Wolfville Nights

by Alfred Henry Lewis

  CHAPTER VII.

  The Mills of Savage Gods.

  "Thar might, of course, be romances in the West," observed the OldCattleman, reflectively, in response to my question, "but the folksain't got no time. Romance that a-way demands leesure, an' a party hasto be more or less idlin' about to get what you-all might styleromantic action. Take that warjig whereof I recently relates an'wherein this yere Wild Bill Hickox wipes out the McCandlas gang--six tohis Colt's, four to his bowie, an' one to his Hawkins rifle; eleven inall--I asks him myse'f later when he's able to talk, don't he regyardthe eepisode as some romantic. An' Bill says, 'No, I don't notice noromance tharin; what impresses me most is that she's shore a zealousfight--also, mighty busy.'

  "Injuns would be romantic, only they're so plumb ignorant they neveronce saveys. Thar's no Injun word for 'romantic'; them benightedsavages never tumblin' to sech a thing as romance bein' possible. An'yet said aborigines engages in plays which a eddicated Eastern tastewith leesure on its hands an' gropin' about for entertainment wouldpass on as romantic.

  "When I'm pesterin' among the Osages on that one o'casion that I'mtryin' to make a round-up of my health, the old buck Strike Axe relatesto me a tale which I allers looks on as possessin' elements. Shore;an' it's as simple an' straight as the sights of a gun. It's about asquaw an' three bucks, an' thar's enough blood in it to paint a waggon.Which I reckons now I'll relate it plain an' easy an' free of themfrills wherewith a professional racontoor is so prone to overload hisnarratives.

  "The Black Cloud is a Osage medicine man an' has high repoote aboutGreyhoss where he's pitched his teepee an' abides. He's got a squaw,Sunbright, an' he's plenty jealous of this yere little Sunbright. TheBlack Cloud has three squaws, an' Sunbright is the youngest. Theothers is Sunbright's sisters, for a Osage weds all the sisters of afam'ly at once, the oldest sister goin' to the front at the nuptials todeal the weddin' game for the entire outfit.

  "Now this Sunbright ain't over-enamoured of Black Cloud; he's only ahalf-blood Injun for one thing, his father bein' a buffalo-man (negro)who's j'ined the Osages, an' Sunbright don't take kindly to his nosewhich is some flatter than the best rools of Osage beauty demands; an'likewise thar's kinks in his ha'r. Still, Sunbright sort o' keeps heraversions to herse'f, an' if it ain't for what follows she most likelywould have travelled to her death-blankets an' been given a seat on ahill with a house of rocks built 'round her--the same bein' the usualburial play of a Osage--without Black Cloud ever saveyin' that so farfrom interestin' Sunbright, he only makes her tired.

  "Over south from Black Cloud's Greyhoss camp an' across the Arkansawan' some'ers between the Polecat an' the Cimmaron thar's livin' a youngCreek buck called the Lance. He's straight an' slim an' strong as theweepon he's named for; an' he like Black Cloud is a medicine sharp ofcel'bration an' stands way up in the papers. The Creeks is never wearyof talkin' about the Lance an' what a marvel as a medicine man he is;also, by way of insultin' the Osages, they declar's onhesitatin' thatthe Lance lays over Black Cloud like four tens, an' offers to bethosses an' blankets an' go as far as the Osages likes that this is troo.

  "By what Strike Axe informs me,--an' he ain't none likely to overplayin his statements--by what Strike Axe tells me, I says, the Lance mustshore have been the high kyard as a medicine man. Let it get dark withthe night an' no moon in the skies, an' the Lance could take you-allinto his medicine lodge, an' you'd hear the sperits flappin' theirpinions like some one flappin' a blanket, an' thar'd be whisperin's an'goin's on outside the lodge an' in, while fire-eyes would show an' burnan' glower up in the peak of the teepee; an' all plenty skeary an'mystifiyin'. Besides these yere accomplishments the Lance is one ofthem mesmerism sports who can set anamiles to dreamin'. He could calla coyote or a fox, or even so fitful an' nervous a prop'sition as aantelope; an' little by little, snuffin' an' snortin', or if it's acoyote, whinin', them beasts would approach the Lance ontil they'rethat clost he'd tickle their heads with his fingers while they standsshiverin' an' sweatin' with apprehensions. You can put a bet on it,son, that accordin' to this onbiassed buck, Strike Axe, the Lance isondoubted the big medicine throughout the Injun range.

