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Eastman, Charles A., 1858-1939

"Old Indian Days"

Blue Sky arranged her
hair and dress as well as she could like that of
a Crow woman, and with an extra robe she
made for herself a bundle that looked as if it
held a baby in its many wrappings. The com-
munity was still celebrating its recent victory
over the Sioux, and the camp was alive with
songs and dances. In the darkness she ap-
proached unnoticed, and singing in an under-
tone a Crow lullaby, walked back and forth
among the lodges, watching eagerly for any
signs of him she sought.
At last she came near to the council lodge.
There she beheld his face like an apparition
through the dusk and the fire-light! He was
sitting within, dressed in the gala costume of a
Crow.
"O, he is living! he is living!" thought the
brave maiden. "O, what shall I do?" Un-
consciously she crept nearer and nearer, until
the sharp eyes of an Indian detected the slight
difference in her manner and dress, and he at
once gave the alarm.
"Wah, wah! Epsaraka! Epsaraka! A
Sioux! A Sioux!"
In an instant the whole camp had surrounded
the girl, who stood in their midst a prisoner,
yet undaunted, for she had seen her lover, and
the spirit of her ancestors rose within her.


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