
 like I'd been frozen stiff, till th' b'ar had disap- 
 peared in th' willows. Then I picked up th' pail, 
 filled it with water an' walked back tew th' house, 
 a-scratchin' my head an' a-puzzlin' over that white- 
 nosed b'ar. 
 
 " Th' very next mornin' Old Man Kellogg routed 
 me out afore sunrise. He was mad plumb from 
 his moccasins tew his coonskin cap. Seems a b'ar 
 had been raidin' his pig pen off an' on for 'bout a 
 year an' th' night afore he had got his last pig. 
 Yes, Old Man Kellogg sartinly was mad; an' he 
 vowed he'd git that b'ar, if he had tew camp on his 
 trail for a week. Now he wanted me tew go 'long 
 with him on a death-hunt for Old Whitenose, as 
 he called th' b'ar, 'cause he tried alone in vain tew 
 git him. 
 
 "' Whitenose!' I says. 'Did th' b'ar have a 
 white nose?' 
 
 "'He shore did,' answered Old Man Kellogg; 
 an' then he told me o' his experiences with a big 
 black b'ar with a white nose ; an' I told him o' mine ; 
 an' both on us agreed that it was powerful curious 
 an' some startlin'; but we reckoned it all could be
 
 go The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 explained natural-like, when we got the rights o' 
 it, an* not accordin' tew Injun belief that th' b'ar 
 was a devil-b'ar, an' couldn't be killed by no bullet 
 or arrer or knife. Leastwise we wanted tew try 
 some more bullets on him; an', atter I'd eated a 
 hurried break fust, we shouldered our guns an* 
 started out tew give Old Whitenose th' hunt o' 
 his life. 
 
 " Wai, it sartin was a hunt all right, a hunt with 
 no findin'. We hit his trail an' follered it tew th' 
 identickle big log in th' edge o' th' Big Swamp, 
 whar Old Man Kellogg had lost it afore, an' whar 
 I had lost it afore, an' thar we both on us lost it 
 ag'in. We was both plumb stumpt an' clean mys- 
 tified. We could not figger it out no sensible way; 
 an', finally, we was obliged tew give up th' hunt. 
 
 "'No use huntin' Old Whitenose without dogs,' 
 Old Man Kellogg said, as we started home, still 
 puzzlin' over th' mystery. 'An' I'm goin' tew git 
 th' dogs that will dew it. I won't 'low no white- 
 nosed old b'ar tew lug off my pigs an' defy me tew 
 make him pay for 'em. I kin wait; but I'll git 
 him yit.' 
 
 "Neither one on us has seen Old Whitenose 
 since; but we've heered tell o' him time an' ag'in 
 from Injun an' white hunters, who've shot at him 
 an' allers missed, an' tried tew trail him an' allers 
 lost th' trail at th' edge o' th' Big Swamp, aside a 
 big log. Th' Injuns call him White-Devil-B'ar, an' 
 say that no mortal kin kill him. I dunno 'bout 
 that; but he sartin does 'pear tew bear a charmed
 
 Old Whitenose 91 
 
 life. Now Old Man Kellogg's jest got tew more 
 pigs, an', what's more tew th' pint, he's got tew 
 b'ar hounds; an' we rigger tew find out for dead 
 sartin next week whether or not Old Whitenose kin 
 be killed. Leastwise Old Man Kellogg vows tew 
 git him, afore he kin git them tew pigs, if 'tis in th' 
 power o' mortal tew dew it," and Silas picked up 
 his pipe and began vigorously puffing the dying fire 
 in it into life again. 
 
 " I sure wish I was going with you on that hunt, 
 Si," Big Tom declared, the moment Silas stopped 
 speaking. "I've heard Indians and trappers tell 
 afore of bears and other animals that appeared to 
 be protected in some mysterious way; but I never 
 had any faith in the protection and always wanted 
 to try my old gun on one of those mysteriously 
 protected animals. But it sure was powerful queer 
 that you and Old Man Kellogg should both miss 
 that bear; and powerful queer that he disappeared 
 the way he did without leaving a trail. I sure do, 
 wish I was going with you," and Big Tom turned 
 his head half questioningly to Mrs. Clay; but she 
 shook her head firmly. 
 
 " And and do you think we will get Old White- 
 nose this time?" inquired Gideon, his eyes glowing 
 with excitement. 
 
 " Old Man Kellogg will be shore loaded for b'ar ; 
 an* he'll have th' hounds with him, so we kin't lose 
 th' trail. Yes, I reckon, we're bound tew git him 
 this time, if th' b'ar's mortal an' not a sperit, like 
 th' Injuns say," answered Silas.
 
 g2 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 " O, but I wish tomorrow was next week Thurs- 
 day ! " sighed Gideon, whose young imagination had 
 been powerfully stirred by the weird tale of Silas. 
 
 "Twon't be long comin'," and Silas smiled at 
 the boy's eagerness ; " for, accordin' tew my reck- 
 onin', tewmorrer's Sunday." 
 
 " Mercy on us ! So it is ! " exclaimed Mrs. Clay. 
 "And I had my work all planned for tomorrow, 
 forgetting all about its being the Lord's day. It 
 beats all how forgetful I am getting to be! Well," 
 and her face softened, "we can keep the day holy 
 out here in this wilderness, just as truly as we 
 could in the finest church in the world." 
 
 "More truly than in any church made by the 
 hands of man, for here we have God's grandest 
 and most beautiful church all around us a church 
 of his own building creation," Big Tom said, 
 quietly. " Creation, just as He made it, unmarred 
 by man's hands." 
 
 "I sartin agrees with that," commented Silas. 
 "I allers feel more religious, when I'm standin' in 
 a great forest, with big trees liftin' their hands up 
 to God all round me, or on a broad prairie, with 
 an ocean o' green grass an' beautiful flowers wavin' 
 all round me, or on th' side o' a towerin' mount'in, 
 with other big mount'ins pokin' their heads up 
 above th' clouds, like they was tryin' tew git near 
 tew heaven, than I ever dew in a church; an' I kin 
 hear God's voice plainer out alone in th' woods, or 
 on th' prairie, or 'mong th' mount'ins than I ever 
 did from eny church pulpit. Not but what churches
 
 Old Whitenose 93 
 
 an' parsons are all right for 'em that needs 'em/' 
 he added, a bit apologetically. " But out here whar 
 we kin see God all round us, we don't need 'em 
 tew tell us o' God. Now," and he turned suddenly 
 to Mrs. Clay and Ruth, " I shore would like tew 
 hear yew sing ' Annie Laurie ' or some good song." 
 
 There is something peculiarly fascinating to 
 music, when heard in the midst of the stillness and 
 mystery of the wilderness, especially at nighttime, 
 with the singers and the listeners sitting around a 
 blazing camp fire; and Big Tom and Silas and 
 Gideon sat, like souls entranced, while Mrs. Clay 
 and Ruth sang "Annie Laurie" and others of the 
 beautiful old songs, dear to the hearts of all. 
 
 At last Big Tom arose and stretched his long 
 frame. 
 
 " Now," he said, regretfully, " I reckon we'll have 
 one more song and then we must go to bed." 
 
 " Then sing ' Annie Laurie ' once more," begged 
 Silas. " 'Pears like I kin never tire o' hearin' that 
 song. I reckon it's 'cause mother used tew sing it 
 tew me when I was a boy; an' yewr voice sounds 
 like mother's." 
 
 Mrs. Clay smiled ; and then, sitting there in the 
 light of the camp fire, with the stars above her and 
 the darkness and the mystery of the night and the 
 great wilderness all around her, she sang the beau- 
 tiful old song that so often has charmed the ears 
 and touched the hearts of listeners in all parts of 
 the world. 
 
 When the last notes of the song died, all arose;
 
 94 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and, half an hour later, all were sound asleep, 
 having found the new beds so comfortable that 
 sleep had come almost the moment their bodies 
 sank down into their soft embraces.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 UNEXPECTED GUESTS 
 
 those who are obliged to rise early each 
 weekday morning can know how comfortable 
 and pleasant it is to lie in bed on a Sunday morning, 
 drowsily conscious that there is no necessity of 
 arising until sleep and rest are both satisfied. The 
 next morning our pioneer friends enjoyed to the 
 full this Sunday privilege; and lay, snugly and 
 comfortably, in their beds, until the sun had looked 
 down on their rude shelter for at least a couple 
 of hours. Then Big Tom rolled over in his bed, 
 yawned and opened his eyes. 
 
 " Say, but this is comfortable," he said, rising 
 up on one elbow and looking around the room. 
 
 " It shore is," agreed Silas, who lay in the bed 
 by his side. " I've been awake for more'n an hour, 
 jest a-lettin' th' comfort o' this bed ooze into me. 
 Yew shore dew know how tew make a bed that 
 sleeps easy, Tom. That deerskin feels jest like 
 springs aneath me." 
 
 " Say, you lazy men, there, ain't you never going 
 to get up?" called Mrs. Clay from her bed in the 
 other end of the room. " I've been wondering when 
 you were going to wake up for the last hour. If 
 you don't get right up, you'll get no breakfast." 
 
 "No breakfust! Great horned bufflers! did yew 
 
 95
 
 g6 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 hear that, Tom ? " cried Silas, in well-simulated 
 alarm. "Now, git right up, yew big lazy hipper- 
 potamus, afore it is tew late," and, suddenly placing 
 both of his feet against the back of Big Tom, he 
 gave so violent and so quick a shove that the huge 
 body of his bedmate was hurled out of the bed and 
 landed sprawlingly on the floor, with a grunt and 
 a shock that, for a moment, knocked the breath out 
 of the big body. Before Big Tom could jump to 
 his feet, the old hunter, chuckling happily, tumbled 
 out of the bed and fled from the room. 
 
 "Served you right," laughed Mrs. Clay, as Big 
 Tom rose slowly to his feet. " Now, get a good 
 fire going. I'll be out in a jiffy." 
 
 Big Tom grinned and vowed he'd "get even" 
 with Silas; and, hurrying into his clothes, started 
 out. As he passed Gideon's bed, he heard a snicker 
 from that young man; for Gideon had witnessed, 
 with great delight, the manner of his father's 
 getting out of bed. 
 
 " Laugh, will you, you young rascal ! Laugh ! " 
 and one of the big hands of Big Tom suddenly 
 shot forth and caught one of Gideon's legs; and 
 the next thing the boy knew he was jerked out of 
 bed, bed-clothes and all, and dumped, laughing and 
 protesting, on the floor. " Splendid way of getting 
 a fellow out of bed, ain't it? Warranted to take 
 all the sleepyseeds out of his eyes afore his feet hit 
 the floor," and, with a grin all over his face, Big 
 Tom hurried out of the house. 
 
 Sunday, with our pioneer friends, was a real day
 
 Unexpected Guests 97 
 
 of rest. No work was done, except the necessary 
 choring about the place; and, when this was done, 
 the men shaved and cleaned up and put on their 
 best clothes; and Mrs. Clay and Ruth washed up 
 and dressed up; because, as Big Tom said, it made 
 them all feel a little more respectable and civilized 
 to get into their good clothes once a week, even 
 when there was no one but themselves to look at 
 themselves, and it made the day seem more like 
 Sunday. 
 
 Of course there were no church services in that 
 wilderness near enough for them to attend; but, 
 after all were cleaned and dressed, they had a simple 
 religious service of their own; and, after that, all 
 started out on a little tour of exploration around 
 their new home. When night came they again 
 gathered around the camp fire, and talked and sang 
 and told stories, until it was time to go to bed a 
 simple, wholesome, soul-satisfying way of passing 
 Sunday. 
 
 Fortunately for our friends, the weather, up to 
 this time, had been all that they could wish; but 
 that night, just as they were about to enter the 
 house to go to bed, one of those violent rain and 
 wind storms that frequently sweep over the western 
 prairies at that season, appeared with such sudden- 
 ness that it seemed almost to leap out of the western 
 darkness, and spread over the clear skies so quickly 
 that the stars were blotted out, as if the hand of 
 God had suddenly dropped down a great blanket. 
 Never before had Gideon and Ruth heard such deep
 
 98 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and awful thunder as that which now rolled and 
 rumbled and cracked all around them; and never 
 before had they seen such vivid flashes of lightning 
 as that which leaped and zigzagged across the inky 
 blackness of the skies. It was grand, awe inspiring, 
 terrible. 
 
 At first not a drop of rain fell, not a breath of 
 air stirred, only the swift marshaling of the black 
 clouds across the skies told of the dread advance 
 of the storm. Then a sudden gust of wind almost 
 whipped them off their feet, a few big drops of 
 rain fell, and a sound, as if billions of tiny feet 
 were rushing over the grass of the prairie toward 
 them, filled the air. 
 
 "Intew th' house!" shouted Silas. "That's th' 
 rain yew hear; an' it's comin' down in bucketfuls. 
 Intew th' house, afore yew git wet tew th' skin!" 
 
 And into the house they all hurried, Ruth cling- 
 ing tremblingly to her mother and Mrs. Clay with 
 an anxious hand on Big Tom's arm, just as the 
 bottom of the clouds seemed to fall out and the 
 rain poured down on the roof above their heads 
 and beat against the sides of the house in torrents. 
 A lighted candle on the table dimly illuminated the 
 inky blackness of the room. 
 
 " Mercy on us ! What a wind ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
 Clay, still clinging to the arm of her husband. 
 " Hope 'twon't blow the house down on top of our 
 heads," and she glanced apprehensively around the 
 little enclosure. 
 
 " No danger," laughed Big Tom, confidently. " Si
 
 Unexpected Guests 99 
 
 and I set the corner posts too deep in the ground 
 for anything short of a regular hurricane to pull 
 them out. But just listen to that rain! Sounds 
 as if someone had pulled the plug out of the bottom 
 of the heavenly watertank for sure. Well, if the 
 roof don't leak now, it certainly is rain proof. Let's 
 have a look," and, picking up the candle, he passed 
 slowly around the room, holding the candle above 
 his head and closely examining the roof for leaks. 
 
 "Not a leak!" he declared, with triumph, when 
 his survey was completed. "Let her rain! Who 
 cares? We are snug and dry. Blow, you winds, 
 blow, you can't hurt us ! Blow and rain, we're dry 
 and safe! Say, but we did do a good job on that 
 roof," and he turned a well-satisfied face to Silas. 
 
 "We shore-" 
 
 Silas stopped abruptly and instinctively one hand 
 shot out and caught up his long-barreled rifle, which 
 stood leaning against the side of the house near 
 where he was standing. 
 
 Big Tom whirled swiftly about and faced ques- 
 tioningly the door's only barricade, a strong blanket, 
 his right hand gripping the handle of an ax. 
 
 Mrs. Clay dropped the quilt she was about to 
 spread over one of the beds and turned a whitening 
 face in the same direction. 
 
 Gideon seized his rifle and fixed his startled eyes 
 on the blanket-door. 
 
 Ruth uttered a frightened cry and ran to her 
 mother and clung tremblingly to her. 
 
 For a moment all stood thus, staring at the blan-
 
 ioo The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 ket that shut out the night and the storm and 
 listening intently. 
 
 Without, the rain still beat down on the roof 
 and sides in torrents, the wind cried and moaned 
 and shrieked and hurled itself furiously against the 
 house and the heavy thunders rolled and growled 
 in the black distance. 
 
 Then, suddenly, there came a flash of lightning 
 so vivid it made the room as light as day, almost 
 instantly followed by a crashing crack of thunder 
 that seemed to jar the very ground on which they 
 stood. 
 
 " Gosh ! " Big Tom exclaimed. " That must have 
 struck near! I " 
 
 Again, at that moment, from out the darkness 
 and the storm, came the sound that had so startled 
 all, only this time it was louder, nearer, as if it 
 came from just outside the blanket that closed the 
 door a weird, wailing, and moaning sound that 
 seemed hardly human, coming from out the black 
 mystery of that wild night. 
 
 No one stirred. All stood listening, their eyes 
 intent on the blanketed door, wondering what it 
 was that was out there in the blackness and the 
 storm. 
 
 Now there came a sudden lull in the storm. The 
 thunders were still and the wind, for a moment, 
 ceased to blow; and, in that moment of silence, 
 from out the darkness of the night, once more came 
 that shrill wail, sounding loud and high in the still- 
 ness and ending in a queer gurgling noise that
 
 Unexpected Guests 101 
 
 caused Mrs. Clay to start forward with a cry of 
 astonishment and compassion. 
 
 " Mercy on us ! A baby, here in this wilderness ! 
 And out there in that darkness and storm!" and 
 the good woman started impulsively toward the 
 door. 
 
 "Wait," and the hand of Big Tom caught her 
 by the arm and thrust her back. " I will see what it 
 is," and, still gripping the ax in his hand, he strode 
 quickly to the door, loosened the blanket and looked 
 out into the blackness of the night and the storm. 
 
 For a moment he stood, his head thrust out 
 through the opening in the blanket, then, with a 
 startled cry, the ax dropped from his hand and he 
 bent quickly downward and lifted up into his arms 
 the closely blanketed form of a woman that lay 
 motionless on the wet ground just outside the door, 
 one hand outstretched toward the blanket that hung 
 between her and shelter. 
 
 "Quick!" cried Mrs. Clay. "Lay her on the 
 bed," and she hurried to his assistance, her heart 
 filled with compassion and anxiety. " Help get this 
 blanket off," she said, the moment Big Tom laid 
 the unconscious form down on the bed. "Poor 
 soul, she is soaking wet! " and, swiftly and tenderly 
 she began unloosening the wet blanket that one 
 hand of the woman held tightly gripped about her 
 head and shoulders, while Big Tom lifted the inert 
 body to aid her. 
 
 " Mercy ! I knew I heard a baby ! Quick, Ruth, 
 bring the candle," and Mrs. Clay tenderly lifted
 
 102 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 out from under the blanket, where it had been held 
 securely and warmly to the unconscious woman's 
 bosom, a baby not more than two or three months 
 old. 
 
 Ruth hurried to her mother with the candle, while 
 Silas and Gideon crowded close to the bed, anxious 
 to see these waifs that had come to them so mys- 
 teriously from out the darkness and the storm. 
 
 The moment the light fell on the woman's face 
 all started. 
 
 " A squaw ! " cried Mrs. Clay, in astonishment. 
 " Mercy on us ! How came she here, with a little 
 baby in her arms?" 
 
 "Is she dead?" queried Ruth, her voice trem- 
 bling just a little with excitement and awe. 
 
 "No, I think not. Here, take the baby," and 
 Mrs. Clay handed the baby to Ruth, and bent anx- 
 iously over the Indian woman. " She has only 
 fainted," and she straightened up; "but I fear she 
 must be hurt someway. See, she is coming to her 
 senses." 
 
 The Indian woman moved restlessly, moaned; 
 then her eyes opened and stared blankly up into 
 the white faces crowding around her. Suddenly 
 she clasped both hands to her bosom and a wild, 
 terrified look came into her eyes and she started 
 up from the bed. 
 
 " Quick, her baby ! " cried Mrs. Clay. 
 
 Ruth hurried to the bedside, the little Indian 
 baby held tenderly in her arms. 
 
 At sight of her baby all the fear and the wild-
 
 Unexpected Guests 103 
 
 ness left the Indian woman's eyes and face and, 
 with a glad mother cry, she stretched out both hands 
 for her child and, clasping the little form close to 
 her bosom, sank back on the bed and lay quiet, snug- 
 gling the baby up to her and every now and then 
 lifting her black eyes, questioningly, wonderingly, 
 to the white faces around her. Evidently she was 
 trying to think it all out how she and her baby 
 came to be in the white man's wigwam, lying on 
 the white man's bed. 
 
 " Mercy me ! There's not a dry rag on the woman 
 or the baby ! Here, you men, get over to the other 
 end of the room," and Mrs. Clay turned peremp- 
 torily to the men folks; "and keep your backs 
 toward us until we tell you to look. I am going 
 to get some dry clothes on this poor soul and her 
 child, before both of them catch their deaths a-cold. 
 Ruth, bring me one of my old dresses and some of 
 baby's clothes," and, vigorously motioning the men 
 to clear out, the good woman turned solicitously 
 to the stoical woman on the bed, whose bright black 
 eyes had been fixed intently on her face while she 
 had been speaking. 
 
 The two men and Gideon at once went to the 
 other end of the room, while Mrs. Clay and Ruth 
 removed the Indian woman's and her baby's wet 
 garments and replaced them with dry clothes. Once 
 they heard a cry of pain, quickly suppressed, fol- 
 lowed by the exclamation, "Land sakes! One of 
 her feet and ankles is swollen almost double ! " from 
 Mrs. Clay. A moment later she called to Big Tom :
 
 104 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 " See if you can't start a fire. We must have hot 
 water. The poor soul has broken her leg or 
 sprained her ankle something terrible." 
 
 In one corner of the room was a pile of dry fire- 
 wood, brought there for the special purpose of 
 keeping it dry; and it did not take Big Tom long 
 to have a fire burning brightly. Then he drove a 
 forked stick down into the ground on each side of 
 the fire, laid a green pole in the crotches, filled an 
 iron kettle with water and hung it from the pole 
 over the fire. 
 
 By this time the Indian woman and her baby 
 were dressed in dry clothes, and Mrs. Clay called 
 to the men to come and have a look at her swollen 
 foot and ankle. 
 
 The Indian woman lay on the bed, clothed in 
 one of Mrs. Clay's dresses, her right foot and ankle 
 uncovered. Ruth, who was charmed with the wee, 
 mahogany-colored mite of humanity, had the baby 
 again in her arms. 
 
 Big Tom and Silas stepped close to the bed and 
 examined the swollen foot and ankle. 
 
 " Great Moses ! I should say it was a bad 
 sprain ! " exclaimed Big Tom, the moment his eyes 
 rested on the swollen limb. "How hurt?" and he 
 pointed to the swollen ankle. 
 
 " Slip on rock," answered the squaw, her bright 
 eyes on Big Tom's face. "No break sprain." 
 
 Then she went on, in her abbreviated, broken 
 English, to relate how she had started to go to the 
 village of her people, a half -day's walk to the north,
 
 Unexpected Guests 105 
 
 and had slipped on a loose stone and fallen down a 
 steep bank and hurt her foot; but, for her baby's 
 sake, she had managed to keep moving. When the 
 storm came she was in despair, not for her sake, 
 but for her baby's, and had struggled on blindly, 
 desperately, until, worn out with pain and exhaus- 
 tion, she would have sunk down where she was, 
 had not her eyes that moment caught sight of the 
 dull glow of the candlelight shining through the 
 blankets that protected the open side of the half- 
 faced camp. She had just strength enough left to 
 reach the camp, where a sudden wrench of her 
 ankle had caused her such intense pain that she 
 had fallen in a faint, her outstretched hand almost 
 touching the blanket that meant safety to her baby. 
 For herself she did not care. She was strong and 
 could stand pain and exhaustion and exposure. But 
 the baby was only "two moons " old and the rain 
 and the chill of the night might kill it A tale of 
 mother heroism simply told. 
 
 "An' yew limpt 'long for hours on that thai- 
 foot, a-carryin j that yunk?" and Silas stared down 
 at the swollen foot and ankle. "Yew shore are 
 clean grit, plumb through," and his eyes turned 
 admiringly to the face of the squaw. 
 
 By this time the water in the kettle was suffi- 
 ciently heated, and Mrs. Clay, who was well-skilled 
 in the rude surgery of the frontier, as, indeed, all 
 pioneer women had to be, bathed the swollen foot 
 and ankle in hot water and carefully bandaged them. 
 The moment she ceased her ministering to the hurt
 
 io6 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 limb, the young mother she was but little more 
 than a girl with a sigh of utter exhaustion, sank 
 back on the bed and in a few minutes was sound 
 asleep. 
 
 "Now just look at that little tike!" and Mrs. 
 Clay turned from the bed to where Ruth sat, the 
 little Indian baby, dressed in a long white gown, 
 on her lap, his black eyes staring wonderingly 
 straight up into her face, his fat little cheeks and 
 lips puckered up into a smile, and one chubby little 
 fist gripping tightly one of her fingers. 
 
 " O Ma, ain't he cute ? " and Ruth lifted a flushed 
 face to her mother. 
 
 "He is that," answered Mrs. Clay, bending and 
 lifting the little form up into her arms. " Now," 
 and she smiled, "shall we trade little sister for 
 him?" 
 
 " No," and Ruth's eyes turned quickly and affec- 
 tionately to the cradle, where her little baby sister 
 lay happily sleeping. " He's cute and I'd like to 
 keep him, if if he'd always stay little; but he 
 won't, and, some day, he'll grow up into a big ugly 
 Indian, and, maybe, want to scalp me. I could 
 never love him like I do sister," and she hurried to 
 the cradle and bent and lovingly kissed one of the 
 sweet dimpled cheeks. 
 
 "Love him as well as sister! Well, I should 
 hope not!" and Mrs. Clay smiled at the impossi- 
 bility of the thought of any one, who knew her 
 baby, ever loving any other baby, white or Indian, 
 quite as well. " Now, I'd better lay the youngster
 
 Unexpected Guests 107 
 
 near his mother, so that, if she wakes up during 
 the night, she can find him," and, improvising a 
 crib out of an empty box, she placed it on the ground 
 close to the bedside of the sleeping mother and 
 tenderly tucked the baby away in it. 
 
 "I know I've seen her afore," Silas said, when, 
 after Mrs. Clay had placed the Indian baby in his 
 rude crib, our friends had gathered to talk over 
 the strange guests that the night and the storm had 
 brought them. "I kin't 'zackly place her; but I 
 know I've seen her afore. I " and, suddenly 
 jumping to his feet, he picked up the candle and, 
 going to the bed, bent over the sleeping woman and 
 carefully studied her face for a moment "I 
 knowed I'd seen her," and he returned to the anx- 
 ious little group. " She's one of Black Hawk's 
 wimen. Leastwise I saw her in Black Hawk's camp 
 'bout six months ago. Th' whites called her Bright- 
 eyes. She's from one of th' Indian villages to th' 
 north." 
 
 " You don't reckon Black Hawk and his warriors 
 are camped near?" Big Tom could hardly keep 
 his apprehension from sounding in his voice as he 
 turned quickly to Silas. 
 
 " No." Silas shook his head positively. " She's 
 jest on her way back tew her folks tew show 'em 
 th' yunk, like she said she was. 'Tain't nuthin' for 
 Indian wimen tew travel short distances alone like 
 that. Now," and Silas yawned, " 'sposin' we go 
 tew bed an' dream over it. I'm gittin' powerful 
 sleepy, now that th' excitement is over."
 
 io8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 " Reckon you three men'll have to bunk together," 
 smiled Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "All right/' laughed Big Tom. "We'll put Gid 
 in the middle, so he won't fall out." 
 
 " Like you did this morning," grinned Gideon. 
 
 All laughed, and Big Tom shook his fist threat- 
 eningly at the chuckling Silas, who had already 
 started for the bed in the farther end of the room, 
 whither he was promptly followed by Gideon and 
 his father. 
 
 By this time the violence of the storm had passed 
 and had settled down into a steady rain that pattered 
 softly on the roof over their heads. For many 
 minutes after the snores of his father and Silas 
 told him that they were sound asleep, Gideon lay 
 awake, listening to this patter-patter of the rain 
 and thinking over the strange occurrences of the 
 night; but, at last, his weariness overcame him and 
 his tired eyes closed in sleep.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE TOTEM OF BLACK HAWK 
 
 TV/I RS. CLAY was the first one out of bed the 
 **-*- next morning. 
 
 " Hush ! " she cautioned the others. " Be as quiet 
 as possible. She is still sound asleep," and her eyes 
 turned pityingly to the bed where Brighteyes, the 
 young Indian squaw, lay, one hand outstretched 
 toward the rude crib in which slept and dreamed 
 her baby. " Poor soul, she was completely tuckered 
 out!" and the good woman began to busy herself 
 about her morning's work, moving around as noise- 
 lessly as possible and casting frequent anxious 
 glances toward the bed and the crib where her dusky 
 guests lay sleeping. 
 
 The moment Ruth awoke she hurriedly climbed 
 out of bed, vigorously rubbing the sleepy seeds out 
 of her eyes as she did so. 
 
 "Is is the little Indian baby still here?" she 
 asked, glancing eagerly around the room; "or did 
 I dream Oh, it is true!" she cried, joyously, as 
 she caught sight of Brighteyes, still sound asleep 
 on the bed. 
 
 "Hush, hush!" warned her mother; "or you 
 will awaken them." 
 
 "O, I just must have a peek at the baby!" and 
 she tiptoed across the room and bent over the rude 
 
 109
 
 no The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 crib. In a moment she straightened up, her eyes 
 shining, and beckoned violently for her mother to 
 come. 
 
 Mrs. Clay hurried to her side, fearful that some- 
 thing might have happened to her little guest; but 
 the moment she looked down into the crib her face 
 broke into smiles. 
 
 The night had been warm and the Indian baby 
 had kicked off all the clothing that Mrs. Clay had 
 carefully tucked around him, and now lay covered 
 only by the white gown, out from the bottom of 
 which peeked two fat little brown feet, while both 
 chubby, dimpled fists lay doubled up on the little 
 bosom. The bright little black eyes were closed in 
 sleep; and, as Mrs. Clay looked, a dream-smile 
 parted the baby lips and wrinkled the plump brown 
 cheeks. 
 
 "Oh, but isn't he cute?" Ruth whispered, ecstat- 
 ically. "I'd just love to " 
 
 At that moment the baby yawned and stretched 
 himself, making a queer little gurgling noise, and, 
 opening his eyes, stared straight up into the white 
 faces above him. 
 
 "Can I can I take him up?" and Ruth's eager 
 arms reached down toward the baby. 
 
 "Yes," smiled Mrs. Clay; "but you must be 
 careful so as not to make him cry and awaken his 
 mother. He is not used to being handled by white 
 folks." 
 
 The bright little black eyes of the Indian baby 
 fixed themselves wonder ingly on the face of Ruth, as
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk in 
 
 she bent eagerly forward to lift him out of the box. 
 Evidently he was trying to figure out, in his baby 
 mind, whether or not it would be safe to let those 
 advancing white hands touch him; and, evidently, 
 he concluded that it would not, for, just before 
 the hands reached him, the little mouth opened wide 
 and let out an astonishingly loud howl for such a 
 little fellow. 
 
 "No take! No touch!" and the startled Ruth 
 found herself staring into the fiercely glowing eyes 
 of the Indian mother, who had awakened from a 
 sound sleep at the first sound of her baby's cry and 
 sprung up in bed, and now sat glaring wildly around 
 the strange room. But, in a moment, she remem- 
 bered what had happened and where she was. The 
 wild, frightened look left her eyes and she smiled 
 and nodded to Mrs. Clay and Ruth and stretched 
 out her arms for her baby. 
 
 Mrs. Clay lifted the infant, still yelling lustily, 
 out of the box and placed him in his mother's arms. 
 
 Brighteyes snuggled the baby to her bosom and 
 began chanting a tender-sounding Indian lullaby; 
 and, in a few minutes, the little rascal lay cooing 
 happily in her lap. 
 
 Ruth had been badly frightened by the fierce 
 look that had sprung into the Indian mother's eyes 
 when suddenly awakened from sleep by the cry of 
 her baby; but it did not take the jovial face and 
 winsome ways of Brighteyes long to allay this fear, 
 and soon Ruth was sitting on the bed by Bright- 
 eyes' side, with her baby sister in her arms, and 

 
 ii2 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the two were comparing babies, born under such 
 different circumstances and with such dissimilar 
 racial inheritances. 
 
 " More hair," and Brighteyes pointed proudly to 
 the thick crop of coal-black hair on her baby's head. 
 "More fat cheeks," and she tenderly pinched one 
 of them. " He make great warrior when grow big, 
 like my father," and her eyes lighted with ancestral 
 pride. 
 
 " Yes-s," admitted Ruth. " He does have more 
 hair on his head and his cheeks are fatter ; but sister 
 has two teeny weeny teeth. Look ! " and she gently 
 parted the baby's lips and exhibited the precious 
 teeth to the admiring gaze of Brighteyes. 
 
 Then they laid the two babies side by side on the 
 bed, and laughed delightedly at their queer antics. 
 Brighteyes was almost as much of a girl in her ac- 
 tions as was Ruth; and, before an hour had gone 
 by, the two were fast friends. The babies had 
 broken down all racial barriers between them. 
 
 The morning had dawned clear and bright and 
 clean, after Dame Nature's vigorous washing of the 
 night before; and, when Brighteyes saw that day- 
 light had come and the storm had ceased, she in- 
 sisted that she must now be on her way to her 
 people. But Mrs. Clay smiled and shook her head. 
 She pointed to the bandaged and swollen ankle and 
 tried to make Brighteyes understand that it would 
 be impossible for her to walk and carry her baby 
 and that both of them were most welcome to stay 
 until she could use her foot in comfort and in safety.
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 113 
 
 Brighteyes, however, declared that her foot "no 
 hurt much," and that she could walk all right " with 
 stick," and, to prove it, she rose from the bed and, 
 placing both feet on the floor, attempted to stand. 
 But the instant she pressed the weight of her body 
 on the hurt ankle the pain was so great that even 
 her stoical Indian blood could not prevent a sharp 
 cry of agony. 
 
 "There, now, what did I tell you?" and Mrs. 
 Clay hurried to her side. " No use trying to walk. 
 Just lie down and keep quiet for a few days," and 
 she helped her back on the bed, "and you will be 
 all right. But," shaking her head emphatically, " no 
 trying to walk on that foot until it is fit to walk on, 
 or you'll be laid up for months." 
 
 Brighteyes unresistingly allowed herself to be 
 helped and said no more about going, to the great 
 delight of Ruth, who had been completely charmed 
 by the brown little Indian baby and his girllike 
 mother. 
 
 The storm of the night before had left the ground 
 so wet that Big Tom was obliged to postpone the 
 plowing he had hoped to start that morning until 
 the next day. 
 
 " Well, it's an ill wind that blows nobody good," 
 he laughed, when he came into the house, after 
 having taken stock of the doings of the storm. 
 "The ground is too wet for plowing, and so I'll 
 make you those brush brooms that you're wanting," 
 and he smiled down into Mrs. Clay's face. " Gid 
 and Si have taken their rifles and have gone on a
 
 ii4 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 hunt for deer meat, so, I reckon, you can calculate 
 on having venison to cook for dinner. How's the 
 foot ? " He turned abruptly to the Indian girl, who 
 lay on the bed, with the two babies kicking and 
 crowing by her side and Ruth seated near. 
 
 " Heap hurt." Brighteyes glanced up a bit shyly 
 at the big deerskin-clothed man. " No can walk. 
 White squaw make lie on bed. No let go/' 
 
 "Well, I should say not, not with that foot and 
 that little yunk," Big Tom declared, heartily. " You 
 are welcome to our grub and roof just as long as 
 you can stand white folks' ways of living. They 
 sure are cute," and he grinned down at the two 
 babies. "Want to sell him?" and he pointed one 
 big finger at the brown little Indian baby. "Heap 
 fine boy. Give cow for him." 
 
 " No no ! No sell ; not for cow ; not for gold. 
 He my ba-be ! " and the Indian woman's eyes flamed 
 with outraged motherhood. 
 
 " Well, no harm done," laughed Big Tom. " I 
 reckon babies, red and yellow and white, are all 
 the same to their mothers. Dad wouldn't sell you 
 for the biggest cow that ever walked, with a wagon- 
 load of gold thrown in, would he, Miss Skeeziks ? " 
 and he chucked his own baby under the chin. 
 
 " Me no like ask sell ba-be," Brighteyes declared, 
 solemnly, still regarding Big Tom doubtfully. 
 
 "Don't blame you," grinned Big Tom. "He's 
 a mighty promising chunk of Indian devilment." 
 
 For a moment the bright black eyes regarded him 
 questioningly, as if doubtful whether or not the
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 115 
 
 words should be considered complimentary; then, 
 apparently satisfied, the solemn face lighted with 
 smiles. 
 
 " Some day, when grow big, he make great war- 
 rior, like my father." She laid one hand proudly 
 on the dusky forehead of her baby. " Make all 
 his enemies tremble." 
 
 "Hope he never gives this little one cause to 
 tremble," and the big man bent tenderly over his 
 baby. 
 
 "No, no." The face of Brighteyes shone with 
 gratitude. " He no make friends tremble. Be like 
 strong oak to them protect." 
 
 " Bully for him," laughed Big Tom. " Well, just 
 make yourself to home. You sure are welcome. 
 Now I must be getting after that brush for those 
 brooms." Taking his rifle from its pegs and pick- 
 ing up a small ax, Big Tom hurried off toward the 
 woods to cut the brush for the brooms. 
 
 In a couple of hours he was back, with a bundle 
 of straight willow shoots, each a little larger around 
 than a lead pencil and some three feet long. 
 
 The construction of the brooms was a very simple 
 task. First he smoothed off a handle out of a 
 straight piece of wood, about four feet long and as 
 large around as a girl's wrist. Then he took a suf- 
 ficient number of the willow shoots to make a 
 broom-sized bundle, carefully arranged them so that 
 their small ends were even, evened the other ends 
 by cutting, inserted one end of the prepared handle 
 in their center, and tightly bound them to it with
 
 n6 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 strong thongs of deerskin. The result was a broom 
 capable of doing effective work, when wielded by 
 a strong-armed pioneer woman, especially on dirt 
 floors. 
 
 Big Tom, seated on a chair a few feet in front 
 of the house, was working on his third broom when 
 he heard a distant halloo. 
 
 " Sounds like Gid," he thought, looking up from 
 his work. 
 
 Half a mile away, coming down the side of a 
 little hill toward him, he saw a couple of horsemen, 
 followed closely by two men on foot. It needed 
 but a glance to tell Big Tom that the two horsemen 
 were Indians; but, at first, he could not tell who 
 or what the two footmen were, so closely did they 
 keep behind the horses. Then the shorter of the 
 two ran out from behind the horses and waved his 
 cap and yelled; and he recognized Gideon. 
 
 "Company!" he called cheerfully to Mrs. Clay, 
 who was at work in the house. 
 
 " For the land sakes, who can it be ? " and Mrs. 
 Clay, followed by Ruth, hurried out of the house. 
 
 "Indians!" she exclaimed, the moment she saw 
 the two horsemen. 
 
 "There's Gid!" cried Ruth, excitedly. 
 
 "And Si!" ejaculated Mrs. Clay, as the old 
 hunter stepped out from behind one of the advanc- 
 ing horses where he could be seen. 
 
 "And they've got the deer meat," declared Big 
 Tom, with satisfaction. " See that buck on the 
 horse, back of one of the Indians?"
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 117 
 
 When the little company were within a few rods 
 of the house, Gideon again broke into a run and 
 raced up to where his father and mother and Ruth 
 were standing. 
 
 "It's Great Thunder and Storm Cloud," he 
 panted, the moment he reached home. " Si knows 
 them. They've come for Brighteyes. Great Thun- 
 der is her husband. They were looking for her 
 when they heard our shots and hurried up to see 
 if we knew anything about her. Oh, Dad, I killed 
 the finest buck you ever saw! Great Thunder has 
 him on the horse back of him." 
 
 " Shot him on th' run, tew, by Jinks ! As purty 
 a shot as I ever seed fired. Yew're shore born for a 
 hunter," and Silas, who at that moment came up 
 with the Indians, slapped the excited boy approv- 
 ingly on the back. 
 
 The two Indians at once jumped from their 
 horses. 
 
 "Where squaw and papoose?" Great Thunder 
 queried, as soon as the brief greetings were over, 
 his eyes turning anxiously toward the blankets that 
 inclosed the open side of the half -faced camp. 
 
 " In there." Big Tom pointed to the blankets. 
 "Walk right in. She's busted her ankle and can't 
 walk," and, going to the blankets, he pulled one 
 aside and motioned Great Thunder to enter. 
 
 There was a little joyous cry from Brighteyes, 
 followed by a rapid interchange of Indian words, 
 as Great Thunder entered. After some ten min- 
 utes he came out, gravely thanked Mr. and Mrs,
 
 n8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Clay, as best he could with his broken English, for 
 the shelter and the care they had given his wife and 
 baby, and informed them that now he would take 
 his family home with him, since Brighteyes could 
 ride on his horse without hurt to her ankle. 
 
 " But not until after dinner," protested Mrs. Clay, 
 hospitably. "You must stay and have some of 
 that fine buck you brought in on the back of your 
 horse. I'll have the dinner ready in a jiffy. Get a 
 hot fire going," and she turned to Big Tom. 
 
 The two Indians, with grunts of satisfaction, ac- 
 cepted Mrs. Clay's invitation; and, when the dinner 
 was ready, did ample justice to the white squaw's 
 cooking, pronouncing all, especially the venison, 
 "heap good." 
 
 After dinner they sat and smoked their pipes and 
 talked with Big Tom and Silas for an hour, while 
 Mrs. Clay rebandaged the sprained ankle of the 
 Indian woman and protected it, as best she could, 
 for the long horseback ride. 
 
 Ruth, when it came time for Brighteyes to go, 
 was almost in tears, so deeply had she become at- 
 tached to the little brown baby and his young 
 mother; and Brighteyes herself showed that she 
 felt strongly the kindness of her white friends. 
 When Great Thunder came in to carry her out and 
 place her on the horse, Brighteyes bade him wait 
 a moment and, calling Ruth to her, unclasped from 
 her neck a small, quaintly- formed silver chain, from 
 which hung pendent a black stone rudely carved in 
 the shape of a hawk; and, after holding the little
 
 " My father's totem," she said proudly. " Keep all time 
 on neck "
 
 The Totem of Black Hawk 119 
 
 black hawk up for her husband to see, she placed 
 the chain around the neck of Ruth. 
 
 "My father's totem," she said, proudly, holding 
 the pendant reverently in the palm of her hand. 
 "He great chief, Black Hawk. No Indian dare 
 harm White Lily" (the name she had given Ruth) 
 " now totem of great chief, Black Hawk, on neck. 
 Keep all time on neck. Brighteyes never forget 
 kindness of white friends." 
 
 For a moment she sat silent on the edge of the 
 bed, both hands uplifted, as if she were invoking 
 the blessings and the protection of the Great Spirit 
 for that household; then, with a final look around 
 the rude room and upon the faces of her benefac- 
 tors, she turned to Great Thunder. 
 
 "Brighteyes ready," she said. 
 
 Great Thunder gently carried Brighteyes, with 
 the baby in her arms, out of the house, placed her 
 on his horse and sprang up on the back of the horse 
 behind her. 
 
 Storm Cloud, with a final shake of the hands of 
 his white friends, mounted his horse, and the three 
 Indians rode slowly off, without a backward glance, 
 until they reached the summit of a little hill a mile 
 away. There, clearly outlined against the blue of 
 the sky, they halted, turned on their horses' backs, 
 and waved a last farewell to their white friends.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE DAY OF THE FIRST PLOWING 
 
 T ONG before sunrise the next morning Big Tom 
 *^ was up, getting everything in readiness to 
 begin the plowing of this untamed wilderness soil; 
 and by the time the sun rose above the low hills 
 to the east, the oxen were hitched to the huge plow 
 and all was ready for the start. 
 
 That was a great moment for the pioneers, the 
 moment when the sharp point of the plow descended 
 for the first time into the wild soil of the never- 
 before-plowed prairie their own land! All were 
 there to witness and to celebrate the occasion, even 
 to the baby, held warmly in Mrs. Clay's protecting 
 arms. 
 
 Four yoke of strong oxen stood ready, hitched 
 to the plow. Big Tom held the plow handles. Silas, 
 with long-lashed ox whip in his hand, stood a little 
 to the left of the oxen, waiting the word to start. 
 Gideon and Ruth stood just behind the plow, eager 
 to pounce upon the first sod turned by the mold- 
 board, a small bottle held in the hands of each, into 
 which a little of the dirt of this first sod was to be 
 placed and ever afterward kept as a cherished me- 
 mento of the beginning of their wilderness home. 
 Mrs. Clay, with the baby held close in her arms, 
 stood by the side of her husband. 
 
 120
 
 The Day of the First Plowing 121 
 
 " Here's to good luck in our new home and a 
 good crop from our new land!" and Big Tom 
 turned quickly and bent and kissed his wife and 
 baby. " Ready, Si ! " he called, and gripped the 
 plow handles tightly with his two muscular hands. 
 
 " Git up ! " yelled Silas, and the long lash of his 
 whip cracked above the heads of the oxen. 
 
 The oxen started slowly, their yokes creaking as 
 they were drawn tight against the animals' breasts 
 and around their necks. 
 
 Big Tom jerked the plow handles upward and 
 the sharp blade of the colter cut through the thick, 
 tough sod. The plow point plunged downward, and 
 slowly, like a great black snake, the sod curved 
 upward and back along the moldboard and fell to 
 the ground, the rich-looking black soil uppermost. 
 The children both jumped to secure a handful of 
 the dirt first turned. Gideon's fingers struck some 
 hard substance embedded in the sod. He dug it 
 out, and found in his hand a piece of the brainpan 
 of a human skull, with the sharp point of a stone 
 arrowhead piercing the bone and projecting into 
 the brain cavity for half an inch! 
 
 For a moment the boy stared uncomprehendingly 
 at this relic of a long-ago prairie tragedy; then, 
 when he realized what it was that he held in his 
 hand, he uttered a yell of boyish surprise that caused 
 Silas to halt the oxen and Big Tom to turn quickly 
 to him. 
 
 " Look ! See what I have found ! " he shouted, 
 " and in the very first sod turned over by the plow ! "
 
 122 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Holding the piece of skull up so all could see, he 
 ran to his father. 
 
 Big Tom took the bone and examined it and the 
 embedded arrowhead carefully. 
 
 "Reckon it's Indian/' he said, turning to Silas, 
 who had hurried up and was now standing by his 
 side. "And the Lord only knows how long ago 
 that arrowhead was driven into the living brain. 
 Well, he sure is a dead Indian now; and dead In- 
 dians can harm nobody." He handed the bone to 
 Silas. 
 
 "Yes, he shore is dead," meditated Silas, taking 
 the piece of skull and turning it over, and squinting 
 one eye at the arrowhead. "Dead as Methusla, 
 thanks tew that arrerhead. But it sartin is a kurus 
 find tew make in th' fust sod turned over by th' 
 plow. Sort o' symbolic, I reckon, o' th' fate o' 
 th' Injuns an' sech thing as goes with Injuns, now 
 that th' white man has come with his plow tew turn 
 their very bones out o' their graves an' tew plant 
 their huntin' grounds tew corn. Wai, every dog 
 has his day; an' th' Injun, I reckon, has 'bout had 
 his. It sartin is a kurus find ! What are yew goin' 
 tew dew with it? 'Taint much o' an orniment," and 
 he turned to Gideon. 
 
 "Keep it," declared Gideon, emphatically, "just 
 as long as I live. It's a hundred times better me- 
 mento of our first plowing than a bottle of dirt 
 would be." 
 
 "But it is such a ghastly thing," objected his 
 mother.
 
 The Day of the First Plowing 123 
 
 " And maybe the Indian's ghost might haunt us," 
 warned Ruth. 
 
 "Pshaw!" laughed Gideon. "It's only a piece 
 of bone with a stone arrowhead sticking into it, 
 with nothing ghastly or ghostly about it; and 'twill 
 make a right curious memento and I am going to 
 keep it. Can't I, Dad?" 
 
 "Yes, 'twon't harm nothing, and it is curious. 
 Take it to the house and hurry back. Now let's 
 get busy," and Big Tom turned to his plow handles, 
 while Silas, handing the broken skull bone to 
 Gideon, swung the long lash of his whip around 
 his head and yelled to the oxen. 
 
 Gideon ran to the house with the piece of Indian 
 skull and, leaving it in a safe place, hurried back, 
 anxious to see what else the sharp point and mold 
 board of the plow would turn up. 
 
 The whole of that day Gideon and Ruth fol- 
 lowed close behind the plow, their eager eyes on 
 the furrow, searching for the queer things that this 
 first plowing was constantly turning up. Now it 
 was a snake, wiggling, frightened and startled, out 
 from under the crumbling dirt of the turning sod, 
 or a hideously ugly ground grub, crawling over 
 the black dirt, or the nest of a field mouse or mole, 
 possibly with babies in it, or a queer stone, or the 
 flint head of an Indian arrow always the plow 
 was throwing up something to keep them interested 
 and excited. 
 
 Once it brought to the surface a bumblebee's nest. 
 Then there were exciting times for all, even the
 
 124 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 oxen, for a few minutes, while the heroic bees at- 
 tempted to repel the ruthless monsters that had in- 
 vaded their home. 
 
 Ruth ran, screaming, away at the first charge of 
 a buzzing bee; but Gideon valiantly jerked off his 
 coonskin cap and beat the bees down with it, one 
 by one. 
 
 A detachment of the bees also attacked Big Tom 
 and Silas and the oxen; and, for a moment, there 
 was a bad mix-up of struggling oxen, yelling men 
 and buzzing bees; but, finally, the coonskin caps 
 of the men prevailed and the bees were slain or 
 routed, and the oxen quieted down and straightened 
 out of the tangle into which they had twisted 
 themselves in their efforts to get away from the 
 bees. 
 
