Spirit of the Sky

by Paty Jager

  With his wife on his arm, Wade proudly walked down the street. They purchased a dark blue wool cloak to keep Sa-qan warm, and ordered three more dresses and another set of underclothes, before entering the Leavenworth Herald. Baker spent his time at the newspaper office writing when not out gathering information on the Nez Perce and government.

  Wade spotted the man ten years his junior bent over a desk writing. Sa-qan’s hand in his, he led her to the small table. He held a chair and motioned for her to sit. She eyed him and the curly haired man who watched them from behind round spectacles.

  “Darrin Baker, I’d like you to meet my wife, Sa-qan. She’s Nez Perce and will be helping me write the stories I suggested to you.” Wade shook hands with the man.

  “Mrs. Watts, I must say you’re not at all what I’d imagined when your husband told me about your desire to help the plight of the Nez Perce.” The man pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose and tipped his head to Sa-qan.

  She didn’t flinch at his comments. “I know I do not have the same hair and eyes of my sisters but I am a true Nimiipuu in here.” She placed a hand on her chest.

  “Since we all have the same agenda, I think we’re going to get along wonderfully.” Baker didn’t lose any time settling down to work. Wade admired how Sa-qan answered all Baker’s questions even though the man’s brows would bunch together in confusion at times.

  Wade interrupted after an hour. “You’ll have to continue this another time. I promised Sa-qan we’d visit the camp today and she needs to rest.” He took her by the elbow as she stood.

  “Can you come by tomorrow morning?” Baker asked, obviously taken with Sa-qan.

  She smiled and nodded. “If my husband says this is good for my people, I will be here tomorrow.”

  Sa-qan leaned against his arm as they walked out the door. “He is a man of great determination. I like him.”

  Wade smiled. The more White people Sa-qan felt comfortable around the easier it would be for her to function in both worlds.

  He rented a wagon from the livery and drove Sa-qan to the camp. The guards and inhabitants gave them little more than a glance as they entered, believing them townsfolk coming to gawk.

  Sa-qan hurried to a large structure at the far side of the camp. Silent Doe stepped out of the canvas tent. She stared at Sa-qan.

  “Sister, you have given up our ways?” she asked.

  Sa-qan shook her head. “My husband and I believe we can best serve my people if I am allowed to come and go as so·yá·po and not a captive. I can come here everyday and help, but also leave and talk with the so·yá·po leaders and help my people return to their homes.”

  Silent Doe’s gaze ran the length of Sa-qan. Wade stepped up beside his wife. He had to help Silent Doe understand only Sa-qan’s appearance had changed not her inner strength and belief in her people.

  “I haven’t changed who she is in her heart.”

  Sa-qan nodded. “I am here to help with the sick. I will come after I have talked with Darrin. He is putting my story on paper and all the so·yá·po will learn of our love for the land and peaceful life we were forced to leave.”

  Girl of Many Hearts grabbed Sa-qan around the waist, hugging her tight. Silent Doe’s apprehension vanished from her face.

  “Your txiyak is stronger,” the girl said. Did the girl know Sa-qan had been a spirit? Wade studied Sa-qan. She smiled down at the child before her eyes met his.

  “Yes, my power comes from love.” Sa-qan peered into his eyes. “Love for my husband and my people and love from my husband and people.”

  Hearing her place him in her heart next to her people dissolved any doubts he harbored about how she truly felt about him.

  Wade leaned toward Sa-qan to kiss her. She smiled, her eyes dancing, and shook her head before she stepped through the tent. Wade didn’t know what to do with himself while she tended the sick so he sought Joseph. It wouldn’t hurt to let the leader of the Nez Perce know what he and Sa-qan planned.

  Mita áptit wax lepít

  (32)

  The months passed. Wade and Sa-qan traveled to Washington with Baker to speak to the government leaders about the Nez Perce. Though many sympathizers attended, General Sherman, the main adversary keeping the Nez Perce in Kansas Indian territory, could not be swayed. He remained adamant the Nez Perce would set an example to other hostile tribes.

