Tanya smiled as the two men approached. “Is everything ready?” Panther asked, looking about.
“All is packed, Panther, unless you have something else for me to do,” Tanya answered softly.
“Good. Now come, Little Wildcat, it is time to mount.”
As she walked to the side of his horse, preparing to mount behind him, he shook his head and smiled. “No, Wildcat, you shall not ride with me this time.” He gestured to the beautiful buckskin mare, complete with saddle and bridle. “You shall have your own horse from now on. Do you like her?”
Tanya looked from the mare to Panther and back again, her golden eyes mirroring her delight. “Panther! Is she truly mine, to keep always?”
“For as long as she pleases you,” he nodded.
“Oh, she pleases me, Panther. She is beautiful! Is she already trained?”
“Little Wildcat, I would not place your life in danger by presenting you with an unbroken mount,”
Panther admonished with a frown. “She is trained by my own hand.”
Her eyes shining like twin suns, Tanya looked up at him. “Thank you, Panther, for such a wonderful gift! I will take good care of her.”
Panther dismounted in one lithe motion. “Come,” he said, approaching the mare. “Come let her smell you. Let her get your scent into her nostrils and feel your hand upon her. You must learn to guide her with your knees, as a Cheyenne does, and not hurt her. She was gently broken, and you must treat her with care. Do this and she will always give her best for you.” Tanya ran her hand along the long, smooth neck of the mare. “I will not mistreat her, Panther. I know it would displease you, and I have never mistreated an animal in my life.”
Panther cupped his hands and boosted Tanya into the saddle. “Ride beside me and I will teach you how to ride like a Cheyenne brave,” he teased with a broad grin and a chuckle.
Winter Bear gave a gruff laugh. “Cousin, if you can no longer tell a woman from a brave, you are beyond help!” He gave Tanya a sly wink and she giggled.
Panther scowled at him. “Winter Bear, when I need your advice, I’ll ask for it. You would do better to direct your energies toward your own courtship with Shy Deer. I’ve noticed how she follows you with those doe eyes of hers.”
Winter Bear laughed. “There is nothing wrong with my eyesight, Panther. I’ve noticed that and a lot more.”
They travelled north for eight days, stopping each night to set up a temporary camp. Tanya had learned that they were journeying to a meeting spot where they would join many other bands and tribes, both Cheyenne and Arapahoe. There the tribes would celebrate their spring festival and hold ceremonial rites, the most important being the Sun Dance.
Mid-morning of the eighth day, they reached their destination. Hundreds of tipis had already been erected. Dogs and children swarmed everywhere and chaos seemed the order of the day, but Tanya knew that under all the confusion, the women had everything under control.
Quickly and efficiently, with help from Walks-Like- A-Duck and Shy Deer, Tanya erected Panther’s tipi, taking care to face it east. Then she began to unload the pack horse. She collected fresh water and firewood, and started meat boiling in the pot.
Finally she had time to tend to her horse. Tanya had just fed and watered Panther’s horse, Shadow, and her own, which she called Wheat. Intent on combing the burrs from Wheat’s mane, she was shocked to hear the hiss of a whip, followed by a blinding, searing pain across her back. Stunned and gasping for breath, she stumbled against the mare. When she found her balance, she whirled about to face her attacker.
Before her stood a beautiful Indian girl Tanya had never seen before. She probably belonged to another tribe. About Tanya’s own age and size, her dark eyes sparkled with arrogance, her manner haughty and overbearing. “Get away from that horse, slave,” she ordered as she brandished the whip again. “Were you trying to escape?” Her voice was almost drowned out by the whine of the whip as it lashed toward Tanya once more.
The leather wound itself about Tanya’s arm and back, cutting into her tender flesh. With a hiss of pain, Tanya grabbed the thong and held it firmly. “Stop this!” she screamed. “The horse is mine!”
Her tormentor’s face hardened with hatred. “Ha! You lie! I know that mare. She belongs to A-Panther-Stalks.” The girl tried to retrieve the whip, but Tanya held on, swiftly lessening the distance between them.
