Plenty Proud

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “ ‘Our medicine is unfavorable,’ said their leader at last. ‘We shall have to return home.’

  “Before they started they sat down to smoke and rest beside a beautiful lake at the foot of a green knoll that rose from its shore. The knoll was covered with green grass and somehow, as they looked at it, they had a feeling that there was something about it that was mysterious or uncanny.

  “There was a young man in the party named The Jester, for he was venturesome and full of fun. Gazing at the knoll he said: ‘Let's run and jump on its top.’

  “ ‘No,’ said the young lover, ‘it looks mysterious. Sit still and finish your smoke.’

  “ ‘Oh, come on, who's afraid,’ said The Jester, laughing. ‘Come on you… come on!’ And springing to his feet he ran up the side of the knoll.

  “Four of the young men followed. Having reached the top of the knoll all five began to jump and stamp about in sport, calling, ‘Come on, come on,’ to the others. Suddenly they stopped… the knoll had begun to move toward the water. It was a gigantic turtle. The five men cried out in alarm and tried to run… too late! Their feet, by some power, were held fast to the monster's back.

  “ ‘Help us… drag us away,’ they cried; but the others could do nothing. In a few moments the waves had closed over them.

  “The other two men, the lover and his friend, went on, but with heavy hearts, for they had forebodings of evil. After some days, they came to a river. Worn with fatigue the lover threw himself down on the bank.

  “ ‘I will sleep awhile,’ he said, ‘for I am wearied and worn out.’

  “ ‘And I will go down to the water and see if I can chance upon a dead fish. At this time of the year the high water may have left one stranded on the sea-shore,’ said his friend.

  “And as he had said, he found a fish which he cleaned, and then called to the lover.

  “ ‘Come and eat the fish with me. I have cleaned it and made a fire and it is now cooking.’

  “ ‘No, you eat it; let me rest,’ said the lover.

  “ ‘Oh, come on.’

  “ ‘No, let me rest.’

  “ ‘But you are my friend. I will not eat unless you share it with me.’

  “ ‘Very well,’ said the lover, ‘I will eat the fish with you, but you must first make me a promise. If I eat the fish, you must promise, pledge yourself, to fetch me all the water that I can drink.’

  “ ‘I promise,’ said the other, and the two ate the fish out of their war-kettle, for there had been but one kettle for the party.

  “When they had eaten, the kettle was rinsed out and the lover's friend brought it back full of water. This the lover drank at a draught.

  “ ‘Bring me more,’ he said.

  “Again his friend filled the kettle at the river and again the lover drank it dry.

  “ ‘More!’ he cried.

  “ ‘Oh, I am tired. Cannot you go to the river and drink your fill from the stream?’ asked his friend.

  “ ‘Remember your promise.’

  “ ‘Yes, but I am weary. Go now and drink.’

  “ ‘Ek-hey, I feared it would be so. Now trouble is coming upon us,’ said the lover sadly. He walked to the river, sprang in, and lying down in the water with his head toward land, drank greedily. By and by he called to his friend.

  “ ‘Come hither, you who have been my sworn friend. See what comes of your broken promise.’

  “The friend came and was amazed to see that the lover was now a fish from his feet to his middle.

  “Sick at heart he ran off a little way and threw himself upon the ground in grief. By and by he returned. The lover was now a fish to his neck.

  “ ‘Cannot I cut off the part and restore you by a sweat bath?’ the friend asked.

  “ ‘No, it is too late. But tell the chief's daughter that I loved her to the last and that I die for her sake. Take this belt and give it to her. She gave it to me as a pledge of her love for me,’ and he being then turned to a great fish, swam to the middle of the river and there remained, only his great fin remaining above the water.

  “The friend went home and told his story. There was great mourning over the death of the five young men, and for the lost lover. In the river the great fish remained, its fin just above the surface, and was called, by our ancestors, ‘Fish that Bars,’ because it barred their navigation. Canoes had to be redirected at great labor around the obstruction.