  On their trip, Wade encouraged Sa-qan to eat well and rest. It would be the only trip until after the baby arrived. Her expanding stomach would soon be hard to hide and the trip would become too hard on her. Even though she insisted Nimiipuu women could endure anything and give birth, rattling off the names of three women who gave birth while the group had floated down the Missouri River, Wade refused to allow her to do too much.

  ****

  On a hot humid day the end of June, Sa-qan stood at the kitchen table in their little house not far from the Indian camp. Her weight caused her feet to ache when standing too long, but sitting had become unbearable. Only lying in bed with Wade rubbing her back offered her comfort, but they could not stay in bed all day.

  He had stopped taking her to the camp last week when she could no longer hide the discomfort of riding on the hard wagon seat. They spent the mornings at the table with Wade writing down her story of the Nimiipuu. Darrin helped them sell the stories to his Newspaper. The afternoons were usually spent at the Nimiipuu camp. Having half a day to herself, she grew bored. She knew little of the ways a so·yá·po woman kept a house. Wade had taught her to cook foods he liked. She had yet to learn enough of the so·yá·po scribbles to use a book the old woman next door gave her when she learned Sa-qan did not know how to cook.

  Pain shot through her belly. The baby was coming. Silent Doe had counseled her on what to expect when her time came, but the slicing pain weakened her knees. She grasped the table to keep from dropping to the wood floor.

  Wade, I need you. The pain subsided, and she shuffled to the back porch to drag the bathing tub into the kitchen. Their small house did not have the luxuries of the hotel they had lived in. She had insisted they did not need a large home. Just something to keep them warm and dry. As she tugged on the large brass tub, she wished she could simply turn a knob and have water.

  The sound of a jingling harness lifted her thoughts.

  “What the he—” Wade took the steps two at a time. “Why are you dragging—”

  Another pain wracked her body. She clutched her belly and moaned.

  “The baby?” Wade asked, scooping her up in his arms and heading to the bedroom.

  “Stop.” She panted through the spasm of pain and clutched his arm.

  “You’re having the baby. You need to be in bed.” Wade pushed the bedroom door open with his foot.

  “No…” She sucked in air as another pain spiraled though her back. “Nimiipuu give birth… in water… Need… fill the tub.” She pushed at him, willing him to put her down. “Need… Silent Doe.”

  “I’m not leaving you for that long.” Wade placed her on the bed. “Stay here. I’ll have Baker ride out and get Silent Doe, and then I’ll fill the tub.” His brow furrowed as his worried eyes scanned her face. “Will you be all right while I tell Baker?”

  She nodded and wrapped her arms around her belly as another pain, not as hard, rippled through her belly. “Hurry.”

  Wade dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded and smiled. He would do everything the Nimiipuu way once Silent Doe arrived.

  ****

  Wade ran through the streets to the newspaper office. Baker sat slumped over his desk as usual. He glanced up as Wade slid to a stop inside the doorway.

  “Baby’s coming. Ride fast and get Silent Doe.” Wade didn’t stay to elaborate. He spun and ran back to their small house. His lungs ached, but he leaped onto the back porch and grabbed the edge of the brass tub big enough for two. He and Sa-qan had started a ritual on their wedding night of bathing each other. When they moved into t
heir own home he ordered the large tub so they could continue the intimate moments.

  Wade scraped the tub across the floor and into the bedroom. Sa-qan lay on her side clutching her belly. He dropped the tub with a loud bang and hurried to the bed, sitting down and rubbing her back.

  “Baker is on his way to get Silent Doe. Is there anything I can do until she gets here?” Wade wanted to take away the pain he witnessed on her pinched features.

  “Fill the tub. Silent Doe says it is easier to give birth in water. I have watched this as a spirit and while living with the Nimiipuu.” The last words strangled out as she clutched her belly.

  His body shook. He had taken away her powers and now his seed had grown and brought her this pain. “I’m sorry.” Wade pushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead. “If I could carry the pain for you I would.”

  “It is woman’s work to carry the pain and bring forth the children.” She placed a hand on his cheek. “It is your work to provide food and love us.”

  “I do love you.” He kissed the palm of her hand.