“The horse used to belong to Panther, as I do. He gave her to me,” Tanya managed to say.
Now the two girls were face to face. The Indian girl launched herself at Tanya, arms flailing. “You lie! You were going to steal his horse and escape! Only a fool would give a horse to a slave!”
“Panther is no fool, but youcertainly are!” Tanya grated out. Warding off blows right and left, her temper finally snapped. “Enough is enough!” she shrieked, and threw her full weight against her slim opponent. Down they both went, wrestling and rolling in the tall grass, shrieking like banshees. For several minutes they fought, until Tanya managed to gain the advantage. Straddling the other girl, one knee firmly against her breastbone, Tanya held her to the ground, pinning her arms alongside her head.
Heaving with the effort of their battle, Tanya repeated, “The horse is mine!” Her golden eyes flamed with anger.
The Indian girl tried to buck her off and failed, her own dark eyes snapping. “You lie, white face!” she spat out.
“Hardly ever, mud face!” Tanya retorted heatedly.
“I’ll see you beaten for this,” came the threat.
“I belong to Panther and am under his protection. No one beats me but him!”
“I will tell him of this and he will give me permission,” the girl avowed.
“You can try,” Tanya countered. Her captive had calmed by now, and Tanya slowly released her and stood.
The young girl rose and launched herself at Tanya once again.
“Oh, for pity’s sake!” Tanya grumbled, throwing the girl face-down on the ground and sitting on her. “Look, I am very busy. I don’t have time for this nonsense! I have a lot of work to do, and Panther will be expecting his meal. Surely you can find something better to do than harass me!”
Whatever answer the girl was about to make was cut short as both spied a pair of moccasinned feet before them. Tanya’s startled gaze travelled up firm, dark legs, past the loincloth and broad chest to a familiar bronze face.
Panther barely managed to hide a smile as he beheld Tanya’s bedraggled state. “What is the meaning of this, Wildcat?” he demanded calmly.
Tanya remained seated on her victim’s back. “This girl refuses to believe me when I tell her you gave me the mare.”
“So you decided to sit on her?” Panther’s look was incredulous.
“No,” Tanya began, but now her silent combatant found her tongue and started squealing accusations non-stop, appealing her case to Panther.
With a sigh, Tanya reluctantly released her. The girl immediately threw herself, weeping, into Panther’s arms. Deciding she didn’t stand a chance of getting a word in edgewise, Tanya turned and headed back to her tethered horse.
“Wildcat!” Panther’s authoritative command halted her in her tracks.
Tanya turned, and could scarcely believe the anger she saw blazing in his ebony eyes. She waited silently.
“Who put the whip to your back?” he roared.
“Your little friend there.” Tanya nodded at the girl in his arms.
Panther pushed the girl from him. “Mountain Flower, who gave you permission to lash my woman?” he demanded.
The girl’s lips quivered and her eyes widened in disbelief. “She is a slave! She was about to steal your horse and escape!”
Panther’s eyes narrowed. “Did she not tell you I gave the mare to her?”
“Yes, but I knew she lied.”
“You would not hear the truth,” he insisted. “The horse is hers, and Wildcat is my woman. No one touches my woman or my horse unless I give permission.”
&nbs
p; Mountain Flower stiffened. “How was I to know you would take a white woman into your tipi?” Her face showed her distaste.
“You know now. Do not let it happen again.”
“Your woman is very arrogant, Panther. You should teach her better behavior,” she shot back.
“This tops it,” Tanya muttered, bending to retrieve the forgotten whip. Stalking up to Mountain Flower, she stretched the leather against the girl’s throat. “I’ll tell you one thing, honey pot, you ever come near me again with this whip, and I’ll take it away from you and strangle you with it, with or without permission from anyone!” she threatened.
Mountain Flower sputtered and looked at Panther for help. Panther merely smiled and said, “That is why I call her Wildcat. Take heed, Mountain Flower, I think she means it. After your attack on her today, she probably feels you’d deserve it, and so do I. I will not stop her if you harm her again.”
