Night Thunder's Bride: Blackfoot Warriors, Book 3

by Karen Kay

  He nodded. “But by the time I had resolved that matter, you had gone.” He asked again, “Why did you leave me? Did you not know of my feelings for you?”

  “I…suppose that…aye, I did, but I…you had said something about her, about Blue Raven Woman the night when you were resting from the Sun Dance.”

  “I did?”

  “Aye.”

  “In my sleep?”

  “Aye.”

  “And what did I say?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “Saa, I do not.”

  “You said you loved someone’s daughter, and I could only think you meant Blue Raven Woman. There were so many other reasons why I thought I should leave—for her sake, for yours. It seemed the best thing to do for everybody.”

  He smiled and pulled her in closer. He said, “Aa, yes, my wife. We have both been silly. I should have confided in you at once. But I thought I could not.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  “But do you not know?” he continued, “Do you not know that it is you who is the daughter of Sun? He has given you back to us, and by doing so has made you his daughter. It was you that I spoke of. I was telling you that I love you.”

  “Oh, Night Thunder.” She threw herself against him and he accepted her weight, swinging her around and around, until their dizzying laughter could be heard across the dance floor.

  “Goodness,” she said. “Why did I not become aware of this before now?”

  “What?”

  “Do you not see?” she said. “I knew I would meet my love, the man I would marry, at a dance. Do you not remember the first time we met?”

  It took him a moment, but all at once he grinned. “Sina-paskan, the dance of the Sioux, that night when I tricked you into a kiss.”

  “Aye, do you see? I should have known it all along. It was then that I met the man I was to marry.”

  He laughed.

  “You are not the only one who has some surprises,” she said and, glancing down, held her hand to her belly. “I, too, have something to tell you. Soon,” she voiced, her eyes beaming up at him with happiness, “you will be a father.”

  His face alit all at once with more joy than she had ever witnessed in him, and his eyes filled with such love, she was left in no doubt as to his feelings for her, for their child.

  And as the two of them stepped off the dance floor, in order to converse more privately, Blue Raven Woman and Singing Bull took to the dance to try their hand in the white man’s waltz. Meanwhile, White Eagle and Katrina, Gray Hawk and Genevieve all stepped around the floor to the ever-thrilling three-quarter beat, and the shadow of the old man stood in the corner, watching the proceedings with a sad-sweet smile.

  He had done well, thought the old man. Because of the good deed done for these two here tonight, all his people had been allowed to complete their journey to the Sand Hills, there to join their relatives, and he had ensured the safety of the Pikuni by uniting the white woman with the medicine man.

  Rebecca would bring great happiness to the young medicine man, the two of them and their friends helping the tribes through times that would seem to hold nothing but bleakness.

  Aa, yes, he had done well.

  If only…

  Someday, he thought; someday, he would find his wife, who had been lost to him for so long.

  But for now he was happy.

  The tribes would survive. And these here tonight would thrive for all of their lives in happiness.

  All was as it should be.

  Alas! Alas! Why could not this simple life have continued? Why must the railroads, and the swarms of settlers, have invaded that wonderful land, and robbed its lords of all that made life worth living? They knew not care, nor hunger, nor want of any kind. From my window here I hear the roar of the great city, and see the crowds hurrying by. The day is bitterly cold, yet the majority of the passersby, women as well as men, are thinly clad, and their faces are thin, and their eyes express sad thoughts. Many of them have no warm shelter from the storm, know not where they can get a little food, although they would gladly work for it with all their strength. They are “bound to the wheel,” and there is no escape from it except by death. And this is civilization! I, for one, maintain that there is no satisfaction, no happiness in it. The Indians of the plains back in those days of which I write alone knew what was perfect content and happiness, and that, we are told, is the chief end aim of men—to be free from want, and worry, and care. Civilization will never furnish it, except to the very, very few.

  —JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ, My Life as an Indian

  Glossary

  This note appears in my first book in the Blackfoot Warrior series. It is repeated here, with a few other definitions added, so as to bring a better understanding to the work and to define certain words which might otherwise be hard to find.

  At the time when this story takes place, there were three different tribes of Indians that together comprised the Blackfeet or Blackfoot Nation: the Piegan, or Pikuni, their name in the Blackfoot language; the Blood or Kainah, and the Blackfoot proper or Siksika.

  The Piegan, which is pronounced Pay-gan, were also divided into the Northern and Southern bands.

  All three of these tribes were independent and were known by the early trappers by their own individual tribal names. But because the three shared the same language, intermarried, and went to war with the same enemies, it became more common, as time went on, to call these people under one name, the Blackfeet or Siksikauw.

  At this time, the time of my story, the names Blackfoot and Blackfeet were used interchangeably, meaning one and the same groups of people.

  However, during reservation days (the story goes, as I was told it), the U.S. government utilized a misnomer, calling the tribe of the Southern Piegan, or Pikuni, the “Blackfeet.” This designation stuck, and to this day, this tribe resides in northern Montana on the Blackfeet reservation, and are referred to, by the government, as the Blackfeet (although they are really the Southern Piegan or Pikuni).

