Bittersweet Ecstasy

by Taylor, Janelle

  By the time the sun gave light and warmth to the land once more, all the other soldiers were dead. Silver Hawk took sinister pleasure in removing a scalplock from the slain Crow scout Red Band. When the Oglala dead were laid in a row on blankets, Sun Cloud and Bright Arrow stood beside the grim sight: Gray Eagle, Powchutu, Strong Heart, Badger, River Snake, Snow Warrior, Calls Loud, Wolf’s Head, and White Owl.

  Several others were wounded, but they would recover. Many horses had been slain, so several warriors offered to ride double while their mounts transported the nine bodies home. Their task done, the war council separated to return to their camps, to reveal this new treachery and to stand guard against attacks on their villages.

  Windrider and his warriors were the last to depart. He talked with Bright Arrow, feeling empathy for his best friend. He said he would come to visit when all was safe, then galloped away swiftly.

  Sun Cloud looked at the cuts on his brother’s arms and said, “Mother taught us the danger of such cuts, Bright Arrow. If you do not tend them, you will not live to avenge our father and people. When we reach our camp, let Mother tend them.”

  Bright Arrow stared at his brother for his soft scolding and curious words, then realized Sun Cloud did not know about Shalee’s death. “It is our way, Sun Cloud. One is for Father, and one is for Mother.” He revealed the heartrending news to his brother, who was shaken visibly.

  The younger man’s voice was hoarse as he responded, “I will place my cuts upon the bodies of those who killed my father, for two escaped. I will track them and make them suffer as we do, then I will return home to mourn our parents on their death scaffolds. When our parents and people have been avenged, I will take their bodies to the sacred hills where no enemy can find them and disturb them.”

  Bright Arrow nodded in agreement. “It will be as you say, for they must not be dishonored by those seeking treasures from our dead.”

  Sun Cloud walked away to speak with his friend Thunder Spirit, to reveal the news which concerned his mother and Little Feet. His heart was aching and he wished he could release his pain with tears and screams. He could not; he must be strong, for soon he would be voted chief and take his father’s place. He was no longer a child who could reveal his emotions before others. His first thoughts and duties must be for his people, for his parent’s deaths were in the past. How he wished his parents could have lived to see him become chief and to guide him during this adjustment period, but it was not to be. He must remember all they had taught him and told him, especially lately. It was shortly after dawn and, if he rode swiftly, he could avenge his people and return home sometime tomorrow.

  Walks Tall and Talking Rock joined Bright Arrow. Talking Rock remarked, “It is not right for Sun Cloud to reject our way of sorrow.”

  Bright Arrow said, “My brother is young and is filled with pain. In time, he will learn his duty, as I have. I will see to our parents and people while he does what he must.”

  Talking Rock said, “You returned quickly and saved our lives, just as you saved the body of our chief. You have gained many coups this day, Bright Arrow. The vote will go easily for you.”

  Walks Tall remarked, “Chief Flaming Bow and Chief Fire Brand said they will attend the celebration when you are made chief. It is good we have a warrior of such prowess to lead us after Gray Eagle.”

  Bright Arrow smiled sadly as he recalled his “vision” for a time.

  Sun Cloud left with Thunder Spirit, Star Gazer, and Night Rider. The three warriors trailed the two. survivors, knowing the tracks were old, but hoping the soldiers would ride slowly with conceit or halt to rest before reaching the fort which would allow them to be overtaken.

  The Oglala party reached their camp an hour after the sun passed overhead. The people were shocked and distressed over the white man’s victory, but the shaman Mind-who-Roams had foreseen this grim event, and he had spoken of great victory afterward. For now, they must bury and mourn their dead. It required three hours for a selected band to cut, haul, and construct the ten burial scaffolds.