Turning to Tanya, he said, “If you are done here, I suggest you return to the tipi.” At her hurt look, he continued softly, “Your wounds need tending to, my little spitting kitten.”
“Oh,” she said, blushing, “I thought you wanted your meal.”
Panther shot her a definitely suggestive look. “I do not believe I will starve, but that is not what I had in mind after I soothe your injuries.”
Tanya blushed even deeper and docilely followed Panther to the tipi.
By that evening, word of Panther’s woman had spread through other bands. No matter whose version was told, the end result was the same. It was clearly understood that Panther would brook no interference with his woman. Her status was not clear, but Wildcat was no mere slave.
Had it not been for Shy Deer and Walks-Like-A-Duck, Tanya would have been very lonely for female companionship throughout the next weeks. Though Panther’s own tribe accepted her presence and doubtful status with their chief 's nephew, the women did not socialize with her as they would a member of the tribe. Tanya was in her own no-man’s-land, neither slave nor Cheyenne, and she was thankful for Shy Deer’s and the old woman’s company.
Curiosity brought many women from the other tribes past Panther’s lodge, to catch a glimpse of the daring Little Wildcat. Stories of her capture and her courage had spread rapidly, growing with each retelling of the accounts, and they were eager to see the white woman who inspired the tales. None were willing to extend a hand in friendship yet, however, and certainly none wished to incite Panther’s anger by taunting this woman with the hair, eyes and purported temperament of the cougar.
To Tanya’s delight, the children were not so shy. Their avid curosity overcame any lingering timidity, and soon she felt like the Pied Piper of the village. Once they were assured she meant them no harm, they followed her everywhere, at first Tanya thought they came to taunt and tease, but soon realized they were merely drawn by curiosity, and a kind word and a smile wrought wonders.
It helped that she could communicate with them in their own tongue, and because of their constant chatter, her own language skills broadened daily. Before long, she found herself responding easily to their many questions, and was surprised one day to find herself thinking in Cheyenne, rather than first in English and having to translate her thoughts.
Panther was not unaware of Tanya’s attraction to the children, or theirs for her. Whenever he neared his tipi he would hear the laughter and the ringing of young voices. The little girls would sit about her and watch her tan or sew, sorting beads or cutting fringe for her, listening to the tales she wove for them as she worked. Sometimes she translated children’s songs for them. The boys gathered around to hear her tales too, but more often they showed up while she was cooking, hoping this would be the day Wildcat would make a batch of candy or sweetened cakes for them. They would help her gather firewood or haul water from the river, or tend the horses. Sometimes they fished or hunted for berries, each learning something from the other.
On one occasion, Panther found the boys teaching Tanya how to shoot their bows and arrows. He bit back a laugh at the look of intense concentration on her face as she took aim at her target. Her straight white teeth caught at her bottom lip, and her eyes narrowed as she sighted down the shaft. Out of sight, he watched for several minutes. With excellent instruction from her tutors, she did not do badly, especially considering neither the bow nor arrows were of a proper size and weight for her.
A few days later, Panther presented her with a bow and a quiver of arrows of her own. She had seen him working on them, but had no idea they were for her.
“These are the proper size and weight for you, Little Wildcat,” he told her. “The curve and tension of the bow and string are important, and the arrows must be straight; the feathering just so, for accuracy. The bow must be balanced, and the arrows also. I will show you how to hold the bow and draw the bowstring properly; the correct way to nock the arrow; the position your arms and shoulders should take. Then you must practice, and when you are proficient enough, I shall take you hunting.”
“You saw me practicing with the boys,” Tanya guessed with a rueful smile.
“Yes.”
“I will practice with these until I can hit my target every time,” she vowed, stroking the bow lovingly.
Then she threw herself into Panther’s arms, tears glistening in her golden eyes. “You are so good to me, Panther! I shall do everything in my power to make you happy!”
