I did not know what had happened, but I opened my wallet, for
I was on a hunting expedition, and offered him some bread and dried
venison. He looked at me reproachfully.
"'Do white men eat bread the first night their papouse is laid in
the earth?'
"I then knew the cause of his depression, and left him."
On the night of the second day of his fast another child died of
the fever. He had now to accomplish three more days without tasting
food. It was too much even for an Indian. On the evening of the
fourth, he was so pressed by ravenous hunger, that he stole into
the woods, caught a bull-frog, and devoured it alive. He imagined
himself alone; but one of his people, suspecting his intention,
had followed him, unperceived, to the bush. The act he had just
committed was a hideous crime in their eyes, and in a few minutes
the camp was in an uproar. The chief fled for protection to Young's
house. When the hunter demanded the cause of his alarm, he gave for
answer, "There are plenty of flies at my house. To avoid their
stings I came to you."
It required all the eloquence of Mr. Young, who enjoyed much
popularity among them, to reconcile the rebellious tribe to their
chief.
They are very skilful in their treatment of wounds, and many
diseases.
