Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 February 1918 — Page 2

The Son of the Wolf

HAN rarely places a proper valuation upon Ms womankind, at least not until deprived of them. He has no conception of the subtle atmosphere exhaled by the sex feminine so long as he bathes in it ; but let it be withdrawn, and an ever-growing void begins to manifest itself in Ms existence, and he becomes hungry, in a vague sort of way, for a something so indefinite that he cannot characterize it. If his comrades have no more experience than himself, they will shake their heads dubiously and dose him with strong physic. But the hunger will continue and become stronger; he will lose Interest in the things of his every-day life and wax morbid; and one day, when the emptiness has become unbearable, a revelation will dawn upon him. In the Yukon country, when this comes to pass, the man usually pro-: visions a poling boat, if it be summer, and if winter harnesses Ms dogs, and heads for the Southland. A few months later, supposing him to be possessed of a faith in the country, he returns with a wife to share with him tn that faith, and incidentally in his hardships. This bet serves to show the innate selfishness of man. It also bringA us to the trouble of “Scruff” Mackenzie, which occurred in the old days, before the country was stampeded and staked by a tidal wave of che-cha-quas, and when the Klondike’s only claim to notice was its salmon fisheries.

Scruff Mackenzie bore the earmarks of a frontier birth and a frontier life. His face was stamped with twenty-five years- of incessant struggle with nature in her wildest moods, the last two, the wildest and hardest of all, having been spent in groping for the gold which lies in the shadow of the Arctic Circle. When the yearning sickness came upon him he was not surprised, for he was a practical man and had seen other men thus stricken. But he showed no sign of his malady, save that he worked harder. All summer he fought mosquitoes and washed the sure-thlng bars of the Stuart river for a double grub-stake. Then he floated a raft of house-logs down the Yukon to Forty Mile, and put together as comfortable a cabin as any the camp could boast of. In fact, it showed such cozy promise that many men elected to be his partner and to come and live with him. But he crushed their aspirations with rough speech, peculiar for its strength and brevity, and bought a double supply of grub from the. trading-post. He was a sturdy traveler, and his wolf-dogs could work harder and travel farther on less grqb than any other team in the Yukon. Three weeks later he strode into a hunting camp of the Upper Tanana Sticks. (They marveled at his temerity; for they had a bad name and had been known to kill white men for as trifling a thing as a sharp ax or a broken rifle. .But he went among them single-handed, his bearing being a delicious composite of humility, familiarity, sang-froid, and insolence. It required a left hand and deep knowledge of the barbaric mind effectually to handle such diverse weapons; but he was a past master in the art, knowing when to conciliate and when to threaten with Jove-like wrath.

He first made obeisance to the- Chief Thling-Tianeh, presenting him with a couple of pounds of black tea and tobacco, and thereby winning his most cordial regard. Then he mingled with the men and maidens, and that night gave a potlach. The snow was beaten down in the form of an oblong, perhaps a hundred feet in length and quarter as many across. Down the center a long fire was built, while either side was carpeted with spruce boughs. The lodges were forsaken, and the fivescore or so members of the tribe gave tongue to their folkchants in honor of their guests. Scruff Mackenzie’s two years had taught him the not many hundred words of their vocabulary, and he had likewise conquered their deep gutturals, their Japanese Idioms, constructions, and honorific and agglutinative particles. So he made oration after their manner, satisfying their instinctive poetrydove with crude flights of eloquence and metaphorical - contortions. After Thllng-Tinneh and the Shaman had responded in kind, he made trifling presents to the menfolk, joined in their singing, and proved an expert In their fifty-two-stick gambling game. It was riow work and a stiff game; but Scruff Mackenzie maneuvered cunningly, with an unconcern which served to puzzle the Sticks. He took great care to Impress the men that he was a sure Shot and a mighty hunter, and the camp rang with his plaudits when he brought down a moose at six hundred yards. Of a night he visited In Chief Thling-Tinneh’s lodge of inoose and cariboo skins, talking big and dispensing tobacco with a lavish hand. Noi 1 did he fail to likewise honor the fibamun; for he realized the

