used my pipe for an after-dinner smoke. Then, after an interval of
rest, dancing began, by the dancers circling the fire to the measured
beat of a drum. Round and round we moved in silence. Then, breaking
into a chant, we men faced the women, and from time to time solemnly
revolved. But the women never turned their backs upon the fire. It
was rather slow, monotonous measure, only relieved by the women and
children throwing feathers at one another. Between each dance the
company partook of refreshments, and so the festivity proceeded until
daylight. Next morning Ojistoh's father gave us some wholesome advice
and then we set up housekeeping on our own account, and, as you see,
have continued it even to this day; haven't we, my little Ojistoh?"
smiled the old hunter at his wife.


NATURE'S SANCTUARIES

One Sunday morning, when spring was all a-dance to the wondrous wild
music of the woods, I sat in the warmth of the sun and thought of my
Creator. Later, I learned that Oo-koo-hoo and Amik were also thinking
of Him; for in the wilderness one often thinks of The Master of Life.
That morning I thought, too, of the tolling of village church bells and
of cathedral chimes, and I contrasted those metallic sounds with the
beautiful singing of the birds of the forest; also I contrasted the
difference of a Sunday in the city with a Sunday in the wilderness; and
my soul rested in supreme contentment. Yet the ignorant city dwellers
think of the wilderness as "God-forsaken." Hunt the world over, and
could one find any more holy places than some of Nature's sanctuaries?
I have found many, but I shall recall but one, a certain grove on the
Alaskan border.