 The victors now took stock of their injuries. 
 One heroic bee, before death overtook him, had 
 succeeded in reaching the tip of Silas's nose, with 
 the result that Silas's already large nose was 
 beginning to take on monumental proportions. Big 
 Tom had been stung once on the under lip. Gideon 
 had a rapidly swelling right ear, as the result of 
 his having missed a swipe with his cap at one angry 
 bee. 
 
 "Don't see why that tarnal bee picked out th' 
 end o' my nose/' complained Silas, as he tenderly 
 fingered the inflamed end of that useful organ, 
 when the excitement had quieted down and each 
 was considering his injuries. 
 
 " Reckon 'twas because 'twas the most prominent
 
 The Day of the First Plowing 125 
 
 point in sight," grinned Big Tom, as well as he 
 could with his swollen lip. 
 
 "Better not dew eny grinnin.' with that lip, or 
 yew'll bust it," retorted Silas. "It's most big 
 enough tew sot down on already." 
 
 " Shucks ! Neither one of you has got anything 
 on my ear," laughed Gideon. "It feels as big as 
 a barn door." 
 
 "Tew th' victors belong th' spiles," suddenly, 
 proclaimed Silas, bending down and picking up a 
 brownish, sticky mass, about twice the size of two 
 doubled-up fists, the nest of the conquered 
 bumblebees. "Have a drink," and, breaking off 
 one of the little wax cells, of which the nest was 
 largely composed, he handed it to Gideon. 
 
 "Me, too!" and Ruth, now that the buzzing 
 bees were slain, hurried up. "I want some of the 
 honey, too." 
 
 "But you did not fight. You ran away," 
 protested Gideon. 
 
 " Well, I cheered when the bumblebee stung your 
 ear," laughed Ruth. "That was a sharp 
 bumblebee." 
 
 " Yes, one end of him," admitted Gideon ruefully, 
 rubbing his swollen ear. 
 
 " But you killed him ! And you did not run, not 
 even when he stung you. That was really why I 
 cheered." 
 
 "You shall have the honey for that," laughed 
 Gideon. " Pass her a cup, Si." 
 
 "Take it all. We've no more time tew suck
 
 126 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 honey." Silas handed the sticky cluster of honey- 
 loaded cells to Ruth, and, picking up his ox whip, 
 soon had the sturdy team pulling the plow through 
 the tough sod again. 
 
 Ruth took the dirty-looking, sticky mass of honey 
 cells somewhat gingerly; and she and Gideon 
 squatted down on the grass and proceeded to 
 extract their honey by the simple process of 
 breaking open the cells and sucking the honey out 
 of them. The honey was delicious; bumblebees' 
 honey always is, especially if you have helped to 
 rob the nest; and Gideon and Ruth did not move 
 until they had sucked the last cell dry. Then they 
 again hurried after the plow. 
 
 Thus, with many exciting, amusing and always 
 interesting incidents, the day, the great day of the 
 first plowing of their wild prairie land, passed. 
 
 That black, upturned earth marked the beginning 
 of the end of the wilderness. 
 
 The pioneer's rifle, ax, plow ! What a debt we of 
 this generation owe to these rude but effective tools 
 of the westward march of civilization !
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE KILLING OF OLD WHITENOSE 
 
 'T^HURSDAY morning, the day Gideon and 
 -* Silas were to go with Old Man Kellogg on 
 the great bear hunt, dawned without a threatening 
 cloud in the sky. The night before Gideon had 
 cleaned and oiled his rifle, sharpened his hunting 
 knife, filled his powder horn, and helped Silas mold 
 enough bullets to fill both their bullet pouches, so 
 that everything was in readiness to start the 
 moment they had eaten their early breakfast. 
 
 "Hope you get Old Whitenose this time," Big 
 Tom said, as Silas and Gideon arose from the 
 table, pulled their coonskin caps down on their 
 heads, and picked up their rifles. "If you don't, 
 reckon Martha and I will have to shoulder our 
 guns and go out and get him. Right, Martha?" 
 The grin on his face broadened as he turned to 
 his wife. 
 
 " Yes, we certain will," answered Mrs. Clay, 
 smiling. "And I'm sure no white-nosed bear, or 
 bear with another kind of a nose could disappear 
 right before my eyes, without my knowing where 
 he went. Now, do be careful," and she turned a 
 bit anxiously to Gideon. " Don't get too close to 
 the bear until your are sure he is dead. Dad got 
 clawed terribly once by a bear that he thought 
 was dead." 
 
 127
 
 128 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "All right, Mother," laughed Gideon, as he 
 slung powder horn and bullet pouch over his 
 shoulder. "I'll be powerful careful not to get 
 near enough to Old Whitenose for him to claw 
 me, until I am sure he is dead." 
 
 "Better wait 'til yew find Old Whitenose afore 
 yew kill him," admonished Silas, as he hitched 
 up his belt and tightened it another hole. "That 
 thar b'ar ain't no last year's cub; an' I reckon 
 we'll be in luck if we git within shootin' distance 
 o' him. But we're goin' tew try powerful hard, 
 an' Old Man Kellogg'll have his dogs with him. 
 Ready?" and he turned to Gideon. 
 
 "Yes," answered the boy, his face flushing and 
 his eyes sparkling with the excitement of the 
 thought that at last he was actually about to start 
 out on the big hunt and with Silas Wegg! 
 
 "Then, for'erd march! as th' militia captain 
 used tew say," and Silas flung the long barrel of 
 his rifle up on his shoulder. " So-long, folks. Hope 
 tew have Old Whitenose's hide when we see yew 
 ag'in. Come on, Gid." With a final good-by 
 wave of his hand he was off, striding along at a 
 gait that caused the shorter legs of Gideon almost 
 to run in order to keep by his side. 
 
 "How far is it to the Little Spouter, where we 
 are to meet Old Man Kellogg?" Gideon asked, 
 when they had waved their last farewells to Big 
 Tom and Mrs. Clay and Ruth and had passed out 
 of sight over the brow of a little hill. 
 
 "'Bout five miles," Silas answered.
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 129 
 
 "And how far from there to the Big Swamp, 
 where we are to begin our hunt?" 
 
 " 'Bout 'nuther five miles. We otter make it in 
 less'n three hours. Promised Old Man Kellogg 
 I'd be at th' Leetle Spouter afore th' sun was an 
 hour high, which means that we'll have tew jog 
 'long some lively," and Silas glanced toward the 
 east, which was beginning to redden with the first 
 rays of the rising sun. " How's yewr walkers ? " 
 Good for th' present rate o' speed?" 
 
 " Shucks, yes." Gideon's face flushed at the idea 
 that Silas thought a little jaunt like this might 
 tucker him. " I've walked faster and further than 
 this with dad without getting tuckered. Do you 
 think we can find the trail of Old Whitenose?" 
 
 "I reckon we kin, if them dogs o' Old Man 
 Kellogg are eny good. Now, jest fall in ahind me. 
 Yew'll find it easier walkin' through th' thick 
 grass an' brush that way. Thar ain't no reg'lar 
 trail from here tew th' Leetle Spouter." 
 
 For nearly an hour Silas and Gideon walked on, 
 without slacking their speed or pausing; then, on 
 the summit of a little hill, Silas halted and pointed 
 across the prairie to where a fringe of willow 
 trees grew along the base of a rocky ridge that 
 jutted up above the level of the prairie half a 
 mile away. 
 
 "Thar's th' Leetle Spouter, right thar in that 
 clump o' willers," he said. " An' I reckon Old Man 
 Kellogg, with his dogs, is in thar right now, settin' 
 on a log near th' spring a-waitin' us. Leastwise
 
 130 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 that's whar he said he'd be. Now let's see if th' 
 dogs will nose us afore we git tew th' willers. Th' 
 wind's right. Walk right ahind me an' make as 
 leetle noise as possible. No talkin'," and Silas 
 started off toward the willows, with Gideon follow- 
 ing close behind him, both making their way 
 through the thick grass of the prairie as noiselessly 
 as two Indians. 
 
 But before they had covered half of the distance 
 intervening between them and the willows, a man, 
 holding back two dogs straining at their leash, 
 suddenly emerged from the willow clump, and stood 
 looking in their direction. 
 
 "Gosh! Thar he is!" exclaimed Silas. "Th' 
 dogs did smell us out an' have got sense enough 
 tew keep from barkin'. Reckon they'll dew. 
 Hi-o-oo, thar ! " he called, and took off his cap 
 and swung it around his head. 
 
 Old Man Kellogg sent back an answering shout; 
 and in a few minutes, Gideon and Silas stood by 
 his side. 
 
 "The old thief got another of my pigs last 
 night!" were the first words of Old Man Kellogg, 
 as Gideon and Silas hurried up. "But he won't 
 get another," and he brought the butt of his rifle 
 down on the ground with a jar. " Now, who have 
 we here ? " He turned his eyes to Gideon. 
 
 " He's th' son o' Big Tom Clay. Yew've heered 
 me tell o' Big Tom Clay, th' feller that purty nigh 
 busted me in tew in a wrestlin' match," explained 
 Silas.
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 131 
 
 " I certain have," answered Kellogg. " What's 
 he doing in these parts ? " 
 
 " Coin' tew settle, 'bout five miles north o' here." 
 
 "Well, he sure is welcome. So be you," and 
 Old Man Kellogg turned to Gideon. " Come 'long- 
 to help Silas and me get Old Whitenose the 
 thieving old rascal! have you?" 
 
 " Yes," answered Gideon. " Do you think we 
 will get him ? " he added eagerly. 
 
 "Get him," Old Man Kellogg's jaws came 
 together with a snap. " You're durned right we'll 
 get him. Do you think I'll let him steal every last 
 pig I've got, right from under my very nose, 
 without getting his concerned old hide to pay for 
 them? I'd be ashamed to look another pig in the 
 face if we let that old pork stealer get away from 
 us again. Get him? You can bet your last coon- 
 skin we'll get him, if it takes a month." 
 
 Evidently, as Silas would say, Old Man Kellogg 
 was considerably " het up " over the latest depreda- 
 tions of Old Whitenose and intended that they 
 should be his last. 
 
 The Little Spouter was famous for its pure cool 
 water; and, consequently, before starting for the 
 Big Marsh, all sought the spring to "load up," as 
 Silas put it, with its water. 
 
 As soon as Gideon saw the spring he understood 
 why it was called the Little Spouter. Near the foot 
 of the rocky ridge and about as high as a man's 
 head was a narrow fissure in a huge rock, out of 
 which spouted a little stream of ice-cold water that
 
 132 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 fell into a small basin which it had hollowed out 
 of the rock, and then, overflowing the basin, 
 wandered away in a tinkling brooklet fringed with 
 willows. 
 
 All drank their fill of the cool water. 
 
 "Now," Old Man Kellogg said, as they turned 
 from the spring, " we'll get on the trail at once ; and 
 if them fool dogs lose it again, I'll be durned if 
 I don't shoot both of them. Tain't far to where 
 the old thief stopped to eat my pig last night. 
 We'll start from there/' and, holding the dogs in 
 leash, he led the way. 
 
 About a mile from the spring Old Man Kellogg 
 halted near a little clump of bushes. The dogs now 
 began to show great excitement, straining at their 
 leash, jumping excitedly toward the little clump of 
 bushes, and uttering low, wrathful growls. 
 
 " Right in there," Kellogg pointed to the bushes, 
 " is all that is left of my pig, just his bones. Burn 
 the old thief! Now, let's get after him like the 
 Day of Judgment," and, still keeping hold of the 
 leash, he followed the dogs into the bushes. 
 
 Near the center of the clump of bushes was a 
 little pile of bones, with some of the bloody flesh 
 still adhering to them, plainly indicating the spot 
 where Old Whitenose had stopped to enjoy the 
 spoils of his raid. The dogs now became almost 
 wild with eagerness to be off on the trail of the bear. 
 
 " Reckon I'd better hold them back until we get 
 almost to the swamp," Kellogg said, taking a tighter 
 grip on the leash.
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 133 
 
 "Yes," agreed Silas, who had been carefully 
 examining the spot where the bones lay. " I don't 
 believe th' trail's mor'n half an hour old. Looks 
 as if th' old devil had taken a nap here, atter gittin' 
 his fill o' pig. Shouldn't wonder if yewr comin' 
 'long with th' dogs had routed him out. We might 
 run on tew him afore we git tew th' swamp. Now, 
 let's git a-goin'. Jest give th' dogs th' lead an' all 
 we'll have tew dew'll be tew foller 'em." 
 
 The two dogs needed no urging to take the trail 
 of the bear; and, with noses close to the ground, 
 they hurried along as fast as the restraining leash 
 would allow them to go, pulling Old Man Kellogg 
 after them in a half trot. Silas and Gideon followed 
 in single file close behind him. It was easier to 
 travel thus through the thick grass of the prairie. 
 
 For nearly an hour they followed the dogs, whose 
 eager noses had no difficulty in keeping to the trail 
 of the bear. 
 
 "Better see if yewr primin's all right," Silas 
 turned his head and glanced back at Gideon. 
 "We're gittin' near tew th' Big Swamp. Th' old 
 rascal's headed straight for th' identickle old log 
 whar I lost him afore," he added a moment later. 
 
 "And where I lost him afore," joined in Old 
 Man Kellogg. " But where I won't lose him again, 
 if these dogs are any good Hi! Look out!" 
 
 As he spoke both dogs made so violent a lurch 
 forward that they nearly pulled him off his feet, 
 at the same time giving voice to deep-throated, 
 angry growls.
 
 134 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Silas and Gideon, their rifles held ready to throw 
 instantly to their shoulders, stepped out from 
 behind Old Man Kellogg, their eyes eagerly 
 searching the ground to the front of them. 
 
 For about fifty rods the prairie lay level, then 
 rose in a low snakelike ridge, at the base of which 
 grew a fringe of brush and small trees. 
 
 "Keep yewr eyes on th' brush," Silas warned. 
 "I reckon he's " 
 
 " Hi ! There he is ! " cried Old Man Kellogg, as 
 a huge black bear slowly raised himself on his 
 hind legs from behind a low clump of bushes and 
 deliberately turned and looked at them. 
 
 Gideon's heart gave a great thump at sight of 
 the bear, the famous bear with a white nose, and 
 he instinctively threw his rifle to his shoulder; but 
 he did not shoot. The distance was too great to 
 chance a shot. 
 
 "Turn loose th' dogs! Turn th' dogs loose!" 
 yelled Silas, starting on the run toward the bear. 
 
 Old Man Kellogg quickly slipped the leash; and 
 the two dogs, with eager, savage growls, sprang 
 to the chase, followed by Gideon and the two men. 
 
 The bear stood for a minute watching them ; and 
 then, as the dogs drew near, slipped down uncon- 
 cernedly on his four feet and ran up the side of 
 the ridge and disappeared over its top, not as if 
 he were frightened, but as if he had satisfied his 
 curiosity and did not care . to linger longer. 
 
 The dogs were not five rods behind the bear 
 when he passed over the top of the ridge; and a
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 135 
 
 minute later, their loud yelps and snarls, mingled 
 with the deeper growls of the bear, told our friends 
 that the hounds had caught up with Old Whitenose. 
 
 "Hurry, or he'll git away from th' dogs afore 
 we kin git a shot at him ! " cried Silas, racing toward 
 the sounds of the conflict, his long legs at once 
 placing him in the lead. 
 
 Gideon did his best to keep up with him, and so 
 swiftly did the excited boy run that when Silas 
 reached the top of the ridge, he was not ten feet 
 behind. 
 
 The ridge sloped steeply downward for a couple 
 of rods. Then came fifty yards of level ground, 
 ending in a second low ridge that separated it from 
 the swamp beyond. Along the side and top of this 
 ridge grew a few scattered trees and thin patches 
 of brush, but the intervening ground was clear. 
 
 At the foot of this second ridge Gideon saw the 
 bear, standing on his hind legs, with the two 
 hounds snarling and jumping around him, but being 
 very careful not to get within reach of those 
 powerful claw-armed paws. The bear was facing 
 Gideon and he could plainly see the curious white 
 nose that had given him his name. 
 
 "Hurrah!" he shouted, as he raced down the 
 ridge after Silas. " The dogs are holding him." 
 
 But, even as Gideon spoke, the bear, with a 
 glance in the direction of the running men, dropped 
 down on his four feet, turned his back contemp- 
 tuously on the two dogs and trotted up the ridge, 
 swinging his head from side to side as he ran, the
 
 136 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 dogs rushing him so closely that the hunters did 
 not dare chance a shot for fear of hitting one of 
 them. 
 
 "Hurry," yelled Silas, "or th' old devil will git 
 intew th' swamp afore we kin git a shot at him," 
 and he raced across the level ground and up the 
 ridge at a speed that left Gideon and Old Man 
 Kellogg many feet in the rear. 
 
 When Gideon, greatly excited and panting from 
 his exertions, reached the top of this second ridge, 
 to his astonishment, he saw Silas standing stock- 
 still near the fallen trunk of a huge tree, staring 
 at the two dogs. The dogs stood growling and 
 whimpering in the edge of a pond of marsh water. 
 
 The bear had vanished ! 
 
 "Th' identickle spot whar I lost him afore!" 
 Silas turned an astonished face to Gideon and Old 
 Man Kellogg. "When I reached th' top o' th' 
 ridge," he explained, " thar stood th' dogs a-whinin' 
 an' a-growlin' in th' edge o' th' water, th' same as 
 yew see 'em now; but th' b'ar great horned 
 buffelers ! we ain't yunks tew let no old white nose 
 b'ar fool us like this ! " and he brought the butt of 
 his rifle down on the ground with a thud. "Th' 
 b'ar's jest naterly got tew be here, 'less he's taken 
 wings an' flyed away or turned intew a fish an' is 
 a-swimmin' round under th' water, 'cause thar 
 ain't no other place fer him tew be, as I kin see," 
 and his eyes swept the surrounding country. 
 
 Almost directly in front of them lay the pond, 
 its banks fringed with short reeds, while its deeper
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 137 
 
 waters were clear from all surface vegetation. 
 Beyond that stretched, as far as the eye could see, 
 the Big Marsh. But the pond was far too wide for 
 the bear to have swum across before the hunters 
 came in sight of its waters; and there certainly 
 was not now, nor had there been, the head of a 
 swimming bear showing above its quiet surface. 
 The trunk of the fallen tree was plenty large 
 enough for the bear to have crawled inside of it, 
 but so far as they could discover, there was not a 
 visible entrance anywhere along its huge bulk big 
 enough for anything larger than a coon to enter. 
 The tree had fallen many years before and now 
 the rotting log lay down the slant of the bank that 
 sloped somewhat steeply to the waters of the pond, 
 its lower end extending out into the water. About it 
 the water grass and reeds grew thick, but its trunk 
 showed clear until it seemed to disappear under 
 the water. A fringe of short water grass and 
 reeds grew along the banks of the pond; but it did 
 not seem possible that the bear could have hidden 
 in them. The ground between the ridge and the 
 pond was open, offering no place of concealment 
 for so large an animal as Old Whitenose. Then 
 there were the two dogs, growling and whimpering 
 in the edge of the water. Evidently, from their 
 actions, the bear had plunged into the pond and 
 disappeared; but how, and where? 
 
 "Gosh! This gets me!" and the eyes of Old 
 Man Kellogg followed the eyes of Silas, as they 
 slowly searched the still surface of the pond, its
 
 138 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 reedy banks, the great rotting log and the open 
 ground between the pond and the ridge. " But, as 
 you say, it stands to reason that the bear must be 
 here, unless he has turned into a fish or a bird. 
 Them tarnal dogs ought to have followed him into 
 the water, 'stead of standing there growling and 
 whimpering, as if they were afraid of getting their 
 toes wet. I've a notion to whale the hide off them. 
 Well, let's see what they are whining about." He 
 hurried down the bank to where the two dogs 
 stood, followed by Silas and Gideon. 
 
 It needed but a glance of their experienced eyes 
 to tell them that the bear had plunged into the 
 pond at the spot where the two dogs stood and 
 swam through the fringe of vegetation out into the 
 clear water beyond. But what had become of him 
 then? How had he disappeared so quickly and so 
 completely ? 
 
 "Th' cunnin' old devil must be lyin' low some- 
 whar in th' reeds an' water grass," declared Silas, 
 when his eyes had searched all the surroundings, 
 "with jest his head above th' water, 'cause thar 
 ain't no other place whar he could be, 'less, as I 
 said afore, he's turned intew a fish or a bird. I 
 reckon if we cut some long poles an' thrash th' 
 reeds hereabouts, we're bound tew rout him out." 
 
 " Good idea," agreed Old Man Kellogg. 
 
 The narrow fringe of grass and reeds that here 
 lined the shore of the pond did not extend into the 
 water at any place for more than a dozen feet and 
 did not rise above its surface anywhere for more
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 139 
 
 than a foot. But in places the reeds and the grass 
 grew so thick that it was impossible to see the 
 surface of the water through them, and it was just 
 possible that the bear, by lying with his body under 
 the water, had concealed himself among them. If 
 he had, the poles would soon rout him out. 
 
 Silas and Old Man Kellogg each secured a pole 
 about a dozen feet long; and, handing their rifles 
 to Gideon and bidding him keep near them and his 
 eyes " peeled," they both, one following close behind 
 the other, began "thrashing" the reeds and the 
 water grass that grew along the margin of the pond, 
 beginning at the trunk of the big tree, near which 
 the bear had disappeared. 
 
 Gideon, who had been greatly mystified and 
 chagrined by the disappearance of Old Whitenose, 
 was now all interest. He felt sure that the bear 
 was hiding in the reeds indeed, where else could 
 he be? and every time the hunters whacked their 
 poles down, his heart jumped and his fingers 
 tightened on the rifles. He followed close to the 
 men, keeping as nearly as possible between the 
 two, so that he could hand their rifles to them 
 quickly should the blows of their poles rout out Old 
 Whitenose. 
 
 Whack! splash! whack! went the poles. 
 Whack! splash! whack! again and again and 
 always in vain, until, after an hour's whacking and 
 splashing up and down the bank of the pond on 
 both sides of the old log, the two disgruntled and 
 bewildered men were forced to conclude that Old
 
 140 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Whitenose had not hidden himself in the reeds or 
 the water grass. 
 
 "Wai, I'll be durned if this don't teetotally git 
 me ! " Silas exclaimed in angry disgust, as all seated 
 themselves on the big log to further consider the 
 mysterious disappearance of the bear. "I'm 'bout 
 ready tew agree with th' Injuns that Old Whitenose 
 ain't no mortal b'ar, but jest a wicked speerit that 
 takes on th' form o' a b'ar tew work out his 
 devilments." 
 
 "Shucks!" protested Old Man Kellogg, "spirits 
 don't eat pigs; and this is the fourth pig of mine 
 that Old Whitenose has killed and eaten, the old 
 thief! He must have swam across the pond afore 
 you got in sight." 
 
 " No mortal b'ar could have done it," Silas 
 asserted emphatically. " Th' fust thing I did atter 
 seein' them dogs standin' thar in th' edge o' th' water 
 was tew make sartin thar warn't no b'ar swimmin' 
 across th' pond. Then 'tain't th' fust time he's 
 fooled yew nor me, tew say nuthin' o' th' Injuns, 
 an' allers right in this identickle spot. An' thar's 
 them shots o' mine an' yourn tew account for. I 
 sartin never missed no dead-easy shots like that 
 afore an', I reckon, yew never did neither." 
 
 "I sure never did," agreed Old Man Kellogg. 
 "That bear warn't more'n five rods from me; but 
 I'll be durned if I didn't make a clean miss; and 
 the bear just shook his head, like he'd heered a fly 
 buzzing by his ears, and slid down ahind this very 
 log, and when I'd loaded my rifle and ran up to
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 141 
 
 the log, I'll be durned if I could find hide nor hair 
 of him, no more than I can now. It sure is powerful 
 curious, but 'tain't sensible to believe in spirits, and 
 I reckon there's some sensible way of explaining it 
 all when we get the rights of it " 
 
 "Jest look at them tew dogs!" Silas suddenly 
 pointed to the two hounds. They had just risen 
 from the ground, where they had been lying at the 
 feet of the men, and now stood, with hair bristling 
 along their backs and necks, growling and whim- 
 pering, their legs trembling so that their bodies 
 shook. "They shore look an' act as if they seed 
 speerits." 
 
 "Gosh!" and Old Man Kellogg jumped to his 
 feet, his rifle held ready for instant use. "They 
 sure smell bear!" His eyes swiftly searched the 
 surroundings, but in vain. There was not a sign 
 of a bear anywhere in sight. 
 
 For a minute the two men stood staring down at 
 the dogs, completely dum founded by the strange 
 actions of the hounds; then a sudden and unex- 
 pected wild yell from Gideon caused both of them to 
 jump about a foot straight up in the air. 
 
 Gideon, who had been keenly disappointed by the 
 failure to find Old Whitenose, had seated himself 
 on the log a little apart from the two men and 
 nearer to the water, and had been trying very hard 
 to think out some way to account for the mysterious 
 disappearance of the bear. But the more he had 
 thought, the more difficult and mysterious the 
 problem had appeared. He could discover no
 
 142 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 reasonable way of accounting for the strange 
 disappearance of Old Whitenose, and as he sat 
 there listening to the two men narrating their queer 
 experiences with this same bear and at this same 
 spot, a creepy-crawly, shivery sensation had begun 
 climbing up and down through his spinal marrow. 
 What if Old Whitenose really were an evil 
 spirit, such as the Indians thought him ? He might, 
 at that very moment, be standing, invisible but 
 grinning with triumph, behind him! Gideon, with 
 a shiver, glanced hastily over his shoulder. At that 
 instant the two dogs had jumped to their feet and 
 stood growling and shivering with fright, the hair 
 along their backs and necks standing straight up. 
 
 Gideon turned quickly and stared down at the 
 dogs. They appeared to be looking straight at him ! 
 What frightful thing did they see? The goose 
 flesh began coming out all over his body. Then, 
 as he thus sat in shivering, questioning dread, the 
 horrified boy heard a deep, hollow, ghostlike, bearish 
 growl, seemingly coming from right under him. 
 This was too much for the excited condition of 
 his nerves and he leaped off the big log, with the 
 yell that had so startled Silas and Old Man 
 Kellogg. 
 
 " Whar? What is it?" Both men swung around 
 toward Gideon, their cocked rifles half raised to 
 their shoulders. But all they could see was the 
 white- faced boy, staring wildly at the big log. 
 
 The moment the thrill of the sudden fright was 
 past, Gideon, with a violent start, realized what that
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 143 
 
 low growling sound he had heard coming from 
 beneath him as he sat on the log must mean. 
 
 "He's in there! In the log !" he yelled. "The 
 big log is hollow and he's inside of it ! I heard him 
 growl!" 
 
 Both men leaped to the log where Gideon had 
 been sitting and laid their ears down close to it 
 and listened. 
 
 "Gosh a'mighty! Th' boy's right!" and Silas 
 straightened up, a look of deep satisfaction on his 
 face. " I heered him growlin' low an' angrylike, 
 as if them dogs was gittin' on his nerves. Now. 
 how did th' old devil git in thar, I'd like to know?" 
 and he turned a questioning face to Old Man Kel- 
 logg- 
 
 "He sure is in there!" and Old Man Kellogg 
 stood up, his face and eyes glowing with excitement 
 and triumph. " But I don't care a durned how he 
 got in there right now. What I want right now is 
 to get at the old pig stealer." His eyes ran swiftly 
 up and down the visible length of the log. " If we 
 had an ax we " 
 
 ."We kin burn him out," broke in Silas. "Th' 
 log's dry an' will burn." 
 
 "Good idea." Old Man Kellogg's jaws came 
 together with a snap. " He deserves roasting. Now, 
 let's get the fire going." 
 
 There was an abundance of dry wood a little 
 distance away, and in a very short time Gideon and 
 the two men had a great pile of dry wood so 
 arranged about the log that its burning would soon
 
 144 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 eat a hole through its dry walls. Old Man Kellogg 
 lit the fire. 
 
 "Hope it burns every hair off your pig-stealing 
 old body ! " he said vindictively, as the fire caught 
 and the flames leaped up. 
 
 The fire had been purposely kindled below the 
 spot where Gideon and the two men had heard the 
 bear inside of the log, so as to cut off his escape 
 by way of the water, if that was the way he had 
 entered, and there seemed to be no other way. 
 
 The dry wood burned furiously, and in a few 
 minutes the big log itself was blazing. 
 
 "See! Look thar!" suddenly exclaimed Silas, 
 pointing to where the log apparently disappeared 
 under the water of the pond. 
 
 Gideon and Old Man Kellogg turned quickly and 
 saw, just beyond the point where the log vanished 
 in the midst of a thick bunch of short reeds, a thin 
 column of smoke rising above the surface of the 
 pond. 
 
 "Reckon that'll explain th' mystery," continued 
 Silas. " Thar's a way o' gittin' intew th' log from 
 th' water Hi! Ho! Gittin' tew hot for yew in 
 thar?" and he turned quickly to the log, where 
 angry growling and violent scratching, coming from 
 the inside, told him that Old Whitenose was 
 beginning to realize the desperate nature of his 
 situation. 
 
 "Growl, you old pig stealer! Growl and 
 scratch ! " and Old Man Kellogg hit the log a violent 
 thump with a heavy club above the spot where the
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 145 
 
 growling and the scratching indicated the presence 
 of the bear. " We've got your concerned old hide 
 this time sure. You'll never steal another pig." 
 And thus giving vent to his triumph and satisfac- 
 tion, he continued pounding on the log with the 
 club above the head of the luckless bear that now, 
 doubtless, was beginning to feel the heat of the fire. 
 
 The bear responded with angry growls and 
 furious scratchings for a while; then, suddenly, the 
 growling and scratching ceased. 
 
 Silas bent quickly and placed his ear down close 
 to the log and listened. 
 
 "Th' old devil is turnin' 'round," he said, 
 straightening up. "Reckon he's thinkin' on try in' 
 tew run through th' fire an' out th' other end o' th' 
 log. Pound on th' log near th' fire. Maybe that'll 
 keep him back," and, seizing a club, he and Old 
 Man Kellogg began pounding on the log as near to 
 where it was on fire as the heat permitted them 
 to go. 
 
 By this time the fire had eaten far into the log, 
 and, suddenly, the heavy blows of the clubs of the 
 two men caused a huge piece of the charred shell 
 to tumble in. The next instant, scattering the fire 
 in every direction and sending up a great shower 
 of sparks, out through the opening thus made 
 plunged Old Whitenose, his fur on fire and his 
 wicked little eyes glowing with rage, and sprang 
 straight toward Silas, who was the nearest. 
 
 Silas had laid down his rifle while using a club 
 on the log; so had Old Man Kellogg. Gideon was
 
 146 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the only one of the three with his rifle ready in 
 his hands. 
 
 Silas had just time to utter a yell of surprise and 
 warning and leap back and swing his club when 
 the bear was upon him. The club fell, but a blow 
 of the great paw sent it flying from the hand of 
 the old hunter and he stood weaponless before the 
 infuriated bear. There was no time even to draw 
 his hunting knife. The bear was too close. He 
 must try to ward off the embraces of those terrible 
 arms with bare hands. But just as the hairy arms 
 were about to close round him, there came the sharp 
 crack of a rifle, a flash of smoke and fire before 
 his eyes, and the bear, with a horrible grunting 
 growl, crumpled up, as if his muscles had been 
 suddenly turned to soft tallow, and fell to the 
 ground, dead, his ugly head lying between the old 
 hunter's feet. 
 
 Silas swung swiftly about. Gideon stood directly 
 behind him, his rifle still smoking in his hand, his 
 face white, and his legs beginning to tremble so 
 that he could hardly stand. 
 
 "Gosh!" and Silas caught hold of the boy's 
 hand. "Yew got him that time! An' jest in th' 
 nick o' time. Anuther moment an' he'd ben crackin' 
 my ribs. Never knowed a bear tew move so lively 
 afore." 
 
 " Blowed the right eye plumb out of him and 
 most of his brains, too, I reckon." Old Man 
 Kellogg lifted up the head of the bear and glanced 
 down at it. "Well, you old pig stealer, we've got
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 147 
 
 you at last where you'll never steal another pig! 
 But," and he straightened up, "now that we've got 
 the bear, I am some curious to find out how he got 
 into the log so quick and quietlike. Come on. Let's 
 see how he done it." Jumping on top of the log 
 below the fire, he walked along in the direction of 
 the smoke that could still be seen rising above the 
 surface of the pond a little beyond the spot where 
 the log seemed to disappear under the water in the 
 midst of a thick bunch of short reeds. 
 
 Silas and Gideon both followed him, equally 
 curious to solve the mystery that had so greatly 
 puzzled them. 
 
 "Well, I swun! Just look there!" Old Man 
 Kellogg pointed to where the smoke was rising 
 from just beyond the thick bunch of short reeds 
 that here rose some six inches above the water. 
 "The log's busted right off short and the smoke's 
 coming out of the hollow end!" 
 
 "Th' cunnin' old devil!" exclaimed Silas. "He 
 jest swam out ayond th' reeds, an' then, keepin' his 
 head down low, walked intew th' busted end o' th' 
 holler tree an' kept on a-goin' 'til he was safe an 
 dry inside. Thar's jest room inside th' tree for 
 him tew keep his nose above th' water; an' th' 
 bunch o' reeds hid th' fact that th' tree was busted 
 off here, 'stead o' continuin' under th' water, as it 
 looks as if it did. Wai, I'm powerful glad that 
 mystery's solved an' accordin' tew sense and reason. 
 But I shore would like tew know how I come tew 
 miss him twice an' both on 'em dead-easy shots.
 
 148 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Let's have a look at th' old devil," and he started 
 back over the log toward the carcass of the bear. 
 
 All now examined the body of Old Whitenose 
 curiously. Evidently, from the appearance of its 
 skin, the nose had once been badly scalded or 
 burnt and white hairs had grown out over the scar, 
 forming the peculiar white mark that had given 
 the bear his name. 
 
 " He shore is a whopper," said Silas straightening 
 up, after having satisfied his curiosity regarding 
 the cause of the white nose. "Never seed as big 
 a b'ar in these parts afore. Reckon he'll weigh 
 nigh six hundred pounds." 
 
 "Reckon he will," answered Old Man Kellogg, 
 " Now, let's get his hide off," and he drew his knife 
 from its leather sheath and started to work skinning 
 the bear. 
 
 Both men were experienced in this kind of work 
 and it was not many minutes before they had the 
 skin off. 
 
 " All th' bullets shore didn't miss Old Whitenose," 
 and Silas, bending over the skin, now stretched out 
 on the ground flesh side up, pointed to the scars left 
 by nine bullet holes in the hide. "Reckon I was 
 tew confident in aimin' at his eye, an' he jest 
 happened tew swing his head 'nuf for me tew miss 
 him. Leastwise that's th' only way I kin figger 
 it out." 
 
 "Guess you've got the rights of it." answered 
 Old Man Kellogg. "He certain was great on 
 swinging his head. Now "
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 149 
 
 " Howd'y, folks. Ben killin' a b'ar, I see." 
 
 All turned quickly from the bearskin at these 
 words, and saw a long-bearded and long-haired 
 man, dressed in deerskin, standing near, leaning 
 on the barrel of his rifle and regarding them with 
 interest. "Thought I heered a shot an' reckoned 
 I otter come over an' see if yew had heered 'bout 
 th' row in th' Hawk's village. He's " 
 
 "Th' Hawk! Black Hawk!" The long frame 
 of Silas straightened up with a jerk. "What's 
 troublin' th' Hawk now, Ben?" 
 
 "Wai, if I've got th' rights o' it," answered Ben 
 Block, the long-haired one, "this's 'bout how th' 
 fuss started; an' I'll be hanged if I blame th' Injuns 
 fer gittin' some riled, I'll be hanged if I dew! Yew 
 see, ever since th' Hawk an' his people come back 
 from their winter's hunt an' discuvered a lot o' 
 whites squatted in their village an' some o' their 
 houses torn down or burnt up an' their best land 
 taken from them, th' Hawk an' his bucks has been 
 feelin' 'bout as lovin' toward th' whites as a sore- 
 footed bear. An', jest tew rub it in some more, when 
 'tother day a Sac, one o' th' Hawks own band, 
 found a bee tree, some o' th' white squatters claimed 
 that 'twas theirn, an' took th' honey away from 
 him an' plundered his wagwam tew boot. An' when 
 th' Injun objected they jest laughed at him an' 
 told him that he was a lucky dog tew be allowed 
 tew keep his own hide whole. I was in th' Hawk's 
 village th' next day atter this happened; an' th' 
 Hawk an' his bucks looked an' acted as if they was
 
 150 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 jest a-ichin' tew dig up th' hatchet an' bury it in 
 th' heads o' their enemies. I heered th' Hawk 
 made a speech afore th' council th' night afore in 
 which he declared th' Injuns must make war ag'in 
 th' whites, or be driven intew th' far West, 
 without lands or horses or shelter; an' that only 
 slaves would stand fer sech treatment as they were 
 a-gittin', an' that they must dig up their tomahawks, 
 or soon they would all be made slaves. When I 
 heered that an' seed a number o' young bucks lookin' 
 as if their fingers was jest a-itchin' tew git hold o' 
 my scalp locks, I jest said howd'y an' vamoosed. 
 Maybe it will all blow over, but," and his eyes 
 turned to Kellogg, "'pears tew me, if I had eny 
 wimen folks, I'd want tew be with 'em just 'bout 
 now." 
 
 " Right," said Old Man Kellogg, an anxious look 
 on his face, and turned to Silas. " Let's be getting 
 home." 
 
 "I'm ready," answered Silas, stooping and 
 tossing the skin of Old Whitenose on his shoulders. 
 "But I'm goin' 'long home with Gid. His folks 
 otter know 'bout what Ben's told us. Come on, 
 Gid," and Silas started off, with Gideon hurrying 
 along by his side. 
 
 " Come 'long home with me, Ben, and fill up on 
 the wife's cooking." Old Man Kellogg turned to 
 Ben Block. "We'll be powerful glad to have you 
 stay with us until this scare blows over." 
 
 " Don't care if I dew," answered Ben Block. 
 
 The two old hunters threw their rifles up on
 
 The Killing of Old Whitenose 151 
 
 their shoulders and hurried off in almost the 
 
 opposite direction from that taken by Gideon and 
 Silas.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DAYS OF SUSPENSE 
 
 "ITT" HEN Gideon and Silas came to the bottom 
 * * of the little hill, from the top of which they 
 should be able to see the camp of the pioneers, it 
 was already dark. They had traveled far that 
 day and both were very tired; but neither thought 
 of his weariness. They were too anxious to know 
 how it fared with the little home on the prairie to 
 think of themselves. The words of Ben Block 
 had filled their hearts with dreadful apprehensions. 
 They might portend a terrible sight, when they 
 should reach the top of that little hill. 
 
 Gideon shuddered at the possibilities the thought 
 conjured up. He knew only too well the harrowing 
 nature of an Indian outbreak, its sudden, remorse- 
 less, deadly sweep that left behind only smoking 
 ruins and dead bodies. During the long walk 
 home he had said little. He had not cared to talk, 
 had not asked even a question. The look that had 
 come on the face of Silas at the mention of Black 
 Hawk's name and Black Hawk's threats, his sudden 
 determination to hurry back home, had told him 
 better than words could tell the fear that was in 
 the old hunter's heart. But now that he was almost 
 in sight of home, now that a few more steps would 
 verify or refute his worst fears, his anxiety became 
 
 152
 
 Days of Suspense 153 
 
 so great that he could keep silent no longer, and 
 as they started up the hill, he turned to Silas. 
 
 "You you don't really think anything could 
 have happened to dad and the folks since morning, 
 do you?" he asked. "It has been such a little 
 while." 
 
 " No. I jest reckoned yewr dad otter know 'bout 
 this latest Injun scare tew onct, so I've hurried 
 back tew tell him," answered Silas. But, notwith- 
 standing these confident words, he quickened his 
 pace until he almost ran up the hill. 
 
 "I I can't wait. I must know. Whatever it 
 is, I must know," and Gideon raced up the hill as 
 fast as his tired legs could carry him. 
 
 At the top he stopped, stared over the dark 
 prairie beyond for an instant, then uttered a shout 
 of joy. 
 
 "They are safe! Dad and all are safe! I can 
 see the camp fire ! " and he turned a happy face to 
 Silas, who, burdened by the heavy skin of Old 
 Whitenose, had just reached the top. 
 
 "Wai, I shore am glad tew see that camp fire 
 thar, burnin' so quiet an' peaceful-like," and Silas 
 heaved a sigh of relief ; " for I sartin was some 
 worried atter heerin' Ben Block's tale an' knowin' 
 th' temper o' Black Hawk an' his braves. Now, 
 seein' thar ain't no rush, I'm goin' to take a rest," 
 and, dropping the bearskin from his shoulder to 
 the ground, he sat down on it. 
 
 "I'll run on ahead and tell them that we are 
 coming with the skin of Old Whitenose." Gideon,
 
 154 Th e Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 forgetting his weariness in his excitement, started 
 off on the run across the dark prairie toward the 
 camp fire that could be seen burning brightly about 
 a mile away, the half -faced camp showing dimly 
 in the background. 
 
 " Don't say nuthin' 'bout th' Injun scare. Leave 
 that tew me," Silas called after him. 
 
 "All right," Gideon shouted back, and raced on. 
 
 Indeed, now that he knew the dear home was 
 safe, the Indian scare had already taken a secondary 
 place in his excited mind ; for had he not killed Old 
 Whitenose? The bear the Indians thought no 
 bullet could kill, had he not killed with one bullet 
 from his rifle? And, in proof of his prowess, was 
 not Silas bringing home the skin of Old Whitenose? 
 No wonder that, for the moment, the dread of the 
 expected Indian outbreak was all but forgotten by 
 the excited boy. 
 
 Big Tom sat on a log near the camp fire, busily 
 at work fashioning one of the many household 
 articles needed in their new home. Mrs. Clay was 
 moving about the fire. Ruth, with the baby in her 
 arms, sat on a blanket spread out on the ground 
 at her father's feet. In the dark background rose 
 the rough walls of the half -faced camp. Over all 
 played the red light of the camp fire, a picture, 
 framed by the darkness of the surrounding night, 
 to delight the eyes of an artist. 
 
 Even the excited boy felt the swift impress of 
 the beauty of the scene as he hurried toward it 
 through the darkness; but he did not pause to
 
 Days of Suspense 155 
 
 enjoy it The moment he came within hearing 
 distance, he uttered a loud halloo that brought 
 Big Tom and Ruth to their feet and turned all 
 eyes in his direction. A minute later he broke into 
 the light of the camp fire and ran up to his father. 
 
 " We've got him ! We've got Old Whitenose ! " 
 he panted. " Silas is coming with his skin." 
 
 " Bully for you ! " congratulated Big Tom. " But 
 where is Si ? " 
 
 " He stopped to rest. The skin is so heavy. 
 He'll be in in a minute. And and oh, Dad, I 
 killed Old Whitenose!" Gideon looked up, his 
 young face aglow with pride and triumph, into his 
 father's eyes. 
 
 " Right," and Silas strode into the light of the 
 fire. " Th' boy shore did kill th' brute an' jest in 
 th' nick o' time tew save my ribs from bein' 
 cracked. An' here's th' hide tew prove it," and 
 he threw the skin of Old Whitenose down at the 
 feet of Big Tom. 
 
 Big Tom reached out and gripped the hand of 
 Gideon and pressed it warmly, as he would the 
 hand of a man; but he did not utter a word of 
 praise, and there was no need that he should. 
 Gideon understood and appreciated that hand grip. 
 It told better than words could how his father felt. 
 
 Now the happy boy, seated on the log by his 
 father's side and with the others gathered close 
 around him, was called on to tell of the big hunt 
 that ended in the killing of Old Whitenose; and 
 when he had completed the narrative, not without
 
 156 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 many interruptions from Silas and exclamations 
 of astonishment and alarm from Mrs. Clay and 
 Ruth, the skin of the bear was spread out on the 
 ground, where the full light of the camp fire shone 
 on it, and was examined and admired by all, 
 especially the curious white nose that had given the 
 bear his name. 
 
 "But," said Big Tom, looking up from the 
 bearskin, " you were not calculating on getting back 
 so soon. You thought it would take at least two 
 days, going and coming. What brought you back 
 so quick?" 
 
 The excitement of the home-coming and the 
 telling of how Old Whitenose had been killed had, 
 for the moment, driven all thoughts of the words 
 of the old hunter, Ben Block, out of Gideon's head ; 
 but now the question of his father brought them 
 back with a suddenness that caused him to start. 
 
 " We met an old hunter, and he " He stopped 
 in some confusion, his eyes turning quickly to the 
 face of Silas. 
 
 " Well," and Big Tom straightened up. His eyes 
 had caught the start of Gideon and his swift turning 
 to Silas, and he knew that something was wrong. 
 " What is it, Si ? " as he faced the old hunter. 
 
 For a moment Silas hesitated and glanced a bit 
 uneasily in the direction of Ruth; then he turned 
 to Big Tom. 
 
 " Jest a leetle fresh news 'bout Black Hawk," he 
 said, "that Ben Block, th' hunter, who corned up 
 while we was a-skinnin' Old Whitenose, told us.
 
 Days of Suspense 157 
 
 'Tain't anything tew git scart 'bout," he hastened 
 to add, as he noticed the start of Big Tom and the 
 whitening face of Mrs. Clay, "but I thought yew 
 otter know 'bout it tew once, so we hurried back. 
 Ben said," and then Silas told, softening its harsh- 
 ness a little for the ears of Mrs. Clay and Ruth, 
 the news that Ben Block had brought from the 
 village of Black Hawk. " Don't s'pose 'twill 'mount 
 tew anythin' serious," he concluded. " But thought 
 'twas a case whar an ounce o' prevention'd be wuth 
 a ton o' cure. One kin't be tew cautious when 
 Injun devilment is brewin', 'specially when th' In- 
 jun is Black Hawk." 
 
 For a moment Big Tom stood silent, his eyes 
 studying the face of Silas; then he said quietly: 
 " We must stand guard tonight." 
 
 "You don't think " began Mrs. Clay, and 
 stopped, for what was the use of asking questions? 
 No human being, at least no white human being, 
 could tell, with any certainty, what Indians 
 would do. 
 
 "Black Hawk! You said Black Hawk!" and 
 Ruth started, suddenly remembering the words of 
 Brighteyes when she hung the totem of the little 
 black hawk around her neck. "Black Hawk, he's 
 the father of Brighteyes. See, she gave me this," 
 and she pulled out the little black hawk from the 
 bosom of her dress," and told me that it was the 
 totem of her father, the great chief, Black Hawk; 
 that no Indian would dare to hurt me while I wore 
 this around my neck. I don't believe the father
 
 158 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 of Brighteyes could be such a terribly bad Indian," 
 and she held the totem up where all could see it. 
 
 "So that Injun gal is the daughter o' Black 
 Hawk himself! Wai, that's somethin*, but jest 
 how much no mortal kin tell. Injun is Injun; an' 
 'twould take more'n a daughter's hand tew stay 
 th' tomahawk o' an Injun. But I'd shore ware th' 
 leetle hawk all th' time, jest for luck. It might 
 come in handy sometime. Let's have a look at it," 
 and Silas extended his hand for the totem. 
 
 Ruth handed the little rudely carved stone to 
 him and he and the others examined it closely and 
 curiously by the light of the fire. Big Tom returned 
 the totem to Ruth, and as he replaced the chain 
 that supported it around her neck he bent and 
 kissed her. 
 
 "Always wear it," he said, "and remember the 
 words of Brighteyes. Now," and he glanced a bit 
 uneasily out into the surrounding darkness, "I 
 reckon we'd better put out this camp fire its light 
 can be seen too far and get to bed. You're 
 tuckered, Si, so I'll stand guard for the first part 
 of the night. Now get to bed," and Big Tom began 
 pulling the wood out of the fire and scattering and 
 stamping out the live coals. 
 
 Gideon was very tired; but, notwithstanding his 
 weariness, he lay there in the darkness of the half- 
 faced camp for many minutes, pondering over the 
 exciting events of the day and thinking of the 
 dread possibilities of an Indian attack, before sleep 
 closed his eyes. He knew that the silence of the
 
 Days of Suspense 159 
 
 night might be broken at any moment by the terrible 
 war whoops of the red men. 
 
 Not a pleasant thought to take to bed with one; 
 and yet it was a thought that early pioneers had 
 often to make a bedfellow. Rumors of Indian 
 outbreaks were frequent and every rumor carried 
 with it the possibility of these dreadful night 
 attacks to the lonely settlers. There was many a 
 terror-filled night, when many a sleepless lad and 
 many a sleepless maid lay shivering in bed; and 
 for some the morning never dawned. 
 
 However, there was no alarm at the Clay home 
 during the night. 
 
