husband with an uplifted gleaming ax in his hands and curses on his tongue.
Seeing that there was no chance to fly from him she threw herself toward
him, hoping thereby to escape the blow. She succeeded in saving her head,
but the ax buried itself in her spine.

Mary's piercing screams speedily brought a number of Indians from
neighboring wigwams. When they found poor Mary lying there in agony, with
the ax still imbedded in the bones of her back, their indignation knew no
bounds.

Indians, as a rule, have great self-control, but this sight so stirred them
that there was very nearly a lynching. Robinson, now sobered by his fears,
clearly foresaw that terrible would be his punishment, and while the
Indians and traders turned to attend to Mary's wounds the wretched husband
stealthily slipped away into the forest and was never again seen there.
Rumors, however, at length reached Mary that he had fled away to the
distant Kaministiquia River, where for a time he lived, solitary and alone,
in a little bark wigwam. One day, when out shooting in his canoe, he was
caught in some treacherous rapids and carried over the wild and picturesque
Ka-ka-be-ka Falls, about which so many thrilling Indian legends cluster.

For seven years Mary was a helpless invalid. When she did recover her back
had so curved that she looked like a hunchback. As she was poor, and
utterly unable either to hunt or to fish, we helped her in various ways.
She was always grateful for kindness, and in return was very willing to do
what she could for us. She was exceedingly clever with her needle, and with
a little instruction was soon able to assist with the sewing required.
However, what especially won her to us and gave her a permanent place in
our home, was her great love and devotion to our little ones.