The Little Indian Weaver
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The Indians, in older days, made fire entirely by friction. By the rubbing together of two pieces of wood, most of the tribes caused fire to appear – but some had elaborate devices made of wood and string. The Navajos used a thin pole which they twirled around by using a string tied to a stick.
Today, the Indians use matches just as we do, but most families still keep their fire-makers.
The Navajos do not use feathers and do not make chiefs by crowning them. But many of the other tribes create their chiefs by placing the crown of tall feathers, which you have often seen in pictures, upon the head of the "brave," and saying "I make you 'Big Chief Flying Eagle,'" or whatever the name may be.
The eagle is much venerated by the Indians. We have seen how Bah used a prayer stick made of an eagle feather.
In the Eagle Dance, the dancer paints his body red, black and white, and wears a dance skirt and bonnet of eagle feathers.
The dance is performed as a ceremonial, mostly as a plea for rain. The dancers imitate almost every movement of the great eagle. They soar, they hover as an eagle would hover over the fields. They spread their wings and move about in a great circle.
This and the Sun Dance are the two most important and interesting dances of the Indians; the Sun Dance is performed in the spring, celebrating the return of the growing season, and the growth of the corn.
"Oh, I hope I can remember all that," sighed Billy, when Mrs. Fighting Bull finished talking.
She turned to her weaving without answering him, and he turned to Bah, saying: "Come, Bah! Let us play over at your hogan and you pretend to make me a Big Chief!"
"Yes, come," said Bah, rising.
They started over to their play house. From out the play hogan Bah pulled forth some Navajo blankets and then they both set to work to make a feather crown. Having no feathers (the Navajos not using them) they made their crown of branches.
It was a large and weighty object when they finished with it and Billy was, indeed, a queer sight when Bah placed it upon his head. The big blanket was wrapped about him, and from beneath the crown peered his freckled face. With all due ceremony Bah raised her eyes to heaven and chanted: "I make you Big Chief Spots-In-The-Face!"
It was a very serious moment for them. Billy had become a chief, and his next move was to propose the smoking of the pipe of peace. From his pocket Billy pulled a chocolate pipe. It was done up in silver paper. Bah was impressed as he carefully unwrapped and handed it to her.
"You smoke first," he said.
She took it in her hands and putting it to her mouth pretended to draw in the smoke. She handed it to Billy, but he proceeded to bite out a piece, much to the astonishment of his playmate, who stared at him in wonderment.
"You do that, too, Bah, it's good," Billy mumbled with his mouth full.
Bah shrank back. "No, me no eat pipe, me smoke!"
Billy couldn't help laughing.
"Oh, but this isn't a real pipe – it's chocolate!"
Still Bah was reluctant to try.
"Well," said Billy, digging into his pocket for the rest of the candy. "Here's another, the same – only it's not in the shape of a pipe. Try it."
Bah took the candy and looked at it.
"Fish!" she gasped and dropped it.
"Well, what's the matter with that?" asked Billy, greatly disturbed by her evident horror.
"Bah no eat fish. No Navajo eat fish!" "Tell me why," said Billy, now amused and interested.
Bah did not answer, but pointed over to her mother. She hung her head shyly. Billy didn't like to press her, so, dragging his blanket, and with his crown over one ear, he stumbled over to the loom and stood before Mrs. Fighting Bull with the query: "Why don't Navajos like fish?"
Mrs. Fighting Bull did not smile, for once, and replied: "Not because no like! No eat because ancestors once turned into fish. If Navajo eat fish, he eat ancestor!"
Satisfied with this explanation, Billy thanked her and trotted back to his friend. "I understand now, Bah," he said. "But you see this isn't a real fish, it's candy! You try."
He held it up to her, but he could see how she shrank from the thought of eating anything that was even the shape of fish. So he picked out a bird and gave it to her. After she had sampled the chocolate she was delighted to finish the whole piece, and when that was eaten, she said: "Now me smoke pipe of peace."
"Yes," said Billy, "and this time you'll eat a piece of the pipe, won't you?"