  "As might be assoomed, the Black Cloud is some heated ag'in the Lancean' looks on him with baleful eye as a rival. Still, Black Cloud hashis nerve with him constant, an' tharfore one day when the Osages an'Creeks has been dispootin' touchin' the reespective powers of him an'the Lance, an' this latter Injun offers to come over to Greyhoss an'make medicine ag'in him, Black Cloud never hesitates or hangs back likea dog tied onder a waggon, but calls the bluff a heap prompt an' tellsthe Lance to come.

  "Which the day is set an' the Lance shows in the door, as monte sharpswould say. Black Cloud an' the Lance tharupon expands themse'fs, an'delights the assembled Creeks an' Osages with their whole box oftricks, an' each side is braggin' an' boastin' an' puttin' it up thattheir gent is most likely the soonest medicine man who ever buys blackpaint. It's about hoss an' hoss between the two.

  "Black Cloud accompanies himse'f to this contest with a pure white ponywhich has eyes red as roobies--a kind o' albino pony--an' he gives itforth that this milk-coloured bronco is his 'big medicine' or familiarsperit. The Lance observes that the little red-eyed hoss is mightyimpressive to the savages, be they Creeks or Osages. At last he saysto Black Cloud:

  "'To show how my medicine is stronger than yours, to-morry I'll makeyour red-eyed big medicine bronco go lame in his off hind laig.'

  "Black Cloud grins scornful at this; he allows that no sport can makehis white pony go lame.

  "He's plumb wrong; the next mornin' the white pony is limpin' an'draggin' his off hind hoof, an' when he's standin' still he p'ints thetoe down like something's fetched loose. Black Cloud is sore; but hecan't find no cactus thorn nor nothin' to bring about the lameness an'he don't know what to make of the racket. Black Cloud's up ag'inst it,an' the audience begins to figger that the Lance's' medicine is toostrong for Black Cloud.

  "What's the trouble with the red-eyed pony? That's simple enough, son.The Lance done creeps over in the night an' ties a hossha'r tight aboutthe pony's laig jest above the fetlock. Black Cloud ain't up to nosech move, the same bein' a trade secret of the Lance's an' bein' thehossha'r is hid in the ha'r on the pony's laig, no one notes itspresence.

  "After Black Cloud looks his red-eyed big medicine pony all over an'can't onderstand its lameness, the Lance asks him will he cure it.Black Cloud, who's sc'owlin' like midnight by now, retorts that hewill. So he gets his pipe an' fills it with medicine tobacco an' blowsa mouthful of smoke in the red-eyed pony's nose. Sech remedies don'twork; that pony still limps on three laigs, draggin' the afflictedmember mighty pensive.

  "At last the Lance gives Black Cloud a patronisin' smile an' says thathis medicine'll cure the pony sound an' well while you're crackin' offa gun. He walks up to the pony an' looks long in its red eyes; thepony's y'ears an' tail droops, its head hangs down, an' it goes mightynear to sleep. Then the Lance rubs his hand two or three times up an'down the lame laig above the fetlock an' elim'nates that hossha'rligature an' no one the wiser. A moment after, he wakes up thered-eyed pony an' to the amazement of the Osages an' the onboundeddelight of the Creeks, the pony is no longer lame, an' the laig so lateafflicted is as solid an' healthy as a sod house. What's biggermedicine still, the red-eyed pony begins to follow the Lance about likea dog an' as if it's charmed; an' it likewise turns in to bite an' r'aran' pitch an' jump sideways if Black Cloud seeks to put his paw on him.Then all the Injuns yell with one voice: 'The Lance has won the BlackCloud's big medicine red-eyed pony away from him.'

  "The Lance is shore the fashion, an' Black Cloud discovers he ain't afour-spot by compar'son. His repootation is gone, an' the Lance isregyarded as the great medicine along the Arkansaw.

  "Sunbright is lookin' on at these manoovers an' her heart goes out tothe Lance; she falls more deeply in love with him than even thered-eyed bronco does. That evenin' as the Lance is goin' to his camponder the cottonw
oods, he meets up with Sunbright standin' still as atree in his path with her head bowed like a flower that's gone tosleep. The Lance saveys; he knows Sunbright; likewise he knows whather plantin' herse'f in his way an' her droopin' attitoode explains.He looks at her, an' says;

  "'I am a guest of the Osages, an' to-night is not the night. Waitontil the Lance is in his own teepee on the Polecat; then come.'

  "Sunbright never moves, never looks up; but she hears an' she knowsthis is right. No buck should steal a squaw while he's a guest. TheLance walks on an' leaves her standin', head bowed an' motionless.