  The slain warriors, their chief, and his beloved wife were prepared by washing them, dressing them in their finest garments, and then wrapping their bodies in thick buffalo hides; then, the bodies were placed atop their scaffolds which were built at a height to place them in view of the Great Spirit and out of the reach of animals. It was believed that the fallen one’s spirit was claimed by the sun, wind, and rain elements and taken to the Mahpiya Ocanku, the Ghost Trail, where it could make its way to the Great Spirit and a happy afterlife. On the Ghost Trail, a soul walked in peace until received by Wakantanka. A warrior’s weapons, and sometimes his slain horse’s head, were placed on the scaffold to aid him on his journey to his new life. Once the warrior and his belongings were placed on the sacred scaffold, no one was to touch him or his possessions: it was the stealing of such “treasures” and the disturbing of these spirits by the white man which enraged the Indians.

  Bright Arrow hung his father’s bow, quiver with arrows, horse-dance stick, and shield on the four corners of his scaffold. Gray Eagle’s lance was laid on one side of his body and his feathered tomahawk was placed on the other side. His sacred pipe rested over his heart, as did his medicine bundle, beneath the burial wrappings. The horse-dance stick had been made in honor of Chula, his beloved and loyal steed for numerous years. During special ceremonies, a warrior carried his horse-dance stick in remembrance of the animal who had served him well in life. Since his ghostly white horse had been slain yesterday during the battle, he could not accompany Gray Eagle on his long journey to the Great Spirit. The horse-dance stick was placed there to summon Chula from the spirit world to bear his master skyward. Gray Eagle’s wanapin, an intricately carved eagle medallion, had been placed around his neck and he was wearing his best buckskins and moccasins, which had been beaded beautifully and with much love by his wife Shalee, who was resting beside him.

  Shalee had been dressed by Tashina in a lovely white buckskin dress and moccasins. In her grandmother’s lovingly brushed auburn hair, Tashina had placed Shalee’s dainty Elk Dreamer’s hoop with its white breath-feather and quilled design. Around Shalee’s neck, she wore two items: her joining necklace and a carved white eagle on a thong with white and turquoise beads and rattlesnake rings: a charm given to her by Gray Eagle before they married, a symbol of his acceptance and of her first attempt to escape him in 1776, which had resulted in her beating and her rescue by Fort Pierre soldiers, allowing her to meet Powchutu, who rested on the other side of her.

  Powchutu had been dressed in Gray Eagle’s second finest set of garments and moccasins. His white man’s garments and possessions had been burned, and he had been given weapons from other warriors to carry with him along his journey at his half brother’s side.

  White Arrow looked at the three scaffolds and could not halt the tears from flowing down his cheeks. He had known and loved Gray Eagle since birth, and he had ridden at his side since boyhood. They had trained together, raided and warred together, suffered and rejoiced together, and grown old together. His heart grieved at this second loss of a special loved one. His gaze went to Shalee’s scaffold. He had known and loved her for forty-four years. They had shared a rare friendship, and almost a joining. They had laughed together, cried together, learned together, and worried together. Their lands would be darker without her sunny smile and bright presence. He had watched Gray Eagle and Alisha Williams meet, fall in love, battle their attraction, and then yield to it, to find powerful love and passion. It was good they had died on the same day, without knowing of the other’s fate. It was good neither had been left behind to mourn for the other, for neither could be replaced in the life of the other.

  Suddenly White Arrow felt very old and alone. The three people he had loved above all others were gone. Flaming Star approached his father and embraced him. “Do not torment yourself, Father. They have peace and safety now. Good memories must not pain you so deeply.”

  White Arrow turned. His
gaze fell on his second wife Pretty Woman and their two children, Crow Stalker and Prairie Flower; somberly moved to his eldest son Flaming Star, his wife Morning Light, and their three children: Little Star, Stargazer, and Buckskin Girl. He thought of his other daughter, Medicine Girl and her husband Tall Tree and their four children. He thought of Thunder Spirit who was riding with Sun Cloud. He had many loved ones left and he needed them, as they loved and needed him. He smiled and went to join them, to await the burial ceremony.