He laughed loudly at his own joke, but Bah was too absorbed in her new found game. When Billy reached for the pipe, expecting to receive it for his turn, he saw that the little girl had put the whole pipe into her mouth and was munching the chocolate, her cheeks puffed out and a twinkle in her eye! Billy stared in surprise.
"Why, Bah, you bad girl. You ate up all the pipe!"
But they soon found another game to replace the "Peace Pipe" and played together happily until it was time for Billy to go home.
Before leaving he remembered that he had not thanked the Indian woman for telling him so much of interest. He ran back to where she was sitting, and, drawing from his pocket the chocolate candies, he offered them to her, saying: "Thanks so much for your nice story. Won't you have some candy?"
She took some and smiled at him. Then she said: "Write nice story about Indians. All white men no think Indians good."
Billy was puzzled for a moment to know what she meant. Then it dawned upon him that the Indians were often spoken of as cruel and savage. Well, he'd "tell the world" in his story that this family was kind and civilized. He said: "Oh, yes, I'll say everything I think about you, and that will be good!"
Then, suddenly bethinking himself of a word he'd once heard, he asked: "Isn't an Indian woman called a 'Squaw'?"
Bah's mother shook her head and a slight frown – the first Billy had seen – appeared between her eyes.
"No. Indian woman no like to be called Squaw! Not very nice! In reservation she fight when man call that!"
"Well, I'll remember and never use the word 'Squaw' again," promised Billy.
Just then an Indian mother appeared in the doorway of her hogan. The papoose upon her back was crying loudly, and Billy looked roguishly at Mrs. Fighting Bull and asked: "Is the baby called a 'Squawker'?"
CHAPTER VIII
WHO WINS THE RADIO?
For many days Billy worked diligently at his composition. He took care to do his writing away from home, as he cherished the thought of surprising Mother and Father.
Then, too, he had conceived another idea. It happened to pop into his head one evening when he was returning from Bah's home. It was such a good idea that he wondered he hadn't thought of it before.
And so, as I have said, he worked, and no one but Peanuts knew what he was doing, and Peanuts was sworn to secrecy. As he would prepare to leave his secluded spot out on the prairie where he did his writing, Billy would say to Peanuts: "Now, we'll never say a word! We'll keep this to ourselves, won't we?"
And Peanuts was most agreeable. Why not? The days had been pleasure since his master had decided to allow him to graze all day long instead of asking him to gallop over the plains. Yes, indeed, the plan suited Peanuts down to the ground (where, by the way, he constantly kept his nose.)
Billy's nose was buried in his writing and he chewed the pencil as steadily as Peanuts chewed the dry nourishment he found. But at last the task was over, the manuscript sent in to the magazine, and Billy was again paying his respects to the Fighting Bull family. Peanuts was the only regretful one when the story was finished, and sent away. Billy sighed a sigh of relief and the first day that he put in an appearance at the hogan, Bah squealed with joy to see him returning.
Many happy days ensued, in which the Indian girl showed the boy new games and ways of playing which she, little lonely one, had devised by herself.
Each evening Billy would come home with the same question on his lips: "Has my magazine arrived?"
But New York is a long way from Arizona, and it was many weeks before the magazine, in which the winning story was to appear, at last came.
It was one evening after Billy had had a particularly exciting day chasing buffaloes (in the form of tame sheep) with Bah, that he came home to find his magazine awaiting him. It had not been opened and was lying on his little desk. It was addressed to him – and inside it was – maybe – his story! He longed to find out, but he couldn't move his fingers to open the wrapper.
He suddenly grew hot all over and realized then how he longed to see that story inside those covers. If he had been an Indian instead of a white boy he would have made a prayer stick and prayed via the eagle feather to the Great Father.
The next morning Father and Mother found Billy curled up in a big chair in the living room poring over his magazine. They could not see his face.
Father took up his paper, but before starting to read he remarked: "Who's the lucky winner of the radio, Son?"
Billy did not answer, but arose from his chair and brought the magazine over, to Father. Father glanced at the page with a wicked smile, and remarked: "Needless to say, it wasn't a chap named William!"
