Читать книгу Shaman's Dream: The Modoc War - Lu Boone's Mattson - Страница 48

He got Old Schonchin to go in and talk for him.

“I told him they still watching you people. Just like you told me. I told him you didn’t like it.”

“Did you tell him my people won’t have it this way any more? Did you say about them taking the fish?”

He could tell by the way Old Schonchin sat there smoking, not looking at him, that he hadn’t said much. Or hadn’t said it like it mattered.

“Did you say I can’t hold in my boys? They don’t know about this putting up with things. Nor about being held in -- by me or anyone else. They’re not used to being told one thing and then seeing another thing happen. They’re not going to listen to me for long. Did you tell him that stuff, like I told you?”

Inside, in his belly, he felt a sickness. The old Sprague River chief just sat there and listened, and Keintpoos could see in his mind how it had gone there at the agency. Old Schonchin had said a few things, whining, most likely. Not looking directly at Knapp like he meant it, but watching the ground as he spoke. Not saying his words loud enough even to be understood. And that would have suited him, Jack realized. He would have whined his words out like a good reservation Indian, to let the boss know he meant no rebuke. It would have been just fine with him to be turned down, too: with the Modocs it was getting to be so Keintpoos’ failure was Old Schonchin’s own success. They were getting to think like the white men: there wasn’t any need for two chiefs.

All the way back to the Williamson River, Keintpoos stormed at John Schonchin about his brother. But John was already madder than anybody.

“I told you not to come back here.” John spit out the words. “But you wouldn’t listen. You wouldn’t listen to Curley Headed Doctor or Black Jim. You wouldn’t listen to Ellen’s Man. You wouldn’t listen to nobody but that Meacham -- and Toby. And now you want my brother to fix this for you. You won’t stand up no more against Knapp. You won’t stand up to Ivan. Way I see it, you gonna be the biggest reservation Indian we got.”

After that, they didn’t talk the whole way back to the camp.

Next morning, Jack was on his way to the agency with Scarfaced Charley. No one but his wives knew of his going. When he told them where he was headed, they just kept on stirring at the mush.