  Consequently, when we speak today of the Blackfoot tribes, or the Siksika Nation as a whole, we talk of four different tribes: the Blackfoot, Blood, and Piegan bands in Canada, and the Blackfeet in Montana. Thus, today when referring to the “Blackfeet,” one is speaking of the band of Indians in Montana (on the Blackfeet reservation), whereas the name “Blackfoot” refers to the band of Indians in Alberta, Canada (on the Blackfoot reserve).

  If this seems confusing to you, I can assure you, it baffled me.

  Thus, in my story, because the Blackfeet and Blackfoot names were interchangeable at this moment in history, I have used “Blackfeet” as a noun (“I went to visit the Blackfeet”), and “Blackfoot” as an adjective (“I went to Blackfoot country”). I did this for no other reason than consistency.

  I am also including some definitions of common Indian words, as well as some newer Irish terms for this, the third book in the Blackfoot Warrior series. I hope this will help toward further understanding.

  Afeared—an Irish way of saying afraid.

  Algonquin—“member of a group of Indian tribes formerly of the Ottawa River valley in southeastern Canada. Also, Algonquian—widespread American-Indian language family spoken from Labrador westward to the Rockies and southward to Illinois and North Carolina.” The Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary, 1977. Some of the tribes which spoke this language were the Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Arapaho, Shawnee, and Ottawa.

  Assiniboin Indians—a tribe of Indians whose territory bordered the Blackfeet on the east. These Indians were at war with the Blackfeet.

  The Backbone of the World—term used by the Blackfeet to indicate the Rocky Mountains.

  Coup—a term used widespread by the Indians to mean a deed of valor.

  Cree—a tribe of Indians closely associated with the Assiniboin, whose territory bordered the Blackfeet on the east.

  Crow—a tribe of Indians that inhabited that part of the northern United States, around the upper Yell
owstone River. They were at war with the Blackfeet.

  Dog Society Dance—a dance given by the Dog Society of the Blackfeet. These different societies denoted different social strata.

  Duggins—an Irish term meaning rags.

  Gros Ventre—a tribe of Indians which neighbored the Blackfeet.

  Kit Fox Society—all Indian tribes had different societies for men and for women. They denoted different social strata. Prince Maximilian, who visited Blackfoot country in the early 1830s, was probably the first white man to observe the different Blackfoot societies. He noted that there were seven of these societies and that each of them had their own dances and songs, as well as their own regalia.

  Medicine—described by George Catlin in his book Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of North American Indians, “‘Medicine’ is a great word in this country;…The word medicine, in its common acceptation here, means mystery, and nothing else; and in that sense I shall use it very frequently in my Notes and Indian Manners and Customs. The fur traders in this country are nearly all French; and in their language, a doctor or physician, is called ‘medecin.’ The Indian country is full of doctors; and as they are all magicians, and skilled, or profess to be skilled, in many mysteries, the word ‘medecin’ has become habitually applied to everything mysterious or unaccountable;…”

  More-than-friend—in most Indian tribes, a more-than-friend refers to friends of the same gender who have made a pact to fight together and hunt together, etc. in an effort to increase both persons’ potential of survival. Such is a friend, but more. It was expected that if one of them had troubles, so, too, did the other take on those troubles as his own, helping to find solutions.

  Parfleches—a bag fashioned out of buffalo hide and used by the Indians to store clothing, food and other articles. An Indian used parfleches much as the white man uses a chest of drawers. They were often highly decorated and some were sewn in patterns “owned” by a particular family, thus easily recognized.

  Rock of Cashel—an Irish saying which usually goes, “As firm as the Rock of Cashel.”

  Scalplocks—can be a reference to hair at the top of one’s head—that part that was most often “scalped.” Or this can refer to hair which adorns Indian clothing, on shirts and leggings, etc.

  Sits-beside-him woman or wife—in Indian tribes that practiced polygamy, this referred to the favored wife, usually the first wife. She directed all the other wives and had the right to sit next to her husband at important meetings.

  Snakes—this refers to the Shoshoni or Snake Indians. They bordered the Blackfeet on the south and west and were traditional enemies of the Blackfeet.

  Sun Dance—in Blackfoot society, a religious ceremony where the warriors show honor to Sun and where a warrior becomes a man. Many warriors received a vision during these ceremonies.

  Sun Dance camp—this was a camp where all the Blackfeet tribes came together in celebration, usually in August. The camp would last as long as a month, sometimes less. There was always good feeling and great celebration, including many different dances performed every night, as well as secret society dances and celebrations.

  Wheen—an Irish word meaning a small quantity of something.

  About the Author

  Author of seventeen American Indian Historical Romances, Karen Kay aka Gen Bailey, has been praised by reviewers and fans alike for bringing the Wild West alive for her readers.

  Karen Kay, whose great-great grandmother was a Choctaw Indian, is honored to be able to write about something so dear to her heart, the American Indian culture.