 Gideon did not awaken the next morning until 
 he was routed out by his father. That day and 
 for the three following days Big Tom and Silas 
 carried their rifles with them wherever they went, 
 and their eyes were continually searching the long 
 line of the woods and the wide sweep of the prairie ; 
 but the days and the nights passed without alarm 
 warm, bright, delightful days and quiet, peaceful 
 nights, when it seemed almost like sacrilege to think 
 that the horrors of savage warfare could threaten 
 a scene so quiet and beautiful. 
 
 On the morning of the fourth day Silas, the 
 moment he arose from the breakfast table, picked 
 up his rifle. 
 
 "I reckon," he said, "it would be a good thing 
 for me tew dew some reconniterin' an' find out 
 jest what th' Injuns have been doin'. This suspense 
 ain't good for th' nerves. I'll shore be back in tew
 
 160 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 or three days. Now don't let up none on yewr 
 precautions while I'm away. I reckon th' trouble's 
 been smoothed over this time; but 'tain't wise to 
 run no risks when it's Injuns. So-long. Keep a 
 tight hold on yewr scalps," and, with a grin on his 
 face, he tossed his rifle to his shoulder and was off. 
 
 Gideon now took the place of Silas in driving the 
 oxen while his father held the plow. No precau- 
 tions were neglected to guard against a surprise 
 by the Indians. Gideon and his father carried their 
 rifles with them while at work in the field, and 
 Mrs. Clay's rifle always stood ready loaded near 
 her hand. Ruth was not allowed to go a dozen rods 
 from the house. At night Gideon did his turn at 
 standing guard. 
 
 In this way three days passed, and Silas had not 
 returned. What could be delaying him? He had 
 promised to be back in three days, surely, and now 
 the three days were gone. The fourth day passed, 
 and the uneasiness, the fear of all increased. 
 Something must have happened to the brave, kindly 
 old hunter. 
 
 On the evening of the fifth day, as they sat in 
 front of the half-faced camp in the darkness a 
 camp fire, or even a candle, was too risky as they 
 sat thinking and talking of Silas and wondering 
 what could be keeping him, without daring to put 
 into words the fear that was in each heart, that 
 the Indians had either killed or captured him, there 
 came a halloo from out the darkness that brought 
 them all to their feet with an answering shout of
 
 Days of Suspense 161 
 
 gladness, and a moment later the tall, gaunt form 
 of the old hunter was among them. 
 
 " Start th' fire. I'm as hungry as a b'ar," were 
 his first words. 
 
 " Glory be, but I'm mighty glad to see you, Si," 
 and Big Tom gripped his hand. "Thought the 
 Indians had got you sure." 
 
 "Git th' fire a-goin'," reiterated Silas. "Ain't 
 no sense o' settin' here in th' dark. Git th' fire 
 a-goin' an' th' coffee a-bilin' an' th' meat a-sizzlin'. 
 I'm as hungry as a b'ar ; an' I won't dew no talkin' 
 nor explainin' 'til I've chucked somethin' intew th' 
 empty spot in my stumick." 
 
 But there was no need of further " talkin' " or 
 " explainin' " to lift the burden of fear from off 
 their hearts. The voice and words of Silas had 
 already done that ; and the " explainin' " could wait 
 the filling of that "empty spot." 
 
 In a surprisingly short time a fire was blazing 
 hotly, the coffee " a-bilin' " and the meat " a-sizzlin' " 
 and Silas busily filling the " empty spot." 
 
 The last satisfying mouthful down, Silas drew 
 back from the table. 
 
 "Thar, I'm feelin' kumfertable ag'in," he said. 
 "I never could talk an' eat tew once " 
 
 "For the land sakes then do some talking now 
 and set our minds at rest about the Indians," 
 laughed Mrs. Clay. 
 
 Now that the suspense and dread of the past few 
 days had vanished, the reaction put all in the best 
 of spirits and smiles and laughter came easily.
 
 1 62 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "Wai," and the face of Silas sobered, "'twas 
 a powerful close shave for th' settlers. Black Hawk 
 an' his bucks sartin was some het up an' I'll be 
 durned if I blame 'em! They sartin had cause 
 tew get hot under the coller. If th' Cover 'ment 
 would hang 'bout a dozen o' them wuthless, land- 
 grabbin', whiskey-drinkin' and whiskey-sellin' 
 whites that is allers dewin' somethin' tew rile th' 
 blood o' th' Injuns, 'twould dew more for th' lastin' 
 peace o' th' country than an army o' soldiers, an' 
 be a powerful sight cheaper. That's what I'd dew, 
 if I had my say," and he smiled grimly. "Th' 
 trouble started ag'in 'bout as Ben Block said, over 
 th' findin' o' a bee-tree an' th' robbin' o' th' Injun 
 that found it, not only o' th' honey, but o' everythin' 
 o' value that he had in his wigwam, an' then laughin' 
 at him when he objected, an' tellin' him he was a 
 lucky dog tew git off with a hull hide. Black 
 Hawk an' his bucks, as I told yew afore, was 
 already feelin' 'bout as good-natured toward th' 
 whites as a sick b'ar; and when they heered o' this 
 latest outrage, some on 'em was for diggin' th' 
 hatchet up tew once an' startin' right in massacrin' 
 th' whites. When I got tew th' Hawk's village, 
 things sartin looked dubious; but good counsel at 
 last won out; an' last night th' Injuns an' th' whites 
 had a big pow-wow; and some o' th' whites talked 
 right good tew th' Injuns an' th' trouble's smoothed 
 over for th' present; but it's still thar, a-smolderin', 
 an' th' good Lord alone knows when some uther 
 fool white will dew somethin' tew stir it all up
 
 Days of Suspense 163 
 
 ag'in. That's what delayed me, a-waitin' tew see 
 what way th' cat was a-goin' tew jump. But I did 
 some lively travelin' when I got started. A good 
 sixty miles since sunup ! Reckon I've earnt a good 
 night's rest an' sleep an' now I'm goin' tew git it. 
 So-long 'til mornin'," and, without another word, 
 he stretched himself out on one of the beds and in 
 five minutes more was sound asleep. 
 
 The anxiety and the suspense of the past few 
 days and the necessity of keeping guard at night 
 had told on the others, and all were glad to follow 
 the example of Silas.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE WILDERNESS ITCH 
 
 "DUSY days, days full of hard but wholesome 
 -*^* outdoor toil, now followed the excitement of 
 the big bear hunt and the dread of the Indian 
 scare. Twenty acres of the rich prairie land were 
 plowed and made ready for the crops. Big Tom 
 had brought with him seed corn to plant a dozen 
 acres; and corn, since it furnished food for both 
 man and beast, was to be the main crop raised. 
 
 Gideon and Ruth, barefooted and happy, with 
 bags of seed tied about their waists, both went 
 forth with their father and Silas to the corn 
 planting; and dropping the large golden grains 
 into the little holes dug with their hoes in the soft 
 black loam, covered them quickly with a hoeful 
 of dirt, pressed a bare foot down on them, and 
 passed on to the next hill, in the meantime keeping 
 up an almost ceaseless clatter of talk that, like the 
 twitter of birds, gave voice to their own happiness. 
 
 After the corn planting, came the sowing of a 
 little wheat, enough to make flour for home baking, 
 and an acre or so of oats for the horses. Then 
 potatoes and other table vegetables, sufficient for 
 home use, were planted, and a few berry bushes 
 that they had brought with them were set out. 
 
 Silas, during all of these busy days, had remained 
 
 164
 
 The Wilderness Itch 165 
 
 with them, working hard every day and eating 
 heartily every meal; but when the crops were all 
 in, the spirit of unrest, the Wanderlust that had 
 made him the adventurous nomad he was, came 
 upon him; and one morning as he arose from the 
 breakfast table he abruptly announced that his legs 
 were just " a-itchin' tew be on th' go." " I've jest 
 gotter go with 'em, or they'll shore be skylarkin' 
 off by themselves," he said. 
 
 "Shucks, Si!" laughed Big Tom. "You're old 
 enough now to settle down and live comfortably 
 and not be trapesing all over the country. Supposing 
 you make your home with us. You shore'd be 
 welcome, and you need not do a snitch of work 
 unless you want to. I know Martha and the yunks 
 would be glad to have you." 
 
 "I know, I know; an' I thank yew heartily," 
 Silas replied. "But th' spell's on me an' I've jest 
 gotter shoulder my old gun an' live wild for a time, 
 away from all humans an' alone with nater," and 
 his eyes kindled as they swept longingly over the 
 broad prairie and rested on the long line of the 
 distant forest "I've jest got tew go, Tom; but 
 I'll shore be back afore long. An' I'll be as hungry 
 as a b'ar," he added, with a grin and a wink in 
 the direction of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "You'll be right welcome back, Si," the good 
 woman responded heartily. " But you'd better do 
 as Tom says and stay with us right along." 
 
 " Kin't." Again Silas's eyes swept the surround- 
 ing prairie and forest. " Th' wilderness itch has got
 
 1 66 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 intew my blood an' I've got tew work it out but 
 'tain't no use standin' here talkin'. I'll be back 
 when th' itch gets out o' my blood. So-long," and, 
 tossing the long barrel of his rifle upon his shoulder, 
 he strode swiftly off toward the west. 
 
 "Queer how the wilderness does get into the 
 blood," philosophized Big Tom, as he stood watch- 
 ing the retreating form of Silas Wegg. " A house 
 is like a prison to one who has passed his life 
 roaming free and wild through great forests and 
 over vast prairies. Well, it shore is a fascinating 
 life and gets into the blood powerful; but," his 
 eyes passed slowly from the face of his wife to the 
 faces of his children, "'tain't like having a home 
 of your own. Si don't know what he's missing. 
 He shore don't know what he's missing when he 
 misses this," and he bent and kissed the dimpled 
 cheeks of his baby as she lay in her mother's arms. 
 
 " He shore don't," agreed Mrs. Clay emphatically. 
 " Poor, lonely old man ! I wish he would settle 
 down and live with us." 
 
 " Too late to change him now," smiled Big Tom. 
 "Si'll be just Si Wegg, the hunter, as long as he 
 can carry a rifle or follow a trail; and, I reckon, 
 that's just about what the good God intended him 
 to be. In this new country some one has got to 
 go on ahead and spy out the land and learn the 
 trails, so that we settlers can follow, and that is 
 what Si and his kind are doing. They are the 
 scouts of the advancing army of civilization. I 
 reckon it's just God's way of settling up a new
 
 The Wilderness Itch 167 
 
 country, slow but sure Well, I swun, if I ain't 
 been philosophizing! Reckon the philosophizing 
 itch is getting into my blood/' he grinned. " But 
 I know what will drive it out. Come on, Gid," 
 and, picking up his ax, he started for the woods, 
 followed by Gideon, ax in hand. 
 
 Now that the crops were all in, there was little 
 to do on the " farm " until harvesting time ; but this 
 did not mean idleness for Gideon and his father. 
 The log house was yet to be built, and as Big Tom 
 was anxious to get the house up as soon as possible, 
 every moment that could be spared from the crops 
 was spent on the house. Trees had to be cut down, 
 sawed up into logs of the right length, and then 
 hauled to the place where the house was to be 
 built. 
 
 Gideon and his father worked hard, but neither 
 cared for the hard work for was it not on their 
 own house that they were working? By the last 
 of August they had all the logs needed for the house 
 cut and hauled. Now all was ready for the actual 
 house building. But the task of lifting the heavy 
 logs up into their places in the walls of the house 
 was beyond the strength of Gideon and his father 
 to accomplish alone, and therefore Big Tom decided 
 to have a house raising. 
 
 In pioneer days, when a house or barn was to 
 be built or any other work to be done that required 
 extra help, it was the pleasant custom of the 
 neighbors to all turn out on an appointed day and 
 help with the work. These helping-days were made
 
 1 68 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 great days by the pioneers. After the work came 
 the feasting, prepared and brought to the gathering 
 by the good housewives of the neighborhood; and 
 after the feasting came the dancing and the rougher 
 sports of the men, such as wrestling, running, 
 jumping, shooting, etc. Pioneer neighborhood 
 gatherings of any kind were few, and when one 
 did occur all made the best of it. 
 
 Big Tom's neighbors were few and far apart, 
 but what they lacked in numbers they more than 
 made up in willingness, and a distance of twenty- 
 five or thirty miles did not seem as far for a 
 neighborly visit in those days as it does now. 
 Twenty miles north of them lived Abe Dixon and 
 wife and their brood of ten children; fifteen miles 
 south dwelt Big Ike Conrad, with his motherless 
 crop of girls and boys; while still a little farther 
 south was the home of Old Man Kellogg. There 
 were three or four other neighbors within a radius 
 of thirty miles and all these would be invited to 
 the house raising and all would be quite sure to 
 come, unless prevented by some unavoidable 
 hindrance ; for no one in those days willingly missed 
 such an opportunity of meeting his neighbors. 
 
 On the evening of the day the last log for the 
 house was hauled, as Big Tom and the others sat 
 in front of the half-faced camp, planning how best 
 to notify the neighbors of the coming raising, all 
 were startled by a low chuckle, seemingly coming 
 from directly behind them, and, turning quickly, 
 were astounded to see Silas standing not six feet
 
 The Wilderness Itch 169 
 
 from them, leaning on the long barrel of his rifle 
 and regarding them quizzically. 
 
 "Mercy on us!" and Mrs. Clay's hand was the 
 first to clasp the hand of the old hunter. "Land 
 sakes, how you did startle me! But you're right 
 welcome back, Si," and she shook the hand warmly. 
 
 "You old Indian! Still up to your old tricks, I 
 see ! " Big Tom grabbed the other hand. " Well, 
 you're as welcome as a hunk of ice on a hot day." 
 
 "Thought Fd see what sort o' a guard yew was 
 a-keepin'," chuckled the old hunter. " Might have 
 scalped yew all afore one o' yew knowed it." 
 
 "Oh, but I am glad to see you!" cried Ruth, 
 catching hold of one of his sleeves. "Now you 
 will tell us some more stories, won't you?" 
 
 " Sartin," grinned Silas. " Great Moses, but I 
 shore am glad tew git back whar thar's wimen's 
 cookin'. Ain't had a half-decent meal since I left; 
 an', dew yew know, I'm as hungry as a b'ar right 
 now?" and the grin on his face broadened as he 
 turned to Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " Poor man ! " laughed Mrs. Clay. " I'll get you 
 something to eat in a jiffy. Gideon shot a fine 
 gobbler this morning and I reckon there's enough 
 left, 'long with some hot johnny cake and potatoes, 
 to fill you up." 
 
 "Trot 'em out, then; for I shore am as hungry 
 as a b'ar," and seating himself on a log near the 
 fire, he stretched out his long legs with a sigh of 
 satisfaction. 
 
 After Silas had been filled up, "plumb tew th'
 
 170 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 muzzle," as he declared, he told the tale of his 
 wanderings; but, as they had nothing to do with 
 this story, we will pass them over, only stating, 
 to show the untamed nature of the man, that he had 
 spent a greater part of the time roaming absolutely 
 alone through the wilderness west of the Mississippi 
 River, " tew git th' itch o' th' wilderness out o' my 
 blood," as he put it. Now he was contented to 
 settle down into a more civilized way of living for 
 a month or two "an" live in a house an' eat three 
 square meals a day." 
 
 " We shore are glad to have you back with us," 
 Big Tom assured him, when they were all seated 
 around the blazing camp fire, "more especially 
 since I'm thinking of having a house raising, and 
 you are just the man to take the invitations. We've 
 all the logs needed for the house cut and hauled." 
 
 " Jest th' thing," declared Silas, his face lighting 
 up with interest. " I'll start right out in th' mornin' ; 
 an' I'll git every mother's son an' daughter, tew, 
 within thirty miles, tew come. Have yew sot on 
 th' day?" 
 
 "How'll a week from today do?" Big Tom 
 looked inquiringly toward his wife. 
 
 " All right for me," Mrs. Clay answered. " That'll 
 give me plenty of time to do the cooking and get 
 things fixed." 
 
 " Then we'll make it a week from today. Now, 
 who shall we invite? " and Big Tom again addressed 
 Silas. 
 
 "Let me see, thar's Dixon up on Goose Creek,
 
 The Wilderness Itch 171 
 
 an' Big Ike Conrad down at Turtle Lake. Big 
 Ike's done a heap o' braggin' 'bout his wrestlin'. 
 Says he's never seed but one man who could lay 
 him on his back. Wai, I want tew show him 
 anuther man what kin dew it a week from today," 
 and Silas winked one eye at Gideon. 
 
 "And dad'll do it, too. I know dad can do it, 
 can't you, Dad?" Gideon turned an excited but 
 confident face to his father. 
 
 "I'll shore do my best not to disappoint Si, if I 
 have the chance," laughed Big Tom. "But I've 
 heard that this Big Ike is a holy terror when it 
 comes to wrestling. Last year, down in Sangamon 
 County, he came mighty nigh throwing Abe Lin- 
 coln; and the man is powerful good at wrestling 
 who can do that, according to my cousin, who lives 
 in the same town with Lincoln and who thinks 
 Abe Lincoln the most powerful and skillful wrestler 
 that he has ever seen and he has seen me. So 
 you'd better make no bets on your dad, son." 
 
 " Oh, I'm not scared of your getting throwed," 
 asserted Gideon, his confidence in his father's wres- 
 tling prowess unshaken. " I know you can throw 
 Big Ike, or Abe Lincoln himself, for that matter. 
 Cousin Bill don't know as much about wrestling as 
 he thinks he does." 
 
 " I'm shore not like the prophets of old, without 
 glory in my own family," laughed Big Tom. " Well, 
 if this Big Ike will give me the chance, I'll certainly 
 do my best to deserve your good opinion. It's been 
 a long time since I've had a right good wrestling
 
 172 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 bout," and his eyes kindled. " But we've wandered 
 from the subject. Now, who else is there to in- 
 vite ? " He turned again to Silas. 
 
 Silas gave him the names of all who lived near 
 enough to come ; and it was arranged that he should 
 start out early the next morning with an invitation 
 to each to come to the house raising and bring his 
 family, big and little, with him. 
 
 " We'll have jest a rip-rarin' jolly old time," 
 Silas declared, as they entered the house to go to 
 bed, after all the details of the house raising had 
 been settled. "An' I'll have a chance tew see if 
 I've still got my runnin' legs an' if my shootin' eye 
 is all right. Say, yew old hipperpotamus ! " and 
 he gave Big Tom a whack on the back with his 
 hand, " if yew don't take th' conceit out o' Big Ike, 
 I'll never make anuther brag 'bout th' wrestlin' 
 skill o' Big Tom Clay as long as I live, so help me 
 Moses ! Yew see," and he grinned, " I've been 
 dewin' consider'ble braggin' 'bout th' big Ohio man 
 that came mighty nigh bustin' every bone in my 
 body an' a-jarrin' out every tooth in my mouth th' 
 only time I was ever fool enough tew wrestle with 
 him; an' I'll lose my repertation for truthfulness 
 if yew don't live up tew th' repertation I've give 
 yew for wrestlin'." And, chuckling, Silas crawled 
 into his bed, as happy as a boy over the prospects 
 of the coming house raising.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 BUILDING THE LOG HOUSE 
 
 Gideon and Ruth the day of the house raising 
 was one of the great days of their lives. From 
 the moment they knew of its coming they could 
 think or talk of little else; and, when at last the 
 great day dawned, they were out of their beds the 
 first ones in the house and rushed outdoors to see 
 how the weather looked. 
 
 " Clear as a whistle ! " shouted Gideon, joyously, 
 as his eyes swept the cloudless skies. " Hi, there ! " 
 He thrust his head in between the blankets that 
 hung in front of the half-faced camp. "Every- 
 body up ! This is house raising day ! Not a cloud 
 is in the sky and the sun is coming up glorious! 
 Everybody up ! " 
 
 That was a busy morning for everyone. Big 
 Tom and Gideon worked as swiftly as arms and 
 legs could move, sorting out logs and hewing their 
 ends so that they would fit together when laid into 
 the walls of the house. Mrs. Clay and Ruth hur- 
 ried hither and thither, getting everything about 
 the place in readiness for the expected guests. All 
 were excited and happy and constantly talking and 
 laughing; for a house raising was an event to 
 awaken enthusiasm even in grown-ups. 
 
 Abe Dixon, his wife and all of their ten children 
 
 i73
 
 174 Tne Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 were the first to arrive. Then, a little later, came 
 Old Man Kellogg and his wife. Thus, family by 
 family, they came riding across the prairie from 
 different directions, until by ten o'clock all had 
 gathered about the little half -faced camp of Big 
 Tom Clay. 
 
 It was a motley looking crowd of men and women 
 and children. Nearly all the men and boys were 
 clothed in homemade deerskin suits and the women 
 and the girls in homespun. Most of the men allowed 
 their beards and hair to grow long and paid almost 
 no attention to their personal appearance. The 
 women and the girls, however, were neatly and 
 cleanly dressed, though it was in homespun, and 
 seemed to take as much pride in their personal ap- 
 pearance as do their more fashionable sisters of 
 today. Every man carried his rifle; and, in addi- 
 tion, each had brought with him his ax and other 
 tools. The women, according to the hospitable cus- 
 tom of the time, all brought baskets filled with the 
 best products of their cooking skill. This was for 
 the feasting that would sustain and enliven the 
 work. Daddy Jones, a thin, white-haired old man, 
 with a smooth-shaven wrinkled face, carried his 
 old, timeworn violin, or fiddle, as our pioneer 
 friends called it. This was for the dancing that 
 would follow the completion of the house raising. 
 In all, about thirty people, counting men, women, 
 and children, had gathered about the little home of 
 Big Tom Clay. 
 
 The men and the older boys at once began work
 
 Building the Log House 175 
 
 on the logs. Some, with their axes, hewed them 
 into shape for the walls, others carried them, and 
 still others, the older and more experienced men, 
 laid them carefully and accurately into the walls 
 of the house. Among these last was Big Ike 
 Conrad, a huge, massively built man, a good inch 
 taller and broader than was Big Tom himself, with 
 a red face, red bushy whiskers, and red hair. 
 
 The eyes of Gideon turned often to the form of 
 Big Ike. He watched the play of his great muscles, 
 as he helped lift the heavy logs to their places in 
 the wall, with something very much like trepida- 
 tion. There was no discounting the tremendous 
 strength of the man. In handling the heavy logs 
 he appeared able to lift as much as the two powerful 
 men working by his side. 
 
 " He is a little slow and too fat," thought Gideon, 
 "to make a right good wrestler. Looks as if he 
 ate and drank too much. But he shore is a power- 
 ful man, and dad'll have his work cut out for him 
 if it comes to a tussle between them." 
 
 "Ain't dad strong?" and Hank Conrad, big- 
 framed and red-haired, like his father, who was 
 working alongside of Gideon and had noticed how 
 often his eyes were reverting to the powerful frame 
 of his father, turned to Gideon, aglow with pride. 
 " Dad's th' strongest man in all Illernoie, an' kin 
 lick eny man or throw eny man in these parts." A 
 challenging light came into his eyes, as they glanced 
 swiftly to where Big Tom was at work. "Why, 
 down in Sangamon County last summer, he came
 
 176 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 powerful near throwing Abe Lincoln himself, an' 
 Abe's th' champeeon wrestler o' th' world, I reckon, 
 from what I've heered tell o' him. Kin your dad 
 wrestle? He's big, 'most as big as my dad, an' he 
 looks strong; but I'll bet my dad could down him 
 as fast as he could git up." 
 
 "Your dad throw my dad!" and Gideon tried 
 to inject all the scorn he felt into the tone of his 
 voice. " My dad, back in Ohio, throwed everyone 
 he wrestled with, and, I reckon, he can do the same 
 in Illinois." 
 
 " Huh ! " laughed Hank, scornfully. " Yew think 
 your dad's some pun'kin, don't yew? Wai, jest 
 wait 'till my dad gits hold o' him. He'll be lucky 
 if he escapes with a hull bone in his body. Why, 
 my dad could throw your dad as easy as I could 
 throw yew. Or, maybe, yew think yew kin throw 
 me ! " and he glowered down belligerently at Gideon. 
 
 Gideon, during this conversation, had been grow- 
 ing more indignant all the time. From the first 
 sight he had had of him he had taken a dislike to 
 this big red-headed boy of Ike Conrad's, with all 
 the earmarks of an arrogant bully about him, and 
 now his boastful talk and domineering ways had 
 increased this dislike greatly. He flushed and, for 
 a moment, his eyes looked steadily into the eyes 
 of Hank Conrad; but he spoke quietly enough. 
 
 "Yes, I might be able to throw you," he said. 
 " I've throwed bigger boys than you. Leastwise, I 
 am willing to try, when the house is up and the 
 sports begin; and I think dad will be right pleased
 
 Building the Log House 177 
 
 to give your dad a tussle. You know it takes more 
 than just size and muscle to make a wrestler." 
 
 " Huh ! " Hank glanced scornfully up and down 
 Gideon's sturdy form. " So yew think yew kin 
 wrestle, dew yew? An* yew'll give me a try, will 
 yew? Powerful kind," and he grinned impudently; 
 "but I don't know as I care to wrestle with leetle 
 boys." 
 
 "'Fraid?" Gideon spoke quietly, but his face 
 had become a little white. 
 
 "Not on your life!" answered Hank, hotly. 
 "I'll wrestle yew; an' if I kin't throw yew as fast 
 as yew kin git up, I'll eat my coonskin cap, ha'r an' 
 all." 
 
 "Hope the hair won't disagree with your stom- 
 ach, then, for you shore will have to eat it," and 
 Gideon smiled, though his eyes glinted. 
 
 " Yew jest wait." The red face of Hank flushed 
 more redly. "I'll " 
 
 " Lively thar, with that log ! " suddenly bellowed 
 Big Ike, noticing that the two boys stood idly 
 talking. "We're waitin' fer it. Dew yew think 
 this is a picnic?" 
 
 Hank jumped and stopped abruptly in the midst 
 of the sentence he had begun. Evidently the dis- 
 cipline of Big Ike was as severe as his hand was 
 heavy. 
 
 The two boys, without another word but with 
 many " eloquent " glances at each other, now caught 
 hold of the short piece of log they were about to 
 carry to the house and hurried with it to where
 
 178 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Big Ike and the men stood ready to lift it into its 
 place in the wall. 
 
 There was a great deal of good-natured rivalry 
 among the men and the boys to see who could do 
 their work the fastest; and, under the spur of this 
 rivalry, the building of the house went on apace. 
 By noon the walls were up the building was to 
 be a story and a half high and the timbers to 
 support the floor of the upper story were in place. 
 
 During this time Mrs. Clay and the women folk 
 had not been idle. They had arranged the big table 
 in front of the half -faced camp, built three or four 
 cooking fires, had broiled great pieces of venison 
 and bear meat and roasted three wild turkeys whole ; 
 and now they had placed all these savory meats, 
 together with the pies, cakes, bread, and other eat- 
 ables, brought in the hospitable baskets, on the table. 
 Mrs. Clay, with a final glance over this tempting 
 array, turned to Ruth and bade her go and tell her 
 father that the dinner was ready. 
 
 " Gosh, that's good news ! " exclaimed Silas, the 
 moment he heard Ruth's message. " I'm as hungry 
 as a b'ar. Dinner! Come on, boys!" and, drop- 
 ping his tools, he led the way to the spring, to wash, 
 
 The men and the boys ate while the women and 
 the girls waited on them. After dinner there was 
 half an hour of smoking, talking, and story-telling, 
 and then to work again with renewed energy. 
 
 The roof poles were now firmly tied in their 
 places no nails were used in the building of this 
 house and long strips of bark, one overlapping
 
 Building the Log House 179 
 
 the other, were laid over these and fastened down, 
 until a water-tight roof had been made. The walls 
 and the roof of the house were now completed. 
 Openings had been left in the walls for the door 
 and a window in each end and in each side, and for 
 the big fireplace with its outside chimney. Clay 
 and water were now mixed, in a small pit dug in 
 the ground, until a sort of mortar was formed, 
 and a man who had been a mason, with this mortar 
 and stones, built a rude but serviceable fireplace. 
 The chimney to the fireplace was constructed outside 
 the house, out of sticks of wood, and thickly plas- 
 tered inside and out with clay. 
 
 There were many holes between the rough logs 
 that made up the walls of the house, and a row of 
 these holes, at the right height, were enlarged and 
 left all around the house, to be used as loopholes 
 in case the building should be attacked by Indians. 
 All the other openings were "chinked up." This 
 was done by driving bits of wood tightly into them. 
 Then all the remaining spaces between the logs, 
 inside and out, were filled in with clay-cats made 
 by mixing the clay-mortar and grass together into 
 rough bricks and were smoothly plastered over 
 with clay. 
 
 Big Tom and Gideon had split and hewn out of 
 logs enough rough boards to cover the ground floor 
 and the floor to the upper chamber, and these were 
 now laid in their places. This roughly completed 
 the work of the house raising and left the building 
 practically finished.
 
 i8o The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 When the last bit of work was done, Abe Dixon 
 mounted a log and called for three cheers for the 
 new settlers and their new home. Everybody, men, 
 women, and children, cheered. 
 
 Then Big Tom stood up on the log and thanked 
 them all for their help and invited all to remain for 
 a little jollification by way of celebrating the occa- 
 sion and to get better acquainted with one another. 
 This, as everybody knew, meant music and dancing 
 and the more strenuous games and sports of the 
 men, and all began to make ready for the fun.
 
 Everybody present, even Silas Wegg, was dancing
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE GREAT WRESTLING MATCH 
 
 ET out your fiddle, Daddy Jones, and give 
 us a dancing tune!" one of the young men 
 called, the moment Big Tom stepped down from 
 the log. 
 
 Daddy Jones nodded and smiled, his face lighting 
 up, as his long thin fingers hastily opened the case 
 and lifted out his beloved fiddle. 
 
 In five minutes more a level spot of ground in 
 front of the new house had been cleared, and 
 Daddy Jones, seated on a chair that had been placed 
 on top of a table at one end of the cleared space, 
 lifted his fiddle to his chin and glanced around. 
 
 "Choose partners!" he called, in a shrill, high- 
 pitched voice, and drove the fiddle-bow across the 
 strings. 
 
 " Come on! We'll set the pace! " and Big Tom 
 threw one arm around his wife and swung her, 
 laughing and protesting that she had not danced a 
 step for ten years, out on the dance ground. 
 
 A minute more and everybody present, even Silas 
 Wegg, was dancing to the mad music of Daddy 
 Jones, who played as if all the imps of dancing 
 were in his fiddle strings. 
 
 For an hour or more the dancing continued; 
 then the older folks began gradually to quit, the 
 
 181
 
 1 82 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 men gathering, as if by prearrangement, around 
 Big Tom Clay and Big Ike Conrad. 
 
 "Now we'll see what yewr dad is good fer!" 
 Hank Conrad turned a flushing face to Gideon, 
 whose eyes had anxiously followed the gathering 
 men. " They're goin' tew wrestle, an' yew'd better 
 pray fer a soft spot fer yewr dad tew land on. 
 Dad broke th' arm an' cracked tew ribs o' th' last 
 feller he wrestled with," he added, with a trium- 
 phant grin; "an' he's liable tew dew more'n that 
 tew yewr dad." 
 
 "If he can," Gideon answered, quietly, though 
 his eyes were beginning to glint. " But it will take 
 more than big words to throw dad; and more than 
 big words to throw me," and his eyes flashed chal- 
 lengingly up into the face of Hank. 
 
 " Huh ! " Hank scowled, angrily. " Still wantin' 
 tew git yewr neck broke, be yew? Wai," and an 
 ugly light came into his eyes, " I'm ready right now 
 an' right here tew break it fer yew; so shut up or 
 peel off yer coat," and he began jerking off his 
 own coat. 
 
 Before he had finished speaking, Gideon's coat 
 was off his back. Hank, by this time, had worked 
 himself up into a great rage and the moment he 
 had his coat off he sprang straight for Gideon, with- 
 out a word of warning, doubtless intending to take 
 him unawares and to hurl him so violently to the 
 ground that he would not be fit for another bout. 
 But, if such were his expectations, they were 
 doomed to sudden failure ; for, as he leaped, a long
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 183 
 
 arm shot out and an iron hand caught him by the 
 shoulder and he turned to glower up into the face 
 of Silas Wegg, who had quietly stepped up behind 
 the two excited boys. 
 
 "Not so sudden, son," and Silas held the angry 
 boy firmly. " Yew' re a human, not a bull, an' thar 
 ain't no rushin' nor hookin', accordin' tew wrestlin' 
 rules, so far as I know. Now, jest hold yewr 
 hosses 'til we gits things fixed proper, an' I reckon 
 Gid'll give yew all th' tussle yew want. S'posin' I 
 dew th' refereein'. Eny objections?" He glanced 
 around the circle of men and boys, the women and 
 girls in the background, that had quickly formed 
 around the three. There were no objections. All 
 knew Silas, and all knew that his decisions would 
 be fair. 
 
 " Good. Now," and Silas turned to the two boys, 
 "two falls out o' three wins th' match, catch-as- 
 catch-kin. When I say 'Ready/ go to it. Shake 
 hands an' keep yewr tempers," and he pushed Hank 
 toward Gideon. 
 
 Gideon promptly extended his hand, and, after a 
 moment's hesitation, Hank took it. The two boys 
 shook hands and stepped back a pace and stood 
 ready, their eyes fixed warily on each other. 
 
 At first sight it looked as if the contest would 
 be an ill-matched one, for Hank Conrad was at 
 least a couple of years older than Gideon and had 
 the huge bulk and bull-like strength and build of 
 his father; but, when one studied the well-built 
 and splendidly muscled frame of Gideon, though
 
 184 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 far less bulky than that of his antagonist, and espe- 
 cially when one noted the keen intelligence of his 
 eyes and the resolute look of his face, the contest, 
 after all, did not appear so unequal ; for brains and 
 grit count in wrestling quite as much as muscle does. 
 
 " Now," and Silas glanced around the circle to 
 see that there was plenty of room for the wrestlers, 
 and back to the faces of the two boys. "Ready! 
 Go to it!" 
 
 The moment the words were out of Silas's mouth, 
 Hank jumped for Gideon and endeavored to get 
 both underholds; but Gideon, lighter and quicker 
 on his feet, sprang a little to one side, bent down, 
 and the next instant he had both arms around his 
 bulky antagonist and his hands clasped together in 
 a hard knot in the small of his back. A sudden 
 violent squeeze of his two strong arms, his knotted 
 hands pressed tightly into the small of the back, a 
 quick backward trip of his right foot, a thrust for- 
 ward of his whole body into which he put all his 
 young strength, and, before Hank knew what was 
 happening, he was flat on his back on the ground, 
 with Gideon on top of him. 
 
 "Fust fall! Won by Gideon Clay!" shouted 
 Silas, while the surrounding men and boys and even 
 the women and the girls cheered. It was easy to 
 see who was the more popular of the two boys. 
 
 "Git up an' git ready for th' next bout," and 
 Silas pulled the still struggling lads apart. 
 
 "Yew lunkhead!" muttered Big Ike, his face 
 flushing angrily, as he stepped forward and jerked
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 185 
 
 Hank to his feet. "If yew let him play that trick 
 on yew ag'in, I'll lick th' hide off yew. Dew yew 
 hear, I'll lick th' hide off yew? Now go in an' 
 win," and he thrust him toward Gideon, who had 
 arisen and stood breathing heavily from his sudden, 
 violent exertions, at the same time flushing redly 
 from his triumph. 
 
 Hank's face was pale with anger and he would 
 have sprung at once at Gideon, if the hand of Silas 
 had not again caught him and pulled him back. 
 
 "Hold yewr temper! Hold yewr temper, son! 
 Now, all ready for th' second bout," and Silas 
 paused a moment and glanced at the faces of the 
 two boys, who stood, each with eyes watching the 
 other, ready to spring at the word go. 
 
 " Ready ! Go ! " shouted Silas, jumping back so 
 as to be out of reach of the struggling wrestlers. 
 
 This time both boys stooped low, so that neither 
 secured an advantageous hold at the first rush. 
 Then began a furious struggle, each endeavoring 
 to get his favorite hold. Suddenly Hank saw his 
 opportunity. He bent swiftly downward, caught 
 Gideon around both legs, thrust his bull-like head 
 and neck between them, and heaved upward and 
 backward with all his strength. 
 
 Gideon shot backward over the head of Hank 
 and, turning over, landed on his back with a sick- 
 ening thud and lay still, the breath, for the moment, 
 knocked out of his body. 
 
 "Second fall! Won by Hank Conrad," Silas 
 said, mechanically, and bent over Gideon.
 
 1 86 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 There was no cheering. The fall had been won 
 in the most cruel and dangerous manner allowable 
 in wrestling, a way used only by the desperate and 
 the brutal; and, apparently, Big Ike Conrad was 
 the only one present who approved. He stepped 
 to the side of Hank and slapped him on the back. 
 
 " That's th' way tew dew it, son," he declared. 
 " Reckon he won't want no more o' th' Conrad style 
 o' wrestlinY' and, with a coarse laugh, he glanced 
 to where Gideon lay. 
 
 But he had counted without considering the Clay 
 grit and pluck; for, as he spoke, Gideon jumped 
 to his feet, refusing the assistance of Silas and 
 Big Tom, who had hurried to his side, and turned 
 promptly to Big Ike. 
 
 " Shucks, the fall only knocked the breath out of 
 my body," he said; "and now that I do know the 
 style of Conrad wrestling I am ready for some 
 more of it right now. He won't catch me that way 
 again." 
 
 " Bully for you ! " and Big Tom, with a glance of 
 pride in his face, laid his hand on Gideon's shoul- 
 der. "Now, just keep your temper and your wits 
 and I'll bet on you yet." 
 
 "Third and last bout!" called Silas. "Ready, 
 yunks?" 
 
 Gideon's face was white and his lips were drawn 
 tightly together and there was a determined glint 
 in his eyes. Evidently he had made up his mind to 
 win that next bout. 
 
 The look of confidence had come back on the face
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 187 
 
 of Hank. He could not resist triumphant glances 
 around the circle. Indeed, his looks and actions 
 seemed to say : " Now watch me. See how easily 
 I'll take the conceit out of this young upstart from 
 Ohio." 
 
 Both boys nodded " yes " to the query of Silas. 
 
 " Go to it, then ! " he called. 
 
 With the quickness of a wildcat Gideon leaped 
 forward, and, the next instant, his strong young 
 arms, with his fists knotted together in the small of 
 the back, were again clasped around the bulky form 
 of his antagonist, whose overconfidence had been his 
 undoing and had allowed Gideon again to secure 
 his favorite hold. Before Hank could recover from 
 the impetuosity of the attack, he found himself, in 
 spite of his bulk and strength, lifted off his feet 
 and hurled backward and his shoulders and hips 
 pressed to the ground. 
 
 "Third and last fall! Won by Gideon Clay!" 
 shouted Silas, "which gives Gid two falls out o* 
 three an' makes him th' winner o' this here wrestlin' 
 match. Hurrah for Gid Clay!" and he jerked off 
 his coonskin cap and swung it around his head and 
 yelled his hurrahs at the top of his voice; and he 
 did not yell alone. 
 
 Hank picked up his coat and slunk back sullenly 
 among the crowd, muttering that he had not been 
 thrown fair. His was not the nature to accept 
 defeat gracefully, no matter how justly deserved. 
 
 Gideon quickly put on his coat, a satisfied smile 
 on his face, and turned to his father.
 
 1 88 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "Now, Dad, it's your turn," he grinned, as he 
 glanced to where Big Ike stood. 
 
 Big Ike saw the swift glance in his direction and 
 the grin accompanying Gideon's words, and the 
 scowl on his red face deepened. He could not hear 
 the words, but he understood their purport, for all 
 during the day there had been hints that he would 
 be called on to defend his claim that he was the 
 champion wrestler of northern Illinois. Instinc- 
 tively, he felt that Gideon's look and words and 
 grin were aimed at him and his championship 
 claims. For a moment he glared back at Gideon, 
 then throwing back his head and swelling out his 
 chest and proudly stiffening his huge frame, he 
 stepped into the opening still formed by the circle 
 of men about the spot where Gideon and Hank had 
 wrestled. 
 
 "I'm half buffler, half b'ar, touched with a leetle 
 tiger," he began, after the curiously boastful manner 
 of backwoods bullies of those days, as he flour- 
 ished his arms and pounded his chest; "shaggy 
 'bout th' neck as a bull, lively as a painter, strong 
 as a gorriller. I pull up trees by th' roots, push over 
 mount'ins, an* kin squeeze th' ribs o' an elephant 
 till they crack. I kin jump 'cross th' Mississippi, 
 pick my teeth with a flash o' lightnin', an' straddle 
 a hurricane like a hoss. I see red, drink blood, an' 
 kin throw my weight in live wildcats, with a couple 
 o' b'ar thrown in fer good measure. Now, if thar 
 be eny one here that wants his ribs cracked, his 
 bones broke, an' his body crushed till it feels as if
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 189 
 
 it had been runned over by a forty-ton roller, let 
 him step forth right now and here/' and he paused 
 and glared around the little circle of faces, ending 
 with a challenging glance in the direction of Big 
 Tom, who, during this remarkable rhapsody, had 
 stood with a broad grin on his face. 
 
 * 'T would be too bad for you to waste all of that 
 big talk," Big Tom said, his eyes twinkling, when 
 Big Ike ceased speaking; "and so, just to give you 
 a chance to show us how you crack ribs, break 
 bones, and crush bodies, I'll give you a little tussle, 
 so be it you are willing," and, taking off his coat 
 and rolling up his sleeves, he stepped into the ring 
 and confronted Big Ike. 
 
 Silas was again chosen referee. 
 
 Every man, woman, and child now crowded 
 around the two men, some of those in the rear stand- 
 ing upon chairs and tables, for a wrestling match 
 between two such champions as Big Tom Clay and 
 Big Ike Conrad would be a sight to be long talked 
 of around their humble hearths. 
 
 Both men were of huge proportions. Big Ike 
 was the taller, and the broader and bulkier of the 
 two, with massive shoulders and huge arms and 
 pillarlike legs, wrapped round with knots and bands 
 of iron muscles a veritable giant in size and 
 strength. But, as the keen eyes of Gideon had 
 noted, he looked heavy, his eyes were red and the 
 flesh under them puffed up, as if he ate and drank 
 too much. Big Tom, on the other hand, although 
 not so massively built, was all clean, hard muscle,
 
 i go The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 strung on a solidly boned and splendidly propor- 
 tioned frame. His eyes were clear and keen and 
 his face firm-skinned. He drank no liquor and 
 ate only to satisfy his hunger. Without question, 
 Big Ike had the strength and the bulk. It remained 
 to be seen if he had the skill, agility, and endur- 
 ance. These Big Tom had; it needed but a glance 
 into his clear eyes and at his lithe, muscular frame 
 to tell this. Man to man, they were a rare match; 
 it would be a contest of Titans. 
 
 The long arms of Silas promptly cleared ample 
 space around the two men. 
 
 " Catch-as-catch-kin, tew falls out o' three wins 
 th' match," he announced, after a moment's consul- 
 tation with the principals. " Git ready," and he 
 turned to Big Tom and Big Ike. 
 
 The two big men now stood facing each other, 
 a yard apart. 
 
 "Shake hands," commanded Silas. 
 
 The two hands gripped promptly. 
 
 " I'm goin' tew break yew in tew," muttered Big 
 Ike, an ugly look in his eyes, as he gave Big Tom's 
 hand a violent squeeze. 
 
 " Shore," grinned Big Tom, returning the 
 squeeze, " if I'll let you." 
 
 " Ready ! " warned Silas. 
 
 The two men crouched and fixed their eyes each 
 on the other. 
 
 "Go to it!" shouted Silas, springing back out 
 of the way of those two big bodies. 
 
 Big Tom, quicker on his feet, jumped at the word.
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 191 
 
 Big Ike, warily awaited his attack. 
 
 Then, for a few moments, the arms and the 
 bodies of the two men bent and twisted swiftly, 
 each striving to seize the other advantageously. 
 Suddenly Big Tom clinched, with his right arm 
 thrown around the bull-like neck. He gave a ter- 
 rible wrench and a violent shove against the bulky 
 body. 
 
 The muscles on Big Ike's neck stood out like 
 red-hot bolts of iron, his huge arms gripped them- 
 selves around the body of Big Tom, until the 
 straining muscles lay like knotted ropes; and then, 
 with a sudden hip and knee movement and an up- 
 ward thrust with his right arm, he broke the crush- 
 ing, choking hold around his neck, swung his right 
 foot behind the foot of Big Tom, and the two men 
 went to the ground, Big Ike on top; but, even as 
 he fell, Big Tom gave his body a swift, twisting 
 whirl and landed on his hands and knees, saved by 
 his wonderful agility. 
 
 Big Ike had the skill ! 
 
 For the next few minutes the evolutions and 
 the contortions of the two men were so swift that 
 no eye could follow them. Now one was on top, 
 now the other. 
 
 Suddenly no one could see how it was done 
 Big Tom's feet flew out from under him, and, 
 before he could recover himself, Big Ike had whirled 
 him over on his back and forced his shoulders and 
 hips to the ground. 
 
 " Fust fall ! " called Silas, jumping forward and
 
 1 92 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 laying his hands on the two men. "Won by Ike 
 Conrad. Git up an' git ready for th' second bout." 
 
 The two men arose slowly to their feet and eyed 
 each other with increased respect. Each had found 
 a foeman worthy of his muscle and skill. Both 
 were breathing heavily, but it was easy to see that 
 the violent exertions had told most on Big Ike. 
 
 Silas gave them a couple of minutes breathing 
 space. 
 
 "I'll git yew quicker next time," boasted Big 
 Ike, the moment he had recovered his breath suffi- 
 ciently to talk. " I know your tricks now." 
 
 "And dad knows yours," promptly retorted 
 Gideon, who had hurried to his father the moment 
 the bout was over. 
 
 "So I do," grinned Big Tom. "And, I reckon, 
 it's up to me to win the next bout. But you shore 
 are a powerful wrestler," and his eyes dwelt in 
 honest admiration on the huge frame of his antag- 
 onist. 
 
 " Time's up ! " called Silas. " Git ready." 
 
 " Now do your durndest, Dad. I know you can 
 throw him," and Gideon gave his father's hand a 
 quick squeeze and darted back to the edge of the 
 ring. 
 
 "Didn't I tell yew my dad could throw yewr 
 dad?" 
 
 Gideon turned quickly to find that he had chanced 
 to stop in the edge of the ring directly by the side 
 of Hank Conrad. 
 
 "Now jest watch him break yewr dad in tew,
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 193 
 
 same as I'd done yew, if my foot hadn't slipped/' 
 and the scowl on Hank's face deepened. 
 
 "Shucks, your foot didn't slip and dad'll " 
 
 At that moment Silas gave the word for the bout 
 to begin and Gideon, in his anxiety to see its begin- 
 ning, never finished that sentence. 
 
 The crowd around the two men were now almost 
 breathless with interest. Never before had they 
 witnessed two such powerful men so equally 
 matched in a wrestling contest. They did not yell. 
 Their excitement and interest were too great, their 
 eyes too intent in following every movement of 
 the men, to yell. And the struggle now taking place 
 was well worth their watching! 
 
 Big Tom, from the word go, had taken the offen- 
 sive, and never for an instant did he allow the 
 strenuous pace he had set to slacken. One moment 
 he would be down and the next instant Big Ike 
 would be putting forth all his strength and skill 
 to keep his shoulders and hips from touching the 
 ground. For ten minutes this furious struggle con- 
 tinued, without either man gaining any decisive 
 advantage. Then, suddenly, Big Tom got the hold 
 he wanted, a hold similar to what is known as the 
 half -Nelson. In vain Big Ike struggled, struggled 
 until the muscles and cords of his neck and back 
 showed beneath the hot skin like bands of hot iron. 
 He could not break the hold. The strength of Big 
 Tom was too great for that. He could not resist 
 the killing pressure on his back and neck, and, 
 slowly at first, then with a sudden flop that brought
 
 194 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 a grunt out of his body, his shoulders and hips 
 were forced to the ground. 
 
 " Second fall ! " shouted Silas, a jubilant note in 
 his voice. " Won by Big Tom Clay. Break away ! " 
 and, jumping to the still struggling men, he pulled 
 them apart. 
 
 "I knew you could do it, Dad! I knew you 
 could do it ! " Gideon, who had again run to his 
 father's side the moment the bout was over, caught 
 hold of one of Big Tom's hands and shook it 
 excitedly. 
 
 " I shore had to work to do it, son," panted Big 
 Tom, a happy grin on his face. " You are the most 
 powerful man I ever wrestled with," he said, gen- 
 erously, turning to Big Ike. " I feared I'd have 
 to break your neck afore I could get you to flop 
 
 over." 
 
 " An' I thought yew was a-goin' tew," responded 
 Big Ike, while an ugly look came into his eyes and 
 his face flushed angrily. Evidently he was no 
 better a loser than was his boy. "But thar's an- 
 uther bout comin' an' I'll show yew that tew kin 
 play at that game." 
 
