but she howl roun' de tepee een de wintair night. Enjun see de speerets dance un talk plenty een de lodge fire; white man he see not'ing but de coffee boil. "White man mak de wagon, un de seelver dollar, un de dam railroad, un he tink dat ees all dair ees een de country;" and Sun-Down left off with a guttural "humph," which was the midship shot of disaster for me. "But you don't tell the priest about this medicine?" "No-what ees de use for tell de pries'? she come een de mountain, un we watch --he ees white man." I asked Sun-Down what was the greatest medicine he ever knew, and he did not answer until, fired by my doubts, he continued, slowly, "My medicine ees de great medicine." A critic must be without fear, since he can never fully comprehend the intent of other minds, so I saw that fortune must favor my investigations, for I knew not how to proceed; but knowing that action is life, I walked quickly to my grip-sack and took out my silver pocket-flask, saying: "You know, Sun-Down, very well, that it is dead against the rule to give a redskin a drink on a United States agency, but I am going to give you one if you will promise me not to go out and talk about it in this collection of huts. Are you with me?" "Long-Spur-we pretty good frien' hey? I weel say not a ting. Then the conventionalities were gone through with, and they are doubtless familiar to many of my readers. "Now I tole you dees ting-what was de great medicine-but I don' wan' you for go out here een de village un talk no more dan I talk-are you me?” "I am you," and we forgathered. "Now le's see; I weel tole you 'bout de bigges' medicine," and he made a ciga rette. "You aire young man-I guess maybeso you not born when I was be medicineman; but eet was bad medicine for Absaroke, un you mus' not say a ting 'bout dees to dem. I am good frien' here now, but een dose day I was good frien' of de Piegan, un dey wan' come down here to de Absaroke un steal de pony. De party was geet ready-eet was ten men, un we come on de foot. We come 'long slow troo de mountain un was hunt for de grub. Aftair long time we was fin' de beeg Crow camp-we was see eet from de top out varrie sharp. Every night, jus' sundown, we go out-each man by hees self, un we watch dat beeg camp un de horse ban's. Eet was 'way out on de plain great many mile. White man lak you he see not'ing, but de Enjun he mak out de tepee un de pony. I was always see much bettair dan de odder Enjun-varrie much bettair-un when we come back to de log fort for smoke de pipe, I was tole dose Enjun jus' how de country lay, un where de bes' plass for catch dem pony." I think one who has ever looked at the Western landscape from a mountaintop will understand what Sun-Down intended by this extensive view. If one has never seen it, words will hardly tell him how it stretches away, red, yellow, blue, in a prismatic way, shaded by cloud forms and ending among them-a sort of topographical map. I can think of nothing else, except that it is an unreal thing to look at. "Well, for begeen wid, one man she always go alone; nex' night noddair man go. Firs' man she 'ave de bes' chance, un eet geet varrie bad for las' man, 'cause dose Enjun dey catch on to de game un watch un go roun' for cut de trail. But de Enjun horse-t'ief he mak de trail lak de snake-eet varrie hard for peek up. "I was 'ave de idea I geet be medicineman, un I tole dem dey don' know not'ing 'cause dey cannot see, un I tole dem I see everyting; see right troo de cloud. I say each dose Enjun now you do jus' what I tole you, den you fin' de pony. "So de firs' man he was start off een de afternoon, un we see heem no more. When de man was geet de horse, un maybeso de scalp, he skin out for de Piegan camp. "Nex' night noddair man she go start off late een de afternoon, un I go wid heem, un I sais, 'You stay here, pull your robe ovair your head, un I go een de brush un mak de medicine for tell where ees good plass for heem to go.' When I was mak de medicine I come back, un we set dair on de mountain, un I tell heem where he go 'way out dair on de plain. I sais: 'You go down dees canyon un follow de creek down, un twenty-five mile out dair you fin' de horse ban'. You can sleep one night een de plass where I was point heem out-den you geet de pony. Eef you not fin' eet so, I am not medicine-man.' "So dees man was go. One man she go every night, un I was set een de log fort all 'lone las' night. I was say eef deese Enjun she do what I tole heem, I be beeg great medicine-man dees time. Den I geet varrie much scare, for I was las' man, un dose Absaroke dey sure begin see our trail, un I put out de fire een de log fort, un I go off down de mountain for geet 'way from de trail what deese Enjun she mak. I was wan' mak de fire on dees mountain, 'cause she jus' 'live wid dose grizzily-bear. I varrie much 'fraid-I sleep een de tree dat night, un jus' come day I was go down de creek een de canyon. I was walk een