The Bridge of the Gods

s, 'wait, and al

ook of stolid indifference. A moment before he had been all animation, every glance

ving the restless glitter of black eyes, it was a tableau of stoicism. Then another spoke, advising caution, s

ies. His was one of the most singular faces there. His tangled hair fell around a sinister, bestial countenance, all scarred and seamed by wounds received in battle. His head was almost flat, running back from his eyebrows so obliquely that when h

did the others, but in the common dial

pe of peace with us; if they are not, let us know it. Mishlah knows not what it is to wait. You all talk words, words, words; and the tribes laugh and say, 'The Willamettes h

and his voice rang harsh and grating. The eyes of Multnomah flashed fire

e drawn, austere, and dismal beyond description. The mis-shapen, degraded features repelled at first sight; but a second glance revealed a great dim sadness in the eyes, a gloomy foreboding on brow and lip that were weirdly fascinating, so sombre were they, so full of woe. There was a w

assive features. For this man's eloquence was wonderful, and his soft magnetic tones could sway the passions of his hearers to his will wi

led locks that hung ov

en, Tohomish, who dwells in caves and talks with the dead

e wild audience before him,-through all but Multnomah, who did not shrink nor drop his searching eyes from the speaker's face. What

es has he looked upon and other voices has he heard. He has learned the language of the birds and the trees, and has talked with the People

the future was as luminous as the past. But Multnomah's brow darkened; he felt that Tohomish als

ght them up the hill and through the thickets the cry grew fainter and farther, till at last it died out amid distant rocks and crags. And then I knew that I had heard no human voice lamenting the dead, but that it was t

ay and night I kept the fire burning; day and night I danced the tomanowos dance around the flames, or leaped through them, singing the song that brings the Spee-ough,

amed a

he spirit-land. But when I tried to see their faces, to know them, if they were Willamette or Shoshone or our brother tribes, I could not. But the wail grew ever louder and the dead grew ever thicker as they passed. Then it all faded out, and I slept. When I awoke, it was night; the fire had burned into ashes and the medicine wolf was howling on the hills. The voices that are in the air came to me and said, 'Go to the council and tell what you have seen;' but I refused, and went f

to speak. Again the silence was profound. The Indians sat spell-bound, charmed by the mournful music of the prophet's voice and awed by the dread vision he had revealed. All the superstition within them was aroused.

pee-ough, ominous as they were even to him, rose up the instinct which was as much a part of him as life itself,-the instinct to battle and to conquer.

en the great war-chief of the tribes of the Wauna, and had never known defeat. The ancient enemies of his race dreaded him; the wandering bands of the prairies had carried his name far and wide; and eve

pictures, so vivid they were, and thrilled his tones with electric power. As he went on, the sullen faces of his hearers grew animated; the superstitious fears that Tohomish had awakened fell from them. Again they were 67 warriors, and their blood kindled and their pulses throbbed to the words of their

we not know too that their spirits would try to frighten our dreamers with omens and bad tomanowos? Was it not bad tomanowos that Tohomish saw? It could not have come from the Great Spirit, for he spok

d be. Dreams and omens were mist and shadow, but the bridge was rock, and the word of the Great Spirit stood forever. On this tradition the chief dwelt with tremendous force, setting against the superstition