aving the
lodge for a short time, she again returned with an armful of brush which
she threw upon the fire; then falling upon her knees she blew the
smoldering embers into a bright flame. The noise of the crackling wood
aroused the others, and soon all the women were engaged in their
household duties; one busied herself in preparing the morning meal;
another was collecting into one pile a number of queer looking
instruments, with whose use I was to become acquainted only too soon;
still another, was devoting her attention to a young babe. Thus all were
occupied. I was not long allowed to remain in undisturbed possession of
my quarters. The woman in charge of the cauldron placed over the fire
called for assistance, all were too busy to lend her aid, and one
suggested that I should be aroused. This remark was received with
general approbation, and soon I was on the floor, lifting kettles,
fetching fresh fuel, and in fact, doing the bidding of my task-makers as
best I might. This was the commencement of a life of unceasing toil. I
was the pariah of our little community; having no rights that compelled
respect, and being looked upon with feelings of suspicion and distrust
by the Indian women, I was driven to perform the menial tasks and endure
the ill-treatment of those who were only too happy, to visit on my
unoffending and unresisting body, the ill-treatment _they_ had to endure
from higher quarters.

Breakfast being ready, the chief was aroused and the family clustered
around the fire, attacking the contents of the kettle. To have seen them
eat, one would have supposed that they had been strangers to food for a
very long period; food was not eaten, it was devoured. After having
partaken of the cakes of maize and tasajo, the work of the day began.
Mahtocheega, of course, did nothing but smoke his k'neck k'nick and
lounge about the lodge. His favorite pastime was to lie at full length
in front of the door, and like any dog, bask in the rays of the sun.

It was now the planting season, and from morn till night we were in the
field, breaking the ground and sowing the grain. The implements used,
were of a very rude character, the hoes being fashioned from the
shoulder bone of the bison; the earth was broken by these, and all the
cultivation that was required was performed with the aid of this
article. Such was the great fertility of the soil, that maize and
squashes grew almost spontaneously when planted. All through the day