nough
room for me. Still a little fearful, I made an excuse and stepped out
of the wigwam for a minute. There I saw that the snow was well piled up
against the leather wall all around. This quieted my fears, and so I
returned into the wigwam, and being very weary was soon fast asleep. In
the morning my furs were gone! A thief in the night had cut through the
leather, making a hole so large that he could easily and noiselessly
lift out my pack of furs. He had left the upper part uncut, so that as
quickly as he had obtained the pack he could let the leather down again
and thus cover up the hole. For fear the wind should get in and disturb
the inmates, he had quietly laid a large deerskin over the whole place
on the outside. I was in a sad state the next morning, but I kept my
lips closed and said but little. The Indian family were much excited
and angry at the theft. The young Indian who had invited me in made a
greater ado than anyone. I suspected him at once of being the one who
had robbed me, but I had then no evidence, and so carefully held my
tongue. But I thought a great deal, and in time I found out that he was
in the plot.

"What to do I knew not. However, refusing to again eat under the wigwam
where I had been so robbed, I took my gun, blanket, and traps and pushed
on to the wigwam of my friends, and to my surprise found them in it, and
there they had been for some days. Then I knew that that young Indian
was an enemy. To my friends I told of my success, and of my loss. We
set about the recovery of them at once. Runners were sent to every
trading post describing the contents of the packs and telling the
traders the circumstances of the robbery. There was great indignation.
Such robberies are very rare. If the thieves are found out they are
generally quickly poisoned by the conjurers of the tribe. That is one
of the things they are expected to do. A robber of traps or furs is
soon poisoned. Then the traders themselves are down on these things.
So the story of the theft was soon known, but the furs were not
recovered until a long time after.

"Wahbunoo was very cold and repellent. He would not believe my story,
and so refused to have me come to his wigwam. So Shakoona and I had to
meet when we could, and that was not often, for the father was cruel and
Oosahmekoo had many spies. Still, we had many friends. Miskoodell, the
little sister, was sharp and shrewd, and helped us greatly by warni