Be Would a Wooing Go to Win Him an Indian Bride

By JACK LONDON

Copyright by Jack London

medicine man’s influence with Ms people, and was anxious to inake of Mm an ally. But that worthy was high and mighty, refused to be propitiated, and was .unerringly marked down as a prospective enemy. Though no opening presented for an interview with Zarinska, Mackenzie Stole many a glance to her, giving fair warning of his. intent. And well she knew, yet coquettishly surrounded herself with a ring of women whenever the men were away and he had a chance. But he was in no hurry ; besides, he knew she could not help but think of Mm, and a few days of such, thought would only better Ms suit. At last,* one night, when he deemed the time to be ripe, .he abruptly left the cMefs smoky dwelling and hastened to a neighboring lodge. As usual, she sat with squaws and maidens about her, all engaged in sewing moccasins and beadwork. They laughed at his entrance, and badinage, which linked Zarinska to him, ran high. But pne after the other they were unceremoniously bundled into the outer snow, whence they hurried to spread the tale through all the camp.

His cause was well pleaded, in her tongue,forshe.did.m>t know bls,and at the end of two hours he rose to go. “So Zarinska will come to the white man’s lodge? Good! I go now to have talk with thy father, for he may not be so minded. And I will give him many tokens; but he must not ask toe much. If he say no? Good! Zarinska shall yet come to the white man’s lodge.” He had already lifted the skin flap to depart, when a low exclamation brought him back to the girl’s side. She brought herself to her knees on the bearskin mat, her face aglow with true Eve-light, and shyly unbuckeled his heavy belt. He looked down, perplexed, suspicious, his ears alert foj the slightest sound without. But her next move disarmed his doubt, and he smiled with pleasure. She took from her sewing-bag a moosehide sheath, brave with bright beadwork, fantastically designed. She drew his great hunting knife, gazed reverently along the keen edge, half tempted to try it with her thumb, and shot it into place In its new home. Then she slipped the sheath along the belt to its customary resting-place, just above the hip.

z For-all the world, it was like a scene of olden time—a lady and her knight. Mackenzie drew her up full height and swept her red lips with his mustache — the, to her, foreign caress of the wolf. It was a meeting of the stone age and the steel. There was a thrill of excitement in the air as Scruff Mackenzie, a bulky bundle under his arm, threw open the flap of-Thling-Tinneh’s tent. Children were running about in the open, dragging -dry wood to the scene of the potlach, a babble of women’s voices was growing in tensity, the young men ■were consulting in sullen groups, while from the Shaman’s lodge rose the eerie sounds of an incantation.

The chief was alone with his bleareyed wife, but a glance sufficed to tell Mackenzie that the news was already old. So he plunged at; once into the business, shifting the beaded sheath prominently to the fore as advertisement of the betrothal. “O Thling-Tinneh, mighty chief of the Sticks and the land of the Tanana, ruler of the salmon and the bear, the moose and the cariboo! The white man is before thee with a great purpose. Many moons has his lodge been empty, andne is lonely. And his heart has eaten itself in silence, and grown hungry for a woman to sit beside him in his lodge, to meet him from the hunt with warm fire and good food. He has heard strange things, the patter of baby moccasins and the sound of children’s voices. And one night a vision came upon him, and he beheld the raven, who is thy father, the great raven, who is the father of all the Sticks. And the raven spake to the lonely white man, saying: “Bind thou thy moccasins upon thee, and gird thy snowshoes on, and lash thy sled with food for many sleeps and fine tokens for the Chief Thling-Tinneh. For thou shalt turn thy face to where the midSpring sun is wont to sink below the land, and journey to this great chiefs hunting grounds. There thou shalt make big presents, and Thling-Tinneh, who is my son, shall become to 'thee as a father. In his lodge there Is a maiden into whom I breathed the breath of life for thee. This maiden shalt thou take t<r wife.* “O chief, thus spake the great faven; thus do I lay many presents at thy feet; thus and I come to take thy daughter!” The old man drew his furs about him with crude consciousness of royalty, but delayed reply while a youngster crept in, delivered a quick message to appear before the council, and was gone.

