Exciting Scene at a Christmas Party.

Cromwell Argus, 18 May 1870, Page 6

Exciting Scene at a Christmas Party.

—O— It is doubtful whether in any of the principal towns an incident could occur Irko the following, narrated to me by an old Canadian as having happened hr his father s house. There was a time when the Indian element gave a tone to Canadian Irfe. Wild and savage tribes, driven out by the Americans, threw themselves on the protection of the English. Wild atrd savage enough by nature, heaven knows, they did not improve by contact with civilisation. Their hearts were as flinty, their perceptions as limited, their passions as untamed, their views of life as utterly barbarian as ever; and the vices they grafted on the old stock did not improve it. The remnant of a tribe of these wandered in the part of the country in which my friend’s father’s house was situated, and one night at Christmas time presented themselves, and asked leave to use the shelter of a ruinous outhouse. The request was granted, they were fed and refreshed with terrible “ fire-water,” which bad decimated the tribe, and in return they offered' to amuse the guests assembled with one of their native dances. This was gladly accepted for the novelty of the thing. The guests were all disposed to be pleased, except a young Englishman—Barker by name, I think—who loudly stigmatised the intruders as “ niggers” and “ vermin,” and protested that if they did perform, it should not be in the presence of Marie, the young lady to whom he was paying his addresses. But Marie, who belonged to a good French family, had a will and curiosity of her own ; and she had made up her mind to see the Indians, and would see them. In a word, Barker had to give way, and did so with the worst possible grace! The exhibition was strange and ghastly. The half-naked bodies of the Indians were striped and clotted with paint—red, blue, and white. War trappings hung about them, aud they were armed with tomahawks and rifles, the latter ornamented with porcupine quills and beads in their fantastic manner. But the most startling appearance of all was presented by one Indian, who, with the eye of a hawk and the face of a lynx, was so emaciated that it seemed as if his body was that of a mummy, covered with a light-brownish parchment. To lender his aspect yet more hideous, he had painted his high cheek-bones, the lines of his libs, and the bones of his thin,arms and legs a vivid white, so that it seemed as if a skeleton moved under the /folds of liis blanket. /

The performance had less of/the nature dance than of a drama. It and-g"victoiy. The pfafetnyyas detected, and silently approached as if thi ough long grass, the bodies of the men being impelled forward not so much by tne action of the liands and feet, as by a movement of the muscles of the bodv analogous in its nature to that of the earthThe supposed foe was brought down by a rifle shot, the tomahawk, torn from its wampum-belt, was brought to bear like a hammer on the skull, so as to make sure that life was extinct, and then the other end of the tomahawk was brought into requisition, the knife flashed in a circle, and the scalp of the victim was added to the tiophies of the tribe. The exhibition was completed by a war whoop and fierce dance of triumph. Its singular vividness, and the dramatic force of the actors in it, drew forth peals of applause from all save Harker, whose jealous heart was stung by the slight Marie had put upon him by the assertion of her own will in opposition to his. He did not applaud—no word of praise escaped his lips; and while the rest clapped their hands, his hung motionless by his side. He stood apart some distance from Mariej but in such a position as to enable him to command every expression of her face and overhear every syllable that might hill from her lips. While watching thus, a trifling instance aroused his jealous wrath. The emaciated Indian, whose whim it was to impersonate a living skeleton, overjoyed at the applause given, and at one or two substantial marks of approval following it, was moved to express his gratitude in a very natural way. Bowing his head to Mane, close to whom ho was standing, he took her fair hand in his swarthy finders and raised it to his lips. At that instant the welt of a whip-thong across his lace caused him to stagger back with a howl of pam. “ Beast !” he heard Harker exclaiming, “ how dare you pollute that lady with your touch V’ Half-blinded by the whip the poor fellow fixed on the man who arlchessed him a look of diabolical malignity and with a yell fiercer than the war-whoop he had before uttered, would have fallen upon him and no doubt done him some mortal injury, but that he was restrained. -the guests interfered; and attempts were made to appease the Indians, who at length consented to retire to the shed in winch they were privileged to pass the e night. ith their disappearance quiet was restored. The incident was regarded an l in . foi ' t “ ll -' hut not as anything of sufficient to give rise to the slightest alarm or Nor did it : tor the party was kep£ n p to a late hour and when it broke upUhe startling hiterniptio^vn^||g|Javo brought it to a well ai 1 v v'vV-’K* V of

Indians, and he had some misgivings as to what might result. Early in the morning, therefore, he wont himself to see in what temper they might happen to be. To his surprise, the shed which he In. 1 placed at their disposal was empty. They were gone—yes, gone ! No one knew at what hour they had stolen away—whether in the dark of night, or in the fresh glimmer of dawn. It was ascertained that they were not on the premises—that they were not loitering in the neighborhood. This abrupt departure was ominous; still, as nothing seemed to come of it, no one*regarded the circumstance with apprehension—not even Barker. Certainly Marie did not, for she was as guy, and joyous, and full of vivacity as ever—fuller,'in fact, for Barker had made her name a day on which they were to be married, and this prospect tilled her heart with happiness. The clay named was the Bth of May. On the night of the 7th of May the expectant bride disappeared from her father’s house. She was seen no move. Never in life or in death, did those she loved°behold her. That the Indians were concerned in her abduction, no one entertained a doubt. And this v/as their revenge ! It may safely be asserted that an incident such as this is now impossible. It could not happen to disturb the monotonous proprieties of a modern Christmas in Canada.— Jhdyrccv tu.