 "You are welcome to, if you can," answered 
 Big Tom, his face hardening. "The hold was a 
 fair hold and if you can get it on me you won't 
 find me growling about it afterwards." 
 
 "I ain't growlin'," and the angry flush on Big 
 Ike's face deepened; "an' yew needn't insinerate 
 I be, or I'll " he doubled up a hamlike fist and 
 shook it. " I kin lick yew or eny uther man from
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 195 
 
 Ohier that ever wore boot leather th' best day yew 
 or he ever seed. I " 
 
 "Hold yewr temper, Ike," and the long arm of 
 Silas suddenly reached out and caught the threat- 
 ening fist; "an' save yewr wind. Now git ready 
 for th' last bout; and remember" a dangerous 
 glint came into his eyes "no eye-gougin', nor 
 kickin', nor buttin'. Git intew position ! " he com- 
 manded, sharply, as he noticed that Big Ike was 
 about to answer. " An' may th' best man win ! Go 
 to it! " He leaped out o the way of the two men, 
 who rushed each other the moment the word was 
 uttered, like two mad bulls. 
 
 Big Ike, as he jumped, suddenly bent his head. 
 
 "Look out!" yelled Gideon, who remembered 
 the trick Hank had played on him. 
 
 But his warning came too late, or was unheeded, 
 for already the bull-like neck was between Big 
 Tom's legs and the ironlike arms were gripped about 
 his knees and the great body was heaving upward, 
 with all the force that rage could give the muscular 
 back and arms. 
 
 Gideon uttered a cry of alarm as Big Tom shot 
 upward over the back of Big Ike, and the cry was 
 echoed by all standing near, for it did not seem 
 possible that so heavy a body could be thus hurled 
 through the air to the ground without serious hurt. 
 
 It was the same brutal trick that Hank had 
 played on Gideon, but, to the surprise of all, the 
 result was not the same. 
 
 Evidently the act of Hank had put Big Tom on
 
 196 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 his guard against a similar one on the part of Big 
 Ike, for, at the instant of the heaving of his body 
 upward, he clapped his legs tightly together around 
 the bull-like neck and under the red-whiskered chin, 
 with the result that the momentum of his body, his 
 legs catching and holding under the chin, jerked 
 Big Ike violently over backward and downward to 
 the ground, Big Tom falling forward on his hands, 
 his legs still about the neck of Big Ike. 
 
 So sudden, so unexpected was this result, that, 
 almost before the startled onlookers had caught 
 their breath, Big Tom had whirled about and had 
 pressed the shoulders and the hips of the half- 
 stunned Big Ike to the ground ; and the great wres- 
 tling match, a match that was talked of for a 
 generation, was over. 
 
 "Gosh, I never seed enythin' like that afore! 
 Yew old bull elephant ! " and Silas, the moment he 
 had announced his decision, gripped the hand of 
 Big Tom. 
 
 " I knew you'd win, Dad ! I knew you'd win ! " 
 and the delighted Gideon gripped the other hand 
 of his father, while all the others crowded around 
 to congratulate him and to tell him how astonished 
 they had been at the sudden and unexpected ending 
 of the match. 
 
 Big Ike rose slowly to his feet, an ugly scowl 
 on his red face, and, grumbling and growling some- 
 thing about its not being a fair fall, slunk off, fol- 
 lowed by Hank. A short time afterward he 
 gathered his family together and started for home,
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 197 
 
 notwithstanding the cordial urging of both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Clay for him to stay and " see the day out " 
 with them. 
 
 Running races and jumping and shooting matches 
 were now held, and, when it became dark enough, 
 some of the men tried their skill at "snuffing the 
 candle" with their rifle bullets at thirty paces. 
 
 Silas, to his chuckling delight, won at running, 
 jumping, and shooting, Big Tom ranking next. 
 Gideon proved to be the best shot and the fastest 
 runner among the boys, and Mrs. Clay won the 
 woman's shooting match, to the very evident satis- 
 faction of Gideon and Ruth. 
 
 As soon as it became dark the young men and 
 the boys built a huge camp fire, and all gathered 
 around it to talk over the exciting events of the day, 
 swap experiences, sing songs, tell stories, and have a 
 general good time. 
 
 Among the stories, Big Tom told of the coming, 
 the night of the big storm, of Brighteyes, the Indian 
 girl, with her little baby; and how the next day, 
 when her husband, Great Thunder, and Storm 
 Cloud came after her, they found out that she was 
 the daughter of Black Hawk himself. 
 
 "And," broke in Ruth, her eyes dancing with 
 excitement, "she gave me a little black hawk and 
 told me to wear it always around my neck, and that 
 no Indian would dare hurt me if I had it on, be- 
 cause it was the totem of her father, the great 
 chief, Black Hawk; and here it is," and she pulled 
 the little black stone, rudely carved into the sem-
 
 ig8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 blance of a hawk, out from under the bosom of 
 her dress and held it up where all could see. 
 
 "Let's have a look at it," and Old Man Kellogg 
 eagerly stretched out his hand and, taking the totem 
 from Ruth, examined it closely. 
 
 " It shore is Black Hawk's totem," he said. " I've 
 seen it afore. Indians have a powerful lot of faith 
 in their totems. Think they bring them good luck, 
 ward off dangers and such things. Besides they 
 sort of look upon them as sacred emblems of their 
 tribe or chief and consider all who wear them as 
 under their special protection and are ready to de- 
 fend them with their lives. Howsomever," and 
 his face sobered, " I hope you'll never be called on 
 to test its worth. Black Hawk and his Indians 
 have settled down for the summer, but they are 
 as touchy as a bear with the itch and there ain't no 
 telling when some fool white will do som'thing to 
 rile them again." 
 
 " Right," assented Abe Dixon, Big Tom's neigh- 
 bor, twenty miles to the north. " Black Hawk and 
 his Indians sure are some irritable and there's bound 
 to be trouble atween them and the whites afore 
 long, that only the tomahawk and the rifle can settle. 
 I heered the Hawk had vowed that he'd never be 
 driven out of his village at the mouth of the Rock 
 River, where he was born and where his ancestors 
 were buried, across the Mississippi, without a fight ; 
 and the whites are wanting that identickle village 
 right now and they are a-going to take it, Black 
 Hawk or no Black Hawk; and then," an anxious
 
 The Great Wrestling Match 199 
 
 look came on his face, "we settlers will have to 
 stand the brunt of the trouble. You sure are wise," 
 he said to Big Tom, " to make your house good and 
 strong, with plenty of loopholes for your rifles all 
 around it. But what's the use of looking for trouble 
 afore it comes? It shore will come plenty soon 
 enough. Now," and he turned to the women folks, 
 "you girls just give us another song and then we 
 must be going. Twill be after midnight now afore 
 we get home." 
 
 The song was sung, the men joining in on the 
 chorus, with the spirit and feeling possible only 
 under such circumstances, and then the merry com- 
 pany broke up, all declaring that never before had 
 they been to a house raising where they had had 
 such a good time ; and each, as he drove off, giving 
 Big Tom and family a warm invitation to come 
 and see them. 
 
 House-raising day had, indeed, been a great day 
 for Gideon and Ruth; and when at last, after all 
 the company had gone, they went to bed for their 
 last night's sleep in the old half- faced camp, they 
 were two very happy children, whose tired bodies 
 hardly touched their beds before their eyes closed 
 in sleep.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE COMING OF THE DEEP SNOW 
 
 'TpHERE was still considerable work to be done 
 * about the log house. The door had to be 
 made and hung, the window holes protected in 
 some manner that would not shut out the light 
 they had no glass the bedsteads moved from the 
 old half -faced camp and set up in the new house, 
 and other details of house building attended to. 
 Consequently the days immediately following the 
 house raising were unusually busy ones for Big 
 Tom Clay and his family. 
 
 Planks three inches thick were split and hewn 
 out of logs, and then doubled and tightly pinned 
 together with wooden pins, until they were one 
 solid piece, and sawed into shape for the door. The 
 door was hung on two huge iron hinges that Big 
 Tom had brought with him, and held shut by a 
 heavy wooden latch, fastened to the inside of the 
 door. A latchstring ran through a hole bored in 
 the planks just above the latch. One end of this 
 string was fastened to the latch ; the other end hung 
 a few inches outside the door. A pull on the string 
 outside lifted the latch inside and unlocked the door. 
 To lock the closed door all one had to do was to 
 pull in the latchstring. In addition to this, the 
 door was fitted with two stout wooden bars, run- 
 
 200
 
 The Coming of the Deep Snow 201 
 
 ning across its top and bottom and slipping into 
 heavy sockets fastened to the logs. This made the 
 door, when locked and barred, almost as strong and 
 unyielding as were the walls of the house themselves. 
 
 Heavy swinging wooden shutters were made for 
 the windows, to be closed in case of a violent storm 
 or an Indian attack; and strong paper was oiled 
 until it was semi-transparent and used in place of 
 glass for window panes. 
 
 The rudely made bed frames were taken out of 
 the half-faced camp and set up in the new house, 
 in the same manner they had been before, two of 
 them below and the other "upstairs" for Gideon 
 to sleep on. A hole cut through the floor alongside 
 one of the walls gave Gideon access to his bedroom. 
 There were no stairs, but strong and long wooden 
 pegs driven deep into holes bored into the solid log 
 walls of the house at the proper distances apart, 
 enabled him to climb up easily and pass through the 
 hole into his room. 
 
 Mrs. Clay made a small bedroom out of one of 
 the corners of the room by hanging blankets and 
 skins from a buckskin string, stretched from an 
 upright pole fastened to the floor and the ceiling, 
 and had her bed set up in there. 
 
 Holes were bored into the log walls and hanging- 
 pegs for clothes, cooking utensils, etc., were driven 
 into them. A narrow lounge was made along one 
 side of the room, in much the same manner the 
 beds had been constructed, and covered over with 
 bearskins and other furs. A number of shelves
 
 202 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 were fastened to the walls, and a long wooden 
 mantel was built over the fireplace. 
 
 Thus, in the course of a few weeks, with no 
 skilled help and only the rudest of tools, growing 
 trees of the forest had been transformed into a 
 comfortable and pleasant home a thing worthy 
 of your stopping a moment to consider, even in 
 this marvelous age of accomplishments. 
 
 The old half -faced camp was now turned into a 
 barn, where the horses and the cattle could be shel- 
 tered during the cold months of the winter, by 
 poling up the open side, all but a space large enough 
 for a doorway. 
 
 These busy days passed quickly, and, almost be- 
 fore it was realized, the summer months had gone 
 and fall was at hand. This was the harvesting 
 time. The wheat and the oats yielded abundantly, 
 and Big Tom declared that he had never before 
 seen such corn and potatoes as the rich, virgin soil 
 of the prairie had produced. 
 
 Big Tom dug an outdoor cellar in the side of a 
 little hill near the house and stored the potatoes 
 and other vegetables that freezing would harm in 
 its dark depths. The house was banked around its 
 bottom to the depth of three or four feet with 
 closely packed cornstalks and grass, to shut out, as 
 much as possible, the bitter cold of the long winter 
 months; and the barn was protected in the same 
 manner, and by placing a large stack of hay, that 
 had been cut for the horses and the cattle, against 
 one of its sides. A great pile of firewood, cut and
 
 The Coming of the Deep Snow 203 
 
 drawn from the near-by woods, stood near the door 
 of the house, in readiness to feed the big fireplace 
 within. 
 
 Thus everything was made snug and comfortable 
 for the cold and stormy months of the coming 
 winter, which, Silas had informed them, was cold 
 enough " tew freeze th' ha'r off a b'ar's back in these 
 parts." 
 
 During these busy summer and fall months Silas 
 had come and gone as fancy pleased, but the greater 
 part of his time had been spent at the log house of 
 his friends. They had little other company. Once 
 a passing emigrant, bound for the lead mines to 
 the north, had stopped over night with them; and 
 one Sunday Abe Dixon and his family had come 
 down to visit them. They had been too busy to go 
 anywhere themselves. Winter, when the snow lay 
 deep on the ground and there was little work to be 
 done, was the pioneer's visiting time ; and Big Tom, 
 in preparation for those days, had made a rude 
 sleigh, with bent tree trunks shaped into runners, 
 sufficiently large to carry them all. 
 
 The snow that winter came late. Not until early 
 in January did it fall in sufficient quantities to 
 make good sleighing; but, when it did come, it 
 was like a thick, almost impenetrable blanket of 
 whiteness that fell from the sky to the earth, and 
 hung there all one night, and all one day, and all 
 another night and day and night. 
 
 Gideon was the first one up on the morning after 
 the big snow-storm. As he dressed in his low, gar-
 
 204 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 retlike room he wondered a little at the dimness 
 of the light that came through the one small window 
 in each end of the house, for he felt certain that 
 it was past sunrise. He also wondered why he had 
 not heard his father and mother moving about 
 below and at the strange, gravelike stillness that 
 seemed to have settled down over everything in and 
 about the log house. Shivering a little with the 
 cold, he hurried into his clothes and climbed down 
 the pegs to the floor below. A dull glow from the 
 fireplace alone lighted the room. 
 
 "Is that you, Gid?" called his father, as he 
 stumbled against a chair in the semi-darkness. 
 
 "Yes," answered Gideon. "Why are you not 
 up ? It must be long after sunup." 
 
 " Reckon not, son. Leastwise there ain't no day- 
 light shining through the cracks in the shutters, 
 though it shore does seem like a powerful long 
 night. Just poke up the coals and throw on some 
 fresh wood, and then have a look out and see if 
 the storm is over. The wind certain must have 
 gone down. It's as still as the grave outside." 
 
 Gideon stirred the smoldering coals in the fire- 
 place until they glowed brightly and threw on top 
 of them a number of dry chunks of wood that lay 
 near-by. Then he went to the door and, unbarring 
 and unlatching it, drew it open. 
 
 In front of him, barring his way out, rose a solid, 
 impenetrable wall of white! 
 
 "Oh, Dad, Dad!" he called, and stood still, 
 staring at the white wall.
 
 The Coming of the Deep Snow 205 
 
 Big Tom bounded out of bed and hurried to his 
 side. 
 
 "Gosh!" he cried, as his eyes fell on the white 
 wall that barricaded the door, "if the house ain't 
 snowed under!" 
 
 " Good land ! " and Mrs. Clay, who had followed 
 close behind him, threw up both her hands. " What 
 on earth will we do now ? " 
 
 "Why, dig ourselves out, to be sure," laughed 
 Big Tom. "The snow is soft and Gideon and I 
 can shovel our way through it like a house afire. 
 Wonder how high up the snow goes," and, picking 
 up one of the brush brooms, he thrust its long 
 handle upward through the snow. " Pretty nigh 
 to the eaves," he declared, as he withdrew the handle 
 and glanced upward through the little round hole 
 that had been left in the slightly damp snow. 
 "Well, we shore must get busy with our shovels, 
 Gid, or there'll be some hungry and thirsty stock 
 in the barn afore we can dig our way to them," 
 and his face sobered. 
 
 Ten minutes later, Big Tom and Gideon, both 
 armed with strong wooden shovels, home-made 
 mittens on their hands, and their heads and necks 
 well protected, approached the snow-barricaded 
 door. 
 
 "First off we'll dig a hole up through the snow 
 alongside the house and you can climb up on the 
 roof and see what it looks like outside," declared 
 Big Tom, driving his shovel into the soft snow. 
 "Reckon we'll have to throw the snow into the
 
 206 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 house, until we can dig our way through, because 
 there ain't no other place to throw it," and, with a 
 laugh, he deposited his first shovelful of snow at 
 the feet of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 In a very short time the active arms of Gideon 
 and his father had dug a large hole up through the 
 snow alongside the house. Then Big Tom boosted 
 Gideon up through this hole and bade him climb on 
 top of the roof, and take a look around, and report 
 just what the situation was. 
 
 "The snow is banked clean up to the eaves all 
 around the house and, in some places, 'most up to 
 the top of the roof," Gideon reported, the moment 
 he reached the top of the roof and had looked 
 around. " But it don't look near so deep away 
 from the house. I can just see the top of the barn 
 sticking up about a foot above the snow." 
 
 "How's the weather?" called up Big Tom. 
 
 " Clear as a whistle," called back Gideon. " And 
 the sun is more than an hour's high. Say, but this 
 is a great sight ! The snow's as level as a floor, and 
 white and sparkling as new marble. But it's co-old, 
 terrible cold and windy up here." 
 
 "Well," laughed Big Tom, "slide down and get 
 to work and you will soon be warm enough." 
 
 Gideon " slid down," and he and his father went 
 to work on the snow with a will that soon had tun- 
 neled a way through the deep bank of snow piled 
 up against the house out to where it lay level on 
 the prairie. 
 
 "It's over five feet deep right out here on the
 
 The Coming of the Deep Snow 207 
 
 level ! " Big Tom declared, as he paused to measure, 
 with the handle of his shovel, the height of the side 
 of the snow canyon that their shovels had cut 
 through the white mass. "Now," and his eyes 
 glanced a bit uneasily toward the barn and over 
 the snow-covered surroundings, "we shore have 
 some digging to do, son. Wish Si was here to 
 help. His long arms and iron back would come 
 in powerful handy right now. But," and he grinned, 
 " reckon this snow'll cure his wilderness itch sudden 
 and bring him back fast as he can get here. 'Twon't 
 be none comfortable camping out in five feet of 
 snow. Howsomever, talking'll never dig a way to 
 the barn," and he drove his shovel deep into the 
 soft snow. 
 
 Silas, as the words of Big Tom suggested, had 
 left the little log house only a few days before, 
 driven forth by one of his periodical attacks of 
 wilderness itch, as he called them, and had expected 
 to be gone for a couple of weeks or more; but, as 
 Big Tom said, the deep snow would, probably, send 
 him hurrying back. 
 
 Indeed, Big Tom and Gideon had " some digging 
 to do"; but, by working hard all day, they suc- 
 ceeded in shoveling narrow paths to the barn, the 
 spring, the outdoor cellar, and the woodpile, and 
 in clearing away enough of the snow in front of 
 the house to enable them to open the shutters and 
 let in the daylight. 
 
 The weather, as it often does after a big snow- 
 storm, turned bitterly cold that day; but, fortu-
 
 2o8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 nately, they had an abundance of wood for fuel, 
 and, even more fortunately, the house and the out- 
 door cellar were well stored with food for them- 
 selves, while there were corn, oats, and hay for the 
 horses and the cattle in the barn. Consequently 
 they had nothing to fear from the deep snow, and, 
 snugly ensconced in the log house, with a great fire 
 roaring up the wide-mouthed chimney of the fire- 
 place, they could defy the cold. 
 
 On the second afternoon after the fall of the 
 deep snow, just as they were about to sit down to 
 the supper table, they heard a halloo coming from 
 over the wide expanse of snow outside. 
 
 " A coonskin against a rabbit's hide it's Si ! " Big 
 Tom cried, jumping to his feet and hurrying to 
 the door, followed by the others. 
 
 As he threw open the door and started out, Silas 
 Wegg tumbled, headlong and almost on top of him, 
 into the excavation made in the snow in front of 
 the house, and, getting upon his feet, staggered 
 blindly toward him. 
 
 "Great guns, Si! What has happened?" and 
 Big Tom leaped to his side and pulled him into 
 the house. 
 
 "Mercy on us!" and Mrs. Clay hurried to the 
 side of Silas, her startled eyes on his face. " What 
 has happened to your eyes ? " 
 
 " Snow-blinded, till I couldn't see a flock o' white 
 houses," Silas answered, covering both of his badly 
 swollen eyes with one of his hands. "Th' glare 
 of th' sun shining on th' white snow an' up intew
 
 The Coming of the Deep Snow 209 
 
 th' eyes is somethin' terrible. Thought I would 
 go stone-blind afore I could git here; an', if I'd 
 had anuther mile tew go, I sartin would. As it 
 was, I could jest git a squint through 'em every 
 now and then. Je-rusalem! but that was a snow- 
 storm! 'Most six feet on th' level! Never seed 
 th' like o' it here afore," and, kicking off his snow- 
 shoes, without which it would have been impos- 
 sible for him to have traveled over the deep snow, 
 he groped about for a chair. 
 
 Ruth quickly pushed a chair to his hand. 
 
 " Good land ! but I'm glad tew be in here, 'stead 
 o j out thar a-wanderin' round on that eternal white- 
 ness, stone-blind an' gittin' colder every moment 
 till I drapped. Wai, I shore am tuckered. Forty 
 mile since mornin' ! " and he sat down in the chair 
 near the fire. " Say, but I'm as hungry as a b'ar," 
 and he turned a face, twisted into a grin, toward 
 Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " Supper is all ready. We were just a-going to 
 set down to the table, when we heard your call. 
 But, afore you eat, you must let me bathe your 
 eyes. They are swollen something terrible," and 
 Mrs. Clay, bustling swiftly about, soon had a sooth- 
 ing lotion prepared, with which she bathed Silas's 
 inflamed eyes, every now and then audibly thanking 
 heaven that he had found their house before his 
 eyes gave out entirely. 
 
 And, indeed, Silas had had a fortunate escape, 
 for, if he had gone stone-blind out there alone on 
 that vast snow-covered prairie, with a bitterly cold
 
 210 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 night coming on, he certainly would have frozen to 
 death before morning. 
 
 The big snowstorm had found him encamped in 
 a little wood, some forty miles from the log house, 
 and he had remained there snug and warm in the 
 rude shelter that his woodcraft had enabled him to 
 build, until that morning, when, his larder running 
 low, he had started back for the log house on 
 snowshoes that he had cleverly fashioned out of 
 bent willow branches, tightly strung with deerskin 
 thongs cut from his hunting coat. 
 
 Forty miles on snowshoes in one day! No 
 wonder that Silas was tuckered ! The glare of the 
 sun on the white level of the snow had been more 
 than human eyes could stand, and by the middle 
 of the afternoon his eyes were so badly inflamed 
 that it was almost impossible for him to see out of 
 them ; and, for the last half hour, he had been forced 
 to pull the lids apart in order to see at all. 
 
 Yes, indeed, Silas had had a narrow escape from 
 a horrible death! It was nearly a week before he 
 fully recovered the use of his eyes, so badly had 
 they been inflamed by the glare of the sun reflected 
 up from the white snow.* 
 
 * In northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, the winter of 
 1830 and 1831 was long known as " The Winter of the Deep 
 Snow," when the snow is said to have fallen to the depth of 
 nearly six feet on the level. AUTHOR.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 BESIEGED BY WOLVES 
 
 'HpHE Big Snow Storm, unprecedented in its 
 * depth, even in that country of deep winter 
 snows, was followed by a long " spell "of bitterly 
 cold weather that lasted until late in February. Of 
 course, during this time, the Clays were confined to 
 the purlieus of the little log house, the deep snow 
 making the trail impassable to all heavy animals, 
 except to the man on snowshoes. Consequently 
 there was little visiting done back and forth be- 
 tween neighbors that winter. Nevertheless the 
 weeks passed quickly. 
 
 Almost every day Gideon and his father and 
 Silas would tie on their homemade snowshoes, 
 shoulder their rifles, and go gunning in the near-by 
 woods; and it was seldom they returned without a 
 wild turkey, a brace of partridges, or a couple of 
 rabbits, or other wild game to grace their larder. 
 Quail were so plentiful and so tame that they could 
 be killed with clubs. Deer, on account of the depth 
 of the snow, were difficult to find, but, when found, 
 were easily killed. Accordingly the larder was 
 always abundantly supplied with fresh meat; and 
 this, with cornmeal mush, milk from the cow that 
 had given birth to a calf that fall, hot johnnycake 
 and butter, pancakes, bread, potatoes, and the other 
 
 211
 
 212 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 edibles of their own raising, enabled them to fare, 
 so far as wholesomeness and savoryness went, far 
 better than many families of wealth in their homes 
 of luxury in the great cities. 
 
 Fortunately, all kept well. So far not one of 
 them had had even a day's sickness since coming 
 to their new home. The cold, pure air, the vigor- 
 ous outdoor life, and the wholesome food kept the 
 machinery of their bodies in the best of working 
 order and enabled it to defy disease. But not all 
 of their neighbors were as fortunate. Abe Dixon 
 lost his wife, and the two youngest children of Big 
 Ike Conrad died during the Deep Snow, so they 
 learned afterward. 
 
 Sickness, and possible death, and burial of a loved 
 one under these circumstances of isolation, away 
 from all neighborly sympathy, or help, or doctor's 
 care, were terrible, but had to be faced and endured 
 as best they could be, by the lonely pioneers; and, 
 usually, to their credit be it said, they were faced 
 bravely and endured with Spartanlike fortitude. 
 
 The wolves, during the continuance of the deep 
 snow, were exceedingly troublesome and threaten- 
 ing. As soon as a hard crust, strong enough to 
 bear their weight, had formed on top of the snow, 
 they swept over the prairie and through the woods 
 in great packs, ravenous with hunger and ready to 
 chase and pull down and devour man or beast so 
 unfortunate as to fall into their power. Their 
 numbers gave them courage and their hunger made 
 them desperate.
 
 Besieged by Wolves 213 
 
 There were two kinds of wolves, the large, fierce 
 timber wolf and the smaller and more cowardly 
 prairie wolf; but, when crazed with hunger and 
 hunting in large packs, both kinds were dangerous 
 enough. During the night their howlings could be 
 heard almost continuously, and, frequently, the soft 
 patter, patter of their padded feet on the snow out- 
 side, as they hungrily circled the house, sounded 
 in the ears of Gideon and Ruth as they lay safe 
 and warm in their beds. Once, while the men folks 
 were away in the woods on a hunt, Mrs. Clay shot 
 a big gray timber wolf that was prowling about 
 the barn in broad daylight, and the very next day 
 she killed another within a dozen rods of the door 
 of the house. 
 
 The great bank of snow that had piled up against 
 one end of the house to within two feet of the sill 
 of the little window in Gideon's attic room had 
 been left undisturbed by their shovels. This win- 
 dow had no wooden shutter and was protected only 
 by oiled paper. 
 
 One night, as Gideon lay in his bed drowsily 
 listening to the howlings of the wolves outside, he 
 was startled to hear the paper that covered this 
 window suddenly crack and the next instant to see 
 the sharp nose and the glowing eyes, followed by 
 the hairy head of a big timber wolf, poked in 
 through the opening. For an instant he lay, too 
 startled and horrified to move, watching the wolf 
 struggling to squeeze his body through the narrow 
 opening. Then, with a thrill of satisfaction, he
 
 214 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 remembered that two feet above his head, on pins 
 driven into holes bored into the logs of the house, 
 lay his loaded rifle, and all dread of the wolf left 
 him. Cautiously raising himself up in his bed, he 
 seized the gun and shot the wolf dead. 
 
 The body lay half in and half out of the window 
 all night, effectually blocking the opening to any 
 of his venturous companions; and the next day, you 
 may be sure, Big Tom and Gideon fastened strong 
 wooden bars across the two attic windows, so close 
 together that no wolf could possibly thrust his head 
 in between them. 
 
 Big Tom, at the approach of winter, had made a 
 strong door for the barn and had strengthened every 
 weak part of the building; and it was fortunate 
 that he had done this, for scarcely a night passed 
 that a dozen or more hungry wolves did not attempt 
 to break into the barn in their efforts to get at the 
 stock within. The barn could be plainly seen from 
 the house and, on bright moonlit nights, Big Tom 
 and Silas and Gideon took turns throughout the 
 night, watching the barn and shooting the wolves; 
 and, presently, there started a lively rivalry between 
 the three to see who could kill the most wolves 
 while on the watch. Gideon, to his unbounded de- 
 light, won, with a score for the winter of twenty- 
 nine timber and seventeen prairie wolves. 
 
 But their most exciting experience with the 
 wolves was one night late in February, only a few 
 days before the coming of the big thaw that rapidly 
 melted the snow away, when a great pack of half-
 
 Besieged by Wolves 215 
 
 famished timber wolves actually besieged and at- 
 tempted to carry by storm the little log house and 
 the barn. 
 
 Gideon was on watch that night from nine o'clock 
 until twelve. A half -moon hung in the sky, dimly 
 lighting the surrounding expanse of snow. Up to 
 eleven o'clock he had not seen a sign of a wolf, but 
 he had heard them howling in the distance. A few 
 minutes after eleven he heard a loud, prolonged 
 howl, sounding as if the lone wolf that uttered it 
 could not be over a dozen rods from the house. 
 Gideon was sufficiently well versed in the ways of 
 the wolf to know that this was a signal howl from 
 one of the wolf scouts, sent out from the main 
 pack in search of prey; and he listened intently for 
 the answering howls. He did not have long to 
 wait. Almost before the last quaver had died in 
 the air, it was taken up by another and more distant 
 wolf, then by another, still more distant, ending 
 finally in a chorus of howlings so far away that 
 Gideon could hear them but faintly. 
 
 He hurried quickly to a loophole in the side of 
 the house whence the howlings came and looked 
 through the opening, his rifle ready in his hand. 
 At first he could see nothing but the white expanse 
 of the snow, stretching as far as his eyes could 
 reach. Then, as he scrutinized the surface more 
 carefully, he distinguished, faintly outlined in the 
 distance, the gaunt, shadowy form of a wolf, sitting 
 up on his haunches on the white snow. A moment 
 later the lone wolf gave voice to another signal
 
 216 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 howl, which was almost instantly answered by an- 
 other, and another, and finally by the chorus of 
 howlings, this time sounding nearer and louder to 
 the ears of the waiting boy. Possibly two minutes 
 passed; then the lone wolf was joined by two other 
 wolves, and the three sat on their haunches on the 
 snow, waiting in the dim moonlight waiting for 
 what? 
 
 In three minutes Gideon knew. First a long line 
 of shadowy forms appeared, coming swiftly and 
 silently over the snow. A moment later the shad- 
 owy line took shape and the startled eyes of the 
 boy saw a great pack of big, gaunt wolves sweeping 
 swiftly, but still silently, down upon the lonely little 
 log house. Now he could hear the soft fur-muffled 
 patter, patter of their feet on the hard crust of the 
 snow, sounding weirdly through the silence of the 
 dim moonlit night. On they came, stretching out 
 in a ragged line a dozen rods wide and many wolves 
 deep, on until they reached and swept in among 
 their number the three watchers on the snow, and 
 still on toward the little log house, making no sound 
 save the patter, patter of their many feet on the 
 crust of frozen snow, a strange, almost uncanny 
 sight to the watching boy. 
 
 Gideon stood motionless, almost breathless, hardly 
 believing his own eyes, so weirdly and silently had 
 the great pack glided over the white snow from out 
 the mystery of the dark night, until the leaders were 
 within a half-dozen rods of the house; then, with 
 a startled exclamation, he thrust the barrel of his
 
 Besieged by Wolves 217 
 
 rifle through the loophole, took quick aim at the 
 nearest wolf, and fired. 
 
 "Dad! Si!" he shouted, in great excitement, 
 whirling about from the loophole and starting to 
 reload his rifle. "Out with you quick! All the 
 wolves in creation are a-rushing down on us! 
 Hurry ! Out with you ! " 
 
 "What? Indians!" and Big Tom, awakened 
 out of a sound sleep by the report of the rifle and 
 the shouts of Gideon, leaped out of bed, sprang for 
 his rifle, and jumped to a loophole, and, not two 
 steps behind him, came Silas, rifle in hand. 
 
 "Great guns! if 'tain't wolves, slathers and 
 slathers of them!" and Big Tom stared through 
 the loophole. 
 
 "Better a million wolves than a dozen red 
 devils ! " declared Silas, as he stepped to a loophole 
 by the side of Big Tom and looked out. "Gee- 
 willikins, if 'tain't a reg'ler convention o' teeth an' 
 tails! Wai, let's open th' ball for 'em," and he 
 thrust his rifle out through the loophole and fired at 
 a wolf not more than a dozen feet from the muzzle 
 of his gun. 
 
 At the same moment Big Tom and Gideon fired. 
 At the first yelp of the wounded wolves, bedlam 
 broke loose; for, before the smoke had cleared away 
 from the muzzles of their guns, every wolf within 
 reach had leaped, snapping and snarling and fight- 
 ing, upon their stricken comrades, and all that 
 Gideon and the two men could see for a time was 
 a whirling gray mass of bodies and tails and flashing
 
 218 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 white teeth. In three minutes nothing was left of 
 the three wolves but their bones. 
 
 By this time the half-famished beasts were racing 
 wildly around the house, jumping up against its 
 sides, scratching furiously at the heavy door, and 
 howling and whining and yelping, until it sounded 
 as if all the imps of pandemonium were holding 
 mad revel outside. But the heavy logs and the 
 thick door and the closed shutters defied the utmost 
 they could do with teeth and nails. 
 
 Again and again the three rifles were emptied 
 into the howling mass outside, but with no apparent 
 effect, except to increase the yelping and the 
 snarling at each shot, as the wounded wolves were 
 pounced upon and devoured by their hunger-crazed 
 companions. 
 
 "Gosh a'mighty!" and Big Tom whirled about 
 suddenly and jumped across the room. "If we 
 ain't forgetting the barn! If they break into that, 
 they'll kill ever last critter in it. We must try to 
 keep them off the roof. That's the weakest spot. 
 Let them scratch and bite and howl around the 
 house all they want to, they can't break in; but the 
 barn Quick, Si, Gideon! There's half a dozen 
 on the roof now, a-tearing at it like mad ! " and he 
 thrust his rifle through a loophole and fired. 
 
 Gideon and Silas each sprang to a loophole by 
 his side, and, in a few minutes, their rifles had 
 cleared the roof. 
 
 Fortunately the roof was so high that only the 
 unusually strong and agile wolves could reach it
 
 Besieged by Wolves 219 
 
 by springing; but, unfortunately, the light was so 
 poor that at that distance its defenders could not 
 be sure of their aim; and, in spite of their utmost 
 efforts and the help of Mrs. Clay, who had seized 
 her rifle and was now shooting with them, a hole 
 was torn through the roof and a big wolf was seen 
 to drop down through it before a rifle bullet could 
 reach him. Even above the horrible din of the 
 yelping animals they heard the bellows of the fear- 
 crazed oxen and the scream of a horse. 
 
 "Reckon the critters can attend to that one," 
 Big Tom said, grimly. "But we must not let an- 
 other wolf get into that hole. Keep cool. Don't 
 all fire at once. Take turns. We're wasting too 
 much powder." 
 
 From now on they managed to keep the roof 
 cleared. Indeed, in a short time the wolves seemed 
 to take warning from the fate of their comrades 
 and only a few even attempted to reach the roof of 
 the barn, and those that succeeded were quickly shot. 
 
 Suddenly Ruth, who sat in the middle of the 
 floor, the baby held tightly in her arms, uttered a 
 dreadful yell and pointed upward to the narrow 
 hole in the thick floor of the ceiling, through which 
 Gideon climbed to his room above, where the gleam- 
 ing eyes of a huge wolf were glaring down upon 
 them. 
 
 Somehow the wolves had managed to reach the 
 roof of the log house and had broken through it, 
 unheard and unnoticed in the din and excitement. 
 
 Almost as one rifle sounded the reports of the
 
 220 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 four guns, so suddenly did all whirl and fire at this 
 imminent peril, and the body of the wolf tumbled 
 through the hole and lay dead on the floor. 
 
 "No danger!" Big Tom shouted. "They can't 
 break through the thick floor and I can 'tend to 
 all that try to get down through the hole. Just 
 keep your eyes on the barn," and, dropping his 
 rifle, he shoved a heavy bench under the hole, seized 
 an ax, leaped upon the bench and stood ready to 
 strike the first wolf head that appeared. 
 
 They could now hear on the floor above their 
 heads the thud of the bodies of other wolves, as 
 they dropped through the hole in the roof, and the 
 soft patter, patter of their feet as they ran about 
 the room. But only a few of the strongest and 
 most agile of the wolves were able to reach the roof 
 at all; and Big Tom, as he had promised, had no 
 trouble in taking care of these whenever one ven- 
 tured to thrust a head down through the hole. 
 
 " Save your powder. Only shoot when it is nec- 
 essary to keep them from getting into the barn. 
 We've got them now where they can hurt nothing," 
 Big Tom called from his station on the bench, and 
 the next moment swung his ax at the head of a 
 venturesome wolf. The body dropped dead to the 
 floor below. 
 
 This was the last wolf killed that night. There 
 seemed to be no more wolves able to reach the roof 
 of either the barn or the house. They could hear 
 the patter of feet on the boards over their heads 
 and knew that there must be a couple of wolves left
 
 Besieged by Wolves 221 
 
 in the room above, but they did not venture down 
 within reach of Big Tom's ax. Evidently, from 
 their uneasy running about the room and their 
 frightened whinings, they were even more anxious 
 to get out than they had been to get in; but could 
 not, the hole in the roof, through which they had 
 entered, being so situated that they could not get 
 out through it. 
 
 All the remainder of the night the defenders 
 stood guard, but at the first rays of the morning 
 sun, at some concerted signal, the great pack gath- 
 ered itself together and swept swiftly off across the 
 snow, leaving behind them many little piles of 
 bones and the two prisoners up in Gideon's room. 
 
 As soon as it became light enough to see clearly, 
 Gideon, rifle in hand and with Big Tom standing 
 on the bench near him ready to hand him another 
 rifle, climbed up the pegs and, thrusting his head 
 and shoulders through the hole, quickly shot the 
 two cowed wolves that, at first sight of him, had 
 slunk away in deadly fear to the farthest corner 
 of the room. 
 
 When the two wolves had been killed, Big Tom 
 and Silas and Gideon hurried to the barn. Inside 
 they found the carcass of a wolf, trampled and 
 kicked and gored until there was not a whole bone 
 in the body. There was not a mark of teeth or 
 claws on any of the animals, except a long scratch 
 on the back of one of the horses. Evidently the 
 wolf, in jumping through the hole, had landed on 
 the back of this horse, had been quickly thrown
 
 222 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 off and almost instantly trampled on, or kicked, 
 and killed. 
 
 " Well, no special harm has been done," Big Tom 
 said, after all the animals in the barn had been 
 examined and found safe and sound; "but it shore 
 was some exciting while it lasted. Now," and he 
 turned to Mrs. Clay, who had hurried out to the 
 barn after the men, "just get back into the house 
 and see how quickly you can get us something to 
 eat. I'm almost starved." 
 
 " Right-o," grinned Silas. " I shore am as 
 hungry as a b wolf, I mean," and the grin 
 broadened. 
 
 Gideon and Ruth never forgot that night of 
 terror, and long years afterward, when a thriving 
 little city stood on the site of the log house and 
 the pioneer farm, their grandchildren never tired 
 of hearing them tell of that long-ago night, during 
 the Winter of the Deep Snow, when the great pack 
 of famished wolves attacked their home. 
 
 Now, to the present generation living in this 
 peaceful and favored region, it seems almost 
 impossible that such a thing could have occurred 
 less than a hundred years ago, so swiftly has the 
 wilderness been transformed into the prosperous 
 farms and populous cities of today.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE HAWK THREATENS TO STRIKE 
 
 HE last week in February the weather suddenly 
 moderated and the snow melted away so 
 rapidly that by the beginning of March it had 
 nearly all gone and there was the first feel of 
 spring in the air. The warm weather continued, 
 with now and then a sharp rally by the retreating 
 forces of winter, all through March; and by the 
 first of April all the frost was out of the ground 
 and the warm, balmy air and the invigorating 
 sunshine of spring had come, vivifying all nature. 
 
 Never before had there been such a spring for 
 Gideon and Ruth. They lived outdoors, and each 
 day they discovered some new beauty in blossoming 
 flower or singing bird or growing shrub. 
 
 And never before had there been such a spring 
 for Mr. and Mrs. Clay. All about them were 
 blossoming the beauties of nature, as God made 
 them, unchanged by the hand of man. But most 
 of all, they joyed in their home-building. Each day 
 the little log house and its surroundings grew more 
 homelike, dearer, more beautiful to their eyes; and 
 often as the two stood together and looked out 
 over the quiet, peaceful surrounding prairie, beau- 
 tiful with the blooms of spring, at the long line of 
 the forest, now a living wall of green, and thought 
 
 223
 
 224 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 of the richness of the glorious promise all this held 
 for them and theirs, of the home to be, when the 
 hardships and the dangers of pioneer days had 
 gone, when they could live in contented peace and 
 plenty, surrounded by their happy, prosperous chil- 
 dren, their eyes would fill with tears tears that 
 tell of joys too deep for tongue to utter and they 
 would turn and clasp hands tightly and stand for 
 minutes, each looking into the face of the other, 
 without uttering a word. 
 
 Ah, who would not dare much, endure much, to 
 be the makers of such dreams come true! 
 
 Silas, with the coming of spring, had again left 
 the little log house, the wilderness itch once more 
 in his blood. Big Tom and Gideon were happily 
 busy with the spring work, making ready the ground 
 for planting and sowing. Ruth, the baby in her 
 arms, lived outdoors, sometimes with her father 
 and Gideon in the field, sometimes wandering joy- 
 ously over the near-by flower-covered prairie, 
 picking the glorious blooms and resting, when 
 weary, fairylike, on the fragrant couches of flowers 
 and grass that everywhere invited her to repose. 
 Mrs. Clay sang at her work about the house; for 
 all that she did was being done for those that she 
 loved best; and what greater happiness can come 
 to woman than this? Indeed, the hardships, the 
 dangers, the loneliness of pioneer life had their 
 compensations ! 
 
 With the spring came that wondrous migration 
 of the passenger pigeon, when the skies themselves
 
 The Hawk Threatens to Strike 225 
 
 were frequently darkened by the vast flocks of these 
 birds, flying northward to their summer feeding 
 and nesting places, to return in the autumn in equally 
 vast flocks, to their winter rendezvous in the south. 
 Now the Audubon societies of America are vainly 
 offering five thousand dollars for a single living 
 pair, male and female, of these birds, so greedily, 
 so ruthlessly, so thoughtlessly has the hand of 
 civilized man wrought against this timid, gentle 
 creature. 
 
 Big Tom had an old large-bore shot gun; and 
 during the migratory period of these birds all that 
 Gideon had to do to get an abundance of flesh food 
 for the day was to load this gun with fine shot each 
 morning, step outside the door of the little log 
 house, wait until a flock of pigeons, flying low, 
 passed over, and fire up into it, almost without aim. 
 Usually one shot would bring down enough birds 
 to supply the larder for the day; and, to the credit 
 of Big Tom and Gideon be it said, they never 
 killed harmless wild game for the mere pleasure 
 of killing. That brutal sport belongs to a later and, 
 possibly, a more civilized day. 
 
 Then there were great flocks of wild geese and 
 ducks passing north and now and then stopping to 
 feed or rest in neighboring ponds or streams or 
 fields. They could be had in abundance for the 
 killing; but the pigeons furnished a more savory 
 and tender meat and the geese and ducks were 
 allowed to pass unharmed as long as a supply of 
 the more appetizing birds could be had.
 
 226 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 All the year through, deer, wild turkeys, prairie 
 chickens, partridges, quail and other game birds 
 could be found with little hunting, and were easily 
 killed. Indeed, it was a glorious day for the hunter, 
 the day of the pioneer; and fortunate for the 
 pioneers that it was, for many of their larders would 
 have been frequently empty had it not been for the 
 wild game with which they could so easily fill them. 
 
 Thus the busy April days passed peacefully and 
 swiftly, without a single interruption from the world 
 outside. So far as seeing other human beings went, 
 they might have been in the world alone, for not a 
 fellow mortal, white or red, had come to their door 
 from the great world beyond their little wilderness 
 home. But this peaceful isolation, this modern 
 Eden, did not, could not, last. 
 
 One evening, about the middle of May, while 
 they were seated at the supper table, the door wide 
 open, they heard. a step outside and the next moment 
 the tall form of Silas Wegg glided into the room. 
 
 "Glory be, but I'm jest in time!" were his first 
 words, as his eyes rested on the table. "Wai, I 
 shore am as hungry as a b'ar ! " 
 
 "You old race horse!" and Big Tom jumped to 
 his feet and gripped the hand of the old hunter. 
 " You're a sight to make sore eyes well ! " and he 
 shook the hand warmly, while Mrs. Clay grabbed 
 hold of the other hand and gave him an equally 
 hearty welcome, and Gideon and Ruth shouted their 
 joyous greetings and tried to get hold of him. 
 
 "Now, what is the news?" Big Tom continued,
 
 The Hawk Threatens to Strike 227 
 
 the moment the hand-shaking was over. " Haven't 
 seen a soul since you left. All the kingdoms of 
 the world might have been blowed off the face of 
 the earth for all I know! Set right down and tell 
 us the news, Si." 
 
 " Yes, do," urged Mrs. Clay. " I'm just dying to 
 know the latest Paris fashions," and she smiled. 
 
 " No, yew don't, yew inhospitable critters ! " and 
 Silas shook them both off, grabbed up a chair and, 
 seating himself at the table, seized a knife and fork 
 and began cutting huge slices off the venison roast 
 that stood on the big pewter platter near the center 
 of the table. " I told yew I was hungry as a b'ar," 
 and he began loading a plate with slices of meat 
 and potatoes, "an' here yew be a-wantin' me tew 
 put off th' eatin' an' tell yew th' news an' show yew 
 th' latest wrinkles in wimen's gowns! I shore am 
 plumb ashamed o' yew, tew be obliged tew teach 
 yew good manners in this here way," and he started 
 shoveling the meat and the potatoes into his mouth ; 
 and not another word could the laughing and pro- 
 testing man and woman get out of him until he 
 had satisfied his hunger and pushed himself back 
 from the table. 
 
 " Mother o' men ! " and Silas clasped both hands 
 over his well-filled stomach and stretched out his 
 long legs comfortably, "but it is good tew eat 
 wimen's cookin' ag'in, 'specially yewrn," and his 
 eyes turned to Mrs. Clay. 
 
 " Sometimes I think you must be mostly stomach 
 inside, Si," laughed Big Tom. " But now that that
 
 228 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 important department of your body politic has been 
 attended to, supposing you give us the news. And 
 first tell us about Black Hawk and his Indians. 
 I've been some anxious to know about what's been 
 going on down at the Indian village, spring being 
 the time trouble appears to be most apt to break 
 out down there. Anything gone wrong this spring, 
 Si?" 
 
 " Yes," and the old hunter's face clouded. " That's 
 why I'm here," and he straightened up in his chair. 
 
 "What's the trouble now?" Big Tom's eyes 
 fixed themselves anxiously on the face of Silas, 
 while the smiles faded from the faces of Mrs. Clay 
 and Ruth, and Gideon started and moved his chair 
 up nearer to Silas. 
 
 "Wai, if I have th' rights o' it," began Silas, 
 " it's mostly th' old trouble still sizzlin', aggervated 
 by th' government's failure tew furnish th' Injuns 
 with th' promised supplies, th' Injuns bein' powerful 
 hard up for food, seem' that th' hard winter an' th' 
 deep snow prevented 'em from dewin' as well as 
 usual on their winter hunt. Then, tew, th' whites 
 are try in' ag'in tew force th' Injuns tew cross th' 
 Mississippi, so that they kin take possession o' th' 
 fertile land around their old village at th' mouth 
 o' Rock River, accordin' tew treaty, th' whites say. 
 But Black Hawk says th' treaty ain't bindin', 'cause 
 th' Injuns that signed th' treaty had no power tew 
 sign it; an' he's vowin' ag'in that he'll fight afore 
 he'll be driven 'cross th' Mississippi; an' his bucks 
 are gittin' uglier an' more threatenin' every day.
 
 The Hawk Threatens to Strike 229 
 
 Th' settlers all round here are gittin' powerful 
 uneasy; an' some on 'em are leavin' th' country, an' 
 others, so I've heered, have sent a petition tew 
 Governor Reynolds, askin' him tew send troops 
 tew drive Black Hawk an' his bucks 'cross th' 
 Mississippi. When I heered that, I thought it was 
 time tew let yew know 'bout what was goin' on, 
 so as tew put yew on yewr guard; for, I reckon, 
 when Black Hawk learns that troops have been sent 
 for tew drive him 'cross th' river, as he soon will, 
 thar's bound tew be a rumpus. I thought yew otter 
 know 'bout this, Tom, an' so I'm here." 
 
 "Right, Si; and I'm much obliged to you," Big 
 Tom answered, his face showing the deep concern 
 that he felt. " But, if I understand you, there has 
 been nothing but threats so far, same as there was 
 last year, no actual hostile acts." 
 
 "Not as I knows on, or I wouldn't be a-settin' 
 here calmly talkin' tew yew; but I'm countin' on 
 somethin' hosteel happenin' sudden, as soon as 
 Black Hawk discovers that troops have been sent 
 for tew drive him 'cross th' Mississippi; an' when 
 it does happen, yew want to be ready to act sudden. 
 This," and Silas glanced around the little log house, 
 " won't be no safe place for wimen folks an' yunks." 
 
