SAGINAW TRAIL Edward Simons
Before Al had left to buy the oxen, he was cutting trees down at the back of the clearing, now he returned to that area to work. With the warm weather coming on he began to pace himself, taking rest periods during the heat of the day.
A small stream flowed nearby. The water was clear and cold, bubbling up from springs deep in the earth. Occasionally he'd go down to the little stream and get a cool drink of water and find a secluded spot in the shade and rest. He'd been sitting on a log resting, when a slight movement in the brush near the stream caught his eye. He reached for his rifle, which was leaning against a tree. Thinking it might be a deer; he slipped behind a tree. What he saw when he looked out, shocked him to his boot tops.
A young Indian girl, naked form the waist down, was slowly turning in a tight circle. Her moccasins were making a slight depression in the soft earth near the stream. She was heavy with child, her stomach stretched and fully extended. Frequently she'd bend and clasp her stomach with both arms, but her face showed no pain. My God, she's only a child herself, and she's having a baby, Al thought to himself. Hell, she's in labor now; I wonder what I ca do to help her? If I step out, she'll try to get away and injure the baby.
As Al watched, the Indian girl placed a small piece of buckskin over the hollow she had made in the ground. Placing a foot on both edges of it, she settled into a squatting position. A quick intake of breath and a slow expulsion told Al that she was pushing hard to have her baby. She made no sound, as the baby's head appeared, then the shoulders. With a quick intake of breath and a final effort, the baby came and bounced on the stretched piece of buckskin.
Al had helped cows drop their calves and mares their colts, but he's never seen a baby born. He could see that it was a boy, as she tied the umbilical with a thin rawhide thong. A knife flashed, and the cord was severed.
The baby squirmed as she put him on the ground and washed the buckskin in the stream. Placing it back over the hollow in the ground, she cupped water into it with her hands. The baby moved, but didn't cry. She pulled on her leggings before going to the stream to wash her hands. The sun had warmed the water in the little basin. She washed her baby and wrapped him in the buckskin.
When Al stepped out from behind the tree, she had the baby pressed to her breast. He walked slowly toward her with arms outstretched, trying not to scare her. As he approached, she stiffened. He sensed she wanted to run, but didn't.
Looking into her eyes, al saw hate and anger. The blade of a knife flashed and al grabbed her wrist. Prying her clenched fingers from the handle, he threw it into the brush. Gathering her in his arms baby and all, he stroked her head.
"That's all right, there, there" Al kept saying over and over, until he felt her body relax, then he stepped back.
"Can you understand?" He pointed at his mouth. She shook her head, and looked down at her baby suckling at her breast.
Al gently touched her shoulder, and beckoned for her to follow him. He offered to take the baby, but she wouldn't allow it. She followed him reluctantly toward the cabin.
As Al and the Indian girl approached, Sarah came out. "Who's with you?" she asked. "A young Indian girl. She just had her baby at the edge of the clearing". "Why Al, she's only a child, Sarah said, walking up to the young girl, with arms outstretched. Sarah was given a defiant look, and the young mother backed away.
Talking softly, Sarah was able to approach the Indian girl, and turn down one corner of the buckskin, she viewed the black hair and tiny wrinkled face of the sleeping infant. "He's beautiful", Sarah whispered, "I wonder if she can stay with us?"
"I don't know" Al thought for a minute, "Come to think of it, she might have been kicked out of her tribe. Why did she come here, or where was she going to have her baby? We'll take her and here baby in, until we find out the circumstances. You've got to be slow with here Sarah. She don't understand a word of English, and she's scared". "What will we call her". "Well, I don't know, I haven't had much time to think up a name, but she reminds me of a scared little deer, so why not call her Little Fawn?" "I like that," Sarah laughed. "How about a name for the baby? "I'll leave that one up to you". Al grinned.
It was a difficult task to get Little Fawn to go into the cabin. Every kind of persuasion was tried, but failed. Finally they left the door open. Al and Sarah, paying no attention, started their evening chores.
The cold night air was closing in when the Indian girl slipped through the door with her baby and settled in a corner of the cabin. Supper was prepared as usual, and an extra chair was put at the table. Both Al and Sarah make motions for Little Fawn to join them, but she remained seated cross-legged on the floor in the corner. Sarah prepared a dish of food and put it on the floor near her.
"It's just like feeding a dog," Sarah said, tearfully, setting down in her chair at the table. "Don't feel bad," Al tried to encourage her. "She'll come around in time."
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