CHAPTER VII.

WITH THE INDIANS.


Hardly knowing how I went or what I did, I trudged along in a half
conscious condition. Led a captive into the camp of Big Bear by one of
his vile band. Taken through brush and briar, a large pond came to
view, we did not pass it by, he made me go through the water on that
cold 2nd of April nearly to my waist. I got so very weak that I could
not walk and the Indian pulled me along, in this way he managed to get
me to his tepee. On seeing Mrs. Delaney taken away so far from me, I
asked the Indian to take me to her; and he said _"No, No,"_ and
opening the tent shoved me in. A friendly squaw put down a rabbit robe
for me to sit on; I was shivering with the cold; this squaw took my
shoes and stockings off and partly dried them for me. Their tepees
consisted of long poles covered with smoke-stained canvas with two
openings, one at the top for a smoke hole and the other at the bottom
for a door through which I had to crawl in order to enter. In the
centre they have their fire; this squaw took a long stick and took out
a large piece of beef from the kettle and offered it to me, which I
refused, as I could not eat anything after what I had gone through.

Just then Big Bear's braves came into the tent; there were nearly
thirty of them, covered with war paint, some having on my husband's
clothes, and all giving vent to those terrible yells, and holding most
murderous looking instruments. They were long wooden clubs. At one end
were set three sharp shining knife blades. They all looked at me as I