plateau with acres of
fresh green grass, wild flowers, and virgin soil. In the center was a
beautiful lake, its ice cold water well stocked with the finny tribe
of speckled mountain trout, the delight of the angler. The park was
inclosed by mountains of great height and grandeur, their rocky
slopes were dotted with spruce, pine, and cottonwood, and capped with
ages of crystal snow, presenting a sight more pleasing to the eye than
the Falls of Niagara, and a perfect haven for an Indian maiden's love
dream.

We had been in camp but a few days when Mr. Baker informed me that the
young bucks, as the men of the tribe were called, wanted us to join in
shooting at a target. After Mr. Baker and myself had made a few bull's
eyes, they proposed we two should choose sides, and we did so. The
teams were very evenly matched, making the game interesting. In the
meantime, I had been presented to the chief in true Indian fashion and
in turn was made known by him to his squaw, young bucks and maidens.
The Indians had their tribal laws and customs as well as the white man
and were required to live up to them. The maidens were two in number,
their ages fourteen and seventeen moons respectively; the latter a
picture of Indian beauty, perfect in every feature, form and carriage,
a rare model for an artist. They were nearly always found together.
At first they were quite reserved, but finally we became fast friends;
we would ramble, hunt, fish from canoes and sail the placid waters of
the little lake.

Early on the morning of the tenth day Mr. Baker entered my tent with a
troubled look. I bade him good-morning and inquired the cause. Without
fencing, he asked me if I wanted to be a squaw man. I asked him what
the devil he was getting at.

AN OFFER OF MATRIMONY

He replied, "All there is to it, the old chief has taken a great
liking to you, and wants you to marry Weenouah, his oldest daughter.
He has plenty of money, and his horses and cattle run into four
figures."

"That is no inducement," I said, "and it could never be."

Mr. Baker asked, "How are you going to get out of it?"

I replied, "I have been in lots of tight places, as you know, and have
always managed to squeeze through, and I'll get out of this one in
some way."

Little did either of us dream at that time of the manner, or rather
the sacrifice, that one of us was doomed to bear, for me to escape the
wrath of the old chief, when informed I would not marry his daughte