hey had been fishing for some time for the same fish, in
the same pool in the Thompson river, and had each been favored with very
encouraging nibbles. One day, however, Peter felt the tugging at his
bait somewhat stronger than usual and with one jerk he pulled out his
fish. Peter had stolen a march on his rival. The priest married them
when Johnny was at the coast, fishing at New Westminster for the
canneries. When the intelligence reached him he sat down in the bottom
of the boat and for a few moments imagined himself at Spence's Bridge
giving Hias Peter a Jack Johnson trouncing. To Cultus Johnny the strange
preference of this woman for his rival seemed like unmitigated
discrimination. Why, there was no comparison between the two when it
came to worldly icties. Peter had nothing: he had no illiha, no icties
of any kind; he was broke morning, noon and night. Johnny had a sixty
dollar saddle, a five dollar bridle, a two and a half quirt and the best
cayuse in Spence's Bridge, and worth seventy-five dollars. Peter had
nothing but the wage he earned working on the C.P.R. section, which had
been just enough to supply him with his daily muck-a-muck (food) before
marriage. How he calculated to feed two with the one basket of o-lil-ies
(berries) which had been only large enough for one, did not seem to
worry the community, as such things were taking place every day and were
a common occurrence, and the klootchman always seemed to survive the
ordeal. And it must not be forgotten that Johnny had a seven and a half
Stetson hat while all Peter could afford was a two bit cap.

It will always remain a mystery why one Indian should be more
voluptuous, or gather more icties about him than another, when none of
them have any visible assets from which to derive an income. Unless it
be that the more voluptuous Indian works every day of his weary, aimless
life, spends nothing, and hoards the residual balance like a miser,
lives on the old man before marriage, and on his klootchman after, we
are unable to arrive at a solution. No one knew by what means Johnny had
acquired all his wealth. Perhaps he had bought all his luxuries on
jaw-bone from one store while he paid cash for his muck-a-muck in
another. There is one thing certain, the honest Indian is always the
poorest, and in these days of the high cost of beans and bacon and rice,
he has to be poorer to be more honest. Now it came to pass that one day
Johnny balanced his saddle, horse, qu