  Mind-who-Roams said, “It is sad the children of Eagle’s Arm’s do not know of their father’s death.”

  Bright Arrow glanced at the tightly wrapped body of the man whose Life-circle had been entwined with his parent’s Life-circles. How strange that all three should leave Mother Earth on the same day. “If it is possible, shaman, I will find a way to send a message to them.”

  The other seven bodies were placed on their scaffolds, and the tribe gathered around to mourn their deceased loved ones. Tears fell as an abundant rain, prayers of supplication lifted skyward, wails of grief rent the deathly still air, steady drumming matched painful heartbeats, and soulful chanting surrounded the anguish-filled group.

  After the ceremony, guards were posted around the camp. The families returned to their tepees, but few felt like eating or talking, and each person was left to deal with his grief in his own way. Although they had been told of Sun Cloud’s vengeance mission, many were dismayed that he was not here to mourn his parents and people…

  Mind-who-Roams watched Bright Arrow leave the area of the death scaffolds. He placed his hand on his chief’s body and wept. “Your spirit must guide me, my brother and friend, for the days ahead are dark and filled with conflict. Much of Bright Arrow’s vision has come to pass, and I do not know how to accept the rest of it. If it is your will and the will of the Great Spirit for him to follow you as chief, give me sign before it is too late.” The old man returned to his tepee, his shoulders slumped with sadness and his mind filled with confusion.

  Bright Arrow went to the tepee of his parents and sat down upon his father’s mat. His eyes slowly and painfully took in his empty surroundings. He could not believe his parents were out of his life forever, as was his true love. He had known this moment would come, but not this soon, and not in this way. The first assault of the white man had occurred, and he must be strong to lead his people against the next one, and those that followed it. The new council must be selected, then it would meet to vote in the new chief. As was their way, they would allow four days of mourning and soulsearching before that awesome event. To keep from hurting his brother, he would let the shaman reveal his vision during the council meeting. Once the talks and votes were taken, Sun Cloud would obey their words.

  Tashina entered the tepee and came to kneel beside her father. They talked for a time about Gray Eagle and Shalee, and Moon Eyes, whom Tashina could not remember, as she had been only two when her sister died of smallpox in the Cheyenne camp, where she had first met her true love. How she wished he was here to comfort her. How she wished Little Feet was home, for she had been given the news of Races-the-Buffalo’s death. Yet, she could not feel overly sad at that news, for she knew of her sister’s love for White Arrow’s son.

  “When will you go to bring my sister home?” she asked, to pull her father from his painful thoughts.

  “I will leave in two moons. I have sent word to her of my coming. I will take Flaming Star and Thunder Spirit with me.”

  “That is good, Father,” she remarked softly, catching his hand. “Come, let me tend your wounds or they will grow inflamed.”

  Bright Arrow glanced at the two cuts, which he had hardly noticed in his anguish. He rose from the sitting mat and followed her outside, sealing Gray Eagle’s flap until Sun Cloud’s return.

  As the Oglala party was reaching their camp shortly after one that afternoon, Sun Cloud, Thunder Spirit, and Night Rider neared the repaired Fort Dakota, but remained out of sight. The two soldiers had reached the fort safely, but Sun Cloud vowed to learn their names and to slay them. The warriors remained long enough to estimate the number of soldiers camped nearby and the number of supply wagons clustered near the gate. Added to those which they knew were inside the fort, the figures and their meaning were staggering. Behind the fort were several tepees where the Crow scouts and their families lived.

  “We must track the bluecoats to where they attacked the war council. There is something I must know,” Sun Cloud hinted mysteriously.

  As he had suspected, the cavalry’s trail led straight to the meeting place, a trail so bold that it was traced easily and quickly. As they rested for one hour before heading for their camp, Sun Cloud spoke aloud what each man was thinking. “We were betrayed, my brothers. No Crow scout discovered our plans and brought troops to attack us. The bluecoats knew where to ride and when to ride against us. We must keep this secret between us until we can learn the traitor’s name.”