“O white man, whom we have named moose-killer, also known as the wolf, and the son of the wolf! We know thou comest of a mighty race; we are proud to have thee our potlach guest;

' X. . , i ’.r . THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND,

but the king-salmon does not mate with the* dog-salmon, nor the raven with the wolf.” "Not sol” cried Mackenzie. “The daughter of the raven have I met In the camps of the wolf—the squaw Of Mortimer, the squaw of Tregldgo, the squaw of Barnaby, who came two iceruns back, and I have heard of other squaws, though my eyes beheld them not"

“Son, your words are true; but it were evil mating, like the water with the sand, like the snowflake with the sun. But met yon one Mason and Ms squaw? No? He came ten ice-runs ago—the first of all the wolves. And with him there was a mighty man, straight as a willow-shoot, and tall; strong as the bald-faced grizzly, with a heart like the full summer moon; his”— __ ; • “Oh I” interrupted Mackenzie, recognizing the well-known northland figure—“Malemute Kid I” “The same —a mighty man. But saw you aught to the squaw? She was full sister to Zarinska.”

"Nay, chips; but I have heard. Mason—far, far to the north, a spruce tree, heavy with years, crushed out his life beneath. But his love was great, and he had much gold. With this, and her boy, she journeyed countless sleeps toward the winter's noonday sun, and there she yet lives: —no biting frost, no snow, no summer's midnight sun, no winter’s noonday night.” A second messenger interrupted with imperative summons from the council. As Mackenzie threw him, into the snow, he caught a glimpse of the swaying forms before the council fire, heard the deep basses of the men in rhythmic chant, and knew the Shaman was fanning with anger of his people. Time pressed. He turned upon the cMef. , “Come! I wish thy child. And now See! here are tobacco, tea, many cups of sugqr, warm blankets, handkercMefs, both good and large; and here, a true rifle, with many bullets and much powder.” “Nay,” replied the old man, struggling against the great wealth spread before him. “Even now are my people come together. They will not have tMs marriage.” “But thou art cMef.” “Yet do my young men rage because

the wolves have taken their maidens so that they may not marry.” “Listen, O Thling-Tinneh! Ere the night has passed into the day, the Wolf shall face his dogs to the mountains of the east and fare forth to the country to the Yukon. ■ And Zarinska shall break trail for his dogs.” “And ere the night has gained its middle, my young men may fling to the dogs the flesh of the wolf, and his bones be scattered in the snow till the springtime lay them bare.” It was threat and counter-threat. Mackenzie’s bronzed face flushed darkly. He raised his voice. The old squaw, who till now had sat qn impassive spectator, made to creep by him for the door. The song of the men broke suddenly, and there was a hubbub of many voices as he whirled the old woman roughly to her couch of skins. .

“Again I cry—listen, O Thling-Tin-neh! The wolf dies with teeth fastlocked, and with him there shall sleep ten’of thy strongest men—men who are needed, for the hunting is but begun, and the fishing is not many moons away. And again, of what profit should I die? I know the .custom of thy people ; thy share of my wealth shall be very small. Grant me thy child, and it shall all be thine. And yet again, my brothers will come, and they are many, and their maws are never filled; and tiie daughters of the raven shall bear children in the lodges of the wolf. My people are greater than thy people. It is destiny. Grant, and aU this wealth is thine.”

Moccasins were crunching the snow without. Mackenzie threw his rifle to cock, and loosened the twin colts in his belt, ' “Grant, O chief I"

Swayed a Moment and Pitched Forward.

