Part 17 (2/2)
All that day they poured in; in the evening and night they kept coming. Sehinom Chabatu had to wait some days for all to come. The Kawas sisters had food for every one.
”We heard that you were killed,” said the Tede Wiu brothers when they came. ”We are glad to see you living.”
”I am alone,” said Sehinom. ”I do not know what saved me. All my people were killed except these two little boys.”
The Tede Wiu brothers were the first to come from the south. Next came the Tidok people. They came in crowds, in thousands, and every one had a feather net on his head. They began to come in the morning, and kept coming all day, all night, on the morrow, and second night, without stopping. They came without stopping for twelve days and nights, they came till there was no room for them anywhere around. More Tidoks remained at home than came, and more Tidoks came than all other people put together.
”You people,” said Sehinom Chabatu, when all had come, ”I did not cause this war and fighting. I did not begin. The war was made by the Tede Wiu brothers and Norbis.”
”Now, my brothers,” said Sehinom Chabatu to the Tede Wiu brothers, ”people far off talk of me; but you caused the trouble. You began it, and you must do your best to help me. We must leave here to-morrow morning.”
They started next morning early. Sehinom Chabatu gave orders to travel in parties. They moved toward the southeast. The last party of the first day left in the evening. When night came the van of the army camped and the rear marched all night.
When Sutunut's forces came northward from the edge of the sky in the south to attack Sehinom's people, they made a trail coming and going.
Now, Sehinom's army followed this trail. They travelled the second day till they reached a camping-place of the returning southern army.
There they spent the night. At noon of the third day they sent Kaisus and Bulibok ahead to look for the enemy. They went to the south. On the following morning they came back and said,--
”We found a canon where they camped; you can camp there.”
The army moved on. The two Kawas sisters had food to give the whole army; the two baskets were never empty, and all had enough.
They stayed three days in the canon, and the Tidok people never stopped coming.
”We have far to go; you must hurry,” said Sehinom next day; and the Tidok forces began to travel faster. Sehinom sent forward Hus as a scout. Before daybreak all rose and travelled till evening. Hus came back and said,--
”I have been very far down. I found another place where they camped. I went farther south then, till I saw fire and smoke far away. We can rest to-night in their camping-place.”
”Sleep well, all you people,” said Sehinom Chabatu that night; ”you must be fresh to-morrow morning.”
Next morning Hus was sent forward again, and the army started soon after. They travelled all day. At sunset Hus came back and said,--
”I found the next camping-place; it is not far from here. Then I went south a great way till I came to a hill which runs east and west. I went to the top of that hill and looked down. On a broad flat I saw fires and a great many people. Their camp is very wide from east to west, and runs south as far as my eyes could see. Now, our friends, I have seen the enemy; we must do the best we can.”
When they reached the camping-place Sehinom said: ”We will rest here to-morrow, not travel till the next day.”
On the second morning they rose and started early, went slowly, resting occasionally. About sunset they came to the hill and camped on the north side of it.
”I want to send some one to see how many people there are in that camp,” said Sehinom Chabatu.
Bulibok went. On the end of the ridge was a tree with one limb sticking out toward the east. Bulibok went on that tree, sat on the limb, and looked down. He saw the people moving around, playing, and dancing. He could see a long distance. Pretty soon people below, who were looking around everywhere, saw Bulibok, and one of them asked,--
”What is that sitting on the limb up there?”
”I don't know,” answered another. ”It looks like some person. Let us throw at it and see if it will move.”
Notudui Ulumus, who always wore a sling around his head, took it off, put a stone in it, and said,--
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