Panther stroked her bright head. “You do that now, Wildcat. You please me in more ways each day. Your eagerness to learn Cheyenne ways, the joy of discovery on your face, your delight in a new accomplishment, your willingness and your courage, and your loving attitude all please me and add joy to my days. Your eager caresses and kisses, your open and willing sharing when I join with you each evening, bring pleasure to my days and delight to my nights.”
He raised her glowing face to his, and lowered his lips to hers. “You are becoming as necessary as air to breathe and water to drink,” he whispered.
“And you are the food of my heart,” she replied softly as their lips met in mutual desire.
Tanya was appalled when Shy Deer explained the Sun Dance to her. “It’s barbaric!” she exclaimed.
Shy Deer merely shrugged and smiled. “It is our way,” she said simply.
“But for young men and boys to purposely subject their bodies to such torture!” Tanya still could not believe it. She shuddered as she recalled the matching scars on either side of Panther’s upper chest. She had never asked him how he had gotten them, and he had never volunteered the information, but she had often wondered about it. Now she knew. He had received them during the Sun Dance.
Two days previously, the men had ridden out in search of just the right tree for the center ceremonial pole of the Sun Dance. They had brought it back and erected it, and the head shaman had blessed it with mystical chants. Long rawhide ropes were connected to the top of the pole. To these lines, the skewers would be attached that would be laced into the chests of the young men.
“The skewers are laced through skin and muscle, one on each side of the chest; or sometimes only one in the center of the chest, but when this is done often the breast bone breaks during the dance,” Shy Deer explained calmly. “The skewers are attached to lines from the ceremonial pole, and the men are hoisted to dangle several feet off the ground, held only by the skewers in their chests. The weight of their bodies, combined with their agitated movements, causes the skewers to cut through their flesh. When the flesh is cut through, they fall. Many times the men decide to re-attach the skewers and dance again, but once is enough for most.”
“How do they stand the pain?” Tanya wanted to know, aghast.
“They prepare themselves for days before the ceremony. The young men who elect to participate, and often their families as well, fast. They pray alone or with the shaman in secret ceremonies, they sweat the impurities from their bodies in the sweat lodge, and smoke the ceremonial pipes, sometimes with the powders from the peyote buttons. They stay in the
ceremonial lodge and have no contact with women during their preparations.”
Here Shy Deer gave Tanya a friendly wink. “Thank goodness most men only participate once in their lives, usually as young men about to become warriors. However, they may elect to participate again if they are seeking a personal quest or vision, or revenge, or for several other reasons. All the men usually take part in the ceremony in some way, whether they are going to dance in the air with the spirits or not. They fast, pray, smoke, and sweat together. They review their medicine bundles, seek visions, purify their bodies, chant, and go through other phases of the ceremonies in brotherhood with the chosen young men. It is a time of review and renewal for all of them; a time of thanks and a quest for courage and victory in battle and the hunt. The entire ceremony lasts for days, but only on the last day does the actual Sun Dance take place. The entire village turns out to watch.”
“Afterward, the men’s wounds are tended and bound, and in a day or two the tribes split into groups and we move to the plains to follow the buffalo.”
Tanya listened closely to all Shy Deer told her. Hesitantly, she asked, “Do the women have a ceremony where they must prove their courage?”
Shy Deer laughed. “No. As long as we tend their horses, their lodges, and their children, and are good wives, that is all they expect. If any of us exhibits courage, it is an added benefit. True, we are supposed to be loyal during an enemy attack or in times of trouble, but being women, they do not expect us to be daring and brave in the ways of a warrior.”
“That’s good!” Tanya heaved a sigh of relief, and both women laughed.
Then Shy Deer sobered. “Youhave courage, Little Wildcat. That is part of what makes you so special, I think.”
“I am not special,” Tanya denied.
Shy Deer disagreed. “Panther has waited a long time to choose a woman. I think he was waiting to find someone like you. A man such as he needs a woman of courage. How could a great warrior like Panther settle for less?”
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