 "I know," Big Tom answered slowly. "I've 
 heard that the settlers have built a strong fort on 
 Apple River; and I've been planning to take the 
 wife and the children there the moment the danger 
 becomes real. God knows I do not want to run 
 any unnecessary risks when their lives are at stake ;
 
 230 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 but I can't desert this, the house and the crops and 
 everything, just because the Indians are threatening. 
 They threatened last spring, and nothing came of 
 it. The trouble, in the past, has always been 
 straightened out in time to avert bloodshed. But 
 you know the situation better than I do, Si. Now, 
 what would you advise me to do? I'll do just as 
 you say, Si. If you think the danger is real this 
 time and that there is no time to waste, we'll start 
 for Apple River Fort this very night ; but I certain 
 hate like sin to leave all this," and Big Tom arose 
 and strode to the door and stared out gloomily into 
 the gathering shadows of the early evening. 
 
 Mrs. Clay was quickly by his side, her hand on 
 his shoulder. 
 
 " It is only threats so far, Tom," she said ; " and 
 surely you won't desert your home because of Indian 
 threats. I'll be ready to go the moment the danger 
 is real; but," she turned to Silas, "it ain't real 
 enough for that yet, is it, Si ? " 
 
 " I dunno, I dunno," and the old hunter shook his 
 head. "Injuns are as unsartain as fleas. Yew 
 think yew've got 'em, but yew ain't. They might 
 go on th' warpath eny moment; an', ag'in, they 
 might not go right now; but it's bound tew come 
 sooner or later; an' yew sartin otter tew be ready 
 tew move sudden when it does come. Now, jest 
 let me think a spell. Nuthin' was ever spiled by 
 thinkin'," and his brow wrinkled and he stared 
 down at his moccasined feet, as if they might be 
 the source of some mysterious inspiration.
 
 The Hawk Threatens to Strike 231 
 
 Big Tom and Mrs. Clay stood at the door, their 
 hands clasped tightly together and their anxious 
 eyes fixed on the face of the old hunter. Ruth had 
 hurried to her mother and now stood close by her 
 side, one hand tightly clutching her dress. Gideon 
 sat still in his chair, his eyes on the face of Silas. 
 No one spoke or hardly moved. Their home, their 
 very lives might depend on the wisdom of the 
 words of the old hunter. 
 
 After, possibly, two minutes of steadfast gazing 
 at his feet, Silas lifted his eyes. 
 
 "I reckon," he said, speaking slowly, "that that 
 plan o' yourn tew start for Apple Fort th' moment 
 things begin tew look real dangerous is 'bout right. 
 Now, this is th' way I've figgered out th' present 
 situation. Th' Injuns may or they may not go on 
 th' warpath right now ; but yew want tew be ready 
 no matter which way th' cat jumps. So, if I was 
 yew, I'd put sech things as I wanted most tew take 
 with me in one of th' wagins an' keep th' tew hosses 
 always harnessed an' tied near th' wagin, so as 
 tew be ready tew jump right in an' be off at a 
 moment's notice; an' durin' th' day I'd keep a sharp 
 lookout, an' at night I'd stand guard. Now, that's 
 what I'd dew, if I was yew, pervided I wanted tew 
 stand by th' home as long as possible, same as yew 
 dew," and Silas paused. 
 
 "We'll do it, Si," Big Tom declared. "We'll 
 do it this very night." 
 
 "Good," and Silas straightened up his long 
 frame and came and stood by the side of Mr. and
 
 232 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Mrs. Clay. "'Twill be some risky, but I reckon 
 I'd chance it, Tom, if I stood in yewr boots, 
 'specially with sech a wimen tew back me up," and 
 his eyes turned in honest admiration to Mrs. Clay. 
 " Now, I'll start right back early in th' mornin'." 
 he continued, " an' keep an eye on Black Hawk an' 
 his bucks, an' th' fust hosteel move they make, I'll 
 light out for here, as fast as th' good Lord'll let 
 my legs go; an' if eny Injuns kin git here afore I 
 dew, they'll shore have tew fly." 
 
 " You old war horse ! " and Big Tom turned and 
 clapped Silas heartily on the shoulder. " You shore 
 have lifted a big load off my back. Now we can 
 stay and feel about as safe as humans can feel 
 under such ticklish circumstances, knowing that 
 we've got you to warn us if trouble starts our way." 
 
 " But be on yewr guard all th' time jest th' same," 
 admonished Silas. "Don't fergit for a minit that 
 it's Injuns that yew are a-dealin' with, led by 'bout 
 th' smartest an' th' cunnin'est chief that ever wore 
 moccasins. Asides, somethin' might happen tew 
 me, so I couldn't git here; but I'll shorely come if 
 thar's real danger, 'long's I have a leg under me tew 
 come on." 
 
 " I know you will, Si," Big Tom answered, grip- 
 ping his hand and holding it tightly. "And the 
 good God knows that we are obliged to you. Now," 
 and his lips came together, " we'll get the wagon 
 and the horses ready and then we'll go right to bed, 
 all but the guard." 
 
 For nearly an hour all were busy. The wagon
 
 The Hawk Threatens to Strike 233 
 
 was pulled up to within a few feet of the door, the 
 horses were harnessed and staked out within a few 
 feet of the wagon; and their most precious pos- 
 sessions and such things as they would need most, 
 if they were suddenly called on to abandon their 
 home, were stowed away in the wagon. But they 
 were very careful not to overload the wagon. Their 
 lives might depend on the speed of their horses, and 
 it would not do to hamper that speed with a heavy 
 load. 
 
 When the wagon had been loaded to the satis- 
 faction of all, Big Tom insisted that the lights 
 should all be put out and that all should go to bed 
 at once, except Gideon, who was to stand guard for 
 the first four hours of the night. Then he was to 
 awaken Big Tom, who would stand guard for the 
 remainder of the night. Big Tom was to awaken 
 Silas at the first sign of the dawning day, and he 
 would be off at once on his mission to the camp of 
 Black Hawk.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE COMING OF BEN BLOCK 
 
 TT7"HEN Gideon awoke the next morning he 
 * * was allowed to sleep late on account of the 
 guard duty he had done the night before the sun 
 was two hours high and Silas had long been gone. 
 His father was out in the field at work, and as 
 soon as he had eaten his breakfast he hurried out 
 to him, rifle in hand. 
 
 "Seen anything suspicious, dad?" he asked, the 
 moment he came to where his father was at work. 
 
 "Not a thing," Big Tom answered. "Reckon 
 it's only another Indian scare ; but, as Si says, when 
 it's Indians it's always best to be on the safe side, 
 so we'll just continue to keep our rifles with us and 
 a sharp lookout for redskins until Si gets back. He 
 will be sure to hurry back, as soon as he knows for 
 certain what the Indians are going to do. God 
 grant that they be kept from going on the warpath ! 
 It would be terrible to have all this beautiful country 
 ravaged by murdering, destroying savages." His 
 eyes roamed solicitously over the peaceful surround- 
 ing prairie, beautiful with the blooms of many-hued 
 flowers and melodious with the songs of birds. 
 " Well, we can only hope for the best and keep our 
 rifles handy," and he turned to his work. 
 
 That day, and all the succeeding days for a week, 
 
 234
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 235 
 
 passed in the same quiet, peaceful manner; but not 
 for a moment during this time did the vigilance of 
 our friends relax. Big Tom and Gideon carried 
 their rifles with them wherever they went, Mrs. 
 Clay's rifle always stood loaded near her hand; the 
 wagon, loaded ready for instant flight, was always 
 near the door, with the harnessed horses tied near 
 by, and some one did guard duty during every hour 
 of the night. Still another week of watchfulness 
 and suspense passed with no signs of Indians, no 
 sign of Silas, not a word of any kind from the world 
 outside our pioneer's little home. Then, late one 
 afternoon, Ben Block, the long-haired and long- 
 bearded old hunter, suddenly walked out of the 
 woods and hurried to where Big Tom and Gideon 
 were at work in the field. Gideon was the first to 
 see him. 
 
 " Dad, look ! " he cried in great excitement. 
 "Some one is coming!" Then, after a moment's 
 keen scrutiny of the advancing man, he added, his 
 voice showing his disappointment, "but it isn't Si. 
 It's it's I know! It's Ben Block, the old 
 hunter, the man who told us of the Indian trouble 
 last year, that day we killed Old Whitenose. You 
 you don't suppose anything could have happened to 
 Si and he has come in his place ? " 
 
 "I shore hope not; but we'll soon know," and 
 Big Tom, dropping the hoe with which he was at 
 work, hurried off to meet the old hunter, followed 
 by Gideon. 
 
 " I Ve come right from th' village o' th' Hawk,"
 
 236 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Ben Block said, the moment the greetings were 
 over; " an' from Si Wegg, tew tell yew tew be ready 
 eny moment, night or day, tew git up an' git fer 
 Apple Fort. Si's stayin' ahind tew watch th' Hawk 
 an' make dead shore that th' Hawk's a-goin' tew 
 carry out his threats tew fight, afore he legs it tew 
 yew ; an' he wants yew tew be ready tew git a-goin' 
 quick when he does come, 'cause thar won't be no 
 time to lose; an' he told me 'specially tew warn 
 yew not tew let up any on yewr guardin'. Th' 
 trouble shore is gittin' hot. Governor Reynolds 
 has jest sent out a call fer volunteers an' General 
 Gaines, with th' reglers, is hurryin' up, an' Black 
 Hawk is a-vowin' that he'll fight afore he'll be 
 driven 'cross th' Mississippi River. He says that 
 he'll not be forced off his own land, th' home of 
 his ancesters, where his fathers are buried; that 
 he's not af eard o' th' Americans ; that he's able tew 
 fight 'em an' drive 'em intew th' sea, if necessary. 
 It shore looks as if there was a-goin' tew be war 
 this time; an' then God pity yew lone settlers!" 
 Ben Block paused and allowed his eyes to dwell on 
 the beautiful scene around him. 
 
 " But," Big Tom questioned, his face white with 
 apprehension, " there's been no actual bloodshed 
 yet?" 
 
 "No, nobody has been killed yit, if that's what 
 yew mean. But th' Hawk an' his warriors are 
 a-gettin' ready fer war, th' Governor has called fer 
 volunteers, th' reglers are a-comin', an' that is 
 enough tew scare most o' th' settlers white an'
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 237 
 
 they're leavin' th' country or flyin' tew th' fortified 
 places jest 'bout as fast as th' good Lord'll let 'em. 
 'Course it's none o' my business; but if I was yew, 
 I wouldn't risk anuther night in that lonely log 
 house. What could yew dew if fifty or a hundred 
 Injuns should attack yew? Keep 'em off fer a 
 leetle while maybe ; but long afore help could reach 
 yew, yew'd God, man, you've got a wife an' 
 children!" 
 
 " No man need tell me my duty to my wife and 
 children," Big Tom answered, the lines on his face 
 hardening. "I know my duty; but," and his eyes 
 swept over the plowed fields, beginning to show 
 green with the growing crops, over the surround- 
 ing prairie, and finally rested on the little log house, 
 above which the smoke of the supper fire was float- 
 ing lazily upward, " this is all that I, that my wife 
 and children have in the world. It is our only 
 home. Have you stopped to think that our going 
 might cost us all this? and we can't afford to lose 
 it. Yes, I know it is risky to stay here, but we are 
 not running the risk blindly. Some one is on guard 
 every moment night and day. Everything is ready 
 for instant flight. Si has promised to keep an eye 
 on the Indians and to warn us in time to reach 
 Apple River Fort; and a fellow can depend on Si; 
 and he has only warned us to be ready, as yet; 
 and we are ready. Now, under these circumstances, 
 should we risk the loss of all this just because Black 
 Hawk and his warriors threaten terrible things? 
 He has threatened terrible things before, only last
 
 238 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 year; and nothing came of them But, you must 
 be tired and hungry. Come 'long with me to the 
 house. Supper must be nigh ready. I want to talk 
 it all over with Martha." 
 
 " Much obliged, but I kin't," answered Ben Block. 
 "I've got tew make Big Ike Conrad's tewnight. 
 He has not been warned yit. Jest stopped tew 
 bring Si's message tew yew. Reckon yew're right 
 'bout stayin' here, come tew look at it through 
 yewr eyes an' seein' that yew've got Si Wegg tew 
 watch out fer yew. I'd sartin hate tew leave all 
 this myself. But be durned watchful. Injuns is 
 worser than smallpox. When they breaks out, they 
 breaks out sudden. Sorry I kin't wait tew give my 
 respects tew th' missus; but I must be gittin' on," 
 and, with a good-by grip of the hand to Mr. Clay 
 and Gideon, Ben Block started off in the direction 
 of Big Ike Conrad's distant home. 
 
 For a minute or two Big Tom stood, watching 
 the retreating form of the old hunter, then he turned 
 abruptly toward the house. 
 
 "I'm going to the house," he said. "Your 
 mother must know at once about this message from 
 Si. You stay out here and keep guard," and he 
 hurried to the house, leaving Gideon alone to do 
 sentry duty. 
 
 Mrs. Clay was busy cooking supper. Ruth sat 
 on the bearskin-covered lounge playing with the 
 baby. The moment Big Tom entered the door Mrs. 
 Clay turned a startled, inquiring face toward him. 
 
 "What what is it?" she asked, her face whit-
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 239 
 
 ening a little, for a glance at the face of Big Tom 
 had told her that he had news of some kind to tell ; 
 and news might portend terrible things during those 
 dreadful days of suspense. 
 
 "A message from Si," Big Tom answered, 
 "brought by Ben Block, the hunter, to warn us 
 that things are about ready to come to a head be- 
 tween the Indians and the whites, and to be ready 
 to start for Apple River Fort at a moment's notice." 
 
 Then he went on and told her in full the words 
 of Ben Block. 
 
 "Now," he ended, "the question is, what shall 
 we do? Ben Block evidently thinks that we are 
 foolhardy to stay here another moment, that we 
 ought to pull out at once for Apple River Fort, 
 and not wait for further words from Si. He seems 
 to think the outbreak is certain to come soon; and 
 that, when it does come, it will come so sudden 
 that lone settlers like us will have mighty little 
 chance of getting away before the Indians are down 
 on them. God knows, Martha, I don't want to 
 expose you and the children to any unnecessary 
 risks, and we will start for Apple River Fort this 
 very night if you think we ought to, and not wait 
 for any further word from Si. We can leave a 
 notice on the door of the house for him, so that 
 when he comes he will know where we have gone. 
 What do you say, Martha?" and the eyes that Big 
 Tom turned to the face of his wife were full of 
 anxiety. 
 
 For a minute or two Mrs. Clay stood silently
 
 240 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 v 
 
 regarding the face of her husband, then she turned 
 and looked slowly around the homelike little room 
 and out through the open door and over the peaceful 
 prairie beyond. 
 
 " What would happen to the house and the stock 
 and the crops, if we left now?" she asked quietly. 
 
 "If the Indians came, the house and the crops 
 would be destroyed. We could take the stock with 
 us, if we were not in too much of a hurry. The 
 crops, if we were away any length of time, would 
 perish anyway for want of care, and the house 
 might be destroyed during our absence. But I ain't 
 thinking of the house and the stock and the crops. 
 I'm thinking of you and the children." 
 
 "I know, Tom," and Mrs. Clay laid a hand on 
 Big Tom's shoulder. " But you and I and the chil- 
 dren and the stock must be fed next winter, and, 
 if we raise no crops, how can we do that?" 
 
 " Reckon we could get along somehow." 
 
 "We might; but the oxen and the cow and the 
 horses would starve, and we have no money to buy 
 others. Tom, it would be terrible hard to be obliged 
 to start all over again." 
 
 " I know, I know," and one of the big arms drew 
 the brave little woman to him. " But we could 
 do it. With your help, I'd be ready to begin all 
 over again tomorrow." 
 
 " So we could, if we had to," she answered, 
 smiling bravely. "But we don't want to do it 
 unless we have to; and, according to both Si and 
 Ben Block, Black Hawk is just threatening again,
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 241 
 
 the same as he did last year, and maybe it will turn 
 out again the same as it did last year. Then we 
 would wish we had stayed at home and attended 
 to things. I've lived through too many Indian 
 scares to be easily frightened by just threats. Then 
 there's Si. He is right there, and will know the 
 moment the real danger begins ; and he will be sure 
 to get here in time for us to fly, if we must. No, 
 Tom, under the circumstances, I don't think it fool- 
 hardy for us to remain until Si tells us to go or 
 we know that the Indians have actually started out 
 burning and murdering. Now, I know that you 
 really agree with me about staying, don't you, 
 Tom?" and she looked up into the face of her big 
 husband with an encouraging smile. 
 
 " You are right, little woman, I do want to stay," 
 and the big arm drew her close to his side. " And 
 we will stay and trust to Si and our own watchful- 
 ness. We've got a pretty stout fort right here." 
 Big Tom's eyes turned to the thick log walls of the 
 house, pierced with numerous loopholes. "And, if 
 the worst comes to worst, I reckon we could stand 
 quite a siege by the Indians. Now that that matter 
 is settled, we will just go on as we have been going 
 on and depend on Silas and our own watchfulness 
 to warn us in time." He picked up his rifle, which 
 he had laid down on a chair, and went out where 
 Gideon was. 
 
 Anxious days and nights followed the coming 
 of Ben Block. His words of warning and caution 
 had renewed and strengthened their fears, fears
 
 242 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 that the peaceful days following the going of Silas 
 had tended to lull. Every unusual noise startled 
 them. At night their sleep was often broken by 
 strange sounds coming from the darkness without, 
 and they would start up from their beds and listen, 
 shivering with the dread of what might be coming. 
 On two different nights, when Gideon was on guard, 
 Big Tom had become so uneasy at the stillness of 
 the night outside that he had arisen from bed and 
 gone out to assure himself that everything was all 
 right with the boy. Once, during the day, while 
 Gideon and his father were at work in the field, 
 they had heard a distant rifle shot, coming from the 
 direction of the woods, and both at once had hur- 
 ried to the house, and had climbed to the roof, 
 whence they could see for a long distance in every 
 direction. There they sat all the rest of the day, 
 their eyes watching anxiously the surrounding 
 prairie and the line of the distant woods, hoping 
 that the shot had come from the rifle of Silas, yet 
 fearful that it might mean the coming of the In- 
 dians. They never learned to what woodland 
 tragedy that rifle shot gave voice. 
 
 Thus, day after day of this dreadful suspense 
 passed, without a sign of Silas, without a word 
 from the outside world, where so many terrible 
 things might be taking place. The dread of the 
 Indian outbreak had depopulated the prairies and 
 the forests. Not a traveler passed the little log 
 house; and, of course, Big Tom did not dare leave 
 home long enough to go to the distant fort on
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 243 
 
 Apple River, the nearest point where he could be 
 sure of learning what was happening, since his 
 nearer neighbors, doubtless, had fled the country 
 or gone to the fort for protection. Consequently 
 they were obliged to wait and watch and hope, with 
 the terrible fear of the sudden coming of the mur- 
 derous savages always present, uncertain and fear- 
 ful of what the day or the night might bring forth. 
 
 This long waiting, under such circumstances of 
 suspense and danger, was harrowing to the nerves, 
 dreadful to endure; but the pioneers, from the At- 
 lantic to the Pacific oceans, had to endure many 
 days and many months of such suspense and peril 
 before our great country could be wrested from 
 the savage and the wilderness; and we, who now 
 sleep quietly in our beds at night and go about our 
 work peacefully during the day, should sometimes 
 stop to think of this and to honor the memories 
 and recount the deeds of those brave men and 
 women and children, who made possible all that 
 we now enjoy. 
 
 One night, late in June, when Gideon stood on 
 guard near the loaded wagon and the harnessed 
 horses, and the others all lay in their beds in the 
 house, he heard, or thought he heard, the sound of 
 a light step out in the darkness. The sky was so 
 overcast with clouds that he could not see a rod 
 into the surrounding darkness. 
 
 "That was no wolf!" he thought, as his blood 
 began jumping through his veins. "Sounded like 
 a human being," and, quietly cocking his rifle, he
 
 244 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 stood motionless, listening intently and straining 
 his eyes in the direction whence had come the sound 
 that had awakened his suspicions. 
 
 Again and nearer this time he heard the sound 
 of a step, seemingly not more than two or three 
 rods away. He was sure now that it was made by 
 a human foot; and he held his cocked rifle ready 
 to throw instantly to his shoulder. 
 
 If it should prove to be an Indian, creeping up 
 on the lonely log house, he must fire at sight and 
 rush into the house and shut and bar the door. 
 Such were his instructions. 
 
 Now, as Gideon stood there in the darkness wait- 
 ing, watching, he swiftly reviewed just what his 
 actions should be. He mentally calculated exactly 
 where the door was and how long it would take 
 him to get there. He wondered if there would be 
 more than one Indian, and, if there were, if he 
 could get the door safely shut and barred before 
 any of them could reach it. 
 
 Once more he heard the sound of a step now 
 close at hand ; and then, from out the near-by dark- 
 ness, there came, with such suddenness and unex- 
 pectedness as nearly to cause his heart to jump out 
 of his mouth, a loud halloo ; and the form of a tall 
 man stepped out of the darkness not a rod away 
 and repeated the halloo. 
 
 By this time Gideon had his wits back sufficiently 
 to recognize the voice of Silas Wegg; and, with a 
 yell of joy, he fairly hurled himself upon the old 
 hunter.
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 245 
 
 " Jumping bobcats ! " and Silas leaped about a 
 dozen feet to one side. 
 
 " Gosh, but yew shore did startle me ! " he said, 
 a moment later, as he gripped Gideon's hand. "I 
 'most jumped out o' my britches." 
 
 " Dad ! Oh Dad ! " and Gideon dropped the old 
 hunter's hand and rushed into the house. " Si, Silas 
 Wegg has come ! " he shouted. 
 
 In two seconds Big Tom and Mrs. Clay and 
 Ruth were all out of their beds and shouting joyous 
 greetings to Silas, as they dressed. 
 
 In the excitement of the sudden coming the dread 
 of the Indian outbreak had been forgotten for a 
 moment. Big Tom was the first to remember. 
 
 "Si," and he gripped the arm of Silas tensely, 
 "what about Black Hawk? Are we in danger 
 of a" 
 
 "No." There was a joyous note in the old 
 hunter's voice. "Light th' candles, start th' fire, 
 git th' coffee a-bilin' an' th' meat a-sizzlin' an' some 
 johnnycake a-bakin'. I'm as hungry as a b'ar. 
 Kin't talk on an empty stumick. Asides I'm plumb 
 tuckered. Runned most of th' way from th' Hawk's 
 village tew here, so powerful anxious was I tew 
 git th' good news tew yew tewnight, so that yew 
 could all sleep calm an' peaceful once more. Black 
 Hawk an' his warriors have crossed the Mississippi 
 River an' have signed a treaty, promisin' not tew 
 recross it ag'in tew this side, without permission 
 o' th' government. Thar, that's all yew are a-goin' 
 tew git out o' me till I gets some food intew me, so
 
 246 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 git busy," and he threw himself down on the skin- 
 covered lounge that stood against one side of the 
 room and stretched out his long legs with an audible 
 sigh of comfort and satisfaction. 
 
 All was now joyous bustle in the little log house. 
 Candles were quickly lighted, wood was thrown on 
 the glowing coals in the fireplace, until a great fire 
 was roaring up the chimney; and, in half an hour, 
 so swiftly did Mrs. Clay and Ruth work, a feast fit 
 to serve a healthy king was on the rough table 
 hot johnnycake, with plenty of fresh butter, wild 
 honey, broiled wild turkey, potatoes, and milk 
 gravy, all to be washed down with steaming hot 
 coffee. 
 
 " It shore does seem powerful good tew sot down 
 tew a table ag'in an' eat wimen's cookin'," Silas 
 said, as he drew his chair up and began stowing 
 the food away where it would do him the most 
 good. 
 
 After he had "filled up" to his satisfaction and 
 had again stretched himself out comfortably on 
 the lounge, he told his impatient and interested 
 listeners the story more in detail of how the trouble 
 with Black Hawk had been averted and the chief 
 and his warriors prevailed on to cross to the other 
 side of the Mississippi. 
 
 "When I sent Ben Block tew warn yew," he 
 explained, " I felt mighty nigh sartin that it wouldn't 
 be more'n a day or tew afore Black Hawk an' his 
 bucks would be liftin' white scalps. They was all 
 het up 'bout th' soldiers comin' tew drive 'em out
 
 The Coming of Ben Block 247 
 
 o' their homes 'cross th' Mississippi ; an' Black Hawk 
 was a-threatenin' tew dew terrible things. General 
 Gaines got thar afore th' militia did; an', I reckon, 
 'twas powerful lucky that he did, 'cause he tried 
 tew reason with th' Injuns an' didn't dew eny thing 
 tew rile 'em more. Fust off he had a big powwow 
 with all th' Injuns an' got 'bout a third on 'em tew 
 cross th' Mississippi peacefully. But th' Hawk an' 
 th' rest o' th' Injuns refused tew go an' defied 
 Gaines tew make 'em go; an* when General Gaines 
 tried tew arger with 'em, Black Hawk, who was 
 painted an' armed fer battle, proudly told him that 
 th' Sacs an' th' Foxes were not cowards, tew be 
 driven from th' homes o' their ancesters like deer, 
 an' boasted that they were not a feared o' th' Amer- 
 icans, an' bade 'em come on an' they would drive 
 'em back intew th' Great Water ; an' even th' squaws 
 runned round 'mong th' warriors, callin' on 'em 
 tew fight for their homes an' th' graves o' their 
 ancesters like men. I shore thought then that th' 
 war was a-comin' sudden, an' was ready tew light 
 out tew warn yew at th' fust move o' th' Injuns; 
 but I knowed I could be most help tew yew by 
 stayin' right whar I was an' keepin' an eye on 
 Black Hawk an' his warriors, so long as they 
 remained in camp at their village. 
 
 ".Wai, four days ago th' militia reached th' vil- 
 lage, sixteen hundred on 'em, 'long with six com- 
 panies o' reglers, 'bout tew thousand fittin' men 
 in all. Black Hawk couldn't muster more'n four 
 hundred warriors at th' most.
 
 248 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "Tew thousand ag'in four hundred was tew big 
 odds f er even Black Hawk tew buck ; an' that night, 
 atter takin' a good look at th' size o' th' army ar- 
 rayed ag'in him, he an' his warriors, with their 
 wives an' yunks, hurriedly paddled 'cross th' Mis- 
 sissippi; an' yisterday th' Hawk an' his chiefs 
 signed a treaty, agreein' tew give up all their land 
 this side o' th' Mississippi an' not tew cross th' 
 Big River ag'in, without th' government's say so; 
 an' th' government agreein' tew supply 'em with 
 food until they got settled in their new home an' 
 could raise crops. 
 
 " Naterly th' Hawk's f eelin' 'bout as pleased over 
 th' way things has turned out as a b'ar caught in 
 a trap but what could he dew? Four hundred 
 ag'in tew thousand! Howsoever, if th' government 
 treats him honest, I reckon he'll stick by th' treaty; 
 but he shore is a mighty sore Injun an' 'twouldn't 
 take much tew start him raging ag'in." 
 
 Silas was too tired and sleepy for the talk to be 
 prolonged that night, and, declaring that the lounge 
 felt so comfortable that he was going to sleep right 
 there, he bade them all good night, stretched out 
 his long legs on the lounge and, almost as soon as 
 he closed his eyes, was sound asleep.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE FLAMING RED DEATH 
 
 ' I^HE long, quiet, peaceful days of summer that 
 -"- now followed those dreadful weeks of suspense 
 were days that brought many quiet joys to the 
 pioneers. The weather, the greater part of the 
 time, was delightful. They were surrounded by 
 all of the beauties of growing nature. Wonderful 
 flowers bloomed in profusion on the prairies and 
 in the woods. Birds were constantly flitting hither 
 and thither over the grass, and the flower-covered 
 prairies, and among the green boughs of the trees, 
 filling the air with their music. And over all hung 
 the mystery and the quiet and the peace of the 
 wilderness. 
 
 During the early part of summer an abundance 
 of rain had fallen; but, with the coming of fall, a 
 long drought began. For nearly six weeks not a 
 drop of rain fell and hardly a cloud passed over 
 the face of the blue skies. Fortunately for the 
 Clays, however, the drought came too late to do 
 serious harm to the crops ; but it brought them face 
 to face with another and a more serious peril than 
 even the loss of crops. 
 
 The protracted dry weather, with the hot rays 
 of the sun beating down day after day on the 
 thirsty earth, soon burnt the life out of growing 
 
 249
 
 250 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 vegetation and left the grass and the flowers, all 
 the beauteous verdure of the prairies, standing dead 
 and almost as dry and as easily ignited as tinder. 
 
 Big Tom, as day after day went by without rain 
 and the grass withered and dried up under the fer- 
 vent heat of the sun, became more and more un- 
 easy; a worried look came on the face of Mrs. Clay, 
 and the eyes of both turned frequently to search 
 anxiously the surrounding horizon. 
 
 "If the dry grass should catch fire," Mrs. Clay 
 said, one morning, as she stood by the side of Big 
 Tom near the open door of the log house, looking 
 out over the parched prairie; "and if the wind 
 should be in the right direction, the fire would 
 sweep down upon us with the speed of a race horse; 
 and and Tom, I'm afraid the prairie will get 
 afire. Can't we do something to guard against its 
 harming us, if it should? It would be terrible to 
 have all this," and she glanced toward the home- 
 like little log house, the barn, the surrounding 
 stacks of grain and hay, and the other conveniences 
 and comforts that their busy hands had gathered 
 about them, "go up in flames and smoke; and, if 
 it came sudden, it would be dangerous. Father had 
 a sister, Aunt Melinda, who lost two little children, 
 a boy and a girl, in a prairie fire," and she shud- 
 dered. " Seems to me we might back-fire the grass 
 around the house or do something to prevent it 
 from reaching us." She turned her troubled eyes 
 to the face of her husband. 
 
 "Yes," Big Tom answered, "you are right. It
 
 The Flaming Red Death 251 
 
 is risky, too risky to go without protection longer. 
 The grass is as dry as tinder. A spark would set 
 it afire. Concern it all, why don't it rain ? A good 
 shower would remove all danger. I've been think- 
 ing every day for a week that we'd do something, 
 but have kept putting it off, hoping it would rain. 
 Howsoever, we'll put it off no longer, but start 
 right in back-firing this very day. We sure don't 
 want to get caught in a prairie fire. Confound it, 
 why did I let Si and Gid go off on that hunt down 
 to Grass Lake today? They won't be back until 
 late and they'd be a powerful lot of help keeping 
 the back-fire under control. Now, I'll need your 
 help and Ruth's, too; for we've got to be powerful 
 careful and not let the fire get away from us. We 
 don't want to start a fire that will burn out our 
 neighbors. The wind," and, picking up a handful 
 of the dry grass, he tossed it up in the air, "is 
 coming straight from the east, so we'll start the 
 fire just west of the house. Now get Ruth and 
 arm yourselves with brush brooms. Bring along 
 a broom for me," he called after Mrs. Clay, as she 
 hurried into the house. " I'll get a couple of pails 
 of water to stick the brooms in, so as to keep them 
 wet," and, picking up a couple of wooden pails 
 that stood on the bench near the door of the house, 
 he hurried off with them to the spring. 
 
 The object in back-firing was to surround the 
 building, or whatever it was desired to protect, with 
 a sufficiently wide area of burnt-over ground to 
 stop the fire, for lack of fuel, or, at least, to stop
 
 252 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 it in that immediate vicinity and turn it aside. This 
 was done by starting fires at the right points and 
 then being very careful to keep them under control, 
 by beating them out where necessary, until sufficient 
 ground had been burnt over to furnish the needed 
 protection. 
 
 Leaving the baby asleep in its cradle, Mrs. Clay 
 and Ruth hurried out to the appointed place with 
 the brooms, where they were joined by Big Tom 
 with the two pails of water. 
 
 " Reckon this is as good a spot as any to make 
 the start," he said, as he set down the two pails. 
 " Now be ready to beat it out on the side next to 
 the house." Stooping down, he gathered a bunch 
 of dry grass into a little pile, took the lighted pipe 
 he was smoking out of his mouth and, carefully 
 dropping the glowing coals out of its bowl on the 
 little pile of dry grass, blew on them until they 
 burst into flames. A moment later the fire caught 
 in the surrounding grass and began to spread in 
 an ever widening circle. 
 
 Big Tom and Mrs. Clay and Ruth now thrust 
 their brooms into the pails of water and beat the 
 fire out on the side next to the house, allowing it 
 to burn in the opposite direction. 
 
 " There, that'll be about as much as we can safely 
 manage at once," Big Tom said, when a strip of 
 grass about four rods wide was burning briskly. 
 "Now, you keep it from spreading at one end," 
 and he turned to Mrs. Clay, " and Ruth at the other, 
 and I'll keep it from getting too rambunctious
 
 The Flaming Red Death 
 
 along the front and be ready to help either one of 
 you, if you need me. It will be slow work, but it 
 will be the only way we can be sure to keep the fire 
 under control all the time; and we must keep it 
 under control, for only God Almighty could stop it 
 if it once got away from us." 
 
 The fire, carefully guarded at both ends and beat 
 down in front with the wet brooms wherever it 
 began to blaze too hotly, was now allowed to burn 
 along this narrow strip of ground for a distance of 
 some twenty rods. 
 
 "That will be far enough," Big Tom declared, 
 when this point had been reached. "No prairie 
 fire can jump over a strip of bare ground twenty 
 rods wide. Now we'll beat the fire all out and then 
 go back and fire another strip alongside of this 
 one ; and thus, strip by strip, work our way around 
 the house. It will be slow work, as I said before, 
 but it will be safe ; and, when we're done, we'll have 
 a strip of burnt-over ground twenty rods wide sur- 
 rounding the house, and I've never seen the prairie 
 fire yet that could jump that distance," and he began 
 beating out the fire. 
 
 When the last spark had been put out, they re- 
 turned to the starting point, and, firing another 
 four-rod wide strip, guarded it in the same manner 
 as before until the twenty-rod limit had been 
 reached; and then, putting the fire out, went back 
 and fired another strip. They worked hard and 
 by noon they had lengthened the strip of burnt- 
 over ground until it half encircled the house.
 
 254 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "We've done fine," Big Tom said, pausing and 
 measuring the long stretch of burnt-over ground 
 with his eyes. "About half done I should think. 
 Now we'll stop and get something to eat and rest 
 up a spell." 
 
 An hour later they were again hard at work. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon, when the 
 burnt-over strip of ground extended nearly two- 
 thirds of the way around the house, Big Tom sud- 
 denly straightened up and stood staring anxiously 
 off over the prairie to the southwest, where a low, 
 dark line of smokelike clouds hung above the hills. 
 
 " What is it, Tom ? " Mrs. Clay's eyes followed 
 the direction of his eyes. She started and her face 
 whitened at sight of the low line of dark clouds, 
 that, somehow, did not look exactly like ordinary 
 clouds. "You don't think," and her eyes turned 
 quickly to the face of her husband, " that it can be 
 that the prairie is on fire ? " 
 
 " Looks like it," Big Tom answered. " But," he 
 added, quickly, "we are safe. We're protected on 
 that side. And before the fire can get here we can 
 have the rest of the back-firing nearly done, if we 
 work lively, so the best thing we can do is to keep 
 busy," and he returned to his work with renewed 
 energy. 
 
 For half an hour they worked on, as swiftly as 
 hands and legs and fire permitted, frequently turn- 
 ing their eyes in the direction of the dark line of 
 smoke that was constantly and swiftly drawing 
 nearer. Then a heavy black cloud was seen to
 
 The Flaming Red Death 255 
 
 shoot up over the top of a distant hill, followed 
 almost instantly by a dull red glow along the line 
 of the hilltop. 
 
 There could no longer be any question as to 
 what the clouds of smoke meant. The prairie was 
 on fire, and the fire was driving swiftly straight 
 toward them. 
 
 " Great Moses, what if we had put off the back- 
 firing for another day!" Big Tom exclaimed, as 
 he watched the rapidly lengthening line of dull red 
 creep along the tops of the hills. " But, thank God ! 
 we are safe now. Hurry, and we can come mighty 
 nigh finishing the back-firing before the fire can 
 reach us. We will make the strips only ten rods 
 long now. That'll be long enough, seeing that the 
 fire is coming from the other side." 
 
 All now worked at their utmost speed. 
 
 Suddenly Mrs. Clay dropped her broom and 
 straightened up, a look of horror on her face. 
 
 "Tom!" she cried, excitedly, catching hold of 
 Big Tom's sleeve. "What direction is Grass Lake 
 from here ? " 
 
 "About due southwest," Big Tom answered. 
 " Why ? God A'mighty ! " and his face blanched. 
 "That's where Gid and Si went hunting. They'll 
 be right in the line of the fire! But," he added, 
 quickly, as his eyes caught the look of horror on 
 Mrs. Clay's face, " it will take more than a prairie 
 fire to catch Si Wegg napping. Don't worry. 
 They'll come out all right No use back-firing 
 any more. We're safeguarded, thank God! But
 
 256 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 we'll have to keep a sharp lookout for sparks. Come 
 on to the house. We'll fill up all the pails and 
 kettles with water and get ready to fight any fire 
 that starts," and he ran toward the house, followed 
 by Mrs. Clay and Ruth. 
 
 The moment he reached the house he caught up 
 a couple of pails, ran to the spring, which was well 
 within the protected area, quickly filled them with 
 water, and ran back to the house. Mrs. Clay and 
 Ruth, with pails and kettles in their hands, were 
 only a few feet behind him. In five minutes they 
 had everything that would hold water filled. 
 
 Fortunately the stock were all safe in the barn. 
 Each night all were shut up to protect them from 
 the wolves and the bears; and that morning Big 
 Tom had not let them out, on account of the back- 
 firing, being afraid that the fire might frighten 
 them and drive them too far from the house. 
 
 All was now done that could be done to safe- 
 guard their little home, and, standing very close to- 
 gether, they could only wait and watch and hope. 
 
 By this time the red line stretched across the full 
 width of the prairie and deep into the woods. It 
 was not more than three or four miles away and 
 was advancing with the speed of a race horse. 
 
 Already, frightened birds, uttering wild cries, 
 were flying through the air above their heads and 
 terrified animals were fleeing for life from the Red 
 Death. Deer sped swiftly by within a couple of 
 rods of where they stood, without so much as a 
 glance in their direction. They were followed in
 
 The Flaming Red Death 257 
 
 rapid succession by the less speedy animals, wolves, 
 rabbits, foxes, raccoons, all the startled wild life 
 of the prairie, and all fleeing from the red terror 
 behind. A black bear, followed by two half -grown 
 cubs, lumbered by so near that Big Tom could have 
 reached out and almost touched them with the 
 broom he held in his hand. The air over head was 
 almost filled with flying birds, quails, prairie 
 chickens, partridges, owls, hawks, and thousands 
 of smaller birds. Some flew silently, others were 
 constantly uttering frightened cries. A huge flock 
 of wild turkeys, racing madly over the ground on 
 their long legs, aided by the flapping of their wings, 
 almost ran over them in their race to escape the red 
 line of death behind. All the wild birds and animals 
 had lost their fear of man in their greater fear of 
 the burning death. And, even the three human 
 beings, standing there with their eyes fixed anx- 
 iously on the swiftly advancing line of fire, gave no 
 more attention to the flying birds and fleeing 
 animals than did the birds and animals to them. 
 
 By now the fire had approached to within a couple 
 of miles, and they could see distinctly the eager, 
 leaping advance of the red flames, as they rushed, 
 like a charging army of fiery coursers, over the 
 prairie and through the woods, where every now 
 and then great pillars of flame shot high above the 
 tree tops. Above the red flames rolled the black 
 smoke, through which the sun shone red and angry. 
 
 It was an awesome, a dreadful, and yet a won- 
 drously beautiful sight, that swift advancing line
 
 258 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 of flames, plumed with black smoke, and Big Tom, 
 with Mrs. Clay clinging to one arm and Ruth 
 tightly gripping his hand with one of hers while 
 she clung to her mother with the other, watched 
 it with fascinated eyes and rapidly beating heart, a 
 look of dreadful apprehension on his face. He 
 feared to look into the face of his wife, for he 
 knew that he would see the same apprehension 
 pictured there. 
 
 What had happened to Gideon and Silas ? Were 
 they safe ? Had they escaped unharmed ? Already 
 the fire had swept over the region where they were 
 to hunt. If they only could do something to set 
 at rest their doubt, to break this terrible suspense, 
 this constantly growing fear! It was torture to 
 stand thus idly by while dear ones might be 
 perishing. 
 
 "We might set a back-fire to meet the prairie 
 fire," Mrs. Clay said, at length, turning her white 
 face to the face of her husband. " It could do no 
 harm now, and it would make us a little safer." 
 
 Before answering, Big Tom jumped upon a log 
 and, holding both hands to his eyes, carefully 
 scanned the prairie intervening between them and 
 the fire, now not more than a mile away. 
 
 Mrs. Clay watched him with her heart in her 
 eyes. She knew that he was looking to make sure 
 that no human being was out there on the prairie 
 to be caught between the two fires, should they 
 start the back-fire to meet the prairie fire. 
 
 "Yes," and Big Tom jumped down from the
 
 The Flaming Red Death 259 
 
 log, " it will be safe to start the back-fire now. I 
 would have started it before, but I wanted to make 
 sure there were no humans out there to be caught 
 between the two fires." Hurrying into the house, 
 he filled a shovel with glowing coals from the fire- 
 place and started on the run for the outer edge of 
 the burnt-over ground that surrounded the house, 
 with Mrs. Clay and Ruth racing after him. 
 
 The moment he reached the edge of the dry grass 
 he began scattering the live coals of fire. The wind 
 quickly fanned them into flames, and in ten seconds 
 the dry grass was ablaze in a dozen places; and, in 
 a minute more, a thin line of flames was racing 
 across the prairie toward the coming fire. 
 
 At that moment, over the brow of a low-lying 
 hill, not more than half a mile away and lying 
 directly between the two racing fires, the figures of 
 three men staggered into view and ran stumblingly 
 down the hill toward the house. Two of the men 
 were pulling the other along between them. The 
 Flaming Red Death was not more than a quarter of 
 a mile behind the men, and the constantly widening 
 line of back-fire was rushing eagerly forward to 
 meet them. They were caught between the two! 
 
 Mrs. Clay was the first to see the three runners. 
 
 ''Tom! Tom!" she screamed, and stood for 
 the moment speechless with horror, pointing with 
 her finger. 
 
 Big Tom uttered a hoarse cry, hardly human in 
 its anguish, tore off his deerskin coat, flung it into 
 the arms of Mrs. Clay, and, yelling: "Quick! Try
 
 260 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 to beat out a way through the back-fire! It's Gid 
 and Si and some one they're trying to save ! " ran, 
 with all the speed of his long legs, straight toward 
 the three men. When he reached the line of back- 
 fire he leaped through it and over it and, with a 
 loud shout to call the attention of Gideon and Silas 
 to him, he sped on. 
 
 The hurling of Big Tom's coat into the arms of 
 Mrs. Clay seemed to galvanize her into sudden 
 action, and, yelling to Ruth to pull off her outer 
 skirt and come to her aid, she rushed toward the 
 now furiously blazing line of back-fire and began 
 frantically beating out the flames with the deerskin 
 coat. In a moment Ruth was by her side and aiding 
 her with the skirt of her dress. 
 
 At first, so great was the headway of the fire, 
 they made no impression on the flames. Then, 
 seizing upon a weak spot in the line, they assaulted 
 it so vigorously with coat and skirt that in another 
 instant they had beat the fire out for a couple of 
 feet three feet four feet a dozen feet; but, 
 to do their utmost, they could not widen the breach 
 another inch. 
 
 In the meantime Big Tom was running as he 
 had never run before; and he had need he was 
 now racing with death for the prairie fire was 
 gaining rapidly upon Gideon and Silas, hampered 
 as they were by the almost helpless man they were 
 pulling along between them. Twice they stumbled 
 and fell to the ground, but they staggered again to 
 their feet and, still pluckily clinging to the man
 
 The Flaming Red Death 261 
 
 between them, struggled blindly, desperately on, 
 with the fire now not twenty rods behind them. 
 
 Unaided they could never reach the oasis of the 
 protected ground, unless they deserted their helpless 
 companion; and Silas Wegg and Gideon Clay were 
 not the kind to desert a companion in misfortune, 
 however great their own peril. 
 
 A third time they stumbled and fell to the 
 ground, with the fire so close that it was scorching 
 their backs and sparks were flying all around them ; 
 and, as they staggered to their feet and again at- 
 tempted to lift their companion, a pair of huge 
 hands reached down and caught the helpless body 
 up, as if it had been suddenly deprived of all weight. 
 
 " Run, run for your lives ! " shouted Big Tom, 
 as he flung the now inert body up over one shoulder, 
 like a bag of grain, whirled about and ran, almost 
 as if unhampered, back toward the breach that Mrs. 
 Clay and Ruth were still desperately keeping open 
 in the line of back-fire. 
 
 Silas caught the hand of Gideon, who was stag- 
 gering, and the two ran together, their tongues 
 protruding out of their panting mouths, their breath 
 coming in gasps, putting every ounce of remaining 
 strength into this last desperate effort to escape 
 from the open jaws of the Flaming Red Death. 
 Sparks of fire fell on their clothing, in their hair, 
 long arms of flames reached out to grab them; but 
 still on they ran, blindly, dazedly, following close 
 behind the giant form of Big Tom Clay. And then, 
 just as it seemed as if all their muscles were turning
 
 262 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 into melted tallow, just as the jaws of the Red 
 Death were about to close down upon them, Big 
 Tom, with a great shout, whirled about, caught hold 
 of botlvand, despite the burden already on his back, 
 dragged them through the breach in the wall of fire 
 and on to the safety of the burnt-over ground 
 beyond, while hungry arms of flame reached far 
 out after them. In a minute more Mrs. Clay and 
 Ruth, crying and laughing almost hysterically, were 
 helping drag them toward the house, away from 
 the blistering heat of the fiery furnace now roaring 
 and crackling all around them. 
 
 The moment the safety of the house was reached, 
 Big Tom lowered his burden to the ground. Then, 
 for the first time, he saw that the rescued man was 
 an Indian, a boy, but little older than Gideon. A 
 glance told him that he was not seriously hurt, only 
 completely exhausted by his long race for life. 
 
 "You 'tend to him," he said, turning quickly to 
 Mrs. Clay. " I've got to watch out, or some of 
 those falling sparks will start a fire," and, seizing 
 a brush broom and a pail of water, he ran to where 
 several small blazes had already started in the dry 
 grass near the house and quickly put them out. 
 
 Silas and Gideon were too exhausted to utter a 
 word or make a move for a few minutes, but their 
 faces showed more eloquently than words could 
 have told, how thankful they were to have escaped 
 the fire. Both had lost a little hair, and a number 
 of holes had been burnt in their clothes, but, other- 
 wise, they were unharmed.
 
 The Flaming Red Death 263 
 
 The Indian boy lay where Big Tom had left him, 
 breathing heavily, but showing no other signs of 
 life; and Mrs. Clay, as soon as she had assured 
 herself that Gideon was unhurt, hurried to where 
 he lay on the ground. 
 
 "Bring me some water," she bade Ruth, as she 
 bent over the young Indian. "He don't appear 
 to be hurt. Just completely tuckered. Land sakes, 
 but that was a narrow escape! Another minute 
 and the fire would have got you sure." She shud- 
 dered and glanced toward the flames that by now 
 nearly encompassed the house. 
 
 For a few minutes the heat from the encircling 
 fire was almost unbearable, and the flames stretched 
 out long arms hungrily toward them, but they could 
 not jump or reach across the twenty rods of burnt- 
 over ground ; and in ten minutes the fire had swept 
 by, so furiously, so swiftly did it burn, and rushed 
 on, leaving behind the home of our pioneers un- 
 harmed, but surrounded by a black and smoking 
 prairie. 
 
 Silas was the first to recover his speech. 
 
 "Gosh!" he said, turning a pair of twinkling 
 eyes to Mrs. Clay, who was bending over the Indian 
 boy bathing his head, " that thar race has made me 
 as hungry as a b'ar. Dew hurry an' git somethin' 
 tew eat." 
 
 "Reckon, Si," laughed Big Tom, who had just 
 returned to the house, after putting out the last 
 spark of fire, " that when Gabriel blows his trumpet 
 and you jump up out of your grave, the first thing
 
 264 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 you say will be : ' Gosh, Gabe, I'm as hungry as a 
 b'ar! When dew we eat ? ' " 
 
 " Reckon I will," grinned back Silas, slowly rising 
 and stretching out his long legs, " 'specially since 
 I'm apt tew be powerful hungry atter lyin' in a 
 grave ten thousand years or more. Say, but that 
 was a hot fire ! I thought shore it was a-goin' tew 
 scorch th' shirt off my back!" 
 
 This rude interchange of wit broke the tension, 
 and all laughed. A faint smile even played around 
 the lips of the Indian boy, who, under the adminis- 
 trations of Mrs. Clay, had recovered consciousness, 
 but was still too weak to make an effort to move. 
 