  “The chief's daughter mourned for her lover as for a husband, nor would she be comforted. ‘He was lost for love of me, and I shall remain as his widow,’ she wailed.

  “In her mother's tepee she sat, with her head covered with her robe, silent, working… working. ‘What is my daughter doing?’ her mother asked, but the maiden did not reply.

  “The days lengthened into moons until a year had passed. And then the maiden arose. In her hands were beautiful articles of clothing, enough for three men. There were three pairs of moccasins, three pairs of leggings, three belts, three shirts, three head dresses with beautiful feathers, and sweet smelling tobacco

  “ ‘Make a new canoe of bark,’ she said, which was made for her.

  “Into the canoe she stepped and floated slowly down the river toward the great fish.

  “ ‘Come back, my daughter,’ her mother cried in agony. ‘Come back. The great fish will eat you.’

  “She answered nothing. Her canoe came to the place where the great fin arose and stopped, its prow grating on the monster's back. The maiden stepped out boldly. One by one she laid her presents on the fish's back, scattering the feathers and tobacco over his broad spine.

  “ ‘Oh, fish,’ she cried, ‘Oh, fish, you who were my lover, I shall not forget you. Because you were lost for love of me, I shall never marry. All my life I shall remain a widow. Take these presents. And now leave the river, and let the waters run free, so my people may once more descend in their canoes."

  “She stepped into her canoe and waited. Slowly the great fish sank, his broad fin disappeared, and the waters of the St. Croix (Stillwater) were free.”

  “That is a horrible story!” Mackenzie exclaimed. “It makes no sense! The selfish maiden forced her lover to go and find an enemy to kill, and then the greedy lover wanted to drink more water than he could hold, and blamed it on his friend for not bringing him the water like he promised, so he had to go down to the river to get it. And on top of that, he lies down in the water to drink, instead of remaining on the shore. Between him and his companions who wanted to jump around on top of the back of a giant turtle, because they thought it would be fun, I am surprised any of them could call themselves very wise braves. It is all a way to make excuses for what happened because of silly demands to show true love that never should have been asked for in the first place! Besides, it is so outlandish, I can’t believe a word of it!”

  “It shows brave chose to honor woman’s wish to prove his love, and a friend must keep word,” Plenty Proud countered. “It tells of remorse for selfish demands. Love was lost because of woman’s demands. Friendship was lost because of breaking promise.”

  Mackenzie shrugged. What woman would demand her lover go to out and kill an enemy to prove his love? It was barbaric and blood-thirsty, she believed.

  When Plenty Proud saw the look she gave him, he continued to explain his belief about the story. “Even if it not right for maiden to ask such a thing, lover tried to please her. I too would try to please woman I loved,” Plenty Proud mumbled.

  “Even if it was wrong to do so,” Mackenzie exclaimed. “She would not be worthy of such love, if you ask me. If the maiden truly loved her brave, she would never have asked him to go out and kill someone so she could have their scalp, just to please her. I can understand killing an enemy that was attacking her, and then giving her his trophy scalp as a gift, but to go out looking for someone to kill, when he wasn’t even a warrior, especially just to please a woman, is disgraceful! What if he had found the enemy and the enemy killed him instead?”

  “T
hen he die bravely for love!”

  “It would be a stupid reason to die, unless he was protecting her from the enemy. Foolish maiden…she would have still lost his ardent love, if that happened. She didn’t deserve to have her lover return to her, but he didn’t deserve to be turned into a fish either, just because his friend wouldn’t bring him water like he promised. He seemed to know the dangers of going to the river to drink. It had nothing to do with a broken promise! It seems, after they saw the turtle take their friends, and the feeling the lover had that something bad was going to happen if he friend didn’t bring him more water than he needed to drink, they should have realized it was a dangerous place to be. One would think they would be smart enough to just go home!

  “I wonder who made up that story. They must have been drinking strong drink at the time! I don’t understand your people. It is no surprise white people mistrust you, considering you would just go out looking for someone to kill on a whim, because some love sick brave wanted to impress a Chief’s daughter! The enemy could have been a white person for all we know.”

