Free The Shadow of the Wolf by Gloria Whelan Page B

leggings that went from their ankles to their hips. Some hadcalico shirts embroidered with beads. They wore feathers in their hair or bright cloths wrapped around their heads. The women were in calico dresses or long tunics. Their leggings went only to the knee and were folded over at the top. Their hair was braided with ribbons or hung down with no ornament but a beaded band around their foreheads.
    The Indians were curious about us. When we stopped in the evenings to camp, they peered into our wagon. Although Mama and Papa invited them to join us, they preferred to sit a little distance from our campfire, talking long into the night. What they liked best was William. The Indian women would pick him up from his cradle and pass him about, exclaiming at his bonnet and dress. When they first did this, Mama was frightened. But when she saw how carefully they held him and how they laughed at his gurgling, she forgot her worry.
    We came to La Croix on a day so warm and sunny it was hard to believe it was theend of October. We saw a small mission church and next to it a great wooden cross, which gave the village its name. La Croix is French for “the cross.” There was also a cooper’s shop, where barrels were made for the fish the Indians caught and sold.
    Scattered among the woods were two or three cabins. Through the trees we had our first glimpse of Lake Michigan. Along the shore of the lake were Indian wigwams with their coverings of birch bark or woven rush mats. Nearby were the fields where the Ottawa grew their corn. Beyond the fields were the Ottawa’s burial grounds, with little birchbark houses to mark the graves. Two years before, Fawn’s brother, along with hundreds of other Indians, had been carried off by the smallpox.
    Sanatua greeted us. He told us that their chief was anxious to meet Papa. “Each day more land is eaten by these greedy men. But first you must take your family to your house. The tribe is thankful for your coming. Theyhave brought wood so you will keep warm this winter. Here is maple syrup and a basket of fish for your dinner. Tomorrow I will come and take you to our chief.”
    “And Fawn?” I asked. “Will I see her?”
    “Today Taw cum e go qua is gathering acorns with her mother. Tomorrow I will send her to you.”
    We left the village and once again entered the woods. After only a few miles we turned onto a road so narrow that the branches of the trees scraped against the sides of our wagon. I could see Mama was holding her breath. Suddenly there in front of us was our house. Mama and I didn’t wait for the wagon to stop. We jumped off. Mama ran toward the house. I ran toward the great Lake Michigan. Below me was a wide sand beach. Beyond the beach, as far as your eye could see, was the lake.
    The ride that day had been hot and dusty. I took off my shoes and stockings. Then I gathered up my dress and ran down the bluffand into the lake. I felt the wet sand between my toes. Gulls soared over my head. The cold waves slapped at my legs. As I looked over that endless water; the world seemed to grow.

    Mama was calling to me. After I rubbed the sand from my feet, I hurried into the house. It looked enormous to me. Downstairs was a parlor with a large fireplace and a kitchen with another fireplace for cooking. There was one big bedroom for Mama, Papa, and William. I was to have the other bedroom. Because of the roofs pitch, you could only stand up in the middle of my room. But there was a window that looked out upon the lake and a door to close.
    Mama was as pleased as I was. “Rob, I’m glad we came. The house needs a good cleaning, but when I hang our curtains and put down the rugs, we will have a fine home. And to have a lake right at our doorstep! Have you ever seen such a blue? Tomorrow I mean to get out my watercolors and paint the lake.”
    Papa laughed. “Why would you want to paint it, Vinnie, when you have it right here?”
    I soon understood why Mama wanted to paint the lake,