Chapter 8
More and more Indians
The nights were still cold on the High Prairie, and the days were short and grey. Indians came riding on the path that passed so close to the house. They sat up straight on their naked horses and did not look right or left. But their black eyes shone. Mary and Laura sat against the house and looked up at them.
'I'm sorry I built the house so close to the Indian trail,' Pa said. 'But I thought they didn't use it anymore.'
'Yes, there are so many Indians around here,' Ma said. 'I can't look up without seeing one.'
As she spoke she looked up, and there stood an Indian. He was in the doorway and they had not heard a sound.
'Oh, dear!' Ma whispered, frightened.
Jack jumped at the Indian. Pa caught him just in time.
'How!' the Indian said to Pa.
Pa held onto Jack and replied, 'How!' He pulled Jack over to the bed and tied him there. The Indian came in and sat down by the fire, and Pa sat down next to him. They sat there, friendly but not talking, while Ma finished cooking dinner.
Laura and Mary were quiet on their bed in the corner. They couldn't take their eyes from that Indian. He was so still that the beautiful eagle feathers in his hair did not move. He wore trousers made of animal skins, and his moccasins were covered with beads.
Pa and the Indian ate silently. Then Pa gave the Indian some tobacco for his pipe. They filled their pipes, lighted them, and silently smoked until the pipes were empty. All this time nobody had said anything. But now the Indian said something to Pa. Pa shook his head and said. 'No speak.' They all sat silent a while longer. Then the tall Indian got up and went away without a sound.
'Oh, dear!' Ma said again.
Pa said the Indian was an important man. 'He wore eagle feathers in his hair.
I think he was an Osage Indian. I'm sure that was French he was speaking. I wish I spoke some French.'
'I think Indians should stay together with other Indians,' Ma said, 'and we'll do the same.'
'Don't worry, Caroline,' Pa said. 'That Indian was very friendly. And their camps down along the creek are quiet enough. If we're polite to them and watch Jack, we won't have any trouble.'
The very next morning when Pa opened the door, Laura saw Jack standing on the Indian trail, showing all his teeth. Right in front of him was the tall Indian, sitting very still on his horse. Jack looked ready to jump at them.
When the Indian saw Pa, he lifted his gun and pointed it straight at Jack. Pa ran to the trail and pulled Jack out of the way, and the Indian rode on.
'We were lucky that time!' Pa said.
'Well, it's his path. It was an Indian trail long before we came.'
After that, Jack was always tied up. He got crosser and crosser, but there was nothing Pa could do about it. 'If Jack hurts an Indian,' he said, 'there will be bad trouble.'
Wild animals were wearing their thick winter fur, and Pa went hunting every day. He caught small animals and shot large ones for their fur. He carefully put the skins outside the house to dry in the sun. In the evenings he pulled the dry skins between his hands to make them soft, and every day the bundle of furs on the floor grew bigger. Laura loved to feel the soft fur in her fingers. Pa was saving all these furs to trade next spring in Independence. One day when Pa was hunting, two Indians walked right into the house. They were dirty and cross. One of them looked at all the things in Ma's cupboard and took all the cornbread. The other took Pa's tobacco. Then one of them picked up the bundle of furs.
Ma held Baby Carrie in her arms, and Mary and Laura stood close to her. They looked at that Indian taking all Pa's furs but they couldn't do anything to stop him.
The Indian carried the furs as far as the door. Then the other Indian said something to him in an angry voice, and he dropped the bundle. They finally went away.
Ma sat down and pulled Mary and Laura close to her, and Laura felt Ma's heart beating.
'Well,' said Ma, smiling, 'I'm thankful they didn't take the plough and seeds.'
Laura was surprised. She asked, 'What plough?'
'Your Pa is going to trade that bundle of furs for a plough and lots of different seeds in the spring.' Ma said.
When Pa came home they told him about those Indians, and he looked serious. 'But all's well that ends well,' he said. 'And soon all the Indians here will move west.'
'Why do they go west?' Laura asked.
'When white settlers arrive in a place, the Indians have to move away from there.'
'But why?'
'The government makes them. Laura.' Pa said.
'That's why we're here. Lots of white people are going to come and live here. We came first to choose the best land. Now do you understand?'