 That was a night of general rejoicing and thanks- 
 giving; and, after the bountiful supper that Mrs. 
 Clay fairly outdid herself in preparing, Silas and 
 Gideon told of their race for life with the prairie 
 fire and how the young Indian came to be a sharer 
 in their peril. 
 
 They had finished their hunt and, on their way 
 back, had stopped to rest, both being quite heavily 
 loaded with deer meat, under the shade of a little 
 clump of trees that grew in the midst of the prairie. 
 The day was hot and they were in no hurry, so they 
 sat there under the trees talking for, perhaps, an 
 hour. Suddenly, just as they were about to start 
 again on their way back home, the young Indian, 
 his eyes wild with fright, came tearing through 
 the underbrush and almost stumbled over them. 
 Evidently he had already run far, for he was pant- 
 ing violently. At sight of Gideon and Silas he
 
 The Flaming Red Death 265 
 
 paused long enough to shout: "Fire! All prairie 
 on fire ! " and sped on. Hardly had the words left 
 his mouth, when Silas and Gideon were on their 
 feet and speeding after the running Indian, leaving 
 the deer meat where it lay on the ground. 
 
 The prairie on fire! They knew too well what 
 that meant to waste a moment in delay. 
 
 As they ran they glanced back. At first the trees 
 and the underbrush hid the fire from them. Then, 
 as they reached the top of a little hill, they saw the 
 whole horizon behind them glowing red with flames 
 and black with smoke. 
 
 " Make straight for home ! " Silas shouted. 
 " We've got a good three miles th' start o' th' fire, 
 an* it's not more'n tew miles tew th' house. We 
 kin make it before th' fire kin git us." 
 
 It did not take them long to catch up with the 
 young Indian, who was beginning to stagger from 
 exhaustion and was gasping for breath. 
 
 " Kin't leave him tew burn, even if he is Injun ! " 
 shouted Silas, as they came abreast of him. " Kitch 
 hold ! " and he caught hold of one of the Indian's 
 arms, while Gideon seized the other, and together 
 they ran with the Indian between them. 
 
 For a time the young Indian, stimulated by their 
 help, held out bravely and was of little hindrance 
 to their speed. But before they had covered a mile 
 he gave out almost entirely. 
 
 " No good. Can't run longer," he panted. '* No 
 can save all. Indian not afraid of Red Death. Let 
 Indian go. Save white brothers," and he attempted
 
 266 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 to withdraw his arms from the grip of Silas and 
 Gideon. 
 
 The fire had gained rapidly on them; a back- 
 ward glance showed them this. Hampered as they 
 were now by the almost helpless Indian boy, it 
 would gain even more rapidly, and the log house, 
 their only hope of safety, was still a mile off ! They 
 might reach it ahead of the fire if they dropped 
 the Indian with him, it seemed impossible. But 
 neither hesitated an instant. 
 
 "No," panted Silas, tightening his grip on the 
 Indian boy's arm. "Jest keep yewr legs a-goin' 
 an* we'll save yew yit. Th' house is jest ayond 
 that leetle hill ahead." 
 
 And both, almost carrying the Indian boy be- 
 tween them and with the fire roaring close behind, 
 pluckily, desperately, struggled on, up the hill and 
 over its top, and on into the oasis of refuge, as has 
 been already described, saved by as narrow a margin 
 as ever spared life to the pluck and the courage of 
 man.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 BEN BLOCK AGAIN 
 
 THE next morning, when Big Tom awoke, he 
 started and sat up quickly in bed and listened. 
 
 " Great Moses ! " he exclaimed, in angry disgust. 
 "If 'tain't raining! Now, why couldn't it have 
 rained yesterday, when it was so badly needed?" 
 
 " Don't know," grinned Silas, who was Big Tom's 
 bedfellow; "an' I don't care now/' he added, philo- 
 sophically. " Yisterday is gone an' tewday is here ; 
 an' I never worry 'bout what's gone, an' I allers 
 try tew make th' best o' what's here. I reckon th' 
 good Lord knows his own business best enyhow; 
 an' so I allers let Him 'tend tew it in His own way, 
 without eny remarks from me. If he had wanted 
 it tew rain yisterday, 'sted o' tewday, it would have 
 rained yisterday, an' that's enough fer me. Now 
 I'm goin' tew git up. Must be long atter sunup, 
 by th' way that calf's been a-bellerin' out tew th' 
 barn for the last hour," and he crawled out of bed, 
 followed by Big Torn. 
 
 The muscles of all were somewhat sore and lame 
 from their exertions of the day before; but, other- 
 wise, the excitement and the peril of their fight 
 with the prairie fire had left no bad results. Even 
 the Indian boy had fully recovered his bodily 
 strength and vigor by his long night's rest and 
 sleep. 
 
 267
 
 268 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 " How you feel ? " Big Tom greeted him, heartily, 
 as he climbed down the pegs from the room above, 
 where he had slept, and dropped to the floor. 
 
 "Bully!" gravely responded the young Indian. 
 "Me feel bully!" and he drew his lithe form up 
 very straight. Evidently he was just a little proud 
 of his use of the word "bully." 
 
 " Bully for you ! " retorted Big Tom, with a laugh. 
 "Now, just make yourself to home. Come, Gid, 
 we must do something to stop that calf bellering, 
 or he'll bust his gullet," and, followed by Gideon, 
 he hurried to the barn to attend to the "critters." 
 
 It rained all that day and far into the next night, 
 a steady, soaking rain that the thirsty earth had 
 been long craving; but the next morning dawned 
 clear and bright. 
 
 The Indian boy had been prevailed on, by much 
 urging, to remain in the shelter of the log house 
 until the storm was over. But he was ill at ease 
 in the white man's wigwam and had sat for the 
 greater part of the time in a corner of the room 
 almost motionless, watching every act of his white 
 friends with his keen black eyes, wonderingly, curi- 
 ously; but never asking a question or speaking, 
 unless spoken to. 
 
 Ruth and Gideon had vainly tried to enter into 
 Conversation with him. But his English was too 
 limited or his reserve too great; for he answered, 
 when he answered at all, only in discouraging mono- 
 syllables. However, they did find out that his 
 Indian name was Kar-ray-mau-nee, which, he said,
 
 Ben Block Again 269 
 
 meant Walking Turtle, and was given to him when 
 he was a baby, on account of his peculiar method 
 of creeping. "But," he had proudly added, "when 
 Kar-ray-mau-nee warrior, he have warrior name, 
 not papoose name." 
 
 Now, however, that the storm was over and the 
 morning had dawned clear and bright, he insisted, 
 as soon as he had eaten his breakfast, on going. 
 
 "Wigwam long way. All day walk," he said, 
 by way of explaining his haste, as he arose from 
 the table and prepared to go. 
 
 At the door he paused and, for the first time, 
 his feelings broke through his Indian reserve. For 
 a moment he stood looking from the eyes of one 
 to the eyes of the other, his fine young face showing 
 that he was struggling with feelings he did not 
 know how to translate into words or acts. Then, 
 suddenly, he stepped quickly to Gideon and Silas, 
 who stood close together, side by side, and, catching 
 hold of the right hand of each, lifted them and laid 
 them palm downward on the top of his head. 
 
 "You saved Kar-ray-mau-nee from the Red 
 Death," he said. "Kar-ray-mau-nee never forget. 
 He your brother as long as sun shines. His wig- 
 wam your home," and, lowering the two hands 
 from his head, he gravely and yet with a dignity 
 that seems to come naturally to these untutored 
 sons of the wilderness, bowed, after the white man's 
 fashion, to Mr. and Mrs. Clay and Ruth, each in 
 turn, and, holding his young head erect, turned 
 and glided from the house without another word.
 
 270 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 In ten minutes more he had passed out of sight in 
 the forest, without one backward glance, save that, 
 just as he was about to enter the woods, he turned 
 and waved a last farewell to his friends of the 
 little log house. 
 
 The grass and the flowers came up quickly again, 
 after the long soaking rain that had so closely fol- 
 lowed the fire; and, in two weeks' time, it seemed 
 hardly possible that the verdure-covered prairie 
 could have been swept bare by hot flames so recently. 
 
 Winter came early that year. The first week in 
 November a snowstorm left a sufficient depth of 
 snow on the ground to make good sleighing, and 
 the snow lasted all winter. Consequently Big Tom 
 had an abundance of opportunities to try out his 
 homemade sleigh. 
 
 Once he drove as far as Galena, a thriving little 
 town that had grown up in the midst of the lead 
 mines to the northwest; and, when he came back, 
 he brought with him three half-grown pigs and 
 half a dozen pullets and a cockerel. Twice they 
 visited Abe Dixon to the north, and once they drove 
 as far south as Old Man Kellogg's; and, in return, 
 they were visited by the Dixon and the Kellogg 
 families. 
 
 Thus the long months of the winter passed 
 quickly and pleasantly for the pioneers in their little 
 log house on the prairie, and spring came again, 
 with its warm winds and growing grass and flowers 
 and singing birds. 
 
 Never before had the prairie seemed so beautiful
 
 Ben Block Again 271 
 
 or so peaceful as it did this spring of 1832. The 
 grass and the flowers were unusually luxuriant, 
 probably on account of the fire of the fall before, 
 and the birds, somehow, seemed to be more numer- 
 ous and, to the ears of our friends, to sing more 
 sweetly and happily than they had ever sung in the 
 past. Possibly it was their own happiness, their 
 own joy in living, that gave this golden tinge to all 
 of their surroundings. 
 
 Silas, with the first coming of the warm weather, 
 had again succumbed to an attack of the wilderness 
 itch and had shouldered his rifle and departed. Big 
 Tom and Gideon, during the daylight hours, were 
 always hard at work in the fields. Mrs. Clay and 
 Ruth and the baby, now just learning to walk, were 
 happily busy in and about the house. Indeed, every 
 waking hour was a busy hour and all the hours 
 were happy ones during these quiet, peaceful days 
 of early spring. 
 
 " It seems almost too good to be true," Big Tom 
 said, one morning toward the last of April, as he 
 stood in the opened door of the little log house and 
 looked out over the peaceful prairie. " We've been 
 here now pretty nigh two years and not a real mis- 
 fortune of any kind has happened to any of us. 
 No sickness, no crop failures, no bad luck of any 
 kind; and the future full of smiles and promises.'* 
 
 "Yes, Tom," Mrs. Clay answered, coming to 
 the door and standing by his side. " God has been 
 very good to us, and I have been very, very happy 
 helping build this wilderness home for you, for
 
 272 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 you and the children. I do hope our good fortune 
 continues," and she glanced a bit anxiously around 
 the peaceful scene. " But, somehow, I've been 
 feeling lately as if it was all too good to last, as if 
 our good luck could not continue much longer. 
 It" 
 
 " Shucks ! " and Big Tom smilingly clapped one 
 of his big hands over her mouth. " Now quit your 
 trying to borrow trouble, just because you don't 
 happen to have any of it at home. We can get 
 along without it splendid for quite a spell yet. Just 
 look up. Our skies are as clear as the skies above 
 us," and he glanced upward. "Not a cloud any- 
 where in sight and the sun shining glorious and 
 the birds singing all around us. Reckon it's just 
 Clay luck," and he laughed. "I've always been 
 called a lucky dog. Well, this won't do the spring 
 plowing! See, Gid has the oxen yoked, so I'll be 
 off," and he hurried to where Gideon stood, with 
 the oxen ready yoked together. 
 
 Mrs. Clay's eyes tenderly followed his big form 
 for a moment, and then, with a smiling face, she 
 turned and went about her work, all her doubts and 
 fears dispelled by the cheery words of Big Tom. 
 During the day she smiled often to herself, as she 
 moved about the house; and, when at night she 
 went to the door to call Big Tom and Gideon to 
 their supper, there was a happy light in her eyes 
 and the smile was still on her lips. 
 
 " Land sakes ! " she exclaimed, the moment she 
 looked out of the door, "if there ain't some one
 
 Ben Block Again 273 
 
 with Tom and Gid, and they Ve started for the house 
 already, so I need do no calling. Now, I wonder 
 who it can be? Don't look like anybody I ever 
 saw before. Ruth ! " and she turned to where Ruth 
 was playing with the baby on the floor, " set another 
 plate on the table. We've got company." 
 
 "Who?" and Ruth jumped excitedly from the 
 floor and ran toward the door. 
 
 " Don't know. Never saw him before. Do your 
 work before you do your looking," and Mrs. Clay 
 pushed the excited and curious girl back from the 
 door. "Mercy me! I'll surely have to bake some 
 more johnnycake!" and she hurried to a pan of 
 cornmeal dough that set on the bench near the fire- 
 place and began to make ready another batch of 
 johnnycake. 
 
 " Saw you coming," she smiled, from where she 
 was bending over the fireplace, as Big Tom and 
 Gideon and the "company" entered; "and I've 
 already got another batch of johnnycake baking." 
 
 "Martha!" 
 
 Something in Big Tom's voice caused her to 
 straighten up and glance quickly and apprehensively 
 up into his face. 
 
 " This is Ben Block, the hunter, who brought us 
 news of the Black Hawk trouble before." 
 
 " Mercy on us ! That old trouble-maker ain't 
 been stirring up any more trouble, has he?" 
 
 "Yes," Big Tom answered. "He but I'll let 
 Ben tell the story," and he turned quickly to Ben 
 Block. " Set down, please, and tell us all about
 
 274 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the matter. Supper can wait," and he motioned 
 Ben Block to a chair. 
 
 Ben Block seated himself on the chair, and, hold- 
 ing his coonskin cap in his hands and nervously 
 twirling it about as he talked, proceeded to tell of 
 this latest trouble with Black Hawk. 
 
 " Th' Hawk's been f eelin' uglier than a sick b'ar 
 ever since he was driven 'cross th' Mississippi last 
 year," he began; "an', as near as I can figger it 
 out, it's mostly that ugly feelin' left over from last 
 year, aggervated by th' government's failure tew 
 furnish his people with th' food they need, accordin' 
 tew agreement, that's caused this sudden outbreak 
 on th' part o' th' Hawk. Enyhow, he crossed the 
 Mississippi, sudden, 'bout a week ago, with some- 
 thin' like five hundred warriors an' his women an' 
 children, an' headed straight fer th' Winnerbeggars 
 village on th' Rock River, where that lyin' prophet, 
 White Cloud, holds forth. I ain't much use fer 
 that old repteel, White Cloud. He's got tew much 
 o j th' snake in his black eyes an' crawlin', glidin' 
 ways. But th' Hawk 'pears tew think he's some 
 pumpkin o' a prophet an' has gone tew him fer 
 counsel. Wai, this crossin' o' th' Mississippi by 
 th' Hawk, ag'in' treaty an' ag'in' orders look so 
 hosteel that th' Governor has ag'in called fer vol- 
 unteers, an' th' regelers are a-comin', an' th' settlers 
 are 'bout scart out o' their wits an' are a flying tew 
 th' fortified places an' buildin' stockades an' gittin' 
 ready fer all th' horrors o' an Injun war. I knowed 
 that Si Wegg had gone 'cross th' Mississippi on a
 
 Ben Block Again 275 
 
 hunt; an' I feared that nobudy had warned yew o' 
 th' trouble, seein' that yew are so far off th' regler 
 trail, an' every one is so busy lookin' atter his own 
 scalp ; so I thought I'd better come round an' make 
 shore yew knowed 'bout it. Of course, 'taint sartin 
 that th' Hawk means war, but it looks a powerful 
 lot like it an' every settler otter be on his guard," 
 and Ben Block's eyes turned hungrily toward the 
 table. Evidently, now that he had told the news, 
 he was anxious to begin the eating. 
 
 For a moment Big Tom sat silent, staring down 
 gloomily at the floor. Then he quickly raised his 
 head and turned to Ben Block. 
 
 "You are sure Black Hawk had his women and 
 children with him ? " he asked, his face brightening 
 a little. 
 
 "Yes; seen them myself." 
 
 " That don't look much as if he meant war. In- 
 dians don't usually take their women and children 
 with them on the warpath." 
 
 " Sartin not. But his crossin' th' Mississippi at 
 all, ag'in' treaty an' ag'in' orders, is a hosteel act, 
 an' th' government an' th' state is bound tew drive 
 him back; an' that old repteel, White Cloud, has 
 been fillin' him up with talk 'bout th' British helpin' 
 him with arms an' food, an' that th' Winnerbeggers 
 an' th' Pottawattomies tew th' north are only waitin' 
 fer him tew dig up th' tomahawk tew join him. 
 Now, all this 'pears tew me tew look as if th' war 
 was bound tew come, 'though, maybe, th' Hawk 
 didn't mean war when he crossed th' Mississippi.
 
 276 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 As fer th' wimen an' th' yunks, what's tew hinder 
 th' Hawk from sendin' 'em tew one o' th' friendly 
 Injun villages tew th' north, when he starts out on 
 th' warpath?" 
 
 "Nothing," answered Big Tom, the gloom 
 coming back on his face. "Only why didn't he 
 leave them on the other side of the Mississippi, 
 where they'd have been sure to have been safe, if 
 he really meant war ? Well, Martha," and he turned 
 to his wife, "what do you think about this latest 
 Indian scare?" 
 
 "About as much as I did of the scare last year 
 and the scare the year before," Mrs. Clay answered. 
 "As you say, if Black Hawk intended to make 
 war, it seems sensible to suppose that he would 
 have left his women and children on the other side 
 of the Mississippi. Now, I don't mean that I think 
 there is no danger," she added quickly. "There 
 always is, when it's Indians, especially if they're 
 feeling ugly. But I don't think the danger is any- 
 where near as real as most of the settlers seem to 
 think it is, judging from what Ben Block tells us; 
 and I don't think anything is going to happen, unless 
 the whites themselves do something to spill all the 
 fat in the fire and force the Indians to fight. I 
 land sakes ! " and she made a jump for the fireplace, 
 "the johnnycake is burning up! 
 
 " Now," and she looked up from the smoking 
 johnnycake a moment later, " you'd better set right 
 down to the table and not wait until everything gets 
 cold. I'll get another batch of johnnycake baking
 
 Ben Block Again 277 
 
 right away. The Indian talk can wait until after 
 supper," and she bustled about, making ready an- 
 other batch of johnny cake dough, while Big Tom 
 and the others pulled up their chairs to the supper 
 table and began eating, much to the satisfaction of 
 Ben Block. 
 
 Big Tom and Mrs. Clay were more loath than 
 ever to abandon their prairie home, now that, after 
 having overcome so many difficulties, they were 
 beginning to feel as if they were getting firmly 
 established. Then they had much more to abandon 
 now than they had had last year or the year before. 
 The log house had been made more comfortable 
 and homelike, the stock had increased and the area 
 of ground under cultivation had been greatly en- 
 larged. If they left all this now, right in the midst 
 of the planting and cultivating season, it would 
 mean no crops of any kind that year; and, in all 
 probability, the loss of the greater part of their 
 stock and the destruction of the house and the other 
 buildings. This, to Big Tom and Mrs. Clay, seemed 
 like too big a sacrifice to make on the chance of an 
 Indian outbreak, especially since neither of them 
 really believed that Black Hawk had crossed the 
 Mississippi River with the intention of going on 
 the warpath. Hence, at the family council that 
 gathered after the supper had been eaten, it was 
 determined not to abandon the little log house; at 
 least not yet, not until something more decisive 
 than at present was known, Ben Block agreeing, 
 now that Silas was away, to be on the lookout and
 
 278 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 to warn them if the Indians should actually begin 
 hostilities. 
 
 "We'll keep a constant guard, night and day, 
 and have everything ready to start at a moment's 
 notice, the same as we did before," Big Tom said, 
 when the final decision to remain had been made. 
 
 "An' I'll be off early in th' mornin' an' keep 
 scoutin' 'round," Ben Block promised. "An' at 
 th' fust real hosteel move, I'll light out fer here like 
 a streak of greased lightnin'." 
 
 Accordingly, one of the wagons was again drawn 
 up near the door of the house and such things as 
 would be needed most in case of a sudden flight 
 were placed in it, and the horses, ready harnessed, 
 staked out near by. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " Mrs. Clay complained, as they were 
 about to go to bed that night, leaving Gideon to 
 do guard duty during the first hours, " I'll be power- 
 ful glad when this Indian trouble is settled once for 
 all and we can live in peace. Seems to me that 
 ever since I was born there has always been a 
 threatening Indian outbreak hanging over my head, 
 like the sword of Damocles it tells about in the 
 school readers; and and " her face whitened 
 "and twice the sword fell. God grant that I 
 may never have to live through such scenes of 
 terror and horror again ! " and she shuddered. " I 
 had begun to think that the trouble was all over at 
 last, and that we could live in peace in our new 
 home. And now we've got to go through all the 
 dreadful suspense and weary watching again, and
 
 Ben Block Again 279 
 
 try to sleep with one ear always listening for the 
 terrible war whoop of the Indians; and be ready 
 to jump out of our beds any moment and fight for 
 our lives ! " 
 
 "There, there," and Big Tom laid a hand on 
 the agitated woman's shoulder. "It sure is hard, 
 little woman; but worrying over it won't make it 
 any easier. We've always pulled through in the 
 past all right, and, I reckon, we will this time. 
 Besides, it all comes in the day's work out here on 
 the frontier. Now," and he smiled cheerily, "re- 
 member I've always been a lucky dog, and go to 
 bed and dream of the time thirty years from now, 
 when we will be old and happy and contented and 
 living right here on this land that we have wrested 
 from the wilderness and the savage, surrounded by 
 our prosperous children, yes, and maybe by our 
 grandchildren. It's worth it all, Martha, all that 
 we are enduring now ! " 
 
 "You are right, Tom," and a tender light came 
 into the brave woman's eyes. "It is worth it all; 
 and I was foolish and weak to complain. We'll 
 just make the best of everything that comes, for the 
 children's and and the grandchildren's sakes."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE HAWK STRIKES 
 
 ' I ^HE sun was just showing above the eastern 
 -*- horizon the next morning when Ben Block 
 arose from the breakfast table and made ready to 
 leave the little log house on the prairie. 
 
 "I'll keep a sharp lookout," he promised, as he 
 threw powder horn and bullet pouch over his shoul- 
 der and tightened his belt, "an' let yew know tew 
 once, if th' Injuns start on th' warpath. But don't 
 let up none on yewr watchin', 'til yew hear from 
 me or know fer sartin that th' danger is over. 
 Kin't be tew keerful, when it's Injuns, an' one o' 
 their scalpin' parties might git th' start o' me, or 
 somethin' might happen tew delay me. Now I 
 must be goin'," and, with a good-by shake of the 
 hand of each, he tossed the long barrel of his rifle 
 up on his shoulder and hurried off, with the free 
 and easy stride the wilderness gives its devotees. 
 
 Long, weary days of suspense and watchfulness 
 days when the eyes of some one of them were 
 on guard every hour, night and day, and the wagoa 
 and the harnessed horses always stood ready for 
 instant flight now passed without the sign of a 
 break in the peaceful quietness of the surrounding 
 woods and prairie. 
 
 "Reckon it will turn out to be just a scare, the 
 280
 
 The Hawk Strikes 281 
 
 same as the other did," Big Tom said, one evening, 
 as he came into the house after the day's work was 
 done, leaving Gideon on guard outside. "Accord- 
 ing to Ben Block, Black Hawk must have crossed 
 the Mississippi the first week in April -more than 
 a month ago! I don't believe a real Indian out- 
 break could hang fire that long, without something 
 happening to touch it off. I've a notion to let up 
 a little on this eternal watching. I Why, 
 Martha, what is the trouble?" and he started 
 quickly toward Mrs. Clay, who had just turned a 
 worried, anxious face in his direction. 
 
 " The baby is sick, Tom," Mrs. Clay's voice trem- 
 bled, and her eyes turned to the bed, where the 
 baby lay with Ruth sitting by her side, fanning 
 her. " She was taken terrible bad about the middle 
 of the afternoon, but is resting easier now. Tom, 
 I'm afraid baby has that same dreadful sickness 
 that my sister Ann died with, when she was little. 
 Baby acts and looks just as sister did when she was 
 coming down with it. Tom, if it is that dreadful 
 fever, what will we do ? " 
 
 Big Tom's face whitened; for a serious illness, 
 in their present situation of isolation and peril, far 
 from a doctor, would be terrible; and he hurried 
 to the side of the bed and bent anxiously over the 
 baby. 
 
 No need of a second look into the unnaturally 
 bright eyes and on the hot, feverish cheeks and 
 flushed forehead to tell him that his baby was a 
 very sick child. She lay on the bed, moaning softly
 
 282 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 and turning restlessly from side to side. The mo- 
 ment her eyes caught sight of her father's face she 
 uttered a glad little cry, and, reaching out, caught 
 one of his big fingers in her hot little hand and 
 pulled him down close to her. 
 
 " Baby sick. Baby sick," she said, as she reached 
 up with the other hand and arm and pulled his 
 head down. " Papa kiss baby. Kiss poor sick 
 baby." 
 
 "Yes, yes." Big Tom's voice was so husky he 
 spoke with difficulty. " Papa kiss baby. Make 
 naughty sick go way," and he pressed his lips to 
 the hot cheek and tenderly laid one of his big hands 
 on the flushed little forehead and gently smoothed 
 back the soft, moist hair. "Baby will soon be 
 well, now that papa has come. Baby shut eyes and 
 go to sleep." 
 
 The child smiled confidently and obediently closed 
 her eyes; but almost instantly opened them again, 
 with a cry of pain that went through the father's 
 and the mother's hearts like a sharp knife. 
 
 There was no supper eaten that night ; and Ruth's 
 and Gideon's eyes were the only ones that closed for 
 a moment in sleep. All night long the baby lay 
 moaning and crying, and all night long Mrs. Clay 
 and Big Tom bent anxiously over her, doing every- 
 thing that love and their rude knowledge could sug- 
 gest to ease her suffering, and doing it all vainly. 
 
 With the first light of dawning day, Mrs. Clay 
 turned a white, haggard face to Big Tom. " Tom, 
 Tom, I'm afraid baby will die. Oh, if we only
 
 The Hawk Strikes 283 
 
 could have a doctor! He might do something to 
 save her. Isn't there a doctor somewhere that we 
 can get?" and she caught hold of Big Tom with 
 both of her trembling hands. " Do do something, 
 can't you, to save our baby?" 
 
 For a moment Big Tom stood silent. His baby 
 lay sick, dying, it might be, for want of a doctor. 
 His home was threatened by murderous Indians. 
 If he went for a doctor there was, doubtless, one 
 stationed at Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, a 
 good day's journey from there, although a fast 
 horse might make it in less time the Indians might 
 attack the lonely log house during his absence and 
 kill all. If he did not go, and the baby should die 
 But the baby was there, suffering, before his own 
 eyes ; and the Indians were only a possibility ! His 
 strong jaws came together and he straightened up 
 his big body. 
 
 "God helping me, Martha, I will get a doctor," 
 he said, quietly. "There must be a government 
 doctor stationed at Fort Armstrong. Now get me 
 a snatch to eat, while I'm saddling the horse and 
 giving Gideon his instructions," and he hurried out 
 of the house. 
 
 Ten minutes later Gideon held the saddled and 
 bridled horse ready at the door, while Big Tom 
 quickly ate his hastily prepared breakfast. 
 
 " I'll be back just as soon as the good Lord'll let 
 me," he said, as he jumped up from the table, " and 
 I'll bring a doctor with me if I have to hog-tie him 
 and bring him on the horse in front of me," and
 
 284 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 his strong jaws came together with a snap that 
 boded ill for the doctor who would have the temer- 
 ity to refuse to come with him. 
 
 The baby had now fallen into a troubled, restless 
 sleep, and even in her sleep she moaned and was 
 constantly turning from one side to the other and 
 moving her little limbs about. 
 
 "Good-by, little sweetheart," Big Tom said, as 
 he bent over the bed and kissed her. "Papa " 
 His voice choked and he turned abruptly from the 
 bed and hurried to the door. He knew that that 
 might be the last time he looked upon his baby 
 living. 
 
 At the door he turned and threw an arm around 
 Mrs. Clay and Ruth. 
 
 " Keep up your courage," he said, as he drew 
 them close and kissed them. "God surely will not 
 desert us altogether. I'm sure the baby is better 
 this morning. Trust to Clay luck to bring us out all 
 right," and he smiled. 
 
 "And God," Mrs. Clay added, reverently. 
 
 " And God," repeated Big Tom, bowing his head. 
 
 As he mounted the horse, he turned to Gideon. 
 
 " Son," he said, "I'm leaving them in your care. 
 Guard them, as I would guard them, were I here, 
 with your life." 
 
 " I will, Dad," and Gideon's voice choked. 
 
 " I trust you, son," and Big Tom reached down 
 and gripped the hand of Gideon and the two looked 
 deep for a moment into each other's eyes. Then, 
 without another word, Big Tom struck the horse a
 
 The Hawk Strikes 285 
 
 blow with his whip, and the animal sprang off, as 
 if he understood the great need of haste. 
 
 Fort Armstrong was a small fort that the United 
 States had established on Rock Island, an island 
 in the Mississippi at the mouth of the Rock River, 
 and was some forty miles distant from the house 
 of Big Tom. He hoped to reach the fort a little 
 after noon, secure a fresh horse, and, with the 
 doctor, start back at once and reach the log house a 
 little before midnight of the same day. 
 
 He rode fast, and by noon he had covered con- 
 siderably over half the distance to the fort. 
 
 So far he had not seen a human being, but had 
 passed a number of abandoned houses. As he hur- 
 ried by he could see evidences of the haste with 
 which the houses had been left, as if under the 
 stress of a great danger; and the sight aroused his 
 own fears and increased his anxiety to get back to 
 the lonely log house on the prairie. 
 
 About one o'clock he reached an eminence from 
 which he could see the waters of the Mississippi, 
 still some ten miles away, and the sight cheered his 
 heart. He was nearing his journey's end. He 
 paused for a few moments on the hill top to breathe 
 his panting horse and had just started down the 
 hillside, when a man suddenly jumped up from 
 under a small clump of trees a few rods away, 
 where he had been lying in the shade, and shouted 
 excitedly and ran swiftly toward him. 
 
 Big Tom, at sight of this man, pulled up his 
 horse with a violent jerk and sat in the saddle
 
 286 The Totem of Black Ha^vk 
 
 staring at him as if he could hardly believe the 
 evidence of his own eyes, for the running man was 
 Silas Wiegg. As he came nearer, Big Tom could 
 see that the old hunter was greatly excited. 
 
 "Mother o' men!" he panted, the moment he 
 came up. "What yew doin' here! Whar yew 
 goin' ? What has happened ? Quick ! Don't waste 
 no words," and, in his excitement, he caught hold 
 of the bridle rein, as if he were fearful Big Tom 
 might try to get away from him. 
 
 In as few words as possible, Big Tom told him 
 what had happened at the little log house and why 
 he was on his way to Fort Armstrong; and, before 
 he had finished speaking, Silas had whirled his 
 horse about and had headed him homeward. 
 
 "Now, git right back home," he cried, "as fast 
 as the good Lord'll let yew. Black Hawk is on th' 
 warpath, murderin' th' whites an' headed right yewr 
 way. I was on my way tew warn yew." 
 
 "But, the baby the doctor I " 
 
 "Th' baby won't need no docter, if th' Injuns 
 git thar afore we dew," Silas interrupted, impa- 
 tiently. "Asides, no sane docter would stir a step 
 with yew in that direction without a regiment at 
 his back. 'Twould look tew much like suicide." 
 
 "But " again Big Tom began. 
 
 "God A'mighty, man! Th' Injuns may be at- 
 tackin' yewr home this very minit. Git a-goin' tew 
 once," and Silas struck the horse a violent blow 
 with his hand, caught hold of the stirrup strap, 
 and ran alongside the horse.
 
 The Hawk Strikes 287 
 
 Big Tom made no further resistance, but rode 
 on grimly and silently, his anxious eyes fixed on 
 the ground to the front of him and his mind busy 
 with dreadful apprehensions. 
 
 The horse, already tired by his long ride, re- 
 sponded nobly to this new call on his strength and 
 energy, as if he understood the necessity of the 
 sacrifice he was making. For fifteen miles he 
 needed little urging; then his strength and his 
 breath both began to fail him. Now Big Tom was 
 remorseless. He plied him with the whip without 
 mercy, and for five miles more the noble brute strug- 
 gled on, with Silas, marvelous old man, holding 
 fast to the stirrup strap, running pantingly along 
 by his side. Then, while going down a hill, the horse 
 stumbled and fell, struggled to rise, but could not, 
 and, with a groan almost human in its anguish, fell 
 back again. 
 
 Big Tom had jumped from his saddle as the horse 
 fell. Now he gave one look at the fallen animal, 
 caught up his rifle, which had been jarred from 
 his hand, and sped on, on foot, letting the horse lie 
 where he fell. 
 
 The two men, for Silas still ran by the side of 
 Big Tom, settled down into a steady, doglike trot, 
 that experience had taught them was best for a long 
 run such as they were making. They ran silently 
 and grimly, each intent on conserving all the powers 
 within him to the one end of reaching the little log 
 house in the shortest time possible. 
 
 At the end of half an hour they paused for the
 
 288 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 first time on the top of a little hill for a few 
 moments' breathing space. 
 
 "We kin make it in less than an hour more," 
 Silas panted. 
 
 "Yes," Big Tom assented, as he threw himself 
 down on the ground. " God grant that we are not 
 too late!" 
 
 "I kin see no signs o' Injun devilment," and 
 Silas's eyes searched the surrounding horizon. " No 
 smoke from burnin' houses, no look thar ! " and 
 he raised a long arm and pointed to where a heavy 
 column of black smoke could be seen rising sky- 
 ward some ten miles to the southward. 
 
 "That must be the home of Big Ike Conrad," 
 Big Tom said, half -raising himself from the ground. 
 " God grant that he was warned in time to get 
 away! My God, Si!" and he jumped to his 
 feet, a look of horror on his face, at the sudden 
 thought the sight of the smoke so far to the south 
 had given him. " That means that the Indians must 
 have already passed my place! Come on," and he 
 started off on the run. 
 
 Without a word, but with a grim, set look on his 
 leathery face, Silas hurried after him and caught 
 him by the hand. 
 
 " Slow up a leetle," he warned, " or yew'll give 
 out afore yew git thar." 
 
 " My wife, my baby, my sick baby, my boy, my 
 girl! And you tell me to slow up!" Big Tom 
 turned, almost furiously, on Silas, jerked his hand 
 away and raced on. But, in a few minutes, he
 
 The Hawk Strikes 289 
 
 recognized the wisdom of Silas's warning and 
 slowed down to the steady, doglike trot. 
 
 Silas soon caught up with him and again the 
 two men ran side by side. 
 
 The sun had already set when they drew near 
 the spot where the little log house had stood that 
 morning, in the midst of its peaceful and pleasant 
 surroundings. 
 
 "God grant that all are safe!" was the prayer 
 in the heart of each, as he sped desperately, stag- 
 gering with weariness, up the hill from the top of 
 which the home place could be seen not more than 
 a mile away. 
 
 Big Tom was the first to reach the summit of 
 the hill. One look, and, with a groan, he sank down 
 on the ground, where he had stood, and covered 
 his eyes with his hands. 
 
 It was still light enough to see across the prairie, 
 and, where the little log house had stood only that 
 morning, there was now to be seen nothing but a 
 pile of smouldering ruins, from which thin columns 
 of smoke were rising lazily. 
 
 For full five minutes Silas stood like a statue, 
 leaning heavily on the long barrel of his rifle, his 
 eyes fixed on the faint red glow of the smoldering 
 ruins and his leather-like face drawn into deep 
 lines of suffering and horror. No one but he knew 
 how deeply Mrs. Clay and the children had worked 
 their way into his lonely bachelor heart. He felt 
 the horror of this dreadful thing almost as much as 
 did Big Tom himself. At last, with a grim tight-
 
 2go The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 ening of the lines around the mouth, he turned to 
 where Big Tom crouched on the ground and laid a 
 hand on one of the heaving shoulders. 
 
 "Tom," he said huskily, "Injuns sometimes 
 make prisoners o' wimen an' yunks, an' if they've 
 been made prisoners, we must rescue 'em. Come 
 on. Let's investergate," and he started toward the 
 ruins. 
 
 "If they're dead I'll kill that murdering villain, 
 Black Hawk, with my own hands ! " and Big Tom 
 leaped to his feet, a wild light in his eyes, and 
 savagely gripped his rifle and hurried after Silas. 
 
 The Indians had been thorough; house, barn, 
 wagons, everything, had been completely destroyed ; 
 and all the live stock driven off or killed. All that 
 was left was the smoking ruins. But, although 
 they searched until late at night, not a vestige 
 could they find of Mrs. Clay and the children. 
 
 " No use lookin' eny longer," Silas at length said. 
 "They're not here, which means th' Injuns have 
 got 'em, an' thar's hope in that," he added, his face 
 brightening. "We'll git on their trail th' fust 
 thing in th' mornin'. Now we must git all th' rest 
 an' sleep we kin," and he stretched himself out on 
 the ground where he had stood and was soon sound 
 asleep. 
 
 Big Tom waited a few minutes, grim and silent, 
 staring dully around at the ruins of his happy 
 home; then he, too, lay down on the ground by 
 the side of Silas, to get what sleep and rest a 
 pitying God might send him.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 MIKE GIRTY 
 
 GIDEON, as soon as his father had ridden off 
 for the doctor on that fateful morning, 
 attended to the few chores that yet had to be done 
 and then went to the door of the house. 
 
 " Dad said I was to work in the potato patch 
 today, so as to be near the house," he said, thrust- 
 ing his head in through the open doorway. "If 
 you want me for anything, just go to the north 
 window and call. How's the baby?" 
 
 "She's asleep now, thank God!" Mrs. Clay 
 answered from her place by the bedside, a note of 
 encouragement in her voice. "The dreadful pains 
 seem to be all gone ; but the fever is as bad as ever. 
 And and, Gid, baby didn't know me, know her 
 own mother, when she awoke a few minutes ago, 
 but stared up at me in such a dreadful wild-looking 
 way that I was glad when her eyes closed again 
 in sleep. Oh, I do hope your dad can get a doctor 
 at Fort Armstrong! It is terrible to have baby so 
 sick and not know what to do to help her. Now," 
 and she rose softly from the bedside and came 
 quickly to the door, while her eyes swept swiftly 
 and anxiously over the surrounding prairie, "my 
 boy, don't forget that you are the only man about 
 the place and that we, Ruth and baby and I, are 
 
 291
 
 292 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 depending on you to keep guard. It would be 
 terrible to have the Indians attack us now that 
 your dad is away and the baby is so sick!" and 
 again her eyes searched apprehensively the peaceful 
 surrounding prairie. 
 
 " Don't worry, mother. I'll keep my eyes open. 
 No one can get to the house without being seen 
 from the potato patch. Just forget all about the 
 Indians and take good care of the baby. Dad'll 
 be back before morning, and he'll surely have a 
 doctor with him. Now I must be getting to work," 
 and, taking a hoe, which hung against the side of 
 the house, in one hand and his rifle in the other, 
 Gideon started for the potato patch, while Mrs. 
 Clay returned to her place by the side of the sick 
 baby. 
 
 About nine o'clock that morning, Gideon, who 
 every few minutes paused in his work long enough 
 to take a quick searching look over the prairie 
 and along the long line of the woods, was startled 
 to see the solitary figure of a man step out from 
 among the dark shadows of the trees and walk 
 swiftly and confidently toward the house. Gideon 
 at once dropped his hoe and, picking up his rifle 
 from the ground where it lay near him, started 
 also for the house, keeping his eyes on the advanc- 
 ing man and the dark line of the woods behind 
 him. As the man drew nearer, he could see that 
 he was white, a large, burly-looking fellow, roughly 
 dressed in deerskins and armed with a rifle, toma- 
 hawk, knife, and pistols. He swaggered a little
 
 Mike Girty 293 
 
 in his walk, and Gideon's first impression of him 
 was one of dislike and distrust. 
 
 "Howd'y!" the man called out the moment he 
 came within hailing distance, throwing up both 
 hands, after the manner of Indians when they wish 
 to signify their friendliness. " I'm th' bearer of 
 good news. Th' Hawk an' his braves have ag'in 
 been driven 'cross th' Mississippi, an' all's as 
 peaceful an' as quiet as a funeral, so yew kin hang 
 up yewr rifles an' sleep quiet in yewr beds once 
 more. Thought yew'd like tew know 'bout it, so 
 I stopped on my way tew Old Man Kellogg's," and 
 he grinned until two fanglike teeth showed through 
 his shaggy beard. 
 
 " That is powerful good news to us right now," 
 Gideon answered, all his dislike and distrust of 
 the man vanishing in his joy over the message he 
 bore. "Dad is away; but mother'll be right glad 
 to see you and to hear your news. You see, we've 
 got a terribly sick baby and dad's gone to Fort 
 Armstrong after a doctor. Come right in and 
 tell mother the good news. She's been afraid the 
 Indians might attack us while dad was away, and 
 it will do her a lot of good to know that that danger 
 is over," and he started eagerly toward the house, 
 anxious for his mother to hear the good news as 
 soon as possible. 
 
 "So yewr dad's away," the man said as he 
 hurried along by the side of Gideon; "an' gone fer 
 a doctor fer a sick baby. That's terrible bad, an' 
 I'm powerful sorry 'bout th' baby; but I'm glad
 
 2Q4 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 I kin ease yewr maw's mind 'bout th' Injun scare. 
 Now," and he started a little and looked keenly 
 into Gideon's face, "when might yew be expectin' 
 yewr dad back?" 
 
 "He didn't start until this morning," Gideon 
 answered frankly. " But dad won't waste no time 
 and he'll sure be back before morning." 
 
 A look of relief passed over the face of the man 
 and again he showed his two fanglike teeth in a 
 smile. 
 
 " Pleasant an' kumfertble home," he said as they 
 came up close to the house. " It shore would have 
 been tough tew have had all this destroyed by th' 
 Injuns," and again he smiled. Then, noting that 
 Gideon's eyes were turned from him, he suddenly 
 and swiftly lifted his right hand high above his 
 head and allowed it to fall straight downward. 
 
 The unsuspicious boy saw nothing of this move- 
 ment, evidently a signal, and hurried on toward 
 the house. 
 
 "Good news! Good news, mother!" he called 
 out joyfully, the moment the door of the house 
 was reached. "Here's a man come to tell us that 
 the Indian scare is over and that Black Hawk and 
 his warriors are safe across the Mississippi again, 
 so we needn't worry any more over that. Now, 
 come right in," and he turned to the stranger. 
 " Mother '11 be right glad to welcome the bearer of 
 such news," and he entered the house, followed 
 closely by the man. 
 
 Mrs. Clay, at the sound of Gideon's joyous voice
 
 Mike Girty 295 
 
 and words, jumped up quickly from the side of 
 the bed and hurried to the door, her face a-light 
 with the relief his words had brought her. She 
 started slightly at sight of the man's face; evidently 
 she did not like his looks at first any more than 
 Gideon had, but any sort of a looking man would 
 be welcome, coming with such news. 
 
 "Mercy me, but that is good news! I could 
 welcome the devil himself if he brought such news, 
 that is, if I knew it were true," and she extended 
 her hand hospitably to the man. 
 
 The man started at Mrs. Clay's words and 
 glanced sharply into her face, and then, as if 
 reassured, grasped her hand and shook it heartily. 
 
 " I shore am glad tew be th' bearer of sech news 
 tew yew at this time," and he glanced toward the 
 bed, where Ruth sat, fanning the baby, her eyes 
 on the face of the stranger. "Yewr boy tells me 
 that yew have a sick baby an' that his dad has gone 
 fer a doctor. Sickness is shore trouble enough, 
 without eny Injun scare on top o' it; an' I'm glad 
 tew be able tew set yewr mind at rest 'bout th' 
 Injun scare." 
 
 "I sure am right glad to have it set at rest," 
 and Mrs. Clay smiled wanly. " Now set right down 
 and tell us about it," and she motioned him to a 
 chair. "The baby, poor little thing," and the 
 anxious look came back on her face, "is asleep; 
 but 'twon't disturb her, if you speak low." 
 
 The man seated himself near the open door, 
 where he could give frequent glances outside and
 
 296 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 where his bulky form would prevent the others 
 from seeing what was going on outside. 
 
 " Seems that th' Hawk only wanted tew go tew 
 th' village o' th' Winnerbeggers tew raise a crap o' 
 corn tew keep his people from starvin'," he began; 
 " an' had no intentions o' goin' on th' warpath ; an' 
 when he found out what a rumpus his crossin' th' 
 Mississippi had stirred up, he was some surprised 
 an' scart, not being ready fer war, an' so, gatherin' 
 his warriors an' squaws an' papooses together, he 
 hurried back 'cross th' Mississippi, afore th' soldiers 
 could git tew him. That's 'bout all thar was tew 
 this latest Injun scare ; but it shore was a powerful 
 big scare, while it lasted," and he chuckled and 
 hitched his chair still a little nearer to the door. 
 
 " Well, I certain am glad the scare is over," and 
 Mrs. Clay heaved a sigh of relief. " The suspense, 
 not knowing what is a-going to happen, is terrible 
 wearing on the nerves. Now, if baby only will get 
 well, I sure would be a happy woman. Excuse 
 me," and she hurried to the bed and bent anxiously 
 over the baby, who had begun to show signs of 
 awakening. 
 
 Gideon, on sitting down, had laid his rifle across 
 his knees. The man now reached out and placed 
 his hand on the gun. 
 
 " That's a mighty fine weapin yew have," he said, 
 as he lifted the rifle from Gideon's knee. "A 
 powerful fine weapin, jest 'bout th' right heft an' 
 balance " 
 
 At that moment the soft call of a quail, twice
 
 Mike Girty 297 
 
 repeated, came from outside. The man paused for 
 a moment, as if listening, Gideon's rifle held in 
 his hand. 
 
 "Jest 'bout th' right heft an' balance," he 
 repeated, "an' comin' tew th' shoulder quick an' 
 easy," and he stood up and suddenly threw the 
 cocked rifle to his shoulder and pointed it straight 
 at Gideon's head. 
 
 At the same instant Ruth uttered a scream of 
 terror and jumped to her feet and stood, staring 
 in a fascination of horror at the open window 
 directly over the bed, through which protruded the 
 long barrel of a rifle, behind which showed the 
 horribly painted face and the glittering eyes of an 
 Indian. At the same instant other rifles were thrust 
 through the other windows and back of each was 
 the hideous face of an Indian, while through the 
 open doorway glided, as noiselessly as snakes, the 
 nearly naked and horribly painted forms of half 
 a dozen others. 
 
 Gideon, at the scream of Ruth, had leaped to 
 his feet, to find himself looking straight down into 
 the muzzle of his own rifle, held not three feet 
 from his head, and into eyes that flamed like the 
 eyes of a wolf in the dark. 
 
 " Quiet, quiet," chuckled the man behind the gun. 
 " We ain't aimin' tew spill no blood, not right now, 
 so jest take things quiet an' easy. Fooled yew 
 good an* plenty, didn't I?" and he laughed taunt- 
 ingly; but the muzzle of the rifle never lowered an 
 inch and the flaming eyes never left Gideon's face
 
 298 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 for an instant. "Wai, yew're not th' fust white 
 idjits Mike Girty has fooled." 
 
 Gideon stood like one in a horrible nightmare, 
 weaponless, helpless, speechless, while two Indians 
 glided to his side, pulled his hands backward and 
 swiftly tied them together behind his back. 
 
 Mrs. Clay, with a gasping cry of horror, caught 
 the baby up in her arms at the first sight of the 
 Indians, and stood, white and trembling, her 
 burning eyes flashing from the face of one Indian 
 to the face of another and finally resting, with a look 
 of inexpressible contempt and loathing, on the face 
 of Mike Girty, the white renegade. 
 
 The moment Gideon's hands were safely tied 
 behind his back, Mike Girty lowered the rifle and 
 turned and advanced toward Mrs. Clay, chuckling 
 and grinning with brutal satisfaction over the 
 cunning manner with which he had betrayed and 
 trapped the people of his own race and color. 
 
 "Keep back! Don't you dare come near me, 
 you cur, you contemptible cur! If you lay one 
 of your dirty, poison, blood-stained hands on me, 
 I'll tear your eyes out, if I die for it the next 
 moment ! " and Mrs. Clay, all the fury of her out- 
 raged humanity in her eyes, turned so threateningly 
 on the advancing renegade that he abruptly 
 stopped and took a quick step backward. " These 
 Indians are at least human," she continued, " acting 
 according to their race and light. But you are inhu- 
 man, accursed, base betrayer of your own blood and 
 kind; and I'll not have you laying one of your
 
 Mike Girty 299 
 
 dirty fingers on me," and she contemptuously turned 
 her back on the white man and, taking Ruth by the 
 hand, walked up to a tall, masterful-looking Indian, 
 evidently a chief, who stood near by, and signified 
 that they were his prisoners. 
 