“And yet will my people say no.” "Grant, and the wealth is thine. Then shall I deal with thy people after.” - . "The- Wolf will have it so. I will take his tokens I—but 1 —but I would warn him.” Mackenzie passed over the goods, taking care to clog the rifle’s ejector, and capping the bargain with a kaleidoscopic silk kercMef. The Shaman and half a dozen young braves entered, but he shouldered boldly among them and passed out. “Pack 1” was Ms laconic greeting to Zarinska as he passed her lodge and hurried to harness his dogs. A few minutes later he swept into the council at the head of the team the woman by his side. He took his place at the upper end of the oblong, by the side of the cMef. To Ms left, a step to the rear> he stationed Zarinska —her prop-er-place. Besides, the time was ripe for mischief, and there was need to guard Ms back. The singing and dancing ceased, and the Shaman flared up ih rude, eloquence. Through the sinuosities of their vast mythology, he worked cunningly upon the credulity of his people. The case was strong. Opposing the creative principles as embodied in the crow and the raven, he stigmatized Mackenzie as the wolf, the fighting and the destructive principle. “Ay, my brothers, Jelchs is all-pow-er! Did he not bring heaven-born fire that we might be warm? Did he not draw the sun, moon and stars from their holes that we might see? Did he not teach us that we might fight the spirits of famine and of frost? But now Jelchs is angry with his children, and they are grown to a handful, and he will not help. For they have forgotten him, and done evil things, and trod bad trails, and taken his enemies into their lodges to sit by their fires. And the raven is sorrowful at the wickedness of his children; but when they shall rise up and show they have come back, he will come out of the darkness to aid them. O brothers! the - fire-bringer has whispered messages to thy shaman; the same shall ye hear. Let the' young men take the young women to their lodges; let them fly at the throat of the wolf; let them be undying in their enmity! Then shall

their women become fruitful, and they shall multiply into a mighty people! And the raven shall great tribes of their fathers and their fathers’ fathers fyom out of the North; and they shall beat back the wolves till they are as last year’s campfires; and they shall again cpme to rule over , all the land! ’Tis the message of Jelchs, the raven.” This foreshadowing of the Messiah’s coming brought a hoarse howl from the Sticks as they leaped to their feet. Mackenzie slipped the thumbs of his mittens, and waited. There x was a clamor for the Fox, "not to be stilled till one of the young men stepped forward to speak.

“Brothers! The Shaman has spoken wisely. The wolves have taken our women, and our men are childless. We are grown, to a handful. The wolves have taken our warm furs and given for them evil spirits which dwell in bottles, and clothes which come not from the beaver or the lynx, but are jnade from the grass. And they are not warm, and pur men die of strange sicknesses. I,.the Fox, have taken no woman to wife; pnd why? Twice have the maidens which pleased me gone to the camps ofi the Wolf. Even now I have laid by skins of the beaver, of the moosefof the cariboo, that I might win fjpfor in the eyes of Thllng-Tin-neh, "that I might marry Zarinska, his daughter. Even how are her snowshoes bound to her feet, ready to break trail for the dogs of the Wolf. Nor de I speak for myself alone. As I have done, so has the bear. He, too, had fain been the father of her children, ahd many skins has he cured thereto. I speak for airthe young men who know not wives. The wolves are ever hungry. Always do they take the

choice meat at the killing. To the ravens are left the leavings. “There is Gugkla!” he cried; brutally pointing out one of the women, who was a cripple. "Her legs are bent like the ribs of a birch canoe. She cannot gather wood nor carry the meat of the hunters. Did the wolves choose her?" • -* “Al! al!” vociferated his tribesmen. “There is Moyri, whose eyes are crossed by the evil spirit. Even the babes are affrighted when they gaze upon her, and it is said the bald-face gives her the trail. Was she chosen?” Again the cruel applause rang out. .“And there sits Pischet. r She does not hearken to my words. Never has she heard the cry of the chit-chat, the voice of her husband, the babble of her child. She lives in the white silence. Cared the wolves aught for her? No 1 Theirs is the choice of the kill ; ours the leavings. .“Brothers, it shall not be! No more shall the wolves slink among our campfires. The time is come.”

A great streamer of fire, the aurora borealis, purple, green and yellow, shot across ..the zenith, bridging horizon to horizon. With head thrown back and arms extended, he swayed to his climax. “BeholdJ The spirits of our fathers have arisen and great deeds are afoot this night!” He stepped back, and another young man somewhat diffidently came forward, pushed on by his comrades. He towered a full head above them, his broad chest defiantly bared to the frost. He swung tentatively from one foot to the other. Words halted upon his tongue, and he was ill at ease. His face was horrible to look upon, for it had at one time been half torn a-way by some terrific blow. At last he struck his breast with his clenched fist, drawing sound as from a drum, and his voice rumbled forth as the surf from an ocean cavern.