'Yes. Pa,' Laura said. 'But. Pa, I thought this was Indian Territory. Won't the Indians be angry if they have to-' 'No more questions, Laura,' Pa said. 'It's time for bed.'
Winter ended at last. The wind was softer, and the terrible cold was gone. One day Pa said it was time to take his furs to Independence.
Ma said.
'But the Indians are so near!'
'They're very friendly.' Pa said.
'I often meet them when I'm hunting in the forest. You needn't be afraid of them.'
'No,' Ma said. But Laura knew that Ma was afraid of Indians. 'You must go, Charles,' she said. 'We must have a plough and seeds. And you'll be back soon.'
The next morning before the sun came up, Pa got the horses ready, put the furs into the wagon, and drove away.
Laura and Mary counted the long, empty days. One, two, three, four, and still Pa had not come home. Ma said it was taking him a long time to trade his furs in town.
In the afternoon of the fifth day, Laura and Mary were playing a game outside. The weather was wild and sweet. The wind smelled like spring, and birds were flying north in the wide blue sky. Suddenly Mary stopped and said, 'What's that?'
Laura had already heard the strange noise. 'It's the Indians,' she said.
Mary stood still. She was frightened. Laura was not really afraid, but that noise made her feel strange. It was the sound of many Indian voices, something like an axe cutting wood or like a dog barking. It was wild, but it didn't seem angry.
Ma came outdoors and listened for a minute. Then she locked the animals in the stable. She told Laura and Mary to bring wood into the house. The sound was getting louder, now, and faster. It made Laura's heart beat fast. 'Come inside the house, now,' Ma said. She took Jack inside, too, and locked the door.
The sun went down and the sky turned bright pink. Ma was busy getting supper ready, but Laura and Mary watched from the window silently. All that time the sound from the creek got louder and louder, faster and faster. And Laura's heart beat faster and louder.
Then she heard Pa's wagon! Laura and Mary ran to the door and jumped on Pa, who had his arms full. Pa laughed his big laugh. 'What do you think I am,' he laughed, 'a tree to climb?' He dropped his bundles on the table and put his big arms around them.
'Listen to the Indians. Pa,' Laura said. 'Why are they making that strange noise?'
'Oh, they're having some kind of jamboree. I heard them when I crossed the creek.'
Then he went to put the horses and the new plough in the stable. When he came back, they opened the bundles. He had bought brown sugar, coffee, cornmeal, salt, and all the seeds that they needed. Then Pa gave Ma a packet. He watched her open it with his big smile. There was pretty cotton cloth in it for her to make herself a dress.
'Oh, Charles, you shouldn't! It's too much!' she cried. But her face shone with happiness.
Mary watched Pa quietly, but Laura climbed onto his leg and began beating him with her hands. 'Where is it? Where's my present?' she said, beating him.
Pa laughed his big laugh, like great bells ringing, and he pulled a packet out of his shirt pocket.
'You first, Mary,' he said, 'because you're waiting so quietly.' And he gave Mary a comb to wear in her hair. 'And here you are, Laura! This is for you,' he said. The combs were just alike. They both had a bright star on the top. Mary's star was blue and Laura's was red. Ma put the combs in their hair. They laughed with excitement. They had never had anything so pretty.
Ma said, 'But Charles, you didn't get yourself a thing!'
'Oh, I got myself a plough,' said Pa. 'The weather will soon be warm enough to start using it.'
That was the happiest supper they had had in a long time. The salt pork that Pa had brought was very good. And Pa told them all about the seeds. He had got tobacco seeds and corn seeds, and the seeds of many different kinds of vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
'I tell you, Caroline, when these seeds grow in this rich land of ours, we'll be living like kings!' Pa said.
They had almost forgotten the wild noise from the Indian camps. But then Pa said something to Ma that made Laura sit very still and listen carefully.
'People in Independence say the government is going to move the white settlers out of Indian Territory.'
'Oh. no!' Ma said.
'Not when we have done so much.'
'Well, I don't believe what I heard,' Pa said. 'The government has always let settlers keep the land. I think they'll make the Indians move west again.'
Laura lay awake in bed a long time that night. She could still hear the noise of the wild jamboree in the Indian camp. Their fierce cries were carried on the screaming wind. They made her heart beat faster and faster and faster.
