MRS. EASTMAN'S STORY CONTINUED.
Years have dragged their slow length along; once again I am surrounded
by friends, and a husband's love shields me from the persecutions of a
cruel captivity: yet, scenes and incidents of that terrible time recur
to my memory with a vividness only too real. The capture, torture, and
fatiguing marches, have left their imprint on my memory in ineffaceable
characters. These were, however, but the overture to the drama. My
intense sufferings commenced, and were comprised in the nine years of my
life among the Apaches.
I had passed a restless night; my couch was haunted by dreams of ill
omen, and it was with a sigh of relief that I saw the morning's rays
peeping through the crevices of our lodge of skins. I was enabled to
look upon my surroundings, and take stock of my future home. The lodge
was circular in form, measuring a circumference of about fifty feet at
the base, narrowing as it extended upwards, until a space of about six
feet was left open at the top; the framework consisted of poles driven
firmly into the ground, and held in position by a covering of dressed
buffalo skins. The floor in the center of the lodge was depressed
sufficiently to form a fire-place, in which a few glowing embers could
yet be seen. Ranged around the walls were the beds, seven in number,
which were occupied by the chief and his six wives. I, of course, was
included in the number. Some of the beds were tastefully draped with
curtains of dressed skins, ornamented in various styles. The bed of the
chief was perhaps the most gorgeous; on it could be seen the labor of
five jealous women, each more anxious than the other to propitiate her
lord by some extravagance of decoration, which would deflect the
sunshine of his favor on her head to the envy and exclusion of the
remaining members of the family. Suspended from stakes driven into the
ground near the head of his couch rested the implements of warfare;
lance, shield, bow, and quiver, together with the deadly tomahawk and
murderous scalping knife. Extended along a line that bisected the
wigwam, at a distance of perhaps twelve feet from the floor, were the
scalps of his enemies. Judging from the great quantity of these ghastly
trophies, my master was a man of immense valor and shocking brutality.
Soon there was a movement, the curtains of one of the beds parted, and
the head, shoulders and body of a tawny savage appeared. Leaving the
lodge for a short time, she again returned with an armful of brush which
she threw upon the fire; then falling upon her knees she blew the
smoldering embers into a bright flame. The noise of the crackling wood
aroused the others, and soon all the women were engaged in their
household duties; one busied herself in preparing the morning meal;
another was collecting into one pile a number of queer looking
instruments, with whose use I was to become acquainted only too soon;
still another, was devoting her attention to a young babe. Thus all were
occupied. I was not long allowed to remain in undisturbed possession of
my quarters. The woman in charge of the cauldron placed over the fire
called for assistance, all were too busy to lend her aid, and one
suggested that I should be aroused. This remark was received with
general approbation, and soon I was on the floor, lifting kettles,
fetching fresh fuel, and in fact, doing the bidding of my task-makers as
best I might. This was the commencement of a life of unceasing toil. I
was the pariah of our little community; having no rights that compelled
respect, and being looked upon with feelings of suspicion and distrust
by the Indian women, I was driven to perform the menial tasks and endure
the ill-treatment of those who were only too happy, to visit on my
unoffending and unresisting body, the ill-treatment _they_ had to endure
from higher quarters.
Breakfast being ready, the chief was aroused and the family clustered
around the fire, attacking the contents of the kettle. To have seen them
eat, one would have supposed that they had been strangers to food for a
very long period; food was not eaten, it was devoured. After having
partaken of the cakes of maize and tasajo, the work of the day began.
Mahtocheega, of course, did nothing but smoke his k'neck k'nick and
lounge about the lodge. His favorite pastime was to lie at full length
in front of the door, and like any dog, bask in the rays of the sun.
It was now the planting season, and from morn till night we were in the
field, breaking the ground and sowing the grain. The implements used,
were of a very rude character, the hoes being fashioned from the
shoulder bone of the bison; the earth was broken by these, and all the
cultivation that was required was performed with the aid of this
article. Such was the great fertility of the soil, that maize and
squashes grew almost spontaneously when planted. All through the day, we
were compelled to stoop and bend over the ground, while the sun's rays
becoming more and more intense, made life intolerable. Did we lag but
for a moment, the ever vigilant eye of some adjacent Indian would note
the movement, and swooping down on us would urge us to renewed exertion,
by word or blow.
My first day's experience in this species of farming, was excruciating
agony. Being unskilled in the use of a hoe, I bruised myself severely,
for, instead of breaking the soil, I came down with full force on my
own limbs and feet; at such times a groan of agony would escape me,
which, instead of eliciting sympathy, would only excite laughter. Maimed
and bleeding, I toiled on, and wishing, oh! so fervently, that the next
blow might be on my head, instead of the inferior parts of my body.
