Show 1 The Wisdom of f the Trail Sitka Charley Indian Though He Was Knew and Failed Not in in the Fig Fight t with Grim Death By JACK JACI LONDON Copyright by br Jack London ell 0 0 Due I I a 0 II I IH H III II 0 ITKA CHARLEY hat haO if d' achieved the impossible Other Indians might hay hav t C known as much of ot the wig wh dom lom of the trail as us did h hc he but be he alone knew the white man wisdom the honor of the trail an anthe anthe the law But these things had nf n come orne to him In a n day The mind is slow to generalize and ma y repeated often are required compass an nn understanding SUka Sitha Ch Chi Chiley ley from boyhood had been continually with white men and anda a n man he had elected to cast his f fc tunes with them e expatriating once and for tor all from his own Even then respecting almost vene venE- their power and pondering OVI Jt it he had yet to divine Its Secret e sence the Bence-the the honor and the law An AnIt Anit Anit It was only by the cumulative evident of years that he had finally come t understand Being an alien allen wh when n h did know lenow he knew it better than th white man himself being an nn Indian h had nad achieved the Impossible And of these things had been brec breca breJ breJa a certain contempt for his own people a a contempt which he had made It a custom to conceal but which now burst forth In a polyglot whirlwind of curses upon upon the heads of l Chucte Kah-Chucte and They hey cringed before him like a brace of snarling wolf dogs too cowardly cowardly cowardly cow cow- ardly to spring too wolfish to cover their fangs The They were not handsome II creatures Neither was Charley All three were frightful looking There was no flesh to their faces their cheek cheekbones cheekbones bones were massed mussed with hideous scabs which had cracked and frozen alternately alternately alter alter- under the intense frost while hile their eyes burned luridly with the light which Is born bom of desperation and hun hun- ger sere Men so situated b beyond ond the pale of ot the honor and the law v are ann not to be trusted SlUm Charley Knew new I this and this was why he had bad forced them to abandon their rifles with the rest of the camp outfit ten days be be- fore tore His Ills rifle and Captain Epping Epping- wells well's were the only ones that re- re Come get a fire started he corn com ed drawing out the precious match box with its attendant strips of dry birch bark The two Indians fell tell sullenly to the task of gathering dead branches and underwood The They were weak and paused often catching themselves Inthe in inthe inthe the act of stooping with giddy motions or staggering to the center of operations operations operations opera opera- with their knees shaking like castanets After each trip the they rested I Ifor for a moment as though sick and deadly dead ly Iy weary At times their eyes took on the patient stoicism of dumb suffering suffering suffering suffer suffer- ing and again the ego seemed almost bursting forth with its wild cry I I want to exist the exist the the dominant note of the whole Ii living universe A light breath of air blew from the south nipping the exposed portions of ot I their bodies and driving the frost In I 1 I needles of lire through fur and flesh Ii He lIe too had u a mighty might longing to sit ti b tithe the fire and tend his Ills complaining th but out the honor and the tile law forbad He toiled painfully over the froze held field each step a n protest every evely muI mu cle in revolt Several times w whEre here th I open water between the Jams had r rt rc crusted he was forced to miserably miser mise ably ubly accelerate his movements as th fragile footing swayed and beneath him In such places dent was quick and easy but it was no his desire to endure more mon His Bis deepening anxiety vanished as two Indians dragged Into view round rounda a bend in the river The They staggered and panted like men under heavy burdens burdens burdens bur bur- dens yet the packs on their backs were a matter of ot but few pounds He questioned them eagerly and und their replies replies re re- re- re plies seemed to relieve him He hurried hurried hurried hur hur- ried on Next came two white men supporting between them a woman The They also behaved as though drunken and their limbs shook with weakness But the woman leaned 11 lightly gh tI upon them choosing to carry herself forward forward forward for for- ward with her own strength At sight of ot her a flash of ot joy cast Its fleeting light across ucross Charleys Charley's face He Be cherished a very great regard for Mrs He had seen many white hite women but this was vas the first to travel the trail with him When Captain Ep- Ep proposed the hazardous undertaking undertaking undertaking un un- and ond made him an offer for tor his services he had shaken his head hend gravely for It was an unknown journey jour jour- journey n ney y through the dismal of ot the Northland and he knew it to beof be beof of ot the kind that try to the uttermost the souls of men But when he learned learned learn learn- ed that the captains captain's wife was to accompany accompany accompany ac ac- ac- ac company them he had refused flatly to have anything further to do with it Had it been a woman of his own p t. t 1 A. A k 7 J r y 4 n t I i L A Tyr r D DL L They Cringed B Before e f ore Him race he wo would ld have harbored no objections lions but these women of the Northland North North- land land no no no they were too soft too tender for such enterprises Charley Chorley did not know this kind I of woman Five rive minutes before he did not even dream of ot taking charge of the expedition but when she came cameto cameto cameto to him with her wonderful smile and her straight clean English and aUlI talked to the tIle point without pleading or persuading persuading per per- he had Incontinently yielded Had llad there been a softness and appeal to mercy In the eyes a tremble to the voice a taking advantage of sex he would have stiffened to steel instead her searching clear-searching eyes and und clear- clear ringing voice her utter frankness and tacit assumption of ot equality had robbed robbed robbed rob rob- bed him bIm