  Night Rider protested, “You speak as if we can trust none of our brothers or our council. This is a matter for all to know and settle.”

  “I do not speak evil of our brothers, Night Rider. But how do we tell others of this treachery without revealing our discovery to the guilty one? If he learns we suspect and seek him, he will mask his shame and walk with caution. If a man commits one such treachery, he will commit another. We must watch and wait, and catch him with his hands stained with dishonor.”

  Thunder Spirit concurred with his friend, “Sun Cloud speaks wisely and cunningly, Night Rider. To tell one of this dark deed, tells all. We are Sacred Bow carriers, and the protection of our people is our first duty. There is but one way to uncover the evil amongst us, to do as Sun Cloud says.”

  Night Rider looked from one warrior to the other. He did not like this secrecy which, to him, bordered on mistrust and deceit. He would tell Mind-who-Roams of this treachery, and allow the shaman to decide how it should be handled. “You are band leader, Sun Cloud, and I will follow you,” he remarked, knowing that rank was over once they entered their camp, and he would be free to follow his conscience.

  Sun Cloud looked at the sky and knew there were a few hours of daylight left. He also knew their camp was an all-night ride from this spot, which should place them home around dawn. He knew his parents had been laid upon their death scaffolds by now, just as he knew he had done what his father would have expected of him. “When we learn the name of the man who betrayed my father and our people, he is mine.”

  “You must cut his heart from his body and feed it to the sky birds, so his soul can never find peace or walk the Ghost Trail.”

  “This I will do, Night Rider, for it is my duty and right.”

  Three weary warriors rode into the quiet camp the next morning, to learn that many of the men had risen early to hunt game for the families of the Oglala who had not returned alive from the soldiers’ ambush. Bright Arrow approached his brother and embraced him.

  Sun Cloud informed him, “The two men who escaped our arrows reached the fort before we could overtake them. My blade will find their hearts another sun; this I swear as watokicon, an avenger.”

  “You are ready for Mother Earth to catch you, Sun Cloud. Rest and eat. We must be strong to face our enemies.”

  Sun Cloud revealed the sights at the fort. “They are many this season, Bright Arrow, but they will savor their large victory and think on their small defeat for a few suns. When they have licked their wounds and regained their false prides, they will strike again. While they talk and plan inside the fort, we must do the same. We must be ready to confront them and defeat them, as the shaman saw in his vision. It is time for the wihpeyapi.” He reminded his brother of the practice of giving away the property of a family member after his death. As generosity and charity were two of the highest traits a man could possess and it was not good for a man to grow rich while others suffered without, a deceased man’s belongings were shared with others.

  Bright Arrow summoned the tribe’s drummers to give t
he signal while Sun Cloud entered his parents’ tepee and collected their things. Sun Cloud carried out the procedure quickly, as it pained him deeply. He handed Gray Eagle’s items to White Arrow, Mind-who-Roams, Plenty Coups, Black Buffalo, Big Elk, and Star Gazer. Shalee’s belongings were shared among Tashina, White Calf, Elk Woman, Pretty Flower, Moon Face, and others. No one ever questioned who received such prized gifts, and usually no envy was involved, for belongings were given to those closest to the one who died. “It is done, my brother.”

  Bright Arrow nodded, then called the hunting party together. “We will talk when I return,” he said, then left with the others.

  Sun Cloud walked to the area where the death scaffolds stood against a rich blue horizon, almost appearing artistic in their designs and decorations. He went to sit on the ground between his parents. For a long time, he remained there with head bowed and shoulders slumped as he called to mind his entire life with his mother and father: it was his way of saying farewell to them.

  Mind-who-Roams wondered if the fatigued warrior had dropped off to sleep, for he had not moved in such a long time. When Sun Cloud straightened his body and lifted his head skyward to inhale deeply, the shaman joined him. “It is hard to say farewell to those we love.”