“I am the Bear—the Silver-Tip and the Son of the Silver-Tip! When my voice was yet as a girl’s, I slew the lynx, the moose, and the cariboo; when it whistled like the wolverines from under a cache, I crossed the Mountains of the South and slew three of the White Rivers; when it became as the roar of the Chinook, I met the baldfaced grizzly, but gave no trail.” At this he paused, his hand significantly sweeping across his hideous scars. “I am not as the Fox. My tongue is frozen like the river. I cannot make great talk. My words are few. The Fox says great deeds are afoot this night. Good! Talk flows from his tongue like the freshets of the spring, but he is chary of deedsi This night shall I do battle with the Wolf. I shall slay him, and Zarinska shall sit by my fire. The Bpar has spoken.” Though pandemonium raged about him, Scruff Mackenzie held his ground.

“Brothers! The White Man, whom ye haye chosen jto call the Wolf, came among you with fair words. He 'was got like the Innutt; he spoke not lies. He came as a friend, as one who would be a brother. But your men have had their say, and the time for soft words is past. First, I will tell you that the Shaman has an evil tongue and is a false prophet, that the messages he spake are not those of the Fire-Bring-er. His ears are locked to the voice of the raven, and out of his own head he weaves cunning fancies,' and he has made fools of you. He has no power. When the dogs were killed and eaten, and your stomachs were heavy with, untanned hide and strips of moccasins; when the old men died, and the old women died, and,the babes at the dry dugs of the mothers died; w’hen the land was dark, and ye perished as do the salmon in the fall; ay, w-hen the famine wasupon you, did the Shaman bring reward-texyour hunters? . Did the Shaman put meat in your bellies? Again I say, the Shaman is without .power. Thus! I spit upon his face!* Though taken aback by the sacrilege, there was no uprdar. Some of the women were even frightened, but among the men there was an uplifting, as though in preparation or anticipation of the miracle. All eyes were turned upon the two central figures. The priest realized the crucial moment, felt tils power tottering, opened his mouth in denunciation, but fled backward before the truculent advance, upraised fist, and flashing eyes of Mackenzie. He sneered and resumed. “Was I stricken dead? Did the lightning burn me? Did the stars fall from the sky and crush me? Pish! I have done with the dog. Now will I tell you of my people, .who are the mightiest of all the peoples, who rule in all the lands. At first we hunt as I hunt, alone. After that we hunt In packs; and at last, like' the cariboo-run, we sweep across all the land. Those whom we take into our lodges live; those who will not come die. Zarinska 18 a comely maiden, full and strong, fit to become the mother of wolves. Though I die, such shall she become;-for my brothers are many, and they will follow the scent of my dogs. Listen to the Law of the Wolf: Whoso taketh the life of one Wolf, the forfeit jhall ten of his people pay. In many lands has the price been paid; in many lands shall it yet be paid. “Now will I deal with the Fox and the Bear. It seems they have cast eyes upon the maiden. So? Behold, I have bought her! Thling-Tinneh leans upon the rifle; the goods of purchase are by his fire. Yet will Ibe fair to the young men. To the Fox, whose tongue Is dry with my words, will I give of tobacco 'five long plugs. Thus will his mouth be wetted that he may make much noise in the Council. But to the Bear, of whom I am well proud, will I give of blankets two; of flour, tyventy cups; of tobacco, double that of the Fox: and If he fare with me over the Mountains of the East, then will I give him a rifle, mate to Thling-Tinneh’s.

