les beyond.

Mrs. Little-Dog and ten-year-old Martin greeted us at the door, and
inside the house we were cordially welcomed by the blind and almost
helpless sufferer. The wife said, "I wanted to go and get medicine
for him, but there was no one to take care of him while I was gone."
They were miles from the nearest neighbor. And the sick man added,
"I didn't like to have our little boy go so far alone." When the
physical pain and needs were relieved so far as possible, I asked if
there was a Bible. In answer the sick man turned and reached under
the pillow at the farther corner of the bed, from which he drew out
a little bag, and from that he carefully--almost tenderly, it
seemed--took his Dakota Bible and handed me. Such times of drawing
near to God, in the homes of sick or sorrowing ones, mean quite as
much of added strength and cheer to the white visitor as to those
who are visited, and we always come away feeling so glad that we
went. Tears were in the woman's eyes as the good-byes were said; and
the little boy, with his pony saddled, watched us out of sight, to
be sure that we were started on the right road home, as we had been
directed.

On another day we heard that our good old friend
Afraid-of-the-Clouds had been thrown from his wagon and badly hurt.
We found the tall figure, which we had always been accustomed to see
so erect and soldierly in bearing, stretched on the ground in his
tent, silent and motionless. With evident pain and effort the dear
old man tried to explain how it happened. He did not complain and
spoke very gently, but the expression of suffering on the wrinkled
face made me fear he would never get up again, and my own sorrow at
the thought was hard to conceal. He was only (?) an "old Indian,"
one of those "old Indians" who are often so lightly spoken of as of
no account; but whose dignity and strength of character, and gentle,
gracious courtesy, command the respect of those who really know
them. And he had been a loyal friend and faithful helper in the
years that we had been neighbors. And though he still clung to his
old faith, he seemed as grateful for the reading of God's Word and
prayer as for the material help we tried to give.

Time passed, and by-and-by he was up and about again, and wanted to
be given some work to do. One day he came into the house and seated
himself in the deliberate way which told that he had something on
his mind, which would demand my undivided attention, and s