 Mike Girty's face had flushed angrily at the biting 
 scorn of Mrs. Clay's words, looks and acts, and the 
 moment she turned her back toward him he started 
 furiously toward her; but the tall Indian to whom 
 she had appealed lifted his right hand and held it 
 over the head of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 "My prisoners," he said calmly, and sternly 
 motioned the enraged man back. 
 
 Girty stood glowering at the Indian for a moment, 
 then, whirling angrily about on his heels, caught 
 Gideon roughly by the arm, gave him a violent 
 jerk and, with a guttural command to two of the 
 Indians, turned the boy over to them. At least no 
 one could dispute his right to do as he pleased with 
 the boy, his own prisoner! 
 
 Gideon was now taken a short distance from the 
 house, roughly thrown to the ground and his ankles 
 bound tightly together. A few minutes later Ruth 
 and Mrs. Clay, the baby still held close to her 
 bosom, were brought to the spot where Gideon lay 
 bound, and left under the guard of two ugly-looking 
 Indians. 
 
 All the other Indians now began plundering the 
 house of everything of value to them. This done, 
 they set fire to the house and the barn and the two 
 wagons, shot the hens and the pigs and, gathering
 
 300 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the cattle and the horses together, hurried half a 
 dozen Indians off to the north with them. 
 
 The feelings of our pioneer friends, as they sat 
 in helpless agony and watched the utter destruction 
 of all that had taken them so many months of 
 patient, loving work and care to build, need no 
 describing. You can imagine the rage of Gideon, 
 all the greater because of his utter helplessness; 
 the sorrow and anguish of Mrs. Clay, and the 
 misery and terror of Ruth, better than words could 
 tell. For the moment they even forgot the horrors 
 of their own peril. 
 
 Gideon, at the coming of his mother and Ruth, 
 had started to say something to cheer them up, but 
 instantly one of the Indian guards had indicated 
 most emphatically and savagely that he was to keep 
 his mouth shut, consequently they had been obliged 
 to sit through all the terrible scenes of destruction 
 in silence. 
 
 The baby, during these scenes of horror, had 
 lain in her mother's arms in a heavy sleeplike 
 stupor that made her insensible to all that was 
 going on around her, and it was fortunte that she 
 had, for Indians when on the warpath never bother 
 long with a screaming child. If the child is too 
 young for fear to silence, the tomahawk is used. 
 
 As soon as the work of destruction was completed 
 the Indians all gathered in a circle not far from 
 where the prisoners sat and held a brief council, 
 evidently, from their actions, over the disposition 
 of the captives. First Mike Girty stood up and
 
 Captured by the Indians
 
 Mike Girty 301 
 
 spoke vehemently and angrily, frequently pointing 
 to where the white prisoners sat. Then Leaping 
 Deer, the Indian to whom Mrs. Clay had appealed 
 for . protection from Girty and who was evidently 
 the chief of the band, arose and spoke briefly but 
 emphatically, once placing his hand on his toma- 
 hawk and scowling threateningly at Girty. 
 
 The result of the council was that Leaping Deer 
 detailed five warriors to take charge of the pris- 
 oners, while he and Girty and the remaining Indians, 
 some twenty in number, hurried off on another 
 expedition of pillage and murder. 
 
 The five Indians thus detailed at once approached 
 the captives, cut the thongs of deerskin that bound 
 Gideon's hands and ankles, ordered all to stand up; 
 and then, with one Indian walking ahead, two behind 
 and one on either side of our unfortunate and miser- 
 able friends, started off toward the north. 
 
 "Just wait until dad gets back and finds out 
 what has happened," Gideon whispered hurriedly 
 to his mother, as they fell in line. " He'll start on 
 our trail at once; and " 
 
 Here a brown hand shot out and landed heavily 
 on Gideon's mouth. The hint was sufficient. Gideon 
 said no more. 
 
 Mrs. Clay and Ruth and Gideon, as they reached 
 the brow of a little hill, turned for a last look at 
 the spot where they had passed so many happy 
 hours, now, alas, covered with smoking ruins, and 
 then passed on over the hill top, whither and to 
 what fate they knew not.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE YOUNG CAPTAIN OF VOLUNTEERS 
 
 "D IG TOM and Silas Wegg had been completely 
 -*-* exhausted, both physically and mentally, by 
 the tremendous exertions of that long race back 
 to the log house and the harrowing suspense and 
 the dreadful fears that the peril of Mrs. Clay and 
 the children had aroused; and when they stretched 
 themselves out on the ground near the ruins of 
 the log house after their vain search for some 
 clue that would throw light on the fate of the 
 missing ones, it was to sleep like two logs, notwith- 
 standing the uncertainty that still harrowed their 
 minds. Tired bodies and tired brains and tired 
 hearts must have rest, or break; and, therefore, 
 God has given us sleep. 
 
 Something cold and soft, pressing against one 
 of his hands that lay uncovered, awoke Big Tom 
 the next morning. With a shivering chill of dread, 
 he instinctively clutched his rifle, even before he 
 had opened his eyes; and, looking up, saw in the 
 dim light of the early morning, standing over him 
 and pressing his nose to his body, Black Ben, the 
 horse that had so nobly served him the day before 
 and which he had left exhausted on the prairie 
 ten miles back. 
 
 Big Tom, with a cry of welcome and joy, sprang 
 302
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 303 
 
 to his feet and threw both arms around the neck of 
 the horse. Wife and children and house and stock, 
 all were gone, all but the faithful animal by his 
 side; and the thought of this brought tears to his 
 eyes and a choke in his throat. 
 
 "Wai," and Silas stood by his side and laid a 
 caressing hand on the neck of the horse, "this is 
 what I call brute faithfulness, atter th' way yew 
 abused him yisterday, tew foller yew up an' tew 
 come nosin' 'round yew this mornin', like he loved 
 yew more'n ever. Reckon he knows yew run him 
 so hard an' licked him so hard yisterday only 'cause 
 yew had tew. Now," and Silas straightened up 
 and his face hardened and his eyes swept swiftly 
 over the prairie, smiling so peacefully under the 
 warm rays of the morning sun, "we must get 
 somethin' tew eat an' git on th' trail tew once. Yew 
 start a fire an' I'll git one o' them deer feedin* over 
 yonder," and he pointed to where half a dozen 
 deer stood quietly browsing near the edge of the 
 forest. 
 
 In half an hour Silas was back with one of the 
 deer hanging from his back, and in another half 
 hour they had eaten their breakfast and were ready 
 to take up the trail. At first the departure of the 
 Indians in three separate parties delayed and con- 
 fused them; but the keen eyes and reasoning of 
 Silas soon read the meaning of these divisions. 
 
 " Reckon," he said, " that one party was hurried 
 off tew some place o' safety with th' stock an' 
 anuther party was placed in charge o' th' prisoners,
 
 304 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 tew take 'em tew some agreed-on rendezvous, so 
 that th' remainin' an' larger party o' warriors 
 would be free tew start out on anuther expedition 
 o' pillage an' murder. That would leave th' pris- 
 oners with this small party goin' north," and he 
 pointed to the trail left by the five Indians who had 
 been given charge of Mrs. Clay and the children. 
 "Leastwise that's th' way I reason it out; an' I'm 
 for followin' that trail. Now, how dew yew figger 
 it out ? " and he turned inquiringly to Big Tom. 
 
 " About the same as you do/' Big Tom answered. 
 " Come on. We've already lost more time than 
 we should. We'll take turns riding Black Ben and 
 hurry along as fast as we can follow the trail." 
 
 "Yew fust on th' hoss, then," and Silas started 
 off on the run, his head bent slightly forward and 
 downward and his eyes fixed on the almost imper- 
 ceptible trail left by the Indians and their prisoners 
 as they had hurried northward over the prairie. 
 
 Big Tom sprang to the back of his horse and 
 followed close behind him, keeping a sharp lookout 
 in all directions, so that Silas could give his 
 undivided attention to the following of the trail. 
 
 For some two miles they hurried along in this 
 manner, then Silas suddenly stopped and, with an 
 exclamation of satisfaction, threw himself down 
 on his hands and knees and began carefully exam- 
 ining the footprints left in a moist, bare spot of 
 ground on the margin of a small pond. In a few 
 moments he stood up and turned a joyful face to 
 Big Tom. "We shore are on th' right trail," he
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 305 
 
 cried ; " for thar are th' footprints o' Mrs. Clay an' 
 Gideon an' Ruth, 'long with th' hoof marks o' th' 
 Injuns. I'd know 'em enywhar, 'cause they are 
 wearin' th' moccasins I made for 'em last winter; 
 an', I reckon, from th' way she walks, Mrs. Clay 
 is carry in' th' baby." 
 
 Big Tom at once jumped off the horse and bent 
 and examined the footprints and almost immedi- 
 ately straightened up. 
 
 "Yes," he agreed, "those are their tracks; and 
 now that we know that we are on the right trail 
 let's get a-going and keep a-going as fast as we 
 can," and he leaped back in the saddle and hurried 
 after Silas, who was already running along the trail. 
 
 Suddenly Silas stopped again and bent quickly 
 and picked up something from the ground and, 
 without a word, turned and handed it to Big Tom 
 and sped on his way. 
 
 It was a very small moccasin, made for a baby's 
 foot and decorated with loving care with beads and 
 embroidery. 
 
 Big Tom seized it hungrily, and, pressing it to 
 his lips, thrust it in under the bosom of his shirt. 
 Well he remembered the making of those little 
 moccasins, and the loving hands that had so ten- 
 derly beaded and embroidered them during the 
 long nights of the winter just past, and the delight 
 on the face of the baby when for the first time 
 they were tried on her pink little feet. Alas, alas, 
 would he ever see those dear faces again? He 
 ground his teeth together and the grip on his rifle
 
 306 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 tightened and his eyes searched eagerly the long 
 stretch of lonely prairie to the front of them. But 
 not a sign of a human being, other than themselves, 
 was anywhere visible on the wide expanse of the 
 prairie. The Indians had had nearly twenty- four 
 hours the start of them and evidently they had 
 made good use of their time. 
 
 For an hour longer they hurried on; then, with 
 hardly a pause, Silas mounted the horse and Big 
 Tom followed the trail. 
 
 About ten o'clock they came to a secluded little 
 valley, through which flowed a small stream of 
 water. In a grove of trees near the banks of the 
 stream they came upon the unmistakable evidences 
 of a large Indian encampment that had been hastily 
 abandoned only a few hours before, probably that 
 very morning, since some of the ashes of the camp 
 fires were still warm. 
 
 This was a disheartening sight for Big Tom and 
 Silas, for it told them that now they would have 
 to contend with a whole village of Indians, instead 
 of the few they had been following. 
 
 "Durn th' luck!" complained Silas. "I was in 
 hopes we could catch up with th' red devils afore 
 they reached th' main camp. Reckon thar won't 
 more'n five or six Injuns with th' prisoners; an' 
 we could have done for 'em; but now Wai, no 
 use cryin' for butter atter th' cream is spilt. We 
 jest have tew make th' best o' it an' keep on th' 
 trail. They kin't be more'n five or six hours ahead 
 o' us now," and his face brightened.
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 307 
 
 " Yes, we'll keep on the trail," Big Tom declared 
 grimly, " whether it is made by one or a thousand 
 warriors, as long as Martha and the children are 
 with them. Come on. We want to catch up with 
 them before night, sure," and he started off along 
 the well-marked trail on the run, followed by Silas 
 on the horse. 
 
 An hour later, on reaching the top of a small 
 hill, Big Tom stopped abruptly and, with an 
 exclamation of warning to Silas, crouched down 
 low in the grass and looked out intently over the 
 prairie beyond. In a moment Silas was off the 
 back of the horse and by his side. 
 
 An almost level stretch lay in front of them, 
 extending for some four or five miles before it rose 
 in low-lying hills. Some three miles to the right, 
 a long line of woods skirted the prairie, and riding 
 out of these woods and coming directly toward 
 them was a large band of horsemen, a hundred or 
 more. In advance rode a couple of scouts. 
 
 " Indians ? " questioned Big Tom the moment 
 Silas crouched by his side. 
 
 "Looks like it; but I dunno for shore," Silas 
 answered, his eyes intent on the advancing caval- 
 cade. "Th' scouts don't look jest like Injuns, 
 though; an', by jiggers, they're not!" he almost 
 shouted a moment later. "One on 'em's got 
 whiskers; an' who ever knowed of an Injun with 
 whiskers! Must be a company o' state volunteers. 
 They sartin are not reglers. But we'll make shore 
 afore we show ourselves."
 
 3o8 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 For five minutes longer they crouched low in 
 the grass, then both of them arose, and taking off 
 their caps, waved them around their heads and 
 shouted. They were sure now that the advancing 
 horsemen were whites. 
 
 Both scouts heard them, started, turned quickly 
 in their direction, stared at them for a moment, 
 then whirled their horses about and started back 
 for the main body as fast as they could make their 
 mounts go. 
 
 "By jinks! if they don't take us for Injuns," 
 chuckled Silas, "same as we did them." 
 
 The band of horsemen halted at sight of their 
 flying scouts and awaited their coming in consid- 
 erable confusion and excitement. Then, after a 
 few minutes, a company of some twenty-five men 
 rode out from the main body and, followed more 
 slowly by the others, galloped toward the spot where 
 Big Tom and Silas still stood, waving their caps. 
 Not until this company of horsemen were within 
 one hundred yards of Big Tom and Silas did they 
 seem to feel sure that the two men were whites; 
 then their leader pulled off his cap, swung it 
 excitedly around his head and yelling: "They're 
 whites, boys ! " dug the spurs into his horse, and 
 galloping at full speed up the hill, jumped off the 
 horse in front of Big Tom and Silas and grabbed 
 a hand of each. 
 
 " Thought sure you were Indians, trying to lead 
 us into ambush," he laughed, as he shook their 
 hands warmly, his keen, deep-set eyes, eyes that
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 309 
 
 neither Silas nor Big Tom ever forgot, searching 
 their faces. 
 
 "Wai, I dunno as I blame yew," grinned Silas. 
 "We shore thought yew were Injuns till we seen 
 one o' yew had whiskers. Volunteers, I reckon?" 
 and he glanced at the men, who by now were 
 crowding around them. " Captain ? " and his eyes 
 turned inquiringly to the tall, lank, big-boned young 
 fellow that had gripped his hand. 
 
 "Yes. Captain Abraham Lincoln, the handsom- 
 est man in the army, at your service," answered the 
 big-boned young fellow, drawing his tall, gaunt 
 form up to its full height and making an awkward 
 bow, while his eyes twinkled merrily. 
 
 Silas looked into the angular, homely face before 
 him and grinned; and the longer he looked the 
 broader became his grin. 
 
 " What you grinning about ? " drawled Lincoln, 
 the twinkle in his eyes deepening. 
 
 " Wai," answered Silas, " I was tryin' tew figger 
 out what th' homeliest man in th' army must look 
 like if yew're th' handsomest, an' I came mighty 
 nigh bustin' my imagination." 
 
 The men around them broke into loud guffaws; 
 but Lincoln, dolefully drawing down the corners of 
 his mobile lips, laid his hand on Silas's shoulder. 
 
 " My friend," he said solemnly, " you have 
 touched upon a melancholy topic. The homeliest 
 man in the army died last night from fright. He 
 wanted to shave and I loaned him my looking- 
 glass. But," and the waggish look on Lincoln's
 
 310 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 face instantly changed to one of solicitude and his 
 eyes turned to the face of Big Tom, " I see that you 
 are in trouble. Anything we can do for you ? " 
 
 "Yes," answered Big Tom. "The Indians have 
 burnt down my home and have run off with my wife 
 and three children. I want you to help me get 
 them back. We are on their trail now." 
 
 The faces of all sobered instantly and they 
 crowded close around Big Tom and Silas, while 
 Lincoln laid one of his hands on Big Tom's 
 shoulder. 
 
 "We will do all that we can to help you," he 
 said. "Tell me the needed facts as briefly as 
 possible, so that we will lose no time." 
 
 By now the main body of the volunteers had 
 arrived at the spot and all crowded as closely as 
 possible around Silas and Big Tom, anxious to hear 
 their story. 
 
 They were a motley crowd of men, this company 
 of Western volunteers recruited from the rough 
 frontier settlements of the state, and had little of 
 the looks or the discipline of a military organiza- 
 tion. Each of the men had procured for his outfit 
 what he could get, with the consequence that no 
 two were equipped alike. They had no uniforms, 
 but each wore his usual clothes, buckskin breeches, 
 coonskin cap, or whatever chanced to be his ordi- 
 nary dress. They carried their beds, coarse 
 blankets, behind their saddles on their horses' 
 backs. Nearly all of them were armed with flint- 
 lock rifles; and over the shoulder of each were
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 311 
 
 slung his powder horn and bullet pouch. They 
 cared little for appearance and scorned all military 
 discipline. Each considered himself a free inde- 
 pendent American citizen; not a cog in a military 
 machine, to be run according to orders. If a 
 command seemed reasonable to them they obeyed 
 it; if it did not so seem, they were more apt to 
 jeer than to obey. They had come out with the 
 one purpose of driving the Indians back across the 
 Mississippi, and they had little respect for any 
 order that did not seem to them to bear directly 
 on this mission. 
 
 Their young captain was as picturesquely rough 
 in his dress and appearance as were the men, but 
 there was a masterful something about him that the 
 others lacked. There had to be for him to be the 
 leader of such untamed manhood. He was unusu- 
 ally tall, six feet and four inches in his moccasins 
 "when my backbone is straight," so he said 
 big-boned, lean, and muscular, with somewhat thin 
 and narrow shoulders for so great a height. His 
 face was strong and angular, with deep-set eyes, 
 rather high cheek bones, large nose and mouth and 
 a high forehead an exceedingly homely face, and 
 yet a very likable face, one that attracted at first 
 sight and whose homeliness was soon forgotten. 
 
 Such was Abraham Lincoln, or Abe Lincoln, as 
 he was called by his men, at the time he galloped 
 up to our friends so unexpectedly and opportunely, 
 out there on that lonely Illinois prairie, on that May 
 morning of the year 1832.
 
 312 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Who then would have thought that history would 
 soon be called upon to write down this great, 
 uncouth, awkward young captain of a little company 
 of rough Illinois volunteers he was but twenty- 
 three years old as one of the few really great 
 men of the earth? There is inspiration for every 
 boy, however simple his birth and early surround- 
 ings, in the life of this wonderful man. But to get 
 back to our story. 
 
 In as few words as possible Big Tom told of 
 what had happened to his home and his wife and 
 children and how he and Silas had followed the 
 trail of their captors thus far. 
 
 " Come," Lincoln said, the moment Big Tom had 
 finished his story. "We will go at once to the 
 commanding officer. I am sure that he will give 
 you all the help he can/' and he at once led the way 
 to where that officer sat on the back of a big black 
 horse. 
 
 The officer, as soon as he heard the story of Big 
 Tom's misfortunes, turned quickly to him. 
 
 "You say that you were on the trail of these 
 Indians?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes," answered Big Tom; "and they can't be 
 only a few hours ahead of us, for the ashes of their 
 camp fires were still warm when we got to them 
 this morning. Si and I can do little against so many 
 Indians. We need your help to save my wife and 
 children. Will you give it?" 
 
 " You are durned right we will," and the officer's 
 eyes glinted. "That's what we are here for, to
 
 The Young Captain of Volunteers 313 
 
 get after the Indians; and if you can show us the 
 Indians, then you are just the men we want. So 
 far we've been chasing all over the country without 
 getting a sight of an Indian. Now, point out their 
 trail and we'll get after them as fast as our horses 
 can take us. Captain Lincoln, see that the scouts 
 are properly thrown out in advance and go with 
 Clay and Wegg. I'll give the necessary orders to 
 the men at once." 
 
 A half hour later the little army was in rapid 
 motion, with Silas Wegg, now mounted on a horse 
 loaned him by the volunteers, and Big Tom Clay 
 galloping in the van along the trail of the Indians; 
 and between them rode Captain Lincoln, his homely 
 face full of sympathy, solicitude, and anxiety.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE HAWK 
 
 ' I^HE trail left by a moving Indian village, as 
 -*- the camp of a large number of Indians, when 
 including men, women, and children, is called, is 
 so plainly marked that even a novice would have 
 no difficulty in following it ; and Big Tom and Silas, 
 with Captain Lincoln riding by their side and the 
 volunteers following close behind, were able to 
 ride at nearly full speed along the trail of the 
 savages. A double line of scouts had been thrown 
 out a half-mile or more in advance and along both 
 sides of the main body, so that they had no fear of 
 sudden surprise or ambush, and could give all their 
 attention to following the trail as speedily as their 
 horses' legs could take them. 
 
 "Tears tew me like th' Injuns are a-makin' 
 straight for Lake Koshkonong," Silas said, after 
 they had been following the trail for an hour or 
 more. "Reckon they're calkerlatin' on findin' a 
 good hidin' place in one o' th' swamps thar'bouts an* 
 leavin' their wimen an' yunks an' prisoners thar, 
 while th' bucks take th' warpath. I was never tew 
 Lake Koshkonong but once ; an' then, I'll be durned ! 
 if I didn't git lost in one of th' big swamps an' 
 come mighty nigh starvin' tew death afore I got 
 out, atter wadin' all day through water 'most up 
 tew my armpits. If they git tew Lake Koshkonong 
 
 314
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 315 
 
 afore we cotch 'em, 'twill be worser than lookin' fer 
 a needle in a hay stack tew find 'em, so we'd better 
 keep a-goin' 'bout as fast as horseflesh will take us." 
 
 At noon the little army halted for an hour in 
 the shade of a little grove of trees that grew along 
 the bank of a small stream of water to rest and eat. 
 
 Captain Lincoln invited Big Tom and Silas to 
 share his "snack" with him; and as the three sat 
 round a little camp fire, over which a pot of coffee 
 was boiling, eating their rough food, two of the 
 scouts, who had been left on guard, came in with 
 a wounded white man that they had found hurrying 
 southward as fast as his partially disabled condition 
 allowed him to go, to warn a lonely settler, so he 
 said, of the outbreak of the Indians. The scouts 
 brought the man direct to Captain Lincoln. 
 
 The moment the eyes of Big Tom and Silas fell 
 on the man both jumped to their feet with 
 exclamations of surprise. 
 
 "I'll be durned if 'tain't Ben Block!" and Silas 
 hurried to the man and grabbed his hand. 
 
 " It surely is ! " and Big Tom caught hold of the 
 other hand. 
 
 " Say, but I'm shore glad tew see yew." The 
 eyes of Ben Block turned eagerly and a bit anx- 
 iously to Big Tom. " I was on my way tew warn 
 yew o' th' Injun outbreak. I'd have got tew yew 
 afore if an Injun bullet hadn't laid me up fer a few 
 days. Hope I'm not tew late?" and he glanced 
 apprehensively from the face of Big Tom to the 
 face of Silas.
 
 316 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "Yes, you are too late," Big Tom answered. 
 " The Indians have burnt my home and run off with 
 my wife and children. We are on the trail of their 
 captors now." 
 
 "I'm powerful sorry," and Ben Block's face 
 showed the anguish he felt at this dreadful news. 
 "But I'd got tew yew afore th' Injuns did, like I 
 promised, if one o' their bullets hadn't hit me." 
 
 " I know you would," Big Tom answered. " I'm 
 not blaming any one but myself. I ought to have 
 hurried the wife and children away to a place of 
 safety the moment I heard that Black Hawk and 
 his warriors had crossed the Mississippi, and not 
 taken any chances. But I wanted to save the house 
 and the stock and the crops and now I've lost 
 all, wife and children and home and stock and 
 all ! " and the unfortunate man sank down on the 
 ground and bowed his head in his hands. 
 
 "Sit down, won't you, and share grub with us? " 
 Lincoln said, turning his eyes, now moist with 
 sympathy, from the bowed head of Big Tom to 
 the contrite face of Ben Block. " And after you've 
 eaten and rested a bit we will be glad to hear where 
 and how you got your wound." 
 
 Ben Block, who was both tired and hungry, 
 gladly accepted Captain Lincoln's hospitable invi- 
 tation and soon had done ample justice to the eating 
 part of it. 
 
 "Now," Lincoln said, as he stretched out his 
 long legs at ease on the ground, after the " grub " 
 had been dispatched, "we're ready to hear your
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 317 
 
 story; but be as brief as possible, for we must be 
 on the trail again soon." 
 
 "Wai," Ben Block began slowly, "atter leavin' 
 th' home o' Big Tom an' promisin' tew hurry back 
 an' tell him if th' Injuns should start on th' warpath. 
 I joined a body o' three hundred an' forty rangers 
 under Major Stillman, 'cause they was actin' as 
 sort o' scouts an' goin' on ahead o' th' main army 
 that had now started out in pursuit o' Black Hawk ; 
 an' I calkerlated they'd be th' ones tew discover 
 any trouble, if thar was eny tew discover an' I 
 shore was right! 
 
 "Wai, so far th' Hawk had done nuthin' real 
 hosteel, 'ceptin' tew cross th' Mississippi ag'in 
 orders an' ag'in treaty, tew go, so he said, tew th' 
 Winnerbegger village tew th' north tew raise a 
 crap o' corn tew keep his people from starvin', 
 'cause th' government had failed tew live up tew 
 their part o' th' treaty an' supply 'em with food; 
 an' th' most on us thought it would only take a 
 show o' force, backed by a leetel reasonin' an' food 
 supplies, tew cause th' Hawk tew see th' error o' 
 his ways an' tew git back 'cross th' Mississippi, 
 long with his warriors an' wimen an' yunks, same 
 as he had th' year afore. Consequently we was 
 a-marchin' ag'in him with as big a show o' force 
 as possible. 
 
 " An' I reckon that's jest 'bout th' way it would 
 have turned out if a lot o' cussed whiskey had not 
 got intew camp an' turned decent men intew 
 cowards an' brutes! Beats all creation how good
 
 318 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 men will let liquor make sech fool-brutes out o' 'em ! 
 It otter be outlawed, like pisen, an' sold fer pisen, 
 an' th' men that sells it tew their feller humans 
 otter be treated like pisen sellers! But now, jest 
 'cause o' th' acts o' a few drunken brutes, this hull 
 country has got tew suffer all th' dreadful horrors 
 o' an Injun war an' homes be burnt tew th' ground 
 an' men an' wimen an' inercent children mur- 
 dered ! " and the face of the old hunter showed the 
 angry disgust that he felt. " 'Cuse me, but when I 
 think on it, it shore gits me riled," and he glanced 
 a bit apologetically around the little company that 
 had gathered about him to hear his story. 
 
 " Yes, yes, you are right, you certainly are right. 
 Liquor is at the bottom of the most of human 
 troubles; and it would be a blessing to the human 
 race if it all, lock, stock, and barrel, were dumped 
 into the ocean ; but durned hard on the fish ! Now," 
 and the eyes of Lincoln turned anxiously to the face 
 of Ben Block, "what particular kind of devil did 
 it raise in this case ? " 
 
 "Injun!" Ben Block answered tersely. "'Bout 
 five hundred on 'em; an' if th' Lord ever made 
 enything worser'n an Injun, when th' devils o' lust 
 an' murder an' pillage gits intew him, I've never 
 heered on it. But tew git back tew my story. As 
 I was a-sayin', I went 'long with Major Stillman's 
 men, so as tew be whar th' trouble'd be most apt 
 tew start, an' it started thar all right! 
 
 " One day we heered that a body o' Injuns, under 
 Black Hawk himself, was camped not more'n twelve
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 319 
 
 or fifteen miles from us; an' Major Stillman asked 
 if he might not take his men an' go on ahead tew 
 look fer th' Injuns. He was given permission, an' 
 so we started off in great sperits. 
 
 " Black Hawk, if he ever meant war, by now 
 must a-been a-gittin' some discouraged, not gittin' 
 th' help he expected from th' British an' th' 
 Potterwattomies an' th' Winnerbeggers an' hearin' 
 o' th' size o' th' army that was a-marchin' atter him, 
 an' was wantin' tew make peace with th' whites. 
 Leastwise, that night, while we was in camp, three 
 Injuns, carryin' a white flag, came intew sight an' 
 made signs that they wanted tew hold a parley. 
 But th' men, who, somehow, had got hold o' a lot 
 o' whiskey an' were half -drunk, when they saw th' 
 Injuns, rushed out in a wild mob, pay in' no 'tention 
 tew th' white flag they was a-carryin', an' drove 
 'em intew camp, threatenin' an' cussin' 'em some- 
 thin' terrible. 'Bout this time th' whites caught 
 sight o' five uther Injuns, that th' cunnin old chief, 
 not havin' much confidence in th' honor o' th' 
 whites, had sent out tew see what happened tew 
 his truce-bearers; an' th' mob, mad with whiskey, 
 started atter 'em an' killed tew on 'em afore they 
 could git away ; an' then th' hull on' 'em started out 
 in search o' more Injuns. 
 
 "Wai, they found 'em, they sartin did find 'em, 
 fer they hadn't gone far when th' Hawk with his 
 warriors ahind him, tew mad on 'count o' th' killin' 
 o' his men under a flag o' truce tew think o' th' 
 difference in numbers, he havin' but forty braves
 
 320 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 an' we havin' three hundred an' forty armed men, 
 suddenly came a-rushin' an' a-yellin' like fiends out 
 o' a leetle woods tew th' front o' us an' charged 
 straight fer us; an', I'll be durned! if them whiskey- 
 soaked cowards didn't turn tail an' run like scart 
 sheep three hundred an' forty on 'em from 
 forty Injuns! An' they didn't stop runnin', leavin' 
 camp an' guns an' every thin' ahind 'em, till they got 
 tew Dixon, twelve miles away, all but eleven on 'em 
 that th' Injuns killed or that got drowned or lost 
 in th' swamps. Th' fust on 'em tew git tew Dixon 
 reported that th' Hawk, at th' head o' two thousand 
 warriors, had suddenly swept down on th' camp 
 o' Stillman an' killed everybudy but themselves. 
 Howsomever, I know that th' Hawk had only forty 
 braves with him, 'cause I counted 'em as they came 
 chargin' out o' th' woods, an' tried tew rally enough 
 o' men tew drive 'em back ; but they was drunk with 
 whiskey an' fear an' jest drapt everythin' an' run 
 fer their lives. If that's th' kind o' fightin' courage 
 whiskey gives a feller, then I'm powerful glad I 
 never drank a drap o' it!" and again his face 
 showed his disgust and wrath. 
 
 "A shameful deed! A disgraceful rout!" 
 Lincoln declared, his young face flushing with 
 indignation. "But you have not told us yet how 
 you got your wound." 
 
 " I was jest a leetle tew slow in follerin' th' 
 runnin' cowards," Ben Block answered; "an' an 
 Injun spotted me an' put a bullet intew one o' my 
 shoulders afore I could git him; an' when I got
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 321 
 
 tew Dixon I was so nearly done fer that I couldn't 
 crawl off my blanket fer tew days. That's why I 
 couldn't git tew yew afore," and he turned to Big 
 Tom; " fer o' course I knowed that this disgraceful 
 affair would drive all thoughts o' peace out o' th' 
 Hawk's head an' send his warriors ragin' all over 
 th' frontier; an' I wanted tew git tew yew afore 
 th' Injuns did. Sorry I was tew late, powerful 
 sorry," and he laid a hand on Big Tom's shoulder. 
 " I shore did th' best I could." 
 
 " I know you did, Ben," and Big Tom arose and 
 straightened up his big body. " Hadn't we better 
 get a-going?" He turned anxiously and a bit 
 impatiently to Captain Lincoln. 
 
 "Yes," answered Lincoln, springing to his feet. 
 
 Five minutes later the little army was again hur- 
 rying along on the trail of the Indians. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon one of the 
 scouts came galloping back in great excitement and 
 reported the sounds of distant firing and a column 
 of black smoke rising above the hills some five miles 
 ahead. 
 
 "That means more Injun devilment!" Silas 
 exclaimed. "Let's git a hustle on us an' maybe 
 we kin be in time tew take a hand in it," and he 
 turned anxiously to Captain Lincoln. 
 
 Before Lincoln could answer, an orderly galloped 
 up with instructions for him to take twenty-five 
 men and hurry on ahead and find out what the 
 firing and the smoke meant. 
 
 In five minutes the twenty-five men, including Big
 
 322 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Tom and Silas Wegg, were ready and were off as 
 as fast as their horses could carry them in the direc- 
 tion whence the firing had been heard and the 
 smoke seen; but they were too late. They found 
 the Indians fled, leaving behind them the burning 
 home and the mutilated corpses of a settler and his 
 wife and three children, two young girls and a 
 baby boy. 
 
 " What bloody fiends these savages are ! " Captain 
 Lincoln said, as he sat on his horse looking down 
 on the ghastly scene. "They could not even kill 
 the baby mercifully. Boys, when we get the chance, 
 we will pay them back for this, especially for the 
 baby." 
 
 "We will," answered the men. 
 
 For a couple of minutes all sat silent on their 
 horses, their heads uncovered and their eyes fixed 
 on those terrible relics of Indian savagery, the lips 
 of some moving as if in prayer. Then Captain 
 Lincoln jumped off his horse. 
 
 " Boys," he said, " we must pay them the last 
 honors of the living to the dead, and give them 
 decent burial." 
 
 By the time the main army came up the graves 
 were dug and the bodies ready for interment. One 
 of the officers read the services for the dead, while 
 all stood with uncovered heads, and the bodies were 
 lowered into the graves and the graves filled up. 
 
 Unknown, unmarked, the pioneer family lay in 
 the soil they had given their lives to rescue from 
 the savagery of the wilderness!
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 323 
 
 The sight, especially of the mutilated baby, had 
 made the soldiers furious and all were anxious to 
 get on the trail of the red murderers as speedily 
 as possible. But immediately after the completion 
 of this outrage, the cunning Indians, apparently 
 learning of the large force that was on their trail, 
 had divided into small parties and fled in every 
 direction, doubtless to reunite at some agreed-on 
 place, leaving behind them so many trails that it 
 would be useless to try to follow any of them. The 
 officers were now in a quandary and gathered for 
 consultation, while Big Tom and Silas and Ben 
 Block circled around in all directions in an effort to 
 discover, among the confusion of trails, the one 
 taken by Mrs. Clay, the children and their captors. 
 But all their efforts were vain. There was some- 
 thing like half a hundred different trails, each going 
 in a different direction ; and it was impossible to tell 
 which one of these had been made by the prisoners 
 and their captors. 
 
 "No use lookin' eny longer," Silas at length 
 declared. "Th J cunnin' devils have seen tew it 
 that th' prisoners left no signs ahind 'em tew tell 
 which trail they took. I reckon th' best thing we 
 kin dew is tew jest keep 'long with th' volunteers. 
 We kin't dew nuthin' by ourselves, an' they're 
 bound tew hit th' Injuns afore long." 
 
 " I guess you are right, Si," Big Tom answered. 
 " But this suspense, not knowing what has hap- 
 pened or is happening to my wife and children, but 
 always dreading the worst, is terrible."
 
 324 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 "I know, Tom," and Silas laid a hand on the 
 big shoulder. " But it is a lot to know that they 
 are prisoners an' alive an' not like " and he 
 shuddered and pointed to the newly made graves. 
 "Come," and he turned abruptly away, "let's find 
 Captain Lincoln and find out what the officers are 
 goin' tew dew now." 
 
 They found Lincoln back from the officers' 
 meeting, where it had been decided to head the little 
 army straight for Rock River. Colonel Zachary 
 Taylor (afterward president of the United States), 
 in command of a regiment of regulars and volun- 
 teers, was reported to be marching up Rock River, 
 and they expected to fall in with him and unite the 
 two commands. Accordingly the little army 
 started at once for Rock River, where they arrived 
 shortly before sundown and immediately went into 
 camp. 
 
 Captain Lincoln again invited Big Tom and Silas 
 and Ben Block to join his mess, and they had just 
 sat down around the little camp fire to begin eating 
 when a sudden commotion among the men caused 
 all to jump to their feet. 
 
 "Great Moses! Look thar!" and Silas pointed 
 excitedly to where the figure of a man was seen 
 slowly approaching the camp. "It's an Injun an* 
 alone ! God have mercy on his soul when th' men 
 git hold o' him! They're bilin' atter what they've 
 seen tewday an' won't listen tew sense nor reason. 
 Thar they go ! " 
 
 As he spoke the exicted and maddened men made
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 325 
 
 a rush, like a pack of hungry wolves, for the Indian. 
 
 " See, he is old, almost helpless with age ! They 
 must not harm him ! " and Lincoln's face hardened 
 and his tall form stiffened and he started on the 
 run for the men who had already begun seething 
 angrily around the old Indian and were yelling: 
 "Kill him! He's a spy! Kill him!" 
 
 " God A'mighty ! " and Silas leaped forward and 
 caught hold of Lincoln's arm. "Yew ain't a-goin* 
 tew interfere an' try tew save th' Injun, be yew? 
 If yew dew, they'll shorely tear yew tew pieces, 
 'long with th' Injun." 
 
 "I am," and the flash in the eyes of Lincoln 
 turned on Silas startled him, even in that moment 
 of excitement. " They are my men. The Indian is 
 old and helpless and has thrown himself upon our 
 mercy. They shall not harm him, shall not repeat 
 the disgrace of Stillman's cowardly men." He 
 broke away from the detaining hand of Silas and, 
 in a moment more, he was vigorously elbowing his 
 way through the press of men raging round the old 
 Indian, who was shaking with fright and calling 
 out: "Me good Indian. Me friend of whites." 
 
 "Men!" and Lincoln sprang in front of the old 
 Indian, and with an angry sweep of his long arms 
 knocked up the leveled guns. This must not be 
 done. He must not be shot and killed by us." 
 
 The Indian, seeing that a friend had arrived in 
 his dire need, now thrust a hand under the folds of 
 his blanket and pulled out a piece of paper and 
 handed it to Lincoln.
 
 326 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 The mob fell back for a few steps, quelled, for 
 the moment, by the fire in their young captain's 
 eyes; then they again pressed forward. 
 
 "Stand aside, Lincoln!" they shouted. "He is 
 a spy, and we are going to kill him. Remember the 
 baby! Stand aside, Lincoln!" and again the guns 
 were leveled at the Indian. 
 
 "Men, listen!" and once more the long arms 
 swept the guns aside and one hand held up the paper 
 given him by the Indian. " This is a safe conduct 
 for this old Indian, signed by General Cass himself, 
 who declares him to be a good Indian who has done 
 good service for the government. Let him be. I 
 will take him at once to the commanding officer," 
 and he laid a hand on the Indian's shoulder. 
 
 An angry roar answered him and the circle 
 around Lincoln and the old Indian narrowed 
 ominously. 
 
 "The paper lies!" yelled one. 
 
 "Shoot him!" 
 
 "Hang him!" 
 
 "Burn him alive!" 
 
 " Remember the baby ! " 
 
 " Stand aside, Lincoln, and let us get at him ! " 
 
 But Lincoln did not stand aside. He stood 
 immovable, his tall form erect, his great fists 
 clenched and his eyes flashing, in front of the old 
 Indian, who was chanting his death song. 
 
 "The man that shoots this helpless old Indian 
 must first shoot me," he cried, his voice rising 
 above the curses and yells of the mob. " He is old
 
 " Who'll be the first to test Abe Lincoln's courage ? "
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 327 
 
 and helpless. He has surrendered himself to our 
 mercy. He shall not be killed." 
 
 " This is cowardly on your part, Lincoln," yelled 
 one of the men angrily. "He is a spy. He ought 
 to be killed, and we are going to kill him." 
 
 "If anyone thinks I am a coward, let him test 
 it," and Lincoln raised his fists threateningly. " But 
 you are not going to kill this old Indian until you 
 have killed me." 
 
 "You are larger and heavier than we are," pro- 
 tested another. "And it's only an old Indian 
 anyway. Stand aside, Lincoln, and let us get at 
 him." 
 
 "You can guard against my size and weight. 
 Choose your own weapons. I'll fight you all, one 
 at a time or all together, before I'll let you harm 
 a hair of the head of this old Indian, who has come 
 to us trusting to the white man's mercy. Now, 
 who'll be the first to test Abe Lincoln's courage ? " 
 and his eyes swept the crowding circle of angry 
 men, bent on the murder of the Indian. 
 
 By this time Big Tom Clay and Silas and Ben 
 Block had managed to jam their way through the 
 closely packed crowd pressing around Lincoln and 
 the old Indian, and they now took their stand by 
 his side, their rifles held threateningly and their 
 eyes defying the mob. 
 
 But the young volunteer captain had no need 
 of their help, for already his dauntless courage and 
 firmness had quelled the cowardly spirit of the mob, 
 and one by one, as if ashamed of the part they had
 
 328 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 taken, they were beginning to slink away, leaving 
 Lincoln to do as he pleased with the old Indian.* 
 
 " Gosh, but I thought one time yew shore was a 
 goner ! " Silas gripped the hand of Lincoln. " We'd 
 a got tew yew sooner, but that gang was worser 
 than a herd of millin' buffalers tew git through. 
 Howsomever, yew didn't need none o' our help," 
 and his eyes rested in honest admiration on the 
 flushed face of the young captain. " Yew've got 
 th' real grit." Silas gave the hand that he held a 
 vigorous shaking. 
 
 "I was too mad to think of getting scart," 
 laughed Lincoln, and thanked the three men for 
 coming to his assistance. "Now," he touched the 
 old Indian and bade him follow him, " I must take 
 my prisoner to the commanding officer," and he 
 strode off with the Indian, who proved to be a good 
 Indian who had never harmed the whites, trotting 
 along trustingly behind him. 
 
 "That young man'll make his mark an' make it 
 pretty high up some day," Silas said, as Lincoln 
 hurried off with his man. "He's got th j right 
 pluck in him." 
 
 " He certain has," Big Tom answered. " I never 
 saw a man look more desperately in earnest than 
 he did when he stood facing that wild mob, and 
 I reckon thatfc what cowed them. They knew that 
 he'd die, just as he said he would, before he would 
 allow them to harm the old Indian. I don't believe 
 any other officer in the army could have saved him." 
 
 *A true incident that occurred practically as described here.
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 329 
 
 " Nor I, but now that th' rumpus is over, s'posin' 
 we git back tew th' grub. I'm as hungry as a b'ar," 
 and Silas hurried off toward the camp fire that they 
 had left so hastily, followed by Big Tom and Ben 
 Block. 
 
 Late the next day the little army succeeded in 
 joining the army of Colonel Taylor, and the united 
 forces moved up the Rock River in pursuit of 
 Black Hawk. 
 
 But it was like chasing a shadow. The Indians 
 purposely confused their trail. At one place it 
 would be a broad path, then abruptly it would break 
 up into many small trails, radiating in all directions. 
 The army divided itself into companies and pur- 
 sued the Indians along these diverging trails, but 
 in vain. They never overtook a single Indian, 
 although they frequently came upon terrible evi- 
 dences of the presence of the savages a pioneer's 
 home, deserted, burnt to the ground, the cattle 
 slaughtered and sometimes scalps hanging where 
 they could not fail to see them. 
 
 This fruitless warfare, this everlasting chasing 
 of something never overtaken, exasperated the vol- 
 unteers. They became restless, threatened to leave 
 and finally, when they reached the borders of their 
 own state and Colonel Taylor ordered them to 
 cross over Rock River to the Indian country beyond, 
 some of them rebelled and refused to cross, declar- 
 ing that they had only volunteered to defend their 
 own state and that no officer had the right to 
 command them to cross over its borders.
 
 330 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 ""*" 
 
 "Now what dew yew reckon Colonel Taylor'll 
 dew?" Silas asked Captain Lincoln. 
 
 The two men, together with Big Tom and Ben 
 Block, were near where Taylor stood quietly 
 listening to the rebellious men. 
 
 " Do ? " and Lincoln's eyes glinted. " What can 
 he do, if he is fit to command, but make them cross, 
 if necessary at the point of the bayonet? And I'll 
 bet my old hat against your coonskin cap that he'll 
 do it. He has the look of a man that will not stand 
 for this sort of thing. Now, listen, he is going to 
 answer the mutineers." 
 
 Colonel Taylor had quietly heard the rebellious 
 soldiers to the end, standing stiffly erect. He now 
 took a couple of steps toward them and lifted his 
 hand for silence. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he said, " I feel that all here are 
 my equals; in reality, I am persuaded that many 
 of them will, in a few years, be my superiors, and 
 perhaps, in the capacity of members of Congress, 
 arbiters of the fortunes and reputations of humble 
 servants of the republic, like myself. I expect then 
 to obey them as interpreters of the will of the 
 people, and the best proof that I will obey them is 
 to observe the orders of those whom the people 
 have already put in the place of authority to which 
 many gentlemen around me justly aspire. In plain 
 English, gentlemen and fellow citizens, the word 
 has been passed on to me from Washington to 
 follow Black Hawk and to take you with me as 
 soldiers. I mean to do both. There are the flat-
 
 On the Trail of the Hawk 331 
 
 boats drawn up on the shore, and here are Uncle 
 Sam's men drawn up behind you on the prairie."* 
 
 That was all, but it was sufficient. The volun- 
 teers took one look at the regiment drawn up behind 
 them, another at the stern face of Taylor, and 
 crossed the river without any help from Uncle 
 Sam's men. 
 
 " Thar/' and Silas turned to Big Tom, " stands 
 anuther man that'll make a pretty high mark some 
 day, or I kin't tell real manhood when I see it. 
 He's got th' right sort o' pluck." 
 
 "Yes," agreed Big Tom, "he knows how to 
 handle men, and I'm hoping he knows how to find 
 Indians, instead of how to chase them all over 
 the country. Si," and the face of Big Tom bright- 
 ened, " isn't it about time we heard something from 
 that old Indian Lincoln saved? He promised to 
 find Martha and the children if the Indians held 
 them prisoners, and to give them the message I 
 wrote and to hurry back and let me know. Seems 
 like I could not stand the suspense much longer. 
 They've been prisoners now for more than a week 
 and and so many terrible things might happen 
 to them! Come on. We'll get across the river. 
 I must do something to keep from thinking about 
 them or I'll go crazy," and he hurried down the 
 bank of the river and on board one of the flatboats, 
 followed by Silas and Ben Block, Captain Lincoln 
 having already departed to see to the embarking of 
 his own men. 
 
 *A true incident.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 TIED TO THE STAKE 
 
 TT WAS early in the afternoon when the five 
 
 * Indians, with their prisoners, left the smoking 
 ruins of the pioneers' home and hurried northward 
 across the lonely prairie. For a few miles all went 
 well. Mrs. Clay and the children gave their captors 
 no trouble. The baby, still in a sleeplike stupor, 
 lay quietly in her anxious mother's arms, and 
 Gideon and Ruth plodded on in stoical silence, their 
 feelings partially benumbed by the sudden unex- 
 pectedness and the completeness of their misfortune. 
 But physical strength and endurance, even when 
 backed by the strongest of mother-love, will grow 
 weary when overtasked, and soon the strain of 
 carrying the child, in spite of her utmost efforts, 
 began to tell on Mrs. Clay. Gideon was quick to 
 notice her weariness and anxiously offered to carry 
 the baby, but not until her arms began to feel as 
 if they could not support the child another moment, 
 would the poor woman surrender the precious little 
 form, so fearful was she of what might happen 
 should the Indians discover that the baby was 
 becoming a burden. 
 
 Now again for a few miles all went well, the 
 baby lying quietly in Gideon's arms. But the child 
 was over two years old and large for her age, and 
 
 332
 
 Tied to the Stake 333 
 
 soon her weight began to tire even the sturdy arms 
 of Gideon and his feet began to lag a little. 
 
 One of the Indians, noticing this, stepped quickly 
 behind him and, suddenly drawing his knife, pricked 
 him sharply with its point. 
 
 Gideon gave a violent start and whirled angrily 
 around, and in the sudden heat of his rage only 
 the baby in his arms prevented him from foolishly 
 striking the Indian with his clenched fist. 
 
 The Indian grinned, then scowled darkly. 
 
 "Hurry. No time waste," and again he threat- 
 ened with his knife. "Papoose heavy. Leave on 
 grass. Make nice meal for wolf," and he stretched 
 out his arms as if he were about to take the baby 
 and put his threat into execution. 
 
 Mrs. Clay, her face as white as death and her 
 eyes shining like points of light, snatched the baby 
 from Gideon's arms and turned on the savage so 
 furiously that he took a quick step backward and 
 raised his knife threateningly, an ugly glitter in 
 his cruel little black eyes. 
 
 Ruth screamed and clung, frantic with fear, to 
 her mother's dress. 
 
 Gideon, his muscles tense as steel springs, 
 crouched, his eyes on the eyes of the Indian, ready 
 to spring to his mother's aid. 
 
 But before a threatening move could be made a 
 brown hand caught the uplifted wrist of the Indian 
 and jerked the hand that held the threatening knife 
 downward, while a guttural voice uttered a quick 
 angry command in the Indian tongue; and the
 
 334 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 leader of the little band of savages pushed the 
 angry Indian aside. 
 