of his reason He felt then that this was a new breed of woman and ere they had been trail mates for tor many days he knew why the s ns of such women mastered the land and andsen sea sen and why the sons of his own wom- wom ld id could not prevail against them C ft I Day after day he I others that forgot Moose Head and Three-Salmon Three left the white man Joe to lie in the snow Let them forget no more With the light of ot day shall they go forth and break brenk trail Ye have heard the law Look well lest ye break It Sitka Charley found it beyond him bIm to keep the line close up From Moosehead MooseHead Moose- Moose Head and Three Salmon who broke trail in advance to Kah-Chucte Kah Gow Gow- hee bee and Joe It straggled out over a amile mile Each staggered fell or rested as he saw fit The line of march was a progression through a chain of ot Irregular lar halts Each drew upon the last remnant of ot his strength and stumbled onward till It was expended but In some miraculous way there was always al nl- always ways another last remnant Each time a man fell it was with the firm belief that he would rise no more yet he did rise and again and again The flesh yielded the will conquered but each triumph was a tragedy The Indian Indian Indian In In- dian with the frozen foot no longer erect crawled forward on hand and knee He rarely rested for tor he knew the penalty exacted by the frost Even Mrs Ups lips were at last set setIn setIn In a stony smile and her eyes eyes- seeing taw W not Often she stopped pressing a n hand to her heart gasping and dizzy Joe the white man had passed beyond beyond beyond be be- yond the stage of suffering He no longer begged to be let alone prayed to die but was soothed and content under the anodyne of delirium Kah- Kah Chucte and dragged him on roughly venting upon him many a savage savage savage sav sav- age glance or blow To them it was the acme of ot Injustice Their hearts were bitter with hate heavy with fear tear Why should they cumber their strength with his weakness To do doI doso doso so meant death not to do so and so and I they remembered the law of Charley and the rifle I Joe fell with greater frequency as the daylight weaned and so 80 hard was he to raise that they dropped farther and farther behind Sometimes all three pitched into the snow so weak had the Indians become Yet on their backs was life Ufe and strength and andI I warmth Within the flour sacks were i all the potentialities of ot existence They could not but think of this and It was I I qt tot v a C J ti s A Jj g Could Not Keep Up for Long not strange that which came to pass puss They had fallen by the side of a great timber Jam where a thousand cords cord of firewood waited the match ear Near b by was an nn air hole through the Ice Kah- Kah Chucte looked on the the water water water wa wa- ter as did then the they looked on each other Never a word was spoken struck a fire tire Kah- Kah Chute filled a tin Un cup with water and und heated It Joe babbled of things In another another another an an- other land In a tongue th they did not un understand They mixed flour with the warm water till Ull It was n a thin paste and of this they drank many cupfuls They did not offer any uny to Joe but he heId heid helid Id lid not mind He did not mind an anything anything any any- thing not even his moccasins which and und smoked among tho the coals A crystal mist of snow fell tell about hem softly caressingly wrapping hem In clinging robes of white And their heir feet would have yet trod many trans trails had not destiny brushed the louds aside and ond cleared the tile air Nay ten minutes minutes' delay would have been salvation SlUm Sitka looking back I the pillared smoke of their tire fire id ui messed And be he looked ahead I f r who were faithful and at nt Mrs ell comrades ye have a again s- s sI I tny good rood T I I j j I I 1 s I II 1 I I i r I f I Smiled Vivaciously at at the Wisdom of the Trail forgotten that you were men Good Very good There will be fewer bellies to feed teed I Sitka Charley retied the flour as he ho I spoke strapping the pack to the one on his own back He kicked Joe till the pain broke through the poor devils devil's bliss bUss and brought him doddering to his feet Then he showed him out upon the trail and started him on his way The two Indians attempted to slip sUp off otto Hold And thou too Kah- Kah Chucte 1 I Hath the flour given such strength to tl thy y legs that they may outrun out run ran the winged swift-winged lead Think not notto notto notto to cheat the law Be men for the last time and be content that ye die full full- stomached ComeL Comet step up back to the timber Umber shoulder to shoulder Come I 1 IThe IThe The two men obeyed quietly without without without with with- out fear tear for tor it Is the future which presses upon the man not the present Thou hast a wife and children chit chil dren and a skin deer-skin lodge In the What is thy will In the matter Give thou her of the goods which are mine by the word of the captain captain- the blankets blanket the beads the tobacco I the box which makes strange sounds sound after the manner of ot the white man Sal Sag that I did die on the trail trall but say not how And thou Kah Kah-Chucte who baIno haet baI no wife nor child 2 Mine Is a sister the wife of the Factor at He beats her a ant ami anthe 4 she he is not happy Give thou her ibl goods which are mine by the contract and tell teU her it were well she go back baek to her own people thou meet the man and be so minded It were d good deed that he be should die Ht HI beats her and she Is afraid Are ye content to die by the law lawn law We are Then good-by good my good comrades May ye sit by the well-filled well pot la fa warm lodges ere the day Is done As he spoke he raised his rifle and anti many echoes broke the silence Hardly Hardly Hard Hard- ly Iy had they died away when other rifles riflE's spoke In the distance Charley started There had been more than one shot yet there was but one ono other rifle In the party He gave a fleeting glance at the men who lay lay se so quietly smiled viciously at the of the trail and hurried on to meet the themen themen themen men of ot the Yukon W |