He and the other braves loafed about the wigwams in disagreeable
weather, and on fine days went hunting. Now, Frog-in-the-face, savage
as he was, was a quite up-to-date man. He would please the women in
this audience mightily, and the men would elect him to office. He
didn't believe squaws had enough sense to shoot straight or catch fish
on the bank of a river, so he made his wife cook the grub, clean up
the wigwam, and with a wiggling papoose strapped to her back hoe corn
in the hot sun. This was the regular red-man custom, but one day a
meddlesome squaw began to think for herself. She called some other
squaws together while Frog-in-the-face and his braves were off
hunting, and she had the boldness to tell them that she believed they
could shoot as well as the men. She said she could, because she had
tried it on the sly. With that they got out some old worn-out bows and
arrows and went into the woods to try their luck. Well, do you know,
those squaws killed so many bears and deer and ducks and turkeys that,
loaded down with a baby each, they had hard work getting the meat
home, but somehow they did. Well, as luck would have it, Frog-in-the-
face and his sharp-shooters had got hold of some fire-water and
smoking-tobacco, and they didn't do any hunting that day at all, but
came back hungry and tired out over a big pow-wow they had had about
another tribe infringing on their rights away off somewhere. Then the
women brought out the roast meat, owned up like nice little squaws,
and expected to get some petting and praise, for they had done well
and knew it. But, bless you! what happened? The more the braves gorged
themselves on the turkey and duck, the madder they got, and after
supper they all met out in the open and began to fret and fume. They
sat down in a ring and passed a pipe from one to another, and Frog-in-
the-face laid down the law. Squaws were having too much liberty. If
they were allowed to go hunting it wouldn't be long before they would
want to take part in the councils of war, and then what would become