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Show ( 16 ) stir, but let her pass by, while I scarcely breathed for fear to frighten her; however, I involuntarily and sud.denJy sprang upon. my feet, and she simultan eous! y turned her head; but, m~tead of ru nmng away, ~he stood sti ll and waited till I bad reached her, whe 1 she srrn1ed, and scud: 'Oh! although you be a Sioux, you will neither kill nor strike me ;. for, your eyes look mild, a~<~ tell m.e that your ?ands were never stm~ed with human blood .' 1tns confi(hng addre s d J~ilnm e d me, anrl1hrowmg away my weapons, to show my friendly intentions, I stammered in rc:ply: 'Fair maiden! yo11r words are sweeter than bon -_y, and your f~a tures vie with the brilliancy of the morning sun. If I were not a Swux, 1 would be a Pawnee, and hunt for you a1one. Tell me your name, fair maiden!' She looked down, and replied: 'Althoui!h you be a Sioll x, I like to believe in your friendliness to me. Tell rn~ first your nnme !' 'Waanataa !' 'Oh! the grand-son of the fa r famed Great Chief? Well! Diora, the daughter of Petalesharoo,* whom they call the Bravest of the Braves, is fit f~r becoming the squaw of young Waanataa; she wi ll follow him to his country, plant corn for him and live in his lodge; ns an orphan, she is free to leave her home, nnd no Pawnee has ever moved her heart.' \iVhile she concluded, I c..1ught her in my arms, invoking the Great Spirit for our union, and answered in delight: 'Diora! my lodge is yours, and no other squaw shall ever plant corn for me, nor will I ever hunt for anothei' but you.' We ~at clown and ate together our first common meal, a portion of my provisions taken along with me, looking anrl smiling at each other. Some hours elapsed before we thought of leaving, to get ont of the Pawnee country; and while the sun sank down, the moon rose, as if to favour our flight towards my home. "VVe rode along swiftly, but in c;;ilenec, till the bright morning star ascenned from ~cyoncl the far mountains, whe.re the gr~at light of the dC\y begms al~o Its conrsc, when I heard a distant nmse, coming· from ahead of u , and aft r a few moments the war-whoop from a score of Pawnee throats yelled in our ears. Diora startled and exclaimed, 'Mackatana-Namakee! Black-Thunder and his band, who are going to invade your territory ! '\Vbile I tried to sooth poor Diora, who now informed me in a fi w w0rds that she had 'some time ago rf'fused to become the squaw .. of Black-Thunder, or M·ackatana- Namakee, the leader' of that body of warriors. The swiftness and strength of my noble horse coulcl alone save us both from certain death, for Black-Thunder's vengeance would have been dou. bl.y satis- *" Petal esharoo was not a Chief, but a llrave, of the tribe of the Pawnees. (:\ Brave is a warrior who has distinrruisl1ed himself in battle and is next m 1m porta nee to a Chief.) He was the s~n of Lctelesha, a famou~ Chief commonly ~ call ed the Kntfc Chie f, or. Old J~nife . When Mnjor Long and h i~ Company travell od aero,~ the Contment, Ill 1819 and '20, th ey became acquainted witlt · Petal osha roo. ~n the win~er of _1821, Petalesh~roo vi sited Was'hington, being one of a de putation from ius N ::.ttlon to the Amencan Government on a busines$ matter. This Bmve was of elegan t form and countenance . I~ 182·1, he was abou.t 25 y~~rs of H~e; but already before 21 years old, he was so di~tinguished hy Ius abdtttes and prowess, that "he was called the Bravest of the Braves." Biov, raphy and History of tho Indians of North America. (V. 1 Hi.) By Samuel D. Drake, Boston, 183'1. · |