  "Two days later the Lance is ag'in in his own teepee. Sunbright countsthe time an' knows that he must be thar. She skulks from the camp ofBlack Cloud an' starts on her journey to be a new wife to a new husband.

  "Sunbright is a mile from camp when she's interrupted. It's BlackCloud who heads her off. Black Cloud may not be the boss medicine man,but he's no fool, an' his eyes is like a wolf's eyes an' can see in thedark. He guesses the new love which has stampeded Sunbright.

  "Injuns is a mighty cur'ous outfit. Now if Sunbright had succeeded ingettin' to the lodge of her new husband, the divorce between her an'Black Cloud would have been complete. Moreover, if on the dayfollowin' or at any time Black Cloud had found her thar, he wouldn't somuch as have wagged a y'ear or batted a eye in recognition. Hewouldn't have let on he ever hears of a squaw called 'Sunbright.' Thisca'mness would be born of two causes. It would be ag'in Injunetiquette to go trackin' about makin' a onseemly uproar an' disturbin'the gen'ral peace for purely private causes. Then ag'in it would bebeneath the dignity of a high grade savage an' a big medicine sharp toconduct himse'f like he'd miss so trivial a thing as a squaw.

  "But ontil Sunbright fulfils her elopement projects an' establishesherse'f onder the protectin' wing of her new love, she's runnin' resks.She's still the Black Cloud's squaw; an' after she pulls her maritalpicket pin an' while she's gettin' away, if the bereaved Black Cloudcrosses up with her he's free, onder the license permitted to Injunhusbands, to kill her an' skelp her an' dispose of her as consists bestwith his moods.

  "Sunbright knows this; an' when she runs ag'in the Black Cloud in herflight, she seats herse'f in the long prairie grass an' covers her headwith her blanket an' speaks never a word.

  "'Does Sunbright so love me,' says Black Cloud, turnin' aheap ugly,'that she comes to meet me? Is it for me she has combed her h'ar an'put on a new feather an' beads? Does she wear her new blanket an'paint her face bright for Black Cloud? Or does she dress herse'f likethe sun for that Creek coyote, the Lance?'" Sunbright makes no reply,Black Cloud looks at her a moment an' then goes on: "It's for theLance! Good! I will fix the Sunbright so she will be a good squaw tomy friend, the Lance, an' never run from his lodge as she does now fromBlack Cloud's.' With that he stoops down, an' a slash of his knifecuts the heel-tendons of Sunbright's right foot. She groans, andwrithes about the prairie, while Black Cloud puts his knife back in hisbelt, gets into his saddle ag'in an' rides away.

  "The next day a Creek boy finds the body of Sunbright where she rollsherse'f into the Greyhoss an' is drowned.

  "When the Lance hears the story an' sees the knife slash on Sunbright'sheel, he reads the trooth. It gives him a bad heart; he paints hisface red an' black an thinks how he'll be revenged. Next day he sendsa runner to Black Cloud with word that Black Cloud has stole his hoss.This is to arrange a fight on virtuous grounds. The Lance says that intwo days when the sun is overhead Black Cloud must come to the threecottonwoods near the mouth of the Cimmaron an' fight, or the Lance onthe third day an' each day after will hunt for him as he'd hunt a wolfontil Black Cloud is dead. The Black Cloud's game, an' sends word thaton the second day he'll be thar by the three cottonwoods when the sunis overhead; also, that he will fight with four arrows.

  "Then Black Cloud goes at once, for he has no time to lose, an' kills adog near his lodge. He cuts out its heart an' carries it to the rockycanyon where the rattlesnakes have a village. Black Cloud throws thedog's heart among them an' teases them with it; an' the rattlesnakesbite the dog's heart ag'in an' ag'in ontil it's as full of p'isen as abottle is of rum. After that, Black Cloud puts the p'isened heart inthe hot sun an' lets it fret an' fester ontil jest before he goes tohis dooel with the Lance. As he's about to start, Black Cloud dips thefour steel arrowheads over an' over in the p'isened heart, bein'careful to dry the p'isen on the arrowheads; an' now whoever is touchedwith these arrows so that the blood comes is shore to die. The biggestmedicine in the nation couldn't save him.

  "Thar's forty Osage and forty Creek bucks at the three cottonwoods tosee that the dooelists get a squar' deal. The Lance an' Black Cloud isthar; each has a bow an' four arrows; each has made medicine all nightthat he may kill his man.

