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Show I It ( 20 ) rn suc:h a connexian with hers ami mine, that none said a word tn r-e-ply to her, whose origi o had been a secret to every one of them ~ but my mind misgave me bad consequences from expvsing that ser. ret in the present circumstan.ces. Unable to do any thing now for her rescue, (for what could I do but die in fighti'ng alene ? ) I suffered and waited with patience for the next morning, when all the warriors of our village a-5sembled before the lodge of Ol:ll' medicine man, who presided over our common-council. "I knew that he was the instigator o.f all the mischief against me, for he had never been my friend, becauAe I had always opposed our old bloociy customs of scalping and killing our prisoners, which cuntoms he, as a blood-thirsty priest, would not give 11p, as they helped to preserve the declining power of priest-craft. As soon as the necessary silence prevailed around the assembly, he rose and said in. a solemn and mysterious voice: 'Waanataa! You are charu·ed with conspiring against our people, the Sioux, hy your connexioo with. our enemies, the Pawnees. Defend yourself, if you co.n, before these. warriors, who are' yom· natural judges.' '''Let first my accu er step forth!' criecl I, with a resolute con., ciousness of my innocence, 'Let me confound him, whoever he may be, as a bt~se liar t' ''' VVell,' said the h:nq.!;hty priest, 'I am your accuser ! and the people know that the Great Spirit inspires me with the faculty ne'' er to err in what I think and say.' " ' Then you are a base liar !' l'!ried I wtth a fu·m voice ' for you do not think what you say r.ww, nor do you believe that I'am guilty, .or el~e you would look str:ught-furward at me, and· not cast your <·yes down, as you do now, in your consciousne~s of a culprit, while J can openly look into every one's face.' . "All rny _Young . fello v-warriors began to express their approbatiOn for.me.m a rather loud murmur of applause, while the old on e · looked 1n silence at the confounded priest, who did n.ot utter on e: \'\'Ord in reply to what I had said against him. "Fathers and brothers,' continued I, 'could you ever suppose the grand-son of the great w.aanataa ~o be a traitor to his people? N 0 ~ I .have ~erhaps done more .111 se.rvice of my people than any other Ioux of my age. I have In a smgle fight vanqui.:~hed l\!IackatanaN amakee !' "'Black-Thunder!' echoed a hundred of voices all around while every one's eyes were cast upon me with .ad miration, for no~e presumed to doubt the truth of what I had said, except the lying priest, who observed : "'Prove that you have been the vanquisher of Black-Thtmder ~ Show us the scalp of Maekatana-Namakee.' . '''No Sioux warrior will ever doubt t.he word of a Sioux warnor; for never a Sioux warrior was a liur !' So saying I ca t a firm l.ook upon my false accuser, who durst not raise his eyes, while his features bespoke a suppressed rage at the general outburst of ap-plause that. followed. .,. "I no~vv related my ath·enturcs with Diora and my fight with th€1 Pawnees, adding: • { 21 ) ~, ., Fathers and brothers, you all ~now my antipathy to scalpin~ 3nd ki I ling a vanquished and fallen f-oe: I would not and could not ,;calp and kill Black-Thunder; but I have, either by my tomahawk or by my generosity, prevented him from an invasion into our country, which he intended with his party. Therefore, I pret~ume to have well deserved of my people, and I claim the reward due to me, as to a gall.ant warrior. 1 claim the rank of a chief among you.' ''' Waanataa mu t become a chief!' cried all the younger warriors in a chorus. 'Waanataa has vanquished Black-Thunder! Mackatana- N amakee fell by the tomahawk of \Vaanataa !' "Never !'hall I forget that moment of triumph over my deceitful, mil=lerable enemy, who sat there as if he was in expectation to be scalped. The ~reat voting took place, and 1 was almo!:!t unanimously declared to be a chief. "In the mei}nwhlle, the cunning priest had invent.eu another plan 4o destroy my life's happiness in a manner that my rank as a chief tnust lose a.Jl its value. for me. With an apparent resignation to the common will of our warriors~ he acknowledged their privilege of electing me as one of their chiefs, because he could not do otherwtse, observm~ that he expected 1 wou.Jd follow his example in submitting to evi!ry other decision of their and the people's majority, upon which I answered affirmatively, not supposing tl L' · to seal in •dvance with my own lips the sentence of my noble Diora's death. "'Well,' said he, with an assumed dignity, 'I speak to all the Sioux, men, women and chilJren. bisten to me! I talk to you in the name of the Great Spirit. Is here any family who have not to mourn at least one slain by the Pawnees, our constant, irreconcilable foes? Is here no widow who lost bet· husband by a Pawnee? An~ here no orphans who lost their father by a Pawnee? Is here no mother who lost her son by a Pawnee? Is here no 'ioux wal'rior who has to revenge the death of a father, or a son, or a brother, killed by a Pawnee?' ~'This abominable appeal to natural grief and national vengeance, which the cunning impostor knew thus to excite, was intenupletl and answered by a general, horrible outbreak of lamentations and groans, which gradually ~rew louder and louder, till they \Vere rai~cd to the highest pitch, anu turned into the yells of the dreadful war whoop. l stood alone, unmoved and cool, in the terrible storm th at surrounded me, because I thou~ht of nothing else but the evident rascality of the artful priest, who continued- "' There he stands! unconcerned in your griefs and indiaerent at rour anger, only thinking of his love to a Pawnee ~quaw, the ~randdaughter of Letelesha and the daughter of Petalesharoo, called the 'Bravest of the Braves,' becau:se he killed more Sioux than any other Pawnee ever did. Listen to me! I speak to you in the name of the Great Spirit. Let her be sacrificed in memory of all the slain Sioux, whose death was the triumph of the Pawnees! Let her die at the stal\e !' " ·'Let her die~ let her die!' interrupted him a thousandfold echo, that struck my heart wit~ fear, which 1 had never felt before that |