spoke their language well; and without taking any
pains to acquire it, I soon understood it so as to talk with them. The
sufferings of the women and children, especially during the winter
season, appealed to my heart. Their humility in asking for assistance
contrasted strongly with the pompous begging of the men. Late in a
winter's afternoon, Wenona, wife of a chief named the "Star," came to my
room. Undoing a bundle that she took from under her blanket, she
approached and showed it to me. It was an infant three days old,
closely strapped to an Indian cradle. The wretched babe was shrivelled
and already looking old from hunger. She warmed it by the fire,
attempting to still its feeble cries.
"Do you nurse your baby well, Wenona?" I asked; "it looks so thin and
small."
"How can I," was the reply, "when I have not eaten since it was born?"
Frequently we have heard of whole families perishing during severely
cold weather. The father absent on a winter's hunt, the mother could not
leave her children to apply to the fort for assistance, even had she
strength left to reach there.
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