  Plenty Proud bowed his head, and Little Bird laughed inside. She could see by the look in the white girl’s eyes that she did not like the Sioux ways. Plenty Proud would tire of her soon enough. Little Bird had heard the myth many times before. To her, the myth had a deep meaning about loyalty and love and the Sioux people’s connection with all nature, along with how unexpected bad magic can change one’s destiny. She wondered if this woman was unexpected bad magic and would change their destiny.

  If Plenty Proud could not see how dangerous the white woman’s was to them, then he was blind. He was just like the brave in the myth, following whatever his woman asked of him, without thought, and then allowing bad magic to change him into a fish, by his own foolish actions.

  The dark look in Plenty Proud’s eyes, as he listened to the woman, now lifted her heart. She hoped he was starting to see the difference between his people and the whites. The longer he was around the girl, Little Bird thought happily to herself, he would discover it more. She was glad the white girl spoke truthfully about how she did not like the myth. It gave her hope that Plenty Proud would soon lose interest in her. And the sooner, the better!

  Plenty Proud tossed some more wood on the fire, and then lay back on his blankets. It troubled him that Firelight seemed to believe his people’s myth was silly and boldly pointed out its flaws. However, most myths were explanations about creation and quirks of nature, and the myth he told was more about the blockage of the river, how it got there, and how it was removed, than the story about two lovers. It wasn’t to be taken literally. Life was full of mysteries, and sometimes stories must be woven around incidents to explain the mysteries of life and nature.

  He thought his meeting Firelight, after having seen the snow-slide and feeling like someone needed his help, and it turned out to be her, was a mystery. Regardless of whether she believed in his people’s myths or not, he still felt a strong draw to her that could not be ignored. He would not be happy until he could discover the mystery behind it all.

  Mackenzie felt the tension between her and Plenty Proud, and wished she had not spoken out so brashly about her thoughts on the myth. It was just a silly story, and what difference did it make whether Plenty Proud believed in it or not? His people were uneducated and superstitious about everything. She remembered some of the stories Griz had told her about the Indians and their different beliefs.

  She had noted all the tepees in the village outside the trading post had their doors facing east. Griz had told her it was a spiritual belief and was done so the sun shining in the door in the morning would remind them to pray to their Great Spirit each morning before starting their day. They believed that certain hides of different animals, if attached to their belt would give them the wisdom and ability of that animal. They believed that they could have visions and the Great Spirit would guide them to accomplish certain goals or that bathing morning and night purified them in some way. Of course, they would believe that a man could be turned into a fish and a giant turtle could carry away unsuspecting people that tromped on its back. They were somewhat like children accepting fairytales to be true, she thought. However, Plenty Proud was not a child, but she supposed if someone was told something all their lives as though it was true, they would tend to believe in it.

  Makenzie thought of all the different religious beliefs that brought so many to America in the beginning. Back then, each group left the old world behind, wanting the freedom to believe in their own version of what God expected of them, without anyone else judging them for their beliefs. They each believed their way of looking at life and God was true. So what difference did it make what Plenty Proud believed, she decided.

  “I am sorry,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to make fun of your beliefs. I hope you will forgive me.” She looked down into Plenty Proud’s eyes as she sat beside him.

  Plenty Proud reached up and took her small hand in his, pulling her down beside him, and placing her head on his chest. “It is forgotten,” he said in a soft voice. “Go to sleep now.”

  He placed a blanket over her and began to stroke her hair, as she rested her head on his strong chest, listening to his heart beating. He liked the feel of her soft hair under his hand, and the way she sighed as he stroked it. Eventually, they both fell asleep, feeling the same contentment.

  Once again, both Plenty Proud and Little Bird rose early and went to the river to bathe. Mackenzie remained beneath the warm blanket, thinking of how it felt to have Plenty Proud holding her against his chest and stroking her hair. His hand had felt so strong and comforting, and even protective. She was trying to sort out her confused feelings.