  Tears glistened in her eyes. “I know. It is your love that has given me strength.” Her eyes dulled and she clutched her belly.

  Her pains came closer and closer together. Wade sprang from the bed and began filling buckets. First emptying the reservoir on the wood stove then refilling it and adding a bucket of cold water from the pump into the tub. He alternated buckets of hot and cold water until the tub stood full.

  “Do you need help getting in the tub?” He sat on the bed and ran a hand down Sa-qan’s back.

  “Wait for Silent Doe.” She breathed raggedly and her face had paled.

  The sound of racing hooves approached and stopped. Within seconds Silent Doe entered the bedroom.

  “Leave.” She gripped his arm, dragging him from his seat on the bed. “No man is allowed when child comes to this earth.” She pushed him toward the door.

  “I want to be here to help.” He sent a pleading gaze to Sa-qan, but her eyes were squeezed shut.

  “You will not be helpful, only get in the way.” Silent Doe gave him one last shove and shut the door behind him.

  “Dammit, Silent Doe. She’s my wife. I have a right to—” A hand rested on his shoulder.

  “Let the womenfolk do what they know.” Baker motioned with his head toward the kitchen. “You’ve got a strong wife. Between the two of them I’m sure everything will go fine.”

  Wade ran a hand over his mustache. Sa-qan was strong, but he’d helped dig too many graves at the camp the last few months and many of them for babies and children. As the heat grew, so did the deaths. He blamed the water and had ridden to the fort many times to pressure them about moving the group to a more hospitable area.

  “Did you get the number of deaths last week from the Indian camp?” Wade poured coffee into two cups.

  “Yes. I sent the story to the newspaper in Washington.” Baker pushed at his spectacles with an index finger and stared into his coffee. “Deaths occur on reservations. Old age, births, accidents, and fights, but the numbers aren’t as great as here.”

  The swallow of coffee didn’t slide down easily. “It has to be the marshland and still water. The land where the Nez Perce come from has clear running water all year long.”

  “I agree, but getting anyone of power to listen…” Baker spread his hands and rolled his eyes.

  Chanting drifted into the room. Baker rose out of his chair. “What’s that?”

  “Silent Doe urging the baby to come out and see his people.” Wade had grasped an elementary amount of the Nez Perce language thanks to his patient wife and Silent Doe’s family. He thought it necessary so he could communicate with his wife and children in her native tongue and it helped when working with the Nimiipuu.

  Several hours later, a baby cried. Wade shot from the chair and lunged for the bedroom door. He shoved the door open and stepped inside.

  Silent Doe handed a waxy, golden haired boy to Sa-qan, still sitting in the tub. He moved farther into the room.

  The older woman spun, pushing him out. “I will get you soon.” The door closed in his face, but the sight of his son in his mother’s arms expanded his chest.

  “Well?” Baker said behind him.

  “It’s a boy.” A boy. He’d prayed for a healthy child, but a boy…He now had someone to carry on the Watts lineage.

  “What’s his name?”

  “I don’t know. Sa-qan said we couldn’t pick out a name until he arrived and showed us what it will be.” They had both agreed the name would be both Nez Perce and English. “Then there will be a naming ceremony.”

  “Will I be invited?”

  The wistfulness in Baker’s voice added to Wade’s good humor. He laughed and slapped the man on the back, leading him back into the kitchen where Wade poured them each a bit of whiskey to toast to the newest member of the Watts family.

  ****

  Sa-qan stared down into the puckered up face of her son. He had her light colored hair but his father’s features and dark eyes. Silent Doe had cleaned up the boy and the room before she went to get Wade.

  He stepped into the room, his eyes sparkling, a bright grin stretching his face. Wade sat on the edge of the bed and put a finger under her chin, tipping her face up to his. His lips descended on hers, kissing her with aching tenderness.

  “Qey∙ci∙yew∙yew,” he whispered against her lips.

  “Why do you thank me?”

  “For giving me a beautiful boy. A gift I will honor.” He placed a hand on their child’s head. The love shining in his eyes as he admired their son melted her heart.