  “With the power of romance, I hope to bring about an awareness of the American Indian’s concept of honor, and what it meant to live as free men and free women. There are some things that should never be forgotten.”

  Find Karen Kay online at www.novels-by-karenkay.com.

  Look for these titles by Karen Kay

  Now Available:

  Lakota

  Lakota Surrender

  Lakota Princess

  Proud Wolf’s Woman

  Blackfoot Warriors

  Gray Hawk’s Lady

  White Eagle’s Touch

  Coming Soon:

  Legendary Warriors

  War Cloud’s Passion

  Lone Arrow’s Pride

  Soaring Eagle’s Embrace

  Written in the stars…

  Soaring Eagle’s Embrace

  © 2012 Karen Kay

  The Legendary Warriors, Book 4

  Kali Wallace has no room in her busy life for marriage. Instead, she is following her father into a photography career, striving to capture the beauty of the Wild West and its vanishing Indian cultures before they both disappear forever.

  Montana’s Blackfeet country is everything she could have dreamed—and more. At night a handsome man gently invades her sleep. Their nightly encounters become more and more real until one bright morning, she is startled to find everything has changed.

  Lawyer by profession, Blackfeet by blood, Clay Soaring Eagle is determined to do everything in his power—legally and spiritually—to save his people’s way of life. He trusts no one of the white race, and hopes that once Kali’s task is done, she will leave and take temptation with her.

  The spirits have their own plan. As their passion burns with a brightness that rivals the stars, Clay and Kali are aware that it can never last…unless they find a way to make their two worlds come together as one.

  Warning: Contains soul-stirring dreams, passionate unions, and a mountain-top quest that will leave you hungry to see these two lovers get their happily ever after.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Soaring Eagle’s Embrace:

  “I thought you wished to take pictures of my people.”

  “I do.”

  “And if you take these pictures, what will you do with them?”

  Kali felt herself relax. On this subject, she was on familiar ground. She said, “My father and I will make them into a book, which will be sold back East.”

  “Ah,” he said. “Then this is how you and your father make your living in the white man’s world?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then it is your wish to make money off us Indians.”

  Kali shrugged. “Yes,” she said. “In a way. But in a way, not.”

  “And how will we Indians profit by your pictures?”

  “By bringing more understanding of you and your people’s plight to the world. After all, if the native people of America were better understood, you would be able to enlist more aid to your cause.”

  He raised an eyebrow, his glance at her hard-hitting. “You are a wise woman,” he said, “yet I don’t think you are wise enough. You tell me that you wish to take our pictures, tell our stories, relate our adventures, yet you do not offer the Indian anything in compensation, though these adventures are rightfully ours.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it. It’s not something that has ever been brought up to us before.”

  “Always,” he said, “the white man has explanations.”

  Kali shook her head and pulled a face. “That’s too bad, really.”

  “Too bad?”

  “You are a very prejudiced man.”

  “I am a realistic man.”

  “All right, then. I suppose you are too realistic to take a dare, then, as well?”

  “A dare?”

  “Yes. I must admit that I have come into this project blind. I should have learned more about the situation and what was confronting the people I wished to contact—before I arrived. However, I didn’t. Be that as it may, I am prepared to parlay with you.”

  “Parlay? In what way?”

  “Tonight I was besieged with bigotry not only from you but from the agent’s wife, Mrs. Black. It leads me to believe that there is something going on here that needs investigation. Therefore, I am prepared to make a bargain with you.”

  “Humph.”

  “Here it is. I will acquaint you with what I do so th
at you can more fully understand why I am here. You, for your part, will show me what is going on between you and the ranchers who share this land with you. Then we will examine the facts and make our own judgments. If I am right, and my pictures do not do harm, you will do all you can to help introduce me to your chiefs and your people, perhaps talk them around to meeting me and letting me take their pictures. If, on the other hand, you convince me that I am hurting people by doing this, I will leave.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand.

  “You will, for your part, show me what is happening on your reservation. If you are right, and the white ranchers are trying to push you out, I will do all I can to help you fight this. If, however, you are wrong and the ranchers have just cause to do as they are, you will do all you can to convince your people to help them.”

  “I will never help the white ranchers. And I will not put myself into a position where I might ever have to do so. No, I don’t think I will bet with you.”

  “I see,” she said, biting down on her lip. “You’re afraid.”

  He frowned at her. “Only at the prospect of being hoodwinked by a small redheaded woman.” He softened the words with a grin. Then, after a moment, “Who would decide if the white ranchers have ‘just cause’?”

  “Why, both you and I, of course.”

  “And you will listen to me?”

  “I will listen to you.”

  “And if we don’t agree?”

  “We will examine only the facts and keep examining them until we do agree,” she said. “In truth, I would be willing to bet that you have simply misunderstood the actions of those who live around you. If it’s not a case of simple misunderstanding, then—”

  “And if I am right, if you discover that I speak the truth? What then?”

  “Then you would win the bet, I would help you and I would have to pay you whatever we decide are the stakes.”

  He leaned in toward her. “And what are the stakes?”