Book 2 18. THE TALL INDIAN Little House On The Prairie By Laura Ingalls Wilder

[Music]

the tall indian

in those three days the northern had

held and screeched across the prairie

till it blew itself out

now the sun was warm and the wind was

mild

but there was a feeling of autumn in the

air

indians came riding on the path that

passed close to the house

they went by as though it were not there

they were thin and brown and bare they

rode their little ponies without saddle

or bridle

they sat up straight on the naked ponies

and did not look to right or left

but their black eyes glittered laura and

mary backed against the house and looked

up at them

and they saw red brown skin bright

against the blue sky

and scalp locks wound with colored

string

and feathers quivering the indians faces

were like the red brown wood the paw had

carved to make a bracket for ma

i thought that trail was an old one they

didn’t use anymore

paw said i wouldn’t have built the house

so close to it if i’d known it’s a high

road

jack hated indians and ma said she

didn’t blame him

she said i declare indians are getting

so thick around here i can’t look up

without seeing one

as she spoke she looked up and there

stood an indian

he stood in the doorway looking at them

and they had not heard a sound

goodness mark gasped

silently jack jumped at the indian park

caught him by the collar just in time

the indian hadn’t moved he stood as

still as if jack hadn’t been there at

all

how he said to paul paul held on to jack

and replied

how he dragged jack to the bed post

and tied him there while he was doing it

the indian came in

and squatted down by the fire then paul

squatted down by the indian and they sat

there

friendly but not saying a word while ma

finished cooking dinner

laura and mary were close together and

quiet on their bed in the corner

they couldn’t take their eyes from that

indian he was so still

that the beautiful eagle feathers in his

scalp lock didn’t

stir only his bare chest and the

leanness under his ribs moved a little

to his breathing

he wore fringed leather leggings and his

moccasins were covered with

beads ma gave pawn the indian their

dinners on two tin plates

and they ate silently then paw gave the

indians some tobacco for his pipe

they filled their pipes and they lighted

the tobacco with coals from the fire

and they silently smoked until the pipes

were empty

all this time nobody had said anything

but now the indian said something to

paul

paul shook his head and said no

speak a while longer they all sat silent

then the indian rose up and went away

without a sound

my goodness gracious ma said

laura and mary ran to the window they

saw the indian straight back

riding away on a pony he held a gun

across his knees

its end stuck out on either side of him

paw said that indium was no common trash

he guessed by the scalp lock that he was

an osage

unless i miss my guess paw said that was

french he spoke

i wish i’d picked up some of that lingo

let indians keep themselves to

themselves

said ma and we will do the same i don’t

like indians around

underfoot pot told her not to worry

that indian was perfectly friendly he

said

and their camps down among the bluffs

are peaceable enough

if we treat them well and watch jack we

won’t have any trouble

the very next morning when paul opened

the door to go to the stable

laura saw jack standing in the indian

trail

he stood stiff his back bristled

and all his teeth showed before him in

the path

the tall indian sat on his pony

indian and pony were still as still

jack was telling them plainly that he

would spring if they moved

only the eagle feathers that stood up

from the indian scalp lock were waving

and spinning in the wind

when the indian saw paw he lifted his

gun and pointed it straight at jack

laura ran to the door but paul was

quicker he stepped between jack and that

gun

and he reached down and grabbed jack by

the collar

he dragged jack out of the indians way

and the indian rode on along the trail

paul stood with his feet wide apart his

hands in his pockets

and watched the indian riding farther

and farther away across the prairie

that was a darn close call paul said

well it’s his path an indian trail long

before we came

he drove an iron ring into a log of the

house wall

and he chained jack to it after that

jack was always chained he was chained

to the house in the daytime and at night

he was chained to the stable door

because horse thieves were in the

country now they’d stolen mr edwards

horses

jack grew crosser and crosser because he

was chained

but it could not be helped he would not

admit that the trail was the indian’s

trail

he thought it belonged to paw and laura

knew that something terrible would

happen if jack heard an indian

winter was coming now the grasses were a

dull color under a dull sky

the winds wailed as if they were looking

for something they could not find

wild animals were wearing their thick

winter fur

and paw set his traps in the creek

bottoms

every day he visited them and every day

he went hunting

now that the nights were freezing cold

he shot deer for meat

he shot wolves and foxes for their fur

and his traps caught beaver and muskrat

and mink

he stretched the skins on the outside of

the house and carefully tacked them

there to dry

in the evenings he worked the dried

skins between his hands to make them

soft

and he added them to the bundle in the

corner

every day the bundle of furs grew bigger

laura loved to stroke the thick fur of

red foxes

she liked the brown soft fur of beaver

too

and the shaggy wolf’s fur but best of

all

she loved the silky mink those were all

furs that paw saved to trade next spring

in independence

laura and mary had rabbit skin caps

and paws cap was muskrat

one day when paul was hunting two

indians came

they came into the house because jack

was chained

those indians were dirty and scowling

and mean

they acted as if the house belonged to

them

one of them looked through ma’s cupboard

and took all the cornbread

the other took pau’s tobacco pouch

they looked at the pegs where pau’s gun

belonged

then one of them picked up the bundle of

furs

ma held baby carrie in her arms and mary

and laura stood close to her

they looked at that indian taking pause

first they couldn’t do anything to stop

him

he carried them as far as the door then

the other indian said something to him

they made harsh sounds at each other in

their throats

and he dropped the furs they went away

ma sat down she hugged mary and laura

close to her and laura felt ma’s heart

beating

well moss said smiling i’m thankful they

didn’t take the plow in seats

laura was surprised she asked what plow

the plow and all our seeds for next year

are in that bundle of furs

said ma when paul came home they told

him about those indians

and he looked sober but he said that all

was well that ended well

that evening when mary and laura were in

bed paul played his fiddle

maul was rocking in the rocking chair

holding baby carrie against her breast

and she began to sing softly with the

fiddle

wild wrote an indian-made bright

alpharata

whereflow the waters of the blue juniata

strong and true my arrows are in my

painted quiver

swift goes my light canoe down the rapid

river

bold is my warrior good the love of al

farada

proud wave his son he plumes along the

juniata

soft and low he speaks to me and then

his boy cry sounding

rings his voice and thunder loud from

height to height resounding

[Music]

so sang the indian-made bright alpharata

where sweep the waters of the blue

juniata

fleeting ears have borne away the voice

of alpharata

still flow the waters of the blue

juniata

ma’s voice in the fiddle’s music softly

died away

and laura asked where did the voice of

alpharada go ma

goodness mars said aren’t you asleep yet

i’m going to sleep laura said but please

tell me where the voice of alpharada

went

oh i suppose she went west ma

answered that’s what the indians do

why do they do that more laura asked

why do they go west

they have to ma said why do they have to

the government makes them laura said paw

now go to sleep

he played the fiddle softly for a while

then laura asked

please pau can i ask just one more

question

may i said ma laura began again

paw please may i what is it

paul asked it was not polite for little

girls to interrupt but of course paul

could do it

will the government make these indians

go west

yes paul said when white settlers come

into a country

the indians have to move on the

government’s going to move these indians

farther west any time now

that’s why we’re here laura white people

are going to settle all this country and

we get the best land because we get here

first and take our pick

now do you understand yes paw

laura said but paw i thought this was

indian territory won’t it make the

indians mad to have to

no more questions laura paul said firmly

go to sleep