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"Where is the partner?" "At the present moment I believe he's engaged in trying to efface the Indian Empire. Bit of a Socialist, you know," I added. "May I smoke?" "What d'you mean?" "Doesn't she know the word? Smoke, my dear. Draw into and expel from the mouth the fumes of burning tobac " "Idiot! About the Little Englander." I explained.
We'll shorten this one down a bit and call him 'Eagle'. Look at his hand." He turned to Poona. "We call that one black-fella Eagle. See? His hand aller same eagle's hand. Take um round Boss Collins. P'raps him give it trouser, shirt, tobac."
Then he gathered together a few plugs of tobacco, some tea, flour, and dried fish. Sacobie watched him with freshly aroused interest. "More tobac, please," he said. "Squaw, he smoke, too." Archer added a couple of sticks of the black leaf to the pile. "Bacum, too," said the Micmac. "Bacum better nor fish, anyhow." Archer shook his head.
"Tobac?" he inquired. Archer passed him a dark and heavy plug of tobacco. "Knife?" queried Sacobie. "Try your own knife on it," answered Archer, grinning. With a sigh Sacobie produced his sheath-knife. "You t'ink Sacobie heap big t'ief," he said, accusingly. "Knives are easily lost in people's pockets," replied Archer. The two men talked for hours.
He seemed in very good spirits, asked for "tobac," and rode along with us some distance long enough to make a careful estimate of our value and our strength. Finally he left us and disappeared over the hills. Then the little escort of ten men received orders from Faye to be on the alert, and hold themselves and their rifles ready for a sudden attack.
The half-breed was bending over the man on the ground. "You shoot heem on he's head," he approved, "dat pret' good place." He bent lower and a sibilant sound reached the ears of Endicott and the girl. After a moment the man stood up and came toward them smiling. "A'm fin' out if she dead," he explained, casually. "A'm speet de tobac' juice in he's eye. If she wink she ain' dead.
His vocal greeting, with slight variation from time to time, was in such words with little regard for their meaning as he had caught from the ox-driving dialect of the passing emigrants: "Wo-haw-buck," "Hello, John, got tobac?" If he added "Gimme biskit," and "Pappoose heap sick," he had about reached the limit of his English vocabulary.
The braves quieted down after that, and soon lapsed into slumber, leaving the big fellow, to whom the chief had addressed his brief command, acting, as guard. Observing Joe watching him as he puffed on his new pipe, he grinned, and spoke in broken English that was intelligible, and much of a surprise to the young man. "Paleface tobac' heap good."
At least one brave in each party could make himself understood by word or sign. Many could pronounce the one word "hogmeat," and would show what they had to exchange for the coveted luxury. Others also begged for "tobac," and sugar, and generally got a little. A surprising number of trappers and traders, returning to the United States with their stocks of peltry, camped near us from time to time.
After a while Sacobie Bear opened his eyes and gazed up at Archer. "Good!" he said. "John Archer, he heap fine man, anyhow. Mighty good to poor Injun Sacobie, too. Plenty tobac, I s'pose. Plenty rum, too." "No more rum, my son," replied Archer, tossing what was left in the mug against the log wall, and corking the bottle. "And no smoke until you have had a feed. What do you say to bacon and tea?
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