  Suddenly, Mackenzie sat up. Plenty Proud and Little Bird were coming up to the campsite, but there was still movement on the river, and she realized it was a trapper, riding his round flat-raft, pulling several other rafts full of hides behind him. She jumped to her feet and ran down to the shore, waving her arms frantically at the trapper. Plenty Proud and Little Bird turned to see what made her so excited and also saw the trapper.

  Mackenzie was now jumping up and down crying out for the trapper to stop, as she waved her arms over her head so he could see her. He glanced up, and waved back, but kept going. She was stunned that he wouldn’t stop, and then she realized that he probably didn’t even know she was a white girl. She was wearing an Indian dress, and he must have thought they were Indians trying to get him to stop and trade with them. If he was by himself, he wouldn’t have trusted them. Yet surely, he must have seen her red hair. Indians didn’t have red hair. Perhaps he thought she was a captive, and that was why she was trying to get him to stop. It was a sure thing he wouldn’t risk trying to save an Indian captive on his own. Whatever the reason, Mackenzie suddenly realized that no trapper, traveling down the river was going to stop and take her with them.

  She glanced up at Plenty Proud, looking from him to Little Bird. Little Bird looked disappointed, while Plenty Proud looked pleased. What was she going to do, if she couldn’t find a way back to Missouri? She had no other place to go.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Mackenzie sank to her knees and started to sob. “I will never find a way back to Missouri,” she bemoaned.

  Plenty Proud knelt beside her, awkwardly patting her back. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her because the only time his people cried was at the death of a loved one, when the women wailed over their loss, but men barely ever cried openly. It had been drilled into them from birth that crying children were not permitted because it could result in the enemy finding them if they were in hiding. Since they had learned not to cry as children, when they grew older, it felt unnatural for them to cry as adults either, unless it was to mourn for the dead.

  “I am here,” Plenty Proud said lamely. “You have me beside you.”

  “I need to go home,” Mackenzie sniffled.

  “Come to my village. I get permission from chief of tribe to take you in my canoe. I
go on vision quest to ask Wakan-Tanka to protect us and make sure it right I take you.”

  “You would take me? Only my people would try to kill you if they saw you with a white girl. They would think you were trying to capture me.”

  “It is only way. If I die, protecting you, I die with honor.”

  “I can’t let you risk your life for me!” she insisted, not wanting to think about Plenty Proud dying for any reason.

  “If I am to die, it for good reason,” he smiled. “You say so yourself.”

  “Only you are not my lover like the brave in the myth. You owe me nothing. I would not ask you to risk your life for my sake, like that silly girl in the myth, even if you were my lover, especially, if you were my lover!”

  “And that why I wish to help you,” he responded, quietly. “You show care for me. Come to my village with me. Village on river. We travel from there.”

  “Surely, there must be another way,” Mackenzie mumbled, overwhelmed that Plenty Proud would offer, while knowing what a risk he was taking in offering his help.

  “If so, we find it,” he promised as he pulled Mackenzie to her feet.

  Little Bird frowned. She could not understand what Plenty Proud saw in the woman. She too realized no Trapper would stop as long as the girl was with them, and she knew that Plenty Proud would refuse to leave her on her own. The concerned look on his face when he tried to comfort the girl, stirred up anguish inside of her. Now she was starting to hate the girl.

  “What is happening?” she asked Plenty Proud as they started back to the camp together. “You cannot possibly take that girl down the river! Like she said, you could be killed.”

  “It is right that I bring Firelight with us to our village and get permission to take her back to her home in my canoe,” he said stubbornly.

  “Why can’t you have someone else do it?” Little Bird questioned, not liking the idea of him taking the long journey with the girl on his own, whether it was dangerous or not. She knew facing danger was desired by a brave. Only the way Plenty Proud kept looking at that girl gave her an uneasy feeling. No telling what would pass between them if they were to travel all that way together.