With all this bluster, I saw that old Katchiba was in a great dilemma,
and that he would give anything for a shower, but that lie did not know
how to get out of the scrape.
It was a common freak of the tribes to
sacrifice the rain-maker should he be unsuccessful. He suddenly altered
his tone, and asked, "Have you any rain in your country?" I replied that
we had, every now and then. "How do you bring it? Are you a rain-maker?"
I told him that no one believed in rain- makers in our country, but that
we understood how to bottle lightning (meaning electricity). "I don't
keep mine in bottles, but I have a houseful of thunder and lightning,"
he most coolly replied; "but if you can bottle lightning, you must
understand rain-making. What do you think of the weather to-day?" I
immediately saw the drift of the cunning old Katchiba; he wanted
professional advice. I replied that he must know all about it, as he was
a regular rain- maker. "Of course I do," he answered, "but I want to
know what YOU think of it." "Well," I said, "I don't think we shall have
any steady rain, but I think we may have a heavy shower in about four
days." I said this as I had observed fleecy clouds gathering daily in
the afternoon. "Just my opinion!" said Katchiba, delighted. "In four or
perhaps in five days I intend to give then one shower - just one shower.
Yes, I'll just step down to them now and tell the rascals that if they
will bring me some goats by this evening and some corn to-morrow morning
I will give them in four or five days just one shower." To give effect
to his declaration he gave several toots upon his magic whistle. "Do you
use whistles in your country?" inquired Katchiba. I only replied by
giving so shrill and deafening a whistle on my fingers that Katchiba
stopped his ears, and relapsing into a smile of admiration he took a
glance at the sky from the doorway to see if any sudden effect had been
produced. "Whistle again," he said, and once more I performed like the
whistle of a locomotive. "That will do; we shall have it," said the
cunning old rain-maker, and proud of having so knowingly obtained
"counsel's opinion" on his case, he toddled off to his impatient
subjects.
In a few days a sudden storm of rain and violent thunder added to
Katchiba's renown, and after the shower horns were blowing and nogaras
were beating in honor of their chief. Entre nous, my whistle was
considered infallible.
A bad attack of fever laid me up until the 31st of December. On the
first day of January, 1864, I was hardly able to stand, and was nearly
worn out at the very time that I required my strength, as we were to
start south in a few days.
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