Towards evening, my torture became unendurable, and throwing my tired
body on the ground, I determined not to work longer, let the
consequences be what they may. This conduct was so entirely unexpected,
that it took my captors by surprise, and finding blows of no avail, they
desisted, and left me to suffer alone. I had to be carried home, much to
the disgust of those whose duty it was to bear the burden; arriving at
the lodge, ointment was prepared from the juice expressed from the
leaves of the pita plant, and being applied to my bruised limbs, soon
allayed the inflammation and soreness.
A brief description of this remarkable plant may not be without interest
to the reader; what the _zamias_ is to the East Indian, the pita plant
is to the Southern Indian--it is food, medicine, stimulant, and
clothing. It is to be found in the greatest abundance along the great
American desert, near the base of the Rocky Mountains. In places where
it would seem impossible for living plants to thrive, there may be found
the _lechuguilla_, its stalk rising to the height of twenty feet, and
its thorny leaves branching out in clusters along its length; its fiber
is made into rope; the sap expressed from its leaves, when boiled to the
consistency of honey is an admirable dressing for wounds, causing light
cuts to cicatrice almost immediately, and even ugly gashes will yield to
it in time. The juice distilled, produces the fiery _mezcal_, familiarly
known among the trappers as "pass whiskey." It is made quite extensively
at El Paso, hence the _sobriquet_. The egg-shaped core, when cooked,
yields a thick, transparent body, similar to jelly; it is very
nutritious, and is used to a great extent by one branch of the Apaches,
who bake it with horse-flesh; this tribe is called by the frontiersmen,
_mezcaleros_ on this account.
Without the aid of this plant, there are seasons when the Lipans,
Apaches, and Camanches would perish from starvation. Too much cannot be
said in praise of the wild aloe; it is one of the many striking
instances in which an all-wise Providence has furnished man with a
medicine and food combined. The laboratory of nature is full of similar
plants whose uses are as yet imperfectly known, and have perhaps never
been applied to the relief of the suffering.
During my sojourn among the Indians I became familiar with the names and
uses of many of these roots and plants, which I believe were never
before known to civilized man.
Several months had elapsed, the corn was planted and had nearly ripened.
As I became hardened by exposure and toil, my lot seemed somewhat
softened; I say seemed mitigated; the work was none the less arduous,
only my capacity to bear toil had been strengthened.
One day, Eeh-nis-kin (the crystal stone), intimated that I was to be
branded; this intelligence filled me with terror. I had never seen any
one marked in this manner, and I presumed the process was a painful one.
After having finished the morning's work I had retired into the lodge,
in order to complete some garments I was making, for Eehniskin's little
boy, when a messenger arrived, announcing that the medicine man wished
to see me, and bade me follow him. Arriving at the lodge in the center
of the village, I joined a throng of captives, who like myself had been
summoned to appear and receive the mark of bondage. Presently the crowd
gave way, and the "hush-sh" that was echoed from mouth to mouth, warned
us of the approach of Pa-nis-ka-soo-pa (the two crows), the high priest
and great medicine of the nation. We were required to form a ring,
leaving a space of some thirty feet in diameter. Silence reigned
supreme; nothing was heard save the light tinkling of the rattles upon
his dress, as he cautiously and slowly moved through the avenue left for
him. He neared us with a slow and tilting step, his body and head
entirely covered with the skin of a yellow bear, the head of which
served as a mask to his own, which was inside of it; the huge bear's
claws were dangling on his wrists and ankles. In one hand he shook a
frightful rattle, with the other he brandished his medicine spear, to
the rattling din of which he added the wild and startling yells and jump
of the Indian, and the appalling grunts and snarls of the grizzly bear.
After prancing around us for a short time, he built a small fire, and
threw into it some bits of bluish clay, which turned black when
subjected to the fierce heat; these were then pounded into fine powder.
Taking a sharp-pointed stick, he pricked our chins in semi-circles with
the point of this stick dipped in a lotion of the powdered clay and a
blackish gum, which he poured from a stone vial. The sensation was as if
one was sticking needles into your face. Soon after the operation was
performed the skin began to burn and the punctured portion inflame; it
then became very painful, but an application of the never-failing aloe
soothed the inflammation. This was the ceremony of branding, and I carry
the scar, and will continue to wear it to my latest hours.
Returning to the lodge, I was greeted with jeers and derisive laughter
by the women of my household; the dogs joined in the uproar, barking,
perhaps, because others pointed the finger of scorn at me, and to be in
sympathy with their masters. Even the filthy little children raised
their tiny voices, accompanying their laughter with volleys of stones
and sticks, thus
"Catching at little bits of fun and glee,
That's played on dogs enslaved, by dogs that's free."