 " No hurt," and he turned to Mrs. Clay and 
 Gideon. "Leaping Deer say must not hurt white 
 squaw and papooses, but take safe to village of 
 Black Hawk. Leaping Deer great chief. Now 
 hurry. Village two hours fast walk," and he 
 motioned all to continue on their way, he himself 
 keeping by the side of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 At the end of half an hour Mrs. Clay, although 
 she tried her best to show no signs of weariness and 
 to keep pace with the others, was again almost com- 
 pletely exhausted. 
 
 Gideon turned to take the baby once more, but 
 at the same moment the big Indian by her side 
 suddenly reached out his naked arms. 
 
 " Me carry white papoose," he said. " No hurt," 
 he added quickly, as he saw the startled look that 
 came on Mrs. Clay's face. 
 
 For a moment Mrs. Clay looked steadily into 
 the eyes of the big Indian, then she handed the 
 baby to him. 
 
 " Sick, baby sick," she said. 
 
 The Indian looked down at the flushed face of 
 the child. 
 
 " Sick, bad," he grunted and nodded, and then, 
 holding the baby easily in his great arms, he strode 
 on, with Mrs. Clay hurrying tremblingly along by 
 his side, her eyes constantly on the little form held 
 close to the dusky breast. 
 
 A short time before sundown they came to a
 
 Tied to the Stake 335 
 
 secluded little valley, through which flowed a small 
 stream of water. 
 
 "Village of Black Hawk," and the big Indian 
 by the side of Mrs. Clay pointed to a grove of 
 trees that grew near the center of the valley and 
 nci; far from the little stream of water. "Now, 
 take papoose," and he handed the baby to Mrs. 
 Clay and, throwing back his head, uttered a wild 
 halloo. 
 
 Almost instantly the little grove was swarming 
 with life, and hardly had the echo of the wild halloo 
 ceased its reverberations when fifty or more young 
 bucks and squaws, followed by a string of young- 
 sters, were racing out to meet the Indians and their 
 prisoners. A couple of minutes later and the 
 prisoners found themselves surrounded by an 
 excited throng of wildly gesticulating and talking 
 Indians, who crowded threateningly close to them. 
 But the big Indian who had befriended Mrs. Clay, 
 and the four warriors with him, kept the crowd at 
 a safe distance, although a sharp stone, thrown by 
 a boy, did hit Gideon on the cheek and cut it so 
 that the blood flowed. As they approached nearer 
 the village the crowd increased and pressed closer 
 and more threateningly around the captives. 
 
 Cruelty to prisoners is a part of the war code of 
 Indians. They believe that an enemy, in surren- 
 dering, forfeits all his rights, and that therefore he 
 is theirs to torture, kill, treat as they please, accord- 
 ing to the mood and the temper of those into whose 
 hands he has fallen, and unfortunately the followers
 
 336 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 of Black Hawk just at this time were in a particu- 
 larly ugly temper. Added to a long list of wrongs, 
 or fancied wrongs, was the recent butchery of their 
 emissaries of peace. Then they had already tasted 
 blood, had already killed and been killed; and all 
 their savage passions, dormant for many years, had 
 been suddenly aroused. Consequently, when the 
 five Indians entered the village with their prisoners 
 there was great rejoicing, for now all felt that they 
 would have the opportunity to wreak their savage 
 vengeance on the hated enemy. They were sorry 
 that the prisoners were not all men, but even white 
 squaws and papooses were not to be despised. 
 Besides, Gideon was almost a man. 
 
 Mrs. Clay, as they were hurried along into the 
 village, noted all these terrible signs of savage 
 hatred and vengeance with a sinking heart; but she 
 was wise enough and brave enough to hide her 
 fears from the Indians. 
 
 " Keep up a bold front," she hurriedly whispered 
 to Gideon. " Don't let them see that you are afraid, 
 and and Gid," she cautioned, "keep tight reins 
 on your temper. In their present excited frame of 
 mind, it would not take much to make them do 
 terrible things." 
 
 "I I know," Gideon answered, his voice trem- 
 bling just a little; "but it is terrible to stand all 
 this," and his eyes glanced around at the yelling 
 mob, pressing close on every side, "and not be 
 able to hit back. I think I could die happy if I could 
 smash two or three of them in the jaw first."
 
 Tied to the Stake 337 
 
 " But, don't you do it ! " and Mrs. Clay placed a 
 quick hand on his shoulder. "Whatever they do, 
 don't you dare to hit back. It would mean certain 
 death to you and, maybe, to all of us," and she shud- 
 dered and hugged the baby close to her bosom. 
 
 "I'll not forget, Mother," and Gideon's face 
 hardened and his young lips tightened across his 
 teeth. " They can do what they please to me, and 
 I'll stand for it; but if " 
 
 Here a violent blow alongside of his head caused 
 Gideon to whirl quickly about and almost to forget 
 the promise he had just made his mother, and the 
 next moment a shove separated him from Mrs. 
 Clay, while some one, reaching over the heads of 
 the others, struck him on the back with the long 
 limb of a tree. 
 
 The squaws, mostly old hags, were now pressing 
 close around Mrs. Clay and Ruth and the baby, 
 and stretching out skinny, talon-like hands in vain 
 efforts to grab hold of them; but their guards 
 shoved them roughly back and really seemed anx- 
 ious to protect Mrs. Clay and Ruth and the baby 
 as much as possible. 
 
 In this manner, with the squaws and the papooses 
 the warriors took no part in this wild, undig- 
 nified squabble to get at the prisoners surging 
 tumultuously around them, the unfortunate cap- 
 tives were conducted to an opening near the center 
 of the woods, about which were ranged the rude 
 wigwams of the savages. Here a strong guard was 
 placed over them, and the squaws and the papooses
 
 338 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 were given most emphatically to understand that, 
 for the present, they were to let the prisoners alone. 
 
 Black Hawk, it seemed, was away with a band 
 of warriors, and the captives would have to await 
 his return before learning their fate. 
 
 The baby, during the greater part of this time, 
 had remained in the sleeplike stupor into which 
 she had fortunately fallen a short time before the 
 capture; but now she awoke and began to cry in 
 a pitifully weak way, and all the anxious comfort- 
 ing of her mother and Ruth could not quiet her. 
 Gideon was held prisoner some two rods away 
 from his mother and Ruth and was not allowed to 
 hold any communication whatever with them. 
 Consequently, he could only look his sympathy. 
 
 The Indians regarded the crying baby with stoical 
 indifference. It mattered not to them whether the 
 child lived or died, except it would be a little more 
 pleasant to have those disagreeable sounds stopped 
 and death would stop them. 
 
 Food and water were brought and placed before 
 the prisoners, but not one of them could eat a 
 mouthful. The horrors of their situation seemed 
 to have killed their hunger. However, all were very 
 glad to get the water, especially on account of the 
 baby, who at once became easier and ceased crying 
 after she had drunk and her hot face and head had 
 been bathed, and lay quiet in her mother's arms 
 again, still in the semi-stupor of exhaustion and 
 disease. 
 
 About an hour after sundown, when it had be-
 
 Tied to the Stake 339 
 
 come quite dark outside the circles of light around 
 the camp fires, there suddenly arose a great shout- 
 ing and commotion among the Indians; and, a few 
 minutes later, Leaping Deer and his warriors entered 
 the encampment, proudly bearing with them a 
 number of bloody evidences of their prowess and 
 also the bodies of two of their braves, who had 
 been killed in their fight with the settler and his 
 family whose scalps now graced their home-coming. 
 
 Mike Girty was still with them, and the moment 
 he entered the village his eyes sought out the pris- 
 oners. He grinned when he saw them, and, as he 
 passed Gideon, he cried : " Keep up yewr sperits. 
 I'll be back soon tew claim my prisoner." He 
 scowled vindictively at Mrs. Clay as he hurried by, 
 but said nothing to her. Evidently he had not for- 
 gotten her biting words of contempt and would 
 not forget them. 
 
 Some four or five rods from where the prisoners 
 
 were stationed and in front of the largest wigwam 
 
 in the village, was a great fire, around which a num- 
 
 \ ber of buffalo robes and bearskins had been spread 
 
 out on the ground. 
 
 Leaping Deer and his warriors, bearing the two 
 dead bodies with them, went direct to this fire, laid 
 the two corpses down on the ground in front of the 
 wigwam, and seated themselves on the skins ranged 
 around the fire, the other warriors of the village 
 falling in back of them, while the squaws and the 
 older papooses crowded as near as possible to the 
 rear rank of the warriors.
 
 340 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 The skin flap that covered the entrance to the 
 big tent was now pushed aside and White Cloud, 
 the Winnebago prophet and medicine man invet- 
 erate enemy of the whites stepped out. He was 
 dressed in the full regalia of a medicine man of 
 his tribe, with a feathered headdress that trailed 
 on the ground behind him. In one hand he car- 
 ried his richly decorated and mysterious medicine 
 bag and in the other a large tobacco pipe, quaintly 
 carved and having a long stem. A step in front of 
 the tent entrance he paused dramatically and stood 
 very straight, with both hands upraised, head 
 thrown back, and eyes lifted skyward, as if he w r ere 
 invoking the blessings of the Great Spirit; but, 
 although his lips moved, he uttered no audible 
 sounds. 
 
 White Cloud was a tall, well-built man, with a 
 strong, thin face, hawklike nose and foxlike eyes, 
 and made a very imposing and somewhat awesome 
 appearance, as he stood there, with the red light of 
 the fire falling upon his tall, weird figure. 
 
 For perhaps a couple of minutes he stood thus; 
 then, with a slow sweeping gesture, he lowered his 
 hands and walked to the spot where the dead war- 
 riors lay. By the side of the dead he again paused 
 and, slowly inserting the hand holding the bowl of 
 the pipe into the medicine bag, drew it out with the 
 bowl filled with tobacco. Now, lifting the medicine 
 bag, he shook it gently over the bowl of the pipe, 
 and almost instantly the tobacco within began to 
 smoke, as if it had been lighted in some mysterious
 
 Tied to the Stake 341 
 
 manner by the shaking of the medicine bag over it. 
 For a moment White Cloud stood, holding the 
 smoking pipe in his outstretched hand, then he 
 raised it high above his head and, lifting his eyes 
 skyward, suddenly called out a half-dozen Indian 
 words, in a loud, shrill voice. The ceremony of the 
 uplifted pipe completed, he slowly lowered the pipe, 
 placed its stem in his mouth and drew in a mouthful 
 of smoke. Then he bent over the body of one of 
 the dead Indians and blew the smoke slowly over 
 the dead face. This rite was repeated over the 
 face of the other dead Indian. 
 
 White Cloud now straightened up and, striding 
 into the middle of the circle of warriors, handed 
 the pipe in silence to Leaping Deer, who received 
 it in silence, slowly drew in three puffs of smoke, 
 and then passed the pipe to the warrior sitting at 
 his right. This warrior, in turn, took three puffs 
 of the smoke and handed it to the Indian sitting 
 at his right. Thus, in absolute silence, the pipe 
 was slowly passed around the circles of warriors; 
 and not until the last warrior had taken his last puff 
 and the pipe had been returned to White Cloud was 
 the silence broken. 
 
 The moment the pipe was back in the hand of 
 White Cloud his whole demeanor changed. His 
 eyes kindled. His form dilated. He took a couple 
 of quick steps, until he stood by the side of the 
 bodies of the dead warriors; and then, raising both 
 hands in a commanding gesture, he began to speak, 
 at first slowly and deliberately, but soon increasing
 
 342 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 in vehemence, as if swept along by the whirlwind 
 of his thoughts, until the words poured from him 
 in an angry torrent of wrathful denunciations. 
 
 Mrs. Clay and Gideon and Ruth could not under- 
 stand a word that he said; but there was no need 
 that they should understand in order for them to 
 comprehend the import of what he was saying. His 
 face, his actions, his angry gestures, his whole 
 bearing, showed that he was denouncing the whites 
 and calling upon the warriors to avenge their wrongs 
 and the death of their comrades. He pointed to 
 the wounds in the bodies of the dead warriors, he 
 extolled their bravery and patriotism ; and then, sud- 
 denly turning, he took a couple of quick steps in 
 the direction of the prisoners, and, extending a 
 denunciatory hand in their direction, spoke with 
 such an angry vehemence, such impassioned elo- 
 quence, that in two minutes he had half the warriors 
 standing upon their feet, their right hands gripping 
 the handles of their tomahawks, their eyes fixed 
 on the white faces of the prisoners, their muscles 
 tense, like the muscles of hounds in sight of their 
 prey, yet held back by the leash. 
 
 A word would set all that raging humanity upon 
 the prisoners. 
 
 Mrs. Clay saw the storm that was coming and 
 stood upon her feet to receive it. Ruth clung 
 tightly to her mother. Gideon stepped swiftly to 
 his mother's side, and, in the excitement of the 
 moment, no hand was raised to stay him. 
 
 " Mother," and he laid a hand upon her trembling
 
 Tied to the Stake 343 
 
 shoulder, "they will not harm you and Ruth and 
 the baby. Show no fear and keep quiet; whatever 
 happens to me, keep quiet. I will draw their atten- 
 tion to me. Tell dad that I did my best Mother, 
 good-by," and, suddenly throwing his arms around 
 her neck, he pressed a quick kiss on her face, whirled 
 swiftly about and sprang, with astonishing quick- 
 ness and force, upon the nearest guard, hurling him 
 violently to the ground, and leaped off, like a wild 
 deer frightened by the bound of a panther. 
 
 The heroic boy had determined to give his life 
 in an effort to save the lives of his mother and 
 sisters, reasoning that, if he gave the Indians suffi- 
 cient cause, they would vent all their fury on him. 
 He had no hope of escaping. He only hoped to so 
 anger the savages that all the frenzy and wrath that 
 he saw was about to burst forth would break and 
 spend itself on him. 
 
 For the brief fraction of a second all the Indians 
 stood as if paralyzed by the sudden unexpectedness, 
 the wild daring of the act of Gideon, then all their 
 pent-up fury burst bounds and men, women, and 
 children were after him, like a pack of hungry 
 wolves after a wounded deer. 
 
 The chase was of short duration. From the first 
 there had been no hope for Gideon. He made a 
 swift run, a brave, strong fight, for a boy; but, 
 before he had gone twenty rods, he was overtaken 
 by a dozen warriors and pulled to the ground, still 
 fighting with every ounce of strength in his vigor- 
 ous young body, and, before he was completely sub-
 
 344 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 dued, there were many warriors who would carry 
 on their faces and bodies for many days the marks 
 made, during his brief but furious struggle, by his 
 hard fist, or the club he had caught up. 
 
 Leaping Deer had taken no part in the chase of 
 Gideon. The boy was not his prisoner and he cared 
 little what became of him. He was Mike Girty's 
 prisoner. Let Mike Girty take care of his own. 
 But Mrs. Clay and Ruth and the baby were his pris- 
 oners. They had surrendered directly to him, and 
 the appeal of their surrender had touched the rude 
 chivalry of his wild nature. He had no intentions 
 of deserting them now, and, consequently, he took 
 advantage of the confusion and the excitement 
 caused by the sudden outbreak of Gideon to hurry 
 to their sides. 
 
 Mrs. Clay stood, clasping the baby tightly to her 
 bosom, her eyes fixed in horror and anguish on 
 the mass of yelling savages surging around the 
 spot where she had last seen Gideon. She did not 
 see the approach of Leaping Deer; did not know 
 that he was near, until he spoke. 
 
 "No afraid," he said, drawing his tall form up 
 in front of Mrs. Clay and Ruth. " Indians no hurt. 
 You prisoners of Leaping Deer." 
 
 Mrs. Clay, at his words, turned quickly to him, 
 and, when she saw who he was, she caught him 
 frantically by the arm. 
 
 "My boy! Save my boy!" she cried, pointing 
 to the mass of still struggling Indians that surged 
 around Gideon.
 
 Tied to the Stake 345 
 
 " He no my prisoner. He prisoner of Mike Girty. 
 Leaping Deer can do nothing," the Indian answered, 
 stoically. 
 
 At this moment the struggling jam of Indians 
 parted, and Gideon, with nearly every stitch of 
 clothing torn off his body and his face bruised and 
 bleeding, but still standing erect on his two good 
 legs, with a powerful warrior gripping tightly each 
 arm, was dragged forth, Mike Girty walking trium- 
 phantly in front of him and the mob pressing close 
 behind. 
 
 Straight to where Mrs. Clay stood Girty con- 
 ducted his prisoner. He frowned when he saw 
 Leaping Deer standing protectingly near her. 
 
 " My prisoners," Leaping Deer said, lifting his 
 hands and holding them over the heads of Mrs. 
 Clay and Ruth and the baby, and calmly confronting 
 Girty and the Indians back of him. "He your 
 prisoner," and he pointed to Gideon. " Do with 
 him what you will, but my prisoners you shall not 
 touch." 
 
 "Who is wantin' tew touch yewr prisoners?" 
 and Girty grinned until the fanglike teeth showed 
 through his red beard. "We're jest a-goin' tew 
 build a fire an' roast a leetle white meat right thar," 
 and he pointed to the straight trunk of a young 
 tree that grew a little apart from the others and 
 not twenty feet from where Mrs. Clay stood; "so 
 that a white wimen kin see how Mike Girty repays 
 th' taunts an' insults o' those who hate him 'cause 
 he loves th' Injuns an' despises his own race," and
 
 346 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the grin broadened and the little red eyes turned 
 gloatingly on the whitening face of Mrs. Clay. 
 
 It was a moment before the anguish-stricken 
 woman comprehended the full import of Girty 's 
 words, and then, with a moaning cry of outraged 
 mother love, she threw herself at the feet of Girty 
 and begged him to spare her boy. 
 
 Girty grinned down at her for a moment in vin- 
 dictive triumph, and then he deliberately drew back 
 his foot and kicked her, hard enough to tumble her 
 over backward. 
 
 At the sight of this brutal act the blood surged 
 hot through Gideon's veins. At the same moment 
 he felt the grips on his arm relax a little; and, 
 suddenly throwing all the strength of his muscular 
 young body into the effort, he wrenched his arms 
 free from the holds of the two warriors, and, before 
 a hand could stop him, leaped at Girty and struck, 
 with all the might of his powerful young arm, 
 straight at the red, grinning face. 
 
 Gideon, although but a little over sixteen years 
 old, was unusually large and strong, and now rage 
 doubled his strength. His fist struck Girty squarely 
 in the right eye, and the man went down like an ox 
 hit with an ax in the hands of a strong man. The 
 next instant a dozen warriors had leaped upon 
 Gideon and had borne him to the ground; and, 
 before he was again allowed to stand on his feet, 
 his hands were securely bound behind his back. 
 
 Mike Girty, at first hardly comprehending what 
 had struck him, arose dazedly and slowly to his
 
 Tied to the Stake 347 
 
 feet and glared wildly around. His eyes fell on 
 Gideon, who, with his hands bound behind him, 
 had just been jerked to his feet and Mike Girty 
 knew what had hit him! 
 
 For a moment he looked as if he were about to 
 spring upon the boy and tear him to pieces, and he 
 took a couple of swift steps toward him. Then he 
 stopped and grinned. He knew a better way to 
 avenge the blow ! 
 
 " Tie him tew th' tree," he commanded. " Pile 
 th' wood up high 'round him. I'll light th' fire 
 with my own hand," and he strode to the tree and 
 saw that the unfortunate boy's body and arms and 
 legs were firmly bound to the trunk, and superin- 
 tended the placing of the wood brought by the 
 willing hands of squaws and boys, in the meantime 
 taunting and insulting Gideon in every possible way 
 that his fiendish ingenuity could suggest. 
 
 Gideon never answered him a word, but a gleam 
 of satisfaction came into his eyes every time they 
 caught sight of the rapidly swelling and blackening 
 eye of Girty.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 BLACK HAWK 
 
 ORTURE, to test the courage and the grit of 
 * the victim, with the American Indian usually 
 preceded the burning at the stake, and no exception 
 was to be made of Gideon. He had shown the 
 courage and the pluck of a warrior, and, although 
 but a boy, all the honors due a warrior were to be 
 his. Consequently, as soon as he was properly 
 bound to the tree, with thongs of green rawhide, 
 so that they would not catch fire easily, and the 
 wood had been placed at just the right distance 
 from him, so that the heat of the fire would not 
 kill too quickly, the warriors gathered in front of 
 him to begin the dreadful ordeal ; and back of them 
 crowded the youths, who were not yet warriors, and 
 the squaws and the papooses. 
 
 In vain Mrs. Clay had appealed to Leaping Deer 
 to save her boy from the stake. He had only re- 
 iterated : " He Girty's prisoner. Leaping Deer can 
 do nothing." And now, when she saw that the 
 harrowing tortures were about to begin and she 
 helpless to hinder or even to mitigate, she sank, 
 sobbing and moaning, down on the ground and 
 covered her eyes with her hands to shut out the 
 horrible sight. 
 
 Ruth, up to this time, had clung frantically to 
 348
 
 Black Hawk 349 
 
 her mother, hardly comprehending what had hap- 
 pened or what threatened to happen ; but now, when 
 she saw Gideon bound to the stake and the firewood 
 piled up around him and the warriors gathering 
 for the torture, she suddenly realized what it all 
 meant. For a moment she stood, her face whiten- 
 ing, her eyes growing big and round with horror; 
 and then, forgetting everything but the peril of 
 Gideon, she uttered a piercing scream and sprang 
 wildly toward him, her long hair flying out behind 
 her as she ran. She eluded the quick hand of 
 Leaping Deer, she dodged two other Indians that 
 tried to stop her, and had just reached the ring of 
 firewood surrounding Gideon when the strong hand 
 of a warrior caught her by her long hair and jerked 
 her violently backward the same warrior who 
 had threatened to leave the baby on the grass for 
 the wolves. 
 
 Like a young wildcat, Ruth whirled furiously 
 about, and, before the Indian could stop her, she 
 dug the nails of both hands in long red scratches 
 down each side of the painted face. 
 
 The warrior, yelling with pain and rage, dropped 
 his hold on her hair, caught hold of her dress, 
 tearing it nearly off her body and exposing her 
 white bosom, and, seizing his tomahawk with the 
 other hand, swung it high above his head, his eyes 
 burning with savage rage and the lust of blood. 
 
 Leaping Deer uttered a loud command and sprang 
 toward the savage, but he was too late. 
 
 The tomahawk descended, and, the next instant,
 
 350 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 it would have been buried in the head of Ruth, if 
 the bloodshot eyes of the warrior had not suddenly 
 caught sight of the little black stone, rudely carved 
 into the semblance of a hawk, hanging from its 
 silver chain and showing distinctly against the white 
 bosom, and stayed the tomahawk within six inches 
 of the child's head. For a moment he stood staring 
 down wonderingly; then the tomahawk dropped 
 from his hand, and, reaching out, he lifted the little 
 black stone and held it up where all the excited 
 crowding warriors could see. 
 
 "The Totem of Black Hawk! The Totem of 
 Black Hawk!" he cried, and yet again he cried: 
 "The Totem of Black Hawk!" and stared, blank 
 with amazement, around. 
 
 The warriors, with many exclamations of aston- 
 ishment and wonder, now pressed close around 
 Ruth, their eyes fixed on the little black hawk held 
 dangling from the hand of the Indian above her 
 bosom. 
 
 At first Ruth was at a loss to comprehend how 
 this seeming miracle had been wrought in her behalf. 
 The talismanic properties of the little black hawk, 
 given to her so long ago by Brighteyes, had been 
 almost forgotten ; and not once had she thought of 
 the little black stone, hanging so quietly above her 
 bosom, during the rapidly succeeding horrors of 
 that day of horror, until she saw it held up in the 
 hand of the Indian. Then she remembered and 
 her face lighted with hope, for had not Brighteyes 
 told her that no Indian would dare do her harm
 
 Black Hawk 351 
 
 while she wore the Totem of Black Hawk, the great 
 chief, her father? 
 
 " Yes, see," she cried, taking the totem from the 
 hand of the Indian and holding it up. " It is the 
 Totem of Black Hawk, and was given to me by 
 Brighteyes, his daughter, who said that no Indian 
 would dare harm the one wearing it," and then the 
 quickwitted girl, suddenly darting from the side of 
 her captor and slipping the chain over her head, 
 sprang to the side of Gideon and, flinging the chain 
 around his neck, turned, and defiantly faced the 
 surrounding Indians. 
 
 "Now, harm a hair of his head, if you dare!" 
 she cried. 
 
 At that moment Mike Girty, his face distorted 
 and his one visible eye the other had been closed 
 by the fist of Gideon bloodshot with rage, sprang 
 toward Gideon and was about to tear the totem 
 from his neck, when a lithe young Indian, who had 
 just made his way through the encircling warriors, 
 leaped with the quick spring of a panther to his 
 side and caught his arm. Pushing Girty violently 
 to one side, he turned and, laying a hand on the 
 head of Gideon, faced the startled and amazed 
 Indians. 
 
 " My brother," he said. " No one shall hurt my 
 white brother while Kar-ray-mau-nee lives," and 
 his eyes defied the glowering eye of Girty and his 
 right hand gripped threateningly the haft of the 
 long knife in his belt. 
 
 At the same moment a young Indian woman, who
 
 352 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 had followed close behind the Indian lad, sprang to 
 the side of Ruth. 
 
 11 She my sister," she said, " the sister of Bright- 
 eyes. My father, the great chief, Black Hawk, will 
 kill one who dares hurt my sister or stain with 
 blood his totem," and she touched the totem of 
 Black Hawk, now hanging above the bosom of 
 Gideon, and turned and proudly and defiantly faced 
 the astounded Indians. 
 
 The encircling warriors, who, during these rapid 
 and unexpected happenings, had been too dum- 
 founded to make a move, now, when they saw them- 
 selves about to be cheated out of the victim of their 
 lust for blood, began to growl like hungry dogs 
 whose prey has been suddenly torn from them. 
 
 Mike Girty was quick to take advantage of this 
 discontent, and at once began an impassionate 
 appeal to all that was brutal in their savage natures ; 
 and soon had the more excitable and bloodthirsty 
 of the warriors demanding that their prey be not 
 taken from them, that Gideon be surrendered to 
 them to do with as they pleased, and threatening to 
 burn him at the stake in spite of the totem of Black 
 Hawk, in spite of Kar-ray-mau-nee and Brighteyes. 
 At the close of his harangue, Mike Girty turned 
 suddenly and, pointing to Gideon, called on all in 
 whose veins flowed the red blood of Indians and 
 not the white milk of squaws to seize their lawful 
 prey and not allow a squaw and a papoose to wrest 
 it from them. 
 
 A sound, the most dreadful in all nature, the
 
 Black Hawk 353 
 
 cry of human beings in whose veins the blood-lust 
 runs hot, answered him; and a hundred warriors, 
 their faces inflamed with passion, surged toward 
 the tree where Kar-ray-mau-nee and Brighteyes 
 stood by the side of Gideon and Ruth. But, before 
 a hand could reach them, a distant shouting was 
 heard, taken up instantly by the squaws and the 
 papooses and the warriors; and, above the wild 
 tumult, Gideon and Ruth heard the name, Black 
 Hawk! Black Hawk! 
 
 The onrushing Indians stopped at the sound of 
 that dread name, hesitated ; and, in that moment of 
 hesitation, Leaping Deer sprang in front of Gideon 
 and Ruth and called on the maddened savages to 
 await the coming of Black Hawk, their chief, and 
 to abide by his decision. As he spoke, the shouting 
 became louder and nearer; and then the mob of 
 Indians in front of them parted, and down the 
 open lane thus made strode an Indian dressed and 
 armed and painted for war, closely followed by a 
 dozen other heavily armed warriors. 
 
 He was a tall man, this Indian, with a spare, 
 steel-strung frame, thin, hawklike features, and 
 eyes that glowed in their sockets like black dia- 
 monds. All the hair had been plucked out of his 
 head, save a single scalplock, to which was fastened 
 a bunch of eagle feathers. He walked swiftly, the 
 spring of youth in his step, although a man over 
 sixty years old, and looked straight ahead. 
 
 A striking, a terrible figure he appeared to Gideon 
 and Ruth, as he strode toward them, down through
 
 354 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 the long lane of savages, the red light of the camp 
 fire lighting up his stern face and tall form. 
 
 In front of the prisoners Black Hawk paused, 
 his eyes turning swiftly from the face of one to 
 the face of the other, and then passing to Leaping 
 Deer and Kar-ray-mau-nee and Brighteyes and to 
 the glowering face of Mike Girty. 
 
 "Black Hawk/' and he turned and faced the 
 near-crowding warriors, " would know the meaning 
 of this/' and his eyes glanced from the form of 
 Gideon, still bound to the tree, to the faces of the 
 surrounding warriors. 
 
 Mike Girty at once took a quick step toward the 
 chief and opened his mouth to speak. But, with 
 an imperious gesture, the chief silenced him. 
 
 " Black Hawk will hear the tongue of an Indian 
 speak first," and, with a look of contempt, he turned 
 his back on Girty. "Let the tongue of Leaping 
 Deer tell Black Hawk why the Sacs were about to 
 burn a prisoner during the absence of their chief," 
 and his eyes sought the face of that chief. 
 
 Leaping Deer at once, briefly and clearly, nar- 
 rated the happenings of that day, so far as they 
 concerned the prisoners, from the time of their 
 capture to the present moment. 
 
 Black Hawk listened to him in silence, without 
 an emotion showing on his stern face and with 
 hardly a movement of his rigidly erect body. The 
 moment he ceased speaking the chief turned to the 
 young Indian, who still stood by the side of Gideon, 
 his right hand still on the haft of his knife.
 
 Black Hawk 355 
 
 " Why does Kar-ray-mau-nee call the white pris- 
 oner brother?" he asked. 
 
 Kar-ray-mau-nee's fine face flushed and his black 
 eyes lighted. He took a step toward Black Hawk 
 and replied. 
 
 He told of the day of the Big Fire, of his race for 
 life with it; of how, when his strength failed him 
 and the jaws of the Red Death were about to shut 
 down on him, the white man and the boy had come 
 to his aid, and of how they had refused to desert 
 him, even when they could feel the hot breath of 
 the Red Death blistering their backs, and had half- 
 dragged and half -carried him to safety, at the peril 
 of their own lives. "He saved Kar-ray-mau-nee 
 from the Red Death. Now Kar-ray-mau-nee save 
 him, or Kar-ray-mau-nee die with him. Kar-ray- 
 mau-nee has spoken," he ended, and stepped back 
 to the side of Gideon. 
 
 Immovable, expressionless, as before, the stern 
 chief had listened to the words of the young Indian; 
 and now, without a word, without a sign to show 
 whether he approved or condemned, he turned to 
 Brighteyes. 
 
 "Why does the daughter of Black Hawk hold 
 the hand of the white girl and call her sister?" 
 he asked. 
 
 Brighteyes, still holding the hand of Ruth, stepped 
 close to the chief. 
 
 "Brighteyes is the daughter of Black Hawk," 
 she answered, proudly. "Black Hawk has taught 
 his daughter to return good for good, service for
 
 356 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 service. This is the white girl, whose father and 
 mother saved Brighteyes and baby on the night of 
 the Big Rain, gave her and baby shelter and food, 
 cared for them as if they were their own, until 
 Great Thunder came and took them home. She is 
 the white girl around whose neck Brighteyes hung 
 the totem of Black Hawk, and Brighteyes called 
 her sister. Shall the daughter of Black Hawk 
 forget one she has called sister? Will the great 
 chief, Black Hawk, deny his totem? See, it hangs 
 on the neck of the white boy, the white boy the 
 warriors of Black Hawk were about to burn, to 
 burn with the totem of Black Hawk hanging about 
 his neck," and she pointed to the bared bosom of 
 Gideon, on which lay the little black hawk. 
 
 Black Hawk's face had remained as expression- 
 less as before, while Brighteyes was speaking, until 
 she spoke of the totem and of its threatened dese- 
 cration; then an angry flash came into his eyes. 
 The moment she completed her story, he strode to 
 the side of Gideon, lifted the little black hawk in 
 one of his hands, examined it closely for an instant, 
 and then, straightening up proudly, turned to Kar- 
 ray-mau-nee. 
 
 " Free the prisoner," he commanded. " Black 
 Hawk will protect his own," and he turned and 
 faced the encircling warriors. 
 
 As the knife of Kar-ray-mau-nee came from its 
 sheath and began cutting the thongs that bound 
 Gideon to the tree, Mike Girty, his face inflamed 
 with baffled hate and rage, started to voice an angry
 
 Silence, dog of a white man, Black Hawk has spoken
 
 Black Hawk 357 
 
 protest; but, before he had spoken ten words, Black 
 Hawk turned imperiously upon him. 
 
 "Silence, dog of a white man!" he commanded. 
 "Black Hawk has spoken." 
 
 Girty, for an instant, looked into the chief's 
 glow r ing eyes and then slunk back and disappeared 
 behind the crowding Indians. 
 
 For a minute Black Hawk stood facing his braves, 
 waiting to see if there were any others to question 
 his decision, but not another voice was raised in 
 protest. 
 
 "It is well," he said, and turned to Brighteyes. 
 " The daughter of Black Hawk did right in calling 
 the white girl sister, in giving her the protection of 
 the totem of Black Hawk. Black Hawk would see 
 the mother of the white girl and boy. Bring the 
 white woman here," and he turned to Leaping Deer. 
 
 Leaping Deer hurried to where the muscular arms 
 of two warriors had been forcibly detaining Mrs. 
 Clay during these exciting scenes, and bade them 
 release her. 
 
 The instant Mrs. Clay was free she ran to Gideon, 
 and in a moment mother and son were in each 
 other's arms. 
 
 A milder light came into the eyes of Black Hawk 
 and the hard lines on his face softened as he 
 watched this affecting union of mother and son, 
 who, a few minutes before, thought never to meet 
 again in this life. 
 
 When Mrs. Clay turned from Gideon to thank 
 his preservers, Black Hawk stood in front of her.
 
 358 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 Briefly the chief thanked her for the care she had 
 given his daughter and her baby, bade her fear no 
 longer, since now she and her children were under 
 the protection of Black Hawk, and promised, at 
 the first opportunity, to restore them all to the 
 anxious father and husband. 
 
 The moment Black Hawk ceased speaking, Mrs. 
 Clay attempted to thank him, but the chief drew 
 himself up haughtily. 
 
 " Black Hawk wants not the thanks of the white 
 woman/' he said. "The white people are his 
 enemies; they have robbed him, have driven him 
 from the home of his fathers, from the graves of 
 his ancestors, have shed the blood of his warriors 
 and the heart of Black Hawk is heavy and full 
 of hatred for the whites. But an Indian never for- 
 gets a kindness. Black Hawk is an Indian and 
 remembers. He pays his debts. He scorns to be 
 under obligations to the whites. He wipes out the 
 obligation, so that there will be only hatred in his 
 heart. You are free ; and the heart of Black Hawk 
 is satisfied. He can now hate all whites/' and the 
 chief turned abruptly from Mrs. Clay, spoke a few 
 words of command to the surrounding warriors, 
 and strode off. 
 
 During this scene the sympathetic eyes of Bright- 
 eyes had turned often to the sick child in Mrs. 
 Clay's arms, and now she stepped to her side. 
 
 "Ba-be sick?" she asked. 
 
 Mrs. Clay nodded and glanced anxiously down 
 into the wan little face.
 
 Black Hawk 359 
 
 "Come," and Brighteyes touched her arm. 
 " Brighteyes knows squaw who is very old and very 
 wise. She will cure ba-be. Come/' and, motioning 
 Gideon and Ruth to follow, she led Mrs. Clay to her 
 own wigwam. 
 
 Gideon, before he followed, turned and gripped 
 the hand of Kar-ray-mau-nee and tried to tell him 
 what he thought of his coming so bravely to his 
 rescue; but the words choked in his throat and he 
 was forced to turn and abruptly hurry after Ruth 
 and his mother, to keep the Indian boy from seeing 
 the tears in his eyes. But the face of Kar-ray-mau- 
 nee showed that he understood what the white boy 
 wanted to say. 
 
 On the skin-covered floor of the wigwam of 
 Brighteyes played a healthy, copper-colored young- 
 ster, of about the same age as the child in Mrs. 
 Clay's arms, who, the moment they entered, turned 
 on them a pair of black, curious eyes. 
 
 "You remember. My ba-be," Brighteyes said, 
 proudly. Then she turned to a squaw, who sat 
 crouched near a small fire that burned in the center 
 of the wigwam, and spoke a few words in the 
 Indian tongue to her. The squaw at once, with a 
 glance toward the baby in Mrs. Clay's arms, hur- 
 ried from the wigwam. In ten minutes she was 
 back, and with her came a withered and wrinkled 
 old squaw, who looked as if the summers and the 
 winters of more than a hundred years might have 
 passed over her head. 
 
 The old squaw went at once to the sick baby,
 
 360 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 now lying on a bed of soft skins, laid a withered 
 hand on her forehead and looked down long on the 
 wan white face, muttering to herself. At last she 
 lifted her head, nodded vigorously once or twice, 
 arose and, turning to Brighteyes, spoke a few words. 
 Brighteyes at once filled a small clay vessel with 
 water and handed it to her. The old squaw now 
 took little handfuls of leaves and stems and roots 
 of plants from a number of small bags that she 
 carried under her blanket, fastened to a belt around 
 her waist, and, dropping the various herbs into the 
 vessel of water, placed it over the fire; and, crouch- 
 ing down by the side of it, stirred it with a wooden 
 spoon until it boiled, muttering to herself as she 
 did so. When the concoction boiled, she took it off 
 the fire and drained it through a piece of cloth into 
 another vessel. As soon as it was cool enough to 
 drink, she poured a little of it out into a small cup 
 and gave it to the sick child to drink. 
 
 Almost instantly the white face flushed with red 
 and the long-closed eyes opened and the little hands 
 were lifted to her mother. 
 
 With a cry of joy Mrs. Clay started to raise the 
 baby to her bosom, but the old squaw stopped her 
 and began tightly wrapping a number of heavy 
 skins around the body of the child; and, before she 
 had completed the wrapping, the baby lay in a deep, 
 natural sleep. 
 
 " No uncover till morning. Now let sleep. When 
 wake, give more," and the old squaw pointed to 
 the bowl of medicine. " She soon get well," and,
 
 Black Hawk 361 
 
 without waiting for the thanks Mrs. Clay attempted 
 to give her, she hobbled out of the wigwam accom- 
 panied by the squaw of Brighteyes. 
 
 For a few minutes Mrs. Clay sat watching the 
 sleeping child, her heart too full for utterance; but, 
 now that her mind was at rest, the utter weariness 
 of her body made itself known. 
 
 " Sleep," and Brighteyes pointed to the skins by 
 the side of the baby. " Brighteyes watch ba-be." 
 
 With a grateful smile, Mrs. Clay sank down on 
 the soft skins and almost immediately was sound 
 asleep. 
 
 Ruth, at a motion from Brighteyes, lay down by 
 the side of her mother, and Gideon by the side of 
 her and the most terrible, the most strenuous day 
 in the lives of these pioneers had ended.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 AU REVOIR 
 
 TT* OR two weeks Big Tom Clay and Silas Wegg 
 * and Ben Block remained with Captain Lincoln 
 and his company of volunteers, without once get- 
 ting a sight of the Indians, although they were 
 constantly following trails and chasing rumors. 
 
 This sort of warfare did not please the volun- 
 teers. Every day they became more discontented, 
 and finally, on the twenty-seventh day of May, 
 Governor Reynolds mustered out Lincoln and his 
 company. Lincoln, two days later, re-enlisted, as a 
 private, in Captain Elijah lies' Company of Inde- 
 pendent Rangers. 
 
 "We'll go along with you, if Captain lies is 
 willing," Big Tom said, as soon as he heard of 
 Lincoln's re-enlistment. 
 
 " Glad to have you," Lincoln responded, heartily. 
 "And, I reckon, Captain lies will be glad likewise. 
 It's not every day that he can pick up three such 
 men as you are. Come on. I'll take you to him 
 right now." 
 
 Lincoln proved a true prophet. Captain lies, as 
 soon as he had heard the story of Big Tom, wel- 
 comed him and his two companions to his command 
 and promised to do all that he could to get on the 
 trail of the Indians who had abducted Mrs. Clay 
 and the children. 
 
 362
 
 Au Revoir 363 
 
 Another week passed, a week of fruitless, exas- 
 perating searching. 
 
 Black Hawk knew that the forces marching 
 against him overwhelmingly outnumbered his little 
 army of warriors, that it would be folly for him to 
 attempt to face them and give them battle; and, 
 cunning old fox that he was, he divided his men 
 into small bands and sent them out to pillage and 
 massacre, wherever opportunity offered, always 
 fleeing before a large force of the enemy, always 
 ready to spring upon a small detachment, or a lonely 
 settler. Thus the wily old chief managed to keep 
 the whole region in a constant state of terror and 
 several small armies of regulars and volunteers 
 busy chasing his bands through the then wilder- 
 nesses of northwestern Illinois and southwestern 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Big Tom, by this time, had become despondent, 
 had begun to fear that the worst must have hap- 
 pened to Mrs. Clay and the children. For a time 
 he had been buoyed up by the hope that the old 
 Indian, the one Lincoln had rescued from his men, 
 would find his wife and children and give them his 
 message and bring a message from them to him in 
 return. He had faithfully promised to do this, if 
 he could find them. But now three weeks had 
 passed since his departure and still not a word or a 
 sign had come from him. 
 
 Big Tom knew the rage that Black Hawk and his 
 warriors were in. They were constantly coming 
 upon terrible evidences of this. And it seemed
 
 364 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 hardly possible that, under such circumstances, Mrs. 
 Clay and the children, if spared at all, would be 
 spared for long. And yet he could not give up all 
 hope, never would give up all hope, until he had 
 been assured beyond all possible doubt that it was 
 useless to hope longer. 
 
 One day they found in a deserted Indian camp 
 the bodies of a white woman and her baby that 
 had been mutilated beyond all recognition. The 
 sight had nearly unmanned Big Tom. They might 
 be his wife and baby for all he knew. That night 
 he was in a particularly despondent frame of mind. 
 
 Lincoln and Silas Wegg and Ben Block tried in 
 vain to cheer him up, to get his thoughts off the 
 terrible thing he had witnessed that day. He 
 seemed to resent their efforts, and, suddenly arising 
 from the camp fire around which all were sitting, 
 picked up his rifle and, without a word, started off 
 gloomily into the darkness of the night. 
 
 For a moment the three men sat staring after 
 him, hardly knowing what to do. Then Lincoln 
 turned to Silas. 
 
 "Better follow him," he said, anxiously. "He 
 is feeling desperate tonight." 
 
 Without a word, Silas picked up his rifle and 
 hurried off in the direction taken by Big Tom. 
 
 Ten anxious minutes passed; then, suddenly, a 
 rifle shot broke the stillness of the night. Lincoln 
 and Ben Block leaped to their feet. The shot had 
 come from the direction taken by Big Tom and 
 Silas. What could it mean ? The report of the rifle
 
 Au Revoir 365 
 
 was followed by a moment of intense silence. The 
 whole little army appeared to be listening appre- 
 hensively, their rifles in their hands. 
 
 Then a loud cry, a shout, and a woman's shrill 
 voice were heard, and the next instant the long form 
 of Silas Wegg broke into the light of the camp 
 fires, running as if for life, and swinging his cap 
 wildly around his head, and shouting something at 
 the top of his voice. 
 
 The officers yelled with excitement and com- 
 manded their men to fall into line of battle and be 
 ready to withstand the expected attack by the 
 Indians. 
 
 Lincoln and Ben Block leaped toward Silas Wegg. 
 
 "What is it?" they both shouted, the moment 
 they reached him. " Indians ? " 
 
 "Great Moses! Dew I look like Injuns? No; 
 it's Mrs. Clay an' th' yunks, all safe an' sound! 
 Whoop-pa ! Hurrah ! Hurrah ! ! " and he flung his 
 cap up madly into the air. 
 
 At that moment, from out the darkness of the 
 night into the light of the camp fires, walked Big 
 Tom, the baby in his arms, Mrs. Clay clinging to 
 one arm and Ruth and Gideon both trying to mo- 
 nopolize the other; and a little behind them came 
 the old Indian. 
 
 Big Tom had come suddenly upon his wife and 
 children and the old Indian, just as they were about 
 to make themselves known to the camp; and, in 
 the excitement of the moment, as he sprang for- 
 ward to clasp his wife and children in his arms,
 
 366 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 he had dropped his rifle and the fall had discharged 
 his gun. 
 
 That was a night of rejoicing for the whole little 
 army. Men were constantly crowding around the 
 camp fire, where the Clays held court, until long 
 past midnight. But, at last, the stories were all 
 told, the hands all shaken, and all had stretched 
 themselves out on their blankets, Big Tom to enjoy 
 his first unbroken and restful sleep for many a 
 long day. 
 
 Early the next morning the old Indian, his duty 
 done, said good-by to his white friends and returned 
 to the camp of Black Hawk. 
 
 Two months later the cruel and shameful war 
 was ended by the complete overthrow of Black 
 Hawk and the half -starved remnants of his war- 
 riors at the Battle or, more correctly, Massacre 
 of the Bad Axe. A short time after this Black 
 Hawk himself surrendered to the whites at Prairie 
 du Chien. 
 
 Big Tom had taken his wife and children to Fort 
 Armstrong, there to await the end of this cruel and 
 needless war. 
 
 On the day that the news of the final victory 
 over Black Hawk reached Fort Armstrong, Silas 
 Wegg, who had mysteriously disappeared a few 
 days before, returned. He at once hurried to the 
 rude shelter occupied by the Clays, who, greatly 
 as they rejoiced over the end of the war, were seri- 
 ously troubled by their own unfortunate affairs. 
 The war had robbed them of house and stock and
 
 Au Revoir 367 
 
 tools, everything but their bare hands and stout 
 hearts. 
 
 "We were just talking over what we would do 
 now," Big Tom said, the moment the greetings were 
 over. " The Indian trouble is ended, and, I reckon, 
 it is ended for good; but it has robbed us pretty 
 much of everything except our skins, and we're 
 powerful thankful to have them left," and Big Tom 
 grinned. "I reckon I'll have to leave the wife and 
 children here and go to work at something until 
 next spring. I ought to get enough ahead by that 
 time, with what I can borrow back home, to buy 
 stock and tools and a wagon and the needed sup- 
 plies to start over again. We certain can't go back 
 on the land right now, with nothing but our bare 
 hands and winter coming on," and he turned for 
 confirmation to Silas. 
 
 " Shucks ! " grinned Silas. " I know a way that'll 
 beat that all holler, asides from makin' me 'bout th' 
 happiest mortal that ever wore moccasins." Thrust- 
 ing one hand under the bosom of his deerskin coat, 
 he drew out a small buckskin bag, and, stepping 
 to the table, poured its contents out on its top, 
 forming a little pyramid of bright yellow gold 
 pieces. 
 
 " Thar," he said, turning his shining eyes to Big 
 Tom and Mrs. Clay. "I reckon th' good Lord 
 knowed all th' time what He was a-dewin' when 
 He put th' notion in my head tew save that thar 
 gold. Now, that that thar is settled," and he 
 roughly brushed one sleeve of his coat across his
 
 368 The Totem of Black Hawk 
 
 eyes, "git some food a-goin'. I'm as hungry as 
 a b'ar." 
 
 There is little more to write, for with the ending 
 of the Black Hawk war ended all the more serious 
 troubles of our pioneer friends, the Clays. With 
 the gold thus opportunely furnished by Silas, they 
 were enabled to build a strong log house and barn 
 that fall and the next spring to buy stock and tools 
 and seed, and to begin the battle with the wilder- 
 ness again where they had left off, this time with 
 such success that a few years brought them all 
 prosperity and happiness. 
 
 However, there was one thing over which Gideon 
 and Silas could never feel quite satisfied and con- 
 cerning which Big Tom always laughed, whenever 
 they broached the subject to him, and declared: 
 "He'd have thrown me sure. He had the brains 
 and the muscle both." Big Tom had not wrestled 
 with the young captain of volunteers, Abe Lincoln; 
 and, consequently, the wrestling championship of 
 Illinois still remained unsettled in their minds, 
 although both of them stoutly affirmed that, had 
 the matter come to a test, they were positive that 
 Big Tom would have won, even from so skilful an 
 antagonist as Abe Lincoln. 
 
 In closing, it is pleasant to record here that the 
 pioneer's dream came true, that both Big Tom and 
 Mrs. Clay lived to see all of their children pros- 
 perous and happily married, to hold their grand- 
 children on their knees and to behold the wilderness 
 that they had helped to wrest from the savage and
 
 Au Revoir 369 
 
 the wild beast develop into one of the richest and 
 most prosperous regions of our great nation. 
 
 Silas, thereafter, made his home with the Clays 
 until his death in his ninety-seventh year. 
 
 The Clays have many descendants today, and, 
 among all the heirlooms in their possession, the 
 most cherished is a little black stone, rudely carved 
 into the semblance of a hawk and attached to a 
 quaint old silver chain The Totem of Black 
 Hawk. 
 
 THE END
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 rHE TOTEM OF BLACK HAWK CHICAGO