The Way of an Indian

an unaccustomed eye from below he might have been a part of nature's freaks among the sand rocks. The yello

the creek-bottom; pony herds stood quietly waving their tails against the flies or were driven

hich had passed him by. He was a boy-a fine-looking, skillfully modeled youth-as beautiful a thing, doubtless, as God ever created in His sense of form; better than his sisters, better than the four-foots, or the fishes, or the birds, and he meant so much more than the inanimate things, in so far as we can see. He had the body given to him and he wanted to keep it, but there were the mysterious demons of the darkness, the wind and th

w-its soul-its changeable thing-its other life-just as he himself was cut blue-black beside himself on the sandstone. There were millions of these grass-blades, and each one shivered i

or. Only last night, a few of his boy companions, some even younger than himself, had gone away to the Absaroke for glory and scalps, and ponies and women-a war-party-the one thing to which an Indian pulsed with his last drop. He had thought to go also, but his father had disco

m to the rim-rock, where his soul rocked and pounced within him. He looked at the land of his

he far-off skyline, and he hid his head in his blanket as he gazed into his medicine-pouch. "K

wn extended itself down the hillside-now twenty feet long-now sixty-until the western sun was cut by the bluffs, when it went out altogether. The shadow of White Otter had been eaten up by the shadow of the hill. He knew now that he must go to the westward-

off, though he sleeps even on the other side, a spirit is what I use to keep him. Make the bellies of animals full which would seek my son; make the wolf and the bear and the panther go out

s died down in the camp, but the muffled intone came in a hollow sound from the interior of the t

it plains bobbed and flitted the di

lost in the coulees, but ceaselessly on and on, wound this figure of

s muscles playing tirelessly to the d

his on this occasion, and thus he approached it. To this place the shadows had retired, and he was pursuing them. He was in mortal terror-every tree spoke out loud to him; the dark places gave back groans, the night-winds swooped upon hi

d me; they have stolen my shadow; now they will take me, and I shall nev

light. I have your shadow and I will fly about so fast that the spirit-wildcats and the spirit-birds and the stone giants cannot come up with me or your shadow, which I carry under my wings. Sit down here in the dark place under the cliffs and rest. Have no fear." White Otter sat him down as directed, muffled in his robe. "Keep me safe,

blinking his hollow eyes at his shadow beside him. Its possession lull

eard the breaking of sticks under the feet of approaching men, and from under the pines a long procession of men appeared-but they were shadows, like water, and he could see the landscape beyond them. They were spirit-men. He did not stir. The moving

n a rocky island, where there are no ponies, no women, no food, White Otter. You have no m

hite Otter. "I have the little

with us, White Otter." With this, one of the spirit-men strode forward and seized White Otter, who sprang to his feet

ing savage, but the ghostly crowd yelled, "Your li

sited on the inglorious desert island in the shadow-land. At times he grew exhausted and seemed to lie still under the spirit's clutches, but reviving, continued the struggle with what energy he could summon. The westering sun began lengthening the shadows on the Inyan-kara, a

ering over the Inyan-kara, screaming, "Hoho, h

ame back to prowl, since the light had left the world, and they were no longer afraid. They all sought to circumvent the poor Indian, but the little

g to reach it. With a fortunate sweep it struck his hand, his fingers clutched around it, and as he drew ba

of the Good God's protection, he lay down to sleep. The sto

ter was

crets of your shadow-self, and it will take you through battle so fast that no arrow or bullet can hit you. It will steal you away from the spirits which haunt the night. It will whisper to you concerning the intentions of the women, an

he mountain, and at the foot met his father with ponies and buffalo

rotect my body and my shadow-the