The Indians and
half-breeds were afraid of her, and she told them if they did not kill
her before the sun went down, she would eat the whole camp up. They
got some of the half-breeds to tie her; and they carried her out on a
hill, and one old half-breed struck her on the head, and the Indians
shot her in the head three times, cut it off and set fire to it; they
were very much afraid she would come back and do some harm to them.
One evening after making our bed for the night, four squaws came into
our tent and sat down for two hours, crying and singing and clapping
their hands, and after going out, some of the Indians took and tied
them until morning; it was a most strange procedure. I could go on
enumerating incident after incident, but I have, I think, given
sufficient to give the reader an insight into their character.
CHAPTER XII.
DANCING PARTIES.
While we were on the way too Fort Pitt, a letter was received from the
Rev. John McDougall, of Calgary, stating that troops were coming
through from Edmonton, and that they would make short work of Big
Bear's band for the murders they had committed at Frog Lake. They were
terribly frightened at that news, and took turns and watched on the
hills night and day. Others spent their time in dancing--it was
dancing all the time--all day and all night.
I will explain their mode of dancing as well as I can:--They all get
in a circle, while two sit down outside and play the tom-tom, a most
unmelodious instrument, something like a tambourine, only not half so
_sweet_; it is made in this way:--they take a hoop or the lid of
a butter firkin, and cover one side with a very thin skin, while the
other has strings fastened across from side to side, and upon this
they pound with sticks with all their might, making a most unearthly
racket.
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