  "But the dooel strikes a obstacle.

  "Thar's a sombre, sullen sport among the Osages who's troo name is the'Bob-cat,' but who's called the 'Knife Thrower.' The Bob-cat is one ofthe Osage forty. Onknown to the others, this yere Bob-cat--who itlooks like is a mighty impressionable savage--is himse'f in love withthe dead Sunbright. An' he's hot an' cold because he's fearful that inthis battle of the bows the Lance'll down Black Cloud an' cheat him,the Bob-cat, of his own revenge. The chance is too much; the Bob-catcan't stand it an' resolves to get his stack down first. An' so ithappens that as Black Cloud an' the Lance, painted in their warcolours, is walkin' to their places, a nine-inch knife flickers like agleam of light from the hand of the Bob-cat, an' merely to show that heain't called the 'Knife Thrower' for fun, catches Black Cloud flush inthe throat, an' goes through an' up to the gyard at the knife-haft.Black Cloud dies standin', for the knife p'int bites his spine.

  "No, son, no one gets arrested; Injuns don't have jails, for the mightyexcellent reason that no Injun culprit ever vamoses an' runs away.Injun crim'nals, that a-way, allers stands their hands an' takes theirhemlock. The Osages, who for Injuns is some shocked at the Bob-cat'sinterruption of the dooel--it bein' mighty onparliamentary from theirstandp'ints--tries the Bob-cat in their triboonals for killin' BlackCloud an' he's decided on as guilty accordin' to their law. Theyapp'ints a day for the Bob-cat to be shot; an' as he ain't present atthe trial none, leavin' his end of the game to be looked after by hisreelatives, they orders a kettle-tender or tribe crier to notify theBob-cat when an' where he's to come an' have said sentence execootedupon him. When he's notified, the Bob-cat don't say nothin'; which issatisfactory enough, as thar's nothin' to be said, an' every Osageknows the Bob-cat'll be thar at the drop of the handkerchief if he'salive.

  "It so turns out; the Bob-cat's thar as cool as wild plums. He'sdressed in his best blankets an' leggin's; an' his feathers an' gaycolours makes him a overwhelmin' match for peacocks. Thar's a whitespot painted over his heart.

  "The chief of the Osages, who's present to see jestice done, motions tothe Bob-cat, an' that gent steps to a red blanket an' stands on itsedge with all the blanket spread in front of him on the grass. TheBob-cat stands on the edge, as he saveys when he's plugged that he'llfall for'ard on his face. When a gent gets the gaff for shore, hefalls for'ard. If a party is hit an' falls back'ards, you needn't getexcited none; he's only creased an' 'll get over it.

  "Wherefore, as I states, the Bob-cat stands on the edge of the blanketso it's spread out in front to catch him as he drops. Thar's not aword spoke by either the Bob-cat or the onlookers, the latter openin'out into a lane behind so the lead can go through. When the Bob-cat'sready, his cousin, a buck whose name is Little Feather, walks to thefront of the blanket an' comes down careful with his Winchester on thewhite mark over the Bob-cat's heart. Thar's a moment's silence as theBob-cat's cousin runs his eye through the sights; thar's a flash an' ahatful of gray smoke; the white spot turns red with blood; an' then theBob-cat falls along on his face as soft as a sack of corn.

  "What becomes of the Lance? It's two weeks later when that scientistis waited on by a delegation of Osages. They reminds him thatSunbright has two sisters, the
same bein' now widows by virchoo of thedemise of that egreegious Black Cloud. Also, the Black Cloud was rich;his teepee was sumptuous, an' he's left a buckskin coat with ivory elkteeth sewed onto it plenty as stars at night. The coat is bigmedicine; moreover thar's the milk-white big medicine bronco with redeyes. The Osage delegation puts forth these trooths while the Lancesets cross-laiged on a b'arskin an' smokes willow bark with muchdignity. In the finish, the Osage outfit p'ints up to the fact thattheir tribe is shy a medicine man, an' a gent of the Lance'saccomplishments who can charm anamiles an' lame broncos will be amighty welcome addition to the Osage body politic. The Lance lays downhis pipe at this an' says, 'It is enough!' An' the next day he salliesover an' weds them two relicts of Black Cloud an' succeeds to that deadnecromancer's estate an' both at one fell swoop. The two widowschuckles an' grins after the manner of ladies, to get a new husband soswift; an' abandonin' his lodge on the Polecat the Lance sets up hisgame at Greyhoss, an' onless he's petered, he's thar dealin' it yet."