The Son of the Wolf | Page 8

once
into the business, shifting the beaded sheath prominently to the fore as
advertisement of the betrothal.
'O Thling-Tinneh, mighty chief of the Sticks And the land of the
Tanana, ruler of the salmon and the bear, the moose and the cariboo!
The White Man is before thee with a great purpose. Many moons has
his lodge been empty, and he is lonely. And his heart has eaten itself in
silence, and grown hungry for a woman to sit beside him in his lodge,
to meet him from the hunt with warm fire and good food. He has heard
strange things, the patter of baby moccasins and the sound of children's
voices. And one night a vision came upon him, and he beheld the
Raven, who is thy father, the great Raven, who is the father of all the
Sticks. And the Raven spake to the lonely White Man, saying: "Bind
thou thy moccasins upon thee, and gird thy snow-shoes on, and lash thy
sled with food for many sleeps and fine tokens for the Chief
Thling-Tinneh. For thou shalt turn thy face to where the mid-spring sun
is wont to sink below the land and journey to this great chief's
hunting-grounds. There thou shalt make big presents, and
Thling-Tinneh, who is my son, shall become to thee as a father. In his
lodge there is a maiden into whom I breathed the breath of life for thee.
This maiden shalt thou take to wife." 'O Chief, thus spake the great
Raven; thus do I lay many presents at thy feet; thus am I come to take
thy daughter!' The old man drew his furs about him with crude
consciousness of royalty, but delayed reply while a youngster crept in,
delivered a quick message to appear before the council, and was gone.
'O White Man, whom we have named Moose-Killer, also known as the
Wolf, and the Son of the Wolf! We know thou comest of a mighty race;
we are proud to have thee our potlach-guest; but the king-salmon does
not mate with the dogsalmon, nor the Raven with the Wolf.' 'Not so!'
cried Mackenzie. 'The daughters of the Raven have I met in the camps
of the Wolf,--the squaw of Mortimer, the squaw of Tregidgo, the squaw

of Barnaby, who came two ice-runs back, and I have heard of other
squaws, though my eyes beheld them not.' 'Son, your words are true;
but it were evil mating, like the water with the sand, like the snow-flake
with the sun. But met you one Mason and his squaw' No?
He came ten ice-runs ago,--the first of all the Wolves. And with him
there was a mighty man, straight as a willow-shoot, and tall; strong as
the bald-faced grizzly, with a heart like the full summer moon; his-'
'Oh!' interrupted Mackenzie, recognizing the well-known Northland
figure, 'Malemute Kid!' 'The same,--a mighty man. But saw you aught
of the squaw? She was full sister to Zarinska.' 'Nay, Chief; but I have
heard. Mason--far, far to the north, a spruce-tree, heavy with years,
crushed out his life beneath. But his love was great, and he had much
gold. With this, and her boy, she journeyed countless sleeps toward the
winter's noonday sun, and there she yet lives,--no biting frost, no snow,
no summer's midnight sun, no winter's noonday night.'
A second messenger interrupted with imperative summons from the
council.
As Mackenzie threw him into the snow, he caught a glimpse of the
swaying forms before the council-fire, heard the deep basses of the men
in rhythmic chant, and knew the Shaman was fanning the anger of his
people. Time pressed. He turned upon the chief.
'Come! I wish thy child. And now, see! Here are tobacco, tea, many
cups of sugar, warm blankets, handkerchiefs, both good and large; and
here, a true rifle, with many bullets and much powder.' 'Nay,' replied
the old man, struggling against the great wealth spread before him.
'Even now are my people come together. They will not have this
marriage.'
'But thou art chief.' 'Yet do my young men rage because the Wolves
have taken their maidens so that they may not marry.' 'Listen, O
Thling-Tinneh! Ere the night has passed into the day, the Wolf shall
face his dogs to the Mountains of the East and fare forth to the Country
of the Yukon. And Zarinska shall break trail for his dogs.' 'And ere the
night has gained its middle, my young men may fling to the dogs the

flesh of the Wolf, and his bones be scattered in the snow till the
springtime lay them bare.' It was threat and counter-threat. Mackenzie's
bronzed face flushed darkly. He raised his voice. The old squaw, who
till now had sat an impassive spectator, made to creep by him for