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white river poems 373
six
Pah-sone packed his things
on a government mule, and I
was put on a horse with May,
Flora Price's little girl,
behind me in a blanket.
An Uncompaghre Ute
whom we had not seen before
took Flora. Just at dark
we started across the river.
seven
Pah-sone unpacked the blankets
and spread them for my bed
and made some for a pillow.
Two squaws danced at the foot
of the bed after I got in.
At a certain point in the song
all the men laughed. Pah-sone
sent them away with blankets.
Of course they were drunk. That night,
Pah-sone took me for his squaw.
We did not dare refuse them
to any great extent.
Several times I pushed him off ,
and made a fuss; Pah-sone
did not threaten me,
but once when I asked him
if he wanted to kill me,
he replied, "Yes." I said
"Get up and shoot me then,
and let me alone." He turned over
and did not say anything more
that night.
It was done while his own