  ****

  Two weeks had passed since the birth of their child. Sa-qan sat on the porch in the shade willing the wind to pick up and cool the air. Boy of Two Peoples or Toby, Wade’s name for the baby, lay in the cradle Wade insisted they use. Silent Doe had given her a cradleboard, but Wade preferred she only put Toby in it when she needed to carry him and when they went to the camp.

  Her heart grew heavy as she added two more beaded symbols to a flag she flew from their porch. Each symbol honored a Nimiipuu who died at the camp. Soon the beads would make the cloth so heavy it would only hang limp and unmoving as the people who had gone from this earth.

  Wade rode up in the wagon. He drew the horses to a stop and stared down at her before his gaze drifted to Toby.

  “I’m going to the fort to try and talk to the Indian agent, again. There are more sick at the camp. Something has to be done.”

  Sa-qan stood. “I’ll come with you.” She placed Toby in the cradleboard, tied the lacing, and handed him up to his father. Wade smiled and cooed at his son while she climbed up to sit beside him.

  She took the cradleboard from his reluctant hands, and he slapped the horse’s rumps with the reins. The wagon jerked into motion. She had not been to the camp as much since the birth. Silent Doe had told her things were well and to keep her baby away. Too many babies and old people died, she did not want Boy of Two Peoples to become sick.

  “Who did we lose today?” she asked, fearing it would be someone she had grown close to.

  “An old man and a baby. But nearly half the camp is sick.”

  The wagon rolled through the fort gates and up to the Indian agent’s house. Wade jumped down and came around, raising his hands to take his son. He looped the strap from the cradleboard around his arm and lifted her down. Once her feet were on the ground she expected him to hand her the child. He tied their horse alongside two others at the hitching rail, and took her elbow, escorting her up the stairs.

  He rapped on the door and studied her face. Worry had carved the creases around his eyes deeper.

  “I can hold our son,” she said.

  A smile fluttered under his mustache. “I enjoy packing my boy around.” He raised her hand to his lips as the door opened.

  She squeaked at the same time Wade spit out a word she had never heard him use before.

  Mita áptit wax mita-t


  (33)

  A Howitzer ball landing in his gut couldn’t have knocked him as breathless as the man standing in the doorway.

  “Colonel Abernathy.” Wade finally said when the air returned to his lungs.

  “Lieutenant Watts.”

  The man’s eyes moved up and down Sa-qan, raising Wade’s hackles. He’d never liked the man and seeing him now with a gleam of contempt in his eyes made Wade step closer to Sa-qan.

  “We’re here to see the Indian Affairs Agent.” Wade didn’t make any moves to enter the house. He preferred to speak to the agent without Abernathy listening.

  “Lieutenant, why aren’t you in uniform? I understand you’ve been here for nearly eight months and never once reported to the fort for duty.” Abernathy’s voice lowered to a mad dog growl.

  Sa-qan drew in a breath. Her stare bore into Wade and seared his conscience.

  “Colonel Gibbon gave me a leave of absence until my release orders caught up to me.” Each night as he lay holding Sa-qan in his arms he prayed for the orders to arrive in the mail the next day and each day he left the post office empty handed.

  A condescending smile barely curved the colonel’s lips as he held out a hand. “May I see the release papers?”

  “They haven’t arrived, yet.” His gut soured as Sa-qan’s hand tightened on his. Her fear raced through her palm and up his arm lodging in his heart. He had to remain free. He had a wife and child to care for.

  “Sergeant Kemper,” Abernathy called over his shoulder. A sergeant appeared. “Take this deserter to the stockade and lock him up.”

  “No!” Sa-qan stepped between Wade and the sergeant. “Tell him you are free.”

  Wade shook his head. He’d denied this day the last eight months. “Sa-qan, I didn’t tell you the papers hadn’t come to keep you from worrying.” Wade placed his hand on her arms and set her out of the way. He slipped the cradleboard from his shoulder and kissed Toby’s head.

  Handing his son to Sa-qan, he stared into her eyes. “The papers will come, soon. You’ll see.” He placed a kiss on her head and walked down the stairs. He knew having Sa-qan for a wife and finally finding happiness couldn’t last. He couldn’t hold onto family and happiness.