de water un walk on de rocks. I was geet big ban' elk to run ovair my trail. I was walk long de rimrock, un was geet pretty well down een de plain. I was sleep dat night een de old bear cave, un I was see dees camp pretty well. Eet was good plass, 'bout ten mile out een de uppair valley of de Beeg-Horn Reever, but I was 'ave be careful, for dose Enjun dey weare run all ovair de country hunt deese horse-t'ief tracks. Oh, I see dem varrie well. I see Enjun come up my canyon un pass by me so near I hear dem talk. I was scare. tie up near de lodge, un I know deese weare war-pony or de strong buffalo-horse. I lead dem out of dose camp. Eet was no use for try geet more as de two pony, for I could not run dem een de dark night. I feel dem all ovair for see dey all right. I could not see much. Den I ride off." "You got home all right, I suppose?” "Eef I not geet home all right, by gar. I nevair geet home 'tall. Dey chasse me, I guess, but I ave de good long start, un I leave varrie bad trail, I tink. Man wid de led horse he can leave blind trail more def'rent dan when he drive de pony. "When I geet to dat Piegan camp I was fin' all dose Enjun 'cept one: he was nevair come back. Un I sais my medicine she ees good; she see where no one can see. Dey all sais my medicine she varrie strong for steal de pony. I was know ting what no man she see. Dey was all fin' de camp jus' as I say so. I was geet be strong een dat camp, un dey all say I see bes' jus' at sun-down, un dey always call me de sun-down medicine." I asked, "How did it happen that you could see so much better than the others; was it your medicine which made it possible?" "No. I was fool dose Enjun. I was 'ave a new pair of de fiel-glass what I was buy from a white man, un I was not let dose Enjun see dem―dat ees how." "So, you old fraud, it was not your medicine, but the field-glasses?" and I jeered him. 'Ah, dam white man, she nevair understan' de medicine. De medicine not 'ave anyting to do wid de fiel' glass; but how you know what happen to me een dat canyon on dat black night? How you know dat? Eef eet not for my medicine, maybeso I not be here. I see dose speeret "Jus' come dark I crawl up on de rimrock, un eet was rain hard. Enjun she no lak de rain, so I sais: 'I go down now. I keep out een de heel, for I see varrie dey was come all roun' me-but my much bettair dan de Absaroke, un eef I tink dey see me I drop een de sage-bush."" And here Sun-Down laughed, but I did not think such hide-and-seek was very funny. "Eet geet varrie dark, un I walk up to dees camp, not more dan ten step from de tepee. I tak de dry meat off de pole un trow eet to dose dog for mak dem keep still while I was hear de Absaroke laugh un talk. De dog he bark not so much at de Enjun as eef I be de white man; jus' same de white man dog he bite de dam leg off de Enjun. "I cut de rope two fine pony what was medicine she strong, un dey not touch me." Have a drink, Sun-Down," I said, and we again forgathered. The wild man smacked his lips. "I say, Sun-Down, I have always treated you well; I want you to tell me just what that medicine is like, over there in your tepee." "Ah, dat medicine. Well, she ees leetle bagful of de bird claw, de wolf tooth, t'ree arrow-head, un two bullet what are go troo my body.” "Is that all?" "Ah, you white man!" THERE upon southwest of the thirty-eighth parallel, and ending, Ttremity of the United States, and for us, at the Mhic and distributed along the coast for three hundred miles, from the latitude of San Francisco to that of San Diego, certain isl ands, nine in number and of various areas, about which neither geography nor history has much to say. These are the only seaboard islands on the Pacific belonging to the United States, if we do not consider those of Alaska, and those numerous tiny aits or eyots in the waters of the Sound country, nor the Hawaiian group. There are from the Golden Gate to the British line a few rock reefs or single cones sitting like black stacks here and there in the sea, and at greater or less distances from the bluffy shores; but these have no claim to be spoken of as islands; that dignity belongs alone to those insular elevations in the ocean lying south Nature, however, taking no note of political division-lines, has not stopped at this point the southern trend of her island deposition, but she has carried them on across the line, along the mountainous coast of Lower California, where they are found under the names of San Marten. San Geronimo, Cerros, Los Lobos, and so on, to the equator. None of these are large, and the entire aggregate area of the nine belonging to us does not exceed three hundred and fifty-one square miles, or less than two hundred and twenty-five thousand acres. Separately they grade in size from one hundred and seventy-six square miles, which is the area of Santa Catalina, to less than two square miles, which is that of both Santa Barbara and the lar |