"Remember the wood where in ambush we lay,
And the scalps which we bore from your nation away;
Remember the arrows I shot from my bow,
And remember your chiefs by my hatchet laid low."[1]
He was soon killed, being pierced with numerous arrows and bullets.
An old brave in the pit exclaimed, "Let us not stay in this hole to be shot like dogs; let us go out and break through the ranks of the Black Feet. They cannot kill us all; some will get way. I will go foremost; I can break through their ranks alone."
Some hundreds of the enemy had climbed the hill, as they could not half of them get to the side of the pit, and thence they showered volleys of stones upon us, which annoyed us more than their bullets. At length, Little White Bear desired the old brave to lead, and we would follow and break through their line. I requested Hunter to keep as near the front as possible when we made the charge, as he would incur less
- ↑ From "Alknoomook," a very beautiful little poem by Mrs. Hunter, wife of the very celebrated English physician. So far as I can remember it imperfectly it is as follows:
"The sun sets at night and the stars shun the day,
But glory remains though the light fades away;
Begin ye tormentors, your threats are in vain,
For the son of Alknoomook shall never complain.
Remember the wood where in ambush we lay,
And the scalps which we bore from your nation away;
Why so slow, do you wait till I shrink from my pain?
No, the son of Alknoomook shall never complain.
Remember the arrows he shot from his bow,
Remember the chiefs by his hatchet laid low,
Remember his war-whoop again and again;
The son of Alknoomook shall never complain,
I go to the land where my father has gone,
And his ghost shall rejoice in the fame of his son;
Now the flame rises bright, I am freed from my pain,
And the son of Alknoomook hath ceased to complain.’
C.G. Leland.
