Page:Life Among the Piutes.djvu/193

 but my dress. A blanket was put around me. Fire was soon made, and I sat down to warm myself.

Brother stood up and said, “My children, I hope none of you have forgotten your duty to your Spirit-Father in your sleep. I hope you have passed the beautiful night in peaceful sleep, and are all ready to do his work during the day. I am sorry to say there is no report yet from the young men, saying that we are all safe; no one to say there is no enemy here; none of them have come and said, ‘I have done my duty.’ I am afraid, my young men, you are not doing your duty; for I have here in my camp a warrior who has just arrived. Come, one and all, and see for yourselves.”

My poor papa was the first one who came up. He ran up and took me in his arms and said, “Oh, my poor child! I thought I never would see you, for the papers said you were killed by the Bannocks. We have all mourned for you, my child. Oh, when I heard you, my darling, who saved my life for a little while longer, had gone first, I thought my heart would break!”

I put my face down on his bosom.

He said, “Look up, dear; let me see if it is really my child.”

I looked up. The tears were running down his cheeks. I looked round, and I saw tears in everyone’s eyes. I told them everything: who was killed, what their names were, and how many prisoners we had, about our baby, and the four women, and the poor blind woman, who was scalped, and about poor Egan, who was cut to pieces. I told them about Oytes, too; and they all said they hoped when the soldiers caught Oytes, they would hang him. “If they don’t, we shall kill him ourselves,” they said, “for he is to blame for all.”

It was Oytes who first carried some of my people over to the Bannocks.