as answered as follows:--

"As fur as I kin make out, major, Mahng, the fellow you laid out so
neatly awhile ago, is a Jibway, while Songa is an Ottaway, and son of
the head chief, or medicine man, of the Metai, a magic circle of great
influence among the lake tribes. Not long ago both Songa and Mahng
courted a young Jibway squaw, who was said to be the handsomest gal of
her tribe. They had some hot fights over her; but from the first she
favored Songa, and so, of course, the other fellow had no show.
Finally, Songa married her and carried her away to the Ottaway
villages. On this, Mahng swore to be revenged on both of 'em, and as
the Jibways and Ottaways is good friends, he come and jined the Senecas
on purpose to get a chance at Songa. Here, seeing as he belongs to the
totem of the wolf, which is strong among the Senecas, and as he isn't
in noways a coward nor lacking in good fighting sense, he soon made a
name for himself as a warrior, and could raise a party agin the
Ottaways any time he chose. Most of the fighting that's been going on
since you came here has been stirred up by Mahng, and ef the whites
gets drawed into it, it'll be his doings. With all his smartness he
never met up with Songa, or leastways never got the best of him, till
this last time, when, fur as I kin make out, they caught him and his
squaw and their young one travelling from one Ottaway village to
another. They say Songa made the prettiest fight ever was seen, killed
half a dozen of Mahnga party, and held 'em all off till his squaw had
made good her escape with the child. Then he give up, and they brought
him in. They waited till he got well of his hurts, and then they set
out to kill him by as mean and devilish a lot of tortures as ever I
see."

"You don't mean to say," interrupted the other, "that you were one of
the spectators at a scene of torture, and did nothing to prevent it?"

"Sartain I do, major. It's part of my business to see such things.
It's also part of my business to keep the peace, so fur as I kin,
betwixt Injuns and whites, which it would have been broke very sudden
ef I had interfered with an Injun execution of an Injun captive. They
was only acting 'cording to their light, and I acted 'cording to mine."

"I suppose you are right," assented the major, "but I am glad I was not
in your place, and sorry that the savages should have had the
encouragement of your presence at one of their devilish orgies."

"They've