Billy, his head drooping, left the room, and Mother felt sorry for him. So did Father. In fact I think Father was sorry for what he had said, as he got up and called him back.
It was then that Billy told Father what he had done – all about it from the first day that the idea had occurred to him until the moment when he had, with trembling fingers, opened the magazine and found…
"You're a good boy, Bill," said Father, "and I've been wronging you."
Mother was about to make a fuss over him, so, allowing her only time enough for one kiss, he grabbed his hat. Then with the parting words, "I'm going to see the Fighting Bulls – goodbye," he made a dash for the door.
"Some day maybe you'll take me, Bill," called Father after him, "I'd like to meet the Fighting Bulls, and their calf. She must be a smart little kid!"
Then the parents looked at each other and Mother's eyes were just a little bit dewy. She smiled and shook her finger at Father: "I know another Fighting Bull," she said.
"Yes, dear," said Father humbly, "and he has a splendid and plucky little calf!"
At the hogan there was much excitement. As Peanuts came galloping down the village "street" his rider saw a most unusual sight.
Chief Fighting Bull, his wife and small daughter were all grouped about an object which seemed to be attracting them. So much did it attract them that they were talking in Navajo faster and louder than Billy had ever heard them talk.
The boy jumped down from his pony and walked up to the family circle. He saw that the object of their interest was a large wooden express box, and written across it were the words:
"Bah, The Little Indian Weaver,
Daughter of Chief Fighting Bull,
Navajo Reservation, near Tuba, Arizona."
"This came today," said the Chief to Billy, and Bah held up an envelope which she clutched in her hand.
"And see – letter to Bah."
Billy asked: "Why don't you open it?"
"Yes, will do," replied the girl. At the same time as Bah and Billy were opening the letter, the Chief, aided by his wife, was opening the large box.
"You read letter for me, please," smiled Bah.
Billy took the letter – but just then the box was opened and inside it the astonished family beheld a radio!
"What this?" asked Fighting Bull.
Said Billy wisely: "It's a radio – you know, you can listen to music and everything. It's lots of fun. Come on, we'll fix it up!"
With Billy's instructions the Chief set up the radio. It was a portable set and as soon as they attached the aerial and Billy turned the dials the sound of fine music began to float on the air.
"Alive!" shrieked Bah, turned on her heels, and fled!
Billy, still holding the unopened letter, ran after her. He found her hidden in a thicket and brought her back to her parents, who stood transfixed before the radio, which was still sending forth music.
"Don't be afraid, Bah," said Billy. "It's not this box making the noise. The music comes through the air from a big city!"
The Chief and his wife were almost as impressed as Bah, but they did not show their feelings. They could only stand and stare while Billy, holding on to Bah with one hand for fear that she would run away again, read the following letter:
"Dear Little Bah:
Your story 'The Little Indian Weaver,' written by yourself about yourself, has won the Composition Contest. The prize, a radio, we are sending you today. It was a great pleasure to receive such a charming little story from a real Indian girl. The white children who read it will, we are sure, enjoy it, and learn a great deal from you. Thank you, and we hope you will like the radio!
The Children's Magazine.""But – but," said Bah, "I not write story!"
Billy put his arm around her shoulders and smiling down at her said: "No, but I sent it in your name because if it hadn't been for you and your mother and father I never could have written it!"
As the strains of music floated through the air, attracting the sheep from the prairie, two dreamy children sat beside the radio, which was perched on the top of a packing box, and listened eagerly.
Bah had outgrown her fear of the "Singing Box" as she called the radio, and each day she and Billy would enjoy songs and music from the city – strange sounds, some of them, to the little Indian girl.
But to Billy it had become a greater joy than he ever had anticipated to watch her rapture with the new toy.
One day he found a stick with feathers stuck on top of the radio, and he asked her what it meant.
"Bah put flag on Singing Box. That is Indian flag!"
Billy never ceased learning about the Indians, their customs and their interesting ways.
Perhaps the Fighting Bulls also were learning. They learned what many Indians do not know – that the white child loves his brother – the first American.