If not? Good! The Well is weary, of, speech. Yet once again will he say the law: ‘Whoso taketh the life of ont? Wolf, the forfeit shall ten of his people pay? Mackenzie smiled as he stepped back to his old position, but at heart he was full of trouble. The night was yet dark. The girl came to Ms side, and he listened closely as she told of the Bear’* battle-tricks with the knife. . i The decision *as for war. Tn a trice, scores of moccasips were widening the space of beaten snow by the fire. There was much chatter about the seeming defeat of the Shaman; some averred he had but withheld hl* power, while others conned past event* and agreed with the Wolf. The Bear came to the center of the battleground, a long naked hunting-knife? of Russian make in his hand. The? Fox called attention to Mackenzie’s revolvers; so he stripped his belt, buckling it about Zarinska, into whose? hands he also intrusted Ms rifle. She shook her head that she could not shoot—small chance had a woman, to handle such precious tMngs. “Thes if danger come by my back, cry aloud, ‘My husband!’ No; thus, ‘My husband!’” • He laughed as she repeated it, pinched her cheek and re-entered thecircle. Not only in reach and staturehad the Bear the advantage of him. but his blade was longer by a good two Inches. Scruff Mackenzie had! looked into the eyes of men before - , and he knew it was a man who stood against him; yet he quickened to the glint of light on the steel, to the dominant pulse of his race. Twice he pricked the Bear, getting away unscathed; but the tMrd time, caught, and to save himself, free hands closed on fighting hands, and they came together. Then did he realize the tremendous strength of Ms opponent. His muscles were knotted in painful lumps, and cords and tendons threatened to snap with the strain; yet nearer and nearer came the Russian steel. He tried to break away, but only weakened himself. The furclad circle closed in, certain of and' anxious to see the final stroke. Bu* . with wrestler’s trick, swinging partly to the side, he struck at his adversary with Ms head. Involuntarily the Bear leaned back, disturbing his center of gravity. Simultaneous with this; Mackenzie tripped properly and; threw his whole weight forward, hurling him clear through the circle into the deep snow. The Bear floundered out and came back full tilt. “Oh, my husband I” Zarinska’s volcf rang out, vibrant with danger.

To the twang of a bow-string, Mackenzie swept low to the ground, and a bone-barbed arrow passed over him into the breast of the Bear, whose momentum carried him over his'crouc'ving foe. The next instant Mackenzie was up and about. The Bear lay motionless, but across the fire was the Shaman, drawing a second arrow. Mackenzie’s knife leaped short in the air. He caught the heavy blade by the point There was a flash of light as it spanned the fire. Then the Shaman, the hilt alone appearing without his throat, swayed a moment and pitched forward glowing embers. Click! click!—the Fox had possessed himself of Thling-Tinneh’s rifle and was vainly trying-to throw a shell Into place. But he dropped it at the sound of Mackenzie’s laughter. ~ “So the Fox has not learned the way of the plaything? He Is yet a woman. Come! Bring it, that I may show thee!” The Fox hesitated. “Come, I say-" t He slouched forward like a beaten cur. “Thus, and thus; so the thing is done.” A shell flew Into place and the trigger was at cock as Mackenzie brought it to shoulder. “The Fox has said great deeds were afoot this night, and he spoke, true. There have been great deeds, yet least among them were those of the Fox. Is he still Intent to take Zarinska to his lodge? Is he minded to tread the trail already broken by Shaman and the Bear? No? Good!” - Mackenzie turned contemptuously and drew his knife from the priest’s throat. , ,

“Are any of the young men so minded? If so, the Wolf will take them by two and three till none are left. No? Good. Thllng-Tinneh, I now give thee this rifle a second time. If in the days to come thou shouldst journey to the country of the Yukon, know thou that there shall always her a place and much food by the fire of the Wolf. The night Is now passing into the day. 1 go, but I may come again. And for the last time, remember the Law es the Wolf 1” - ' He was supernatural in their sight as he rejoined Zarinska. She took her place at the head of the team, and the dogs swung into motion. A few moments, later they were swallowed up by the ghostly forest. Till now Mackenzie had waited; he slopped into his snowshoes to follow. “Has the Wolf forgotten the five long plugs?” Mackenzie turned upon the Fox angrily ; then the humor of* it struck him. “I will give thee one short plug.” “As the Wolf sees fit,” meekly responded the Fox? stretching out his hand. '

The Heart and Reason.

The heart has reasons which the reason does not know. It is the'heart that feels God, not the reason. The primary truths are not demonstrable, and yet our knowledge of them is none the less certain. Principles are felt, propositions are proved. Truths may be above reason and yet not contrary to reason.