Lakota Winds (Zebra Historical Romance)

by Janelle Taylor

  "That is true, Blue Owl. We believe they meet to trade with other bands. We do not know if they will talk alliance and war against Oglalas. But there is good news for my brother and Raven's spirit; the one called Sroka was attacked and slain by his warriors, for they believed he called down evil spirits upon them; they do not know we attacked them."

  "How did you learn such things, my son?" Rising Bear asked.

  "Each moon, one of us sneaked to their camp and listened to them. I was watching when Sroka angered his band by calling them weaklings for running away and not attacking our people and others to replace their losses. When he would not hold his tongue and said he would attack the enemy alone, many of his people shot fatal arrows into his body."

  "That is good, my son, for Raven's spirit can now rest and my first son has been avenged by the Hand of Wakantanka working in a mysterious way, for surely He enflamed Crow hearts against their greatest warrior."

  "We must make a plan of defense, Father," Wind Dancer suggested, "for we do not know if the Apsaalooke will join forces and attack us."

  "It has been made long ago, micinksi, by the Creator," Nahemana said.

  As soon as the Red Shield shaman explained his meaning, SeesThrough-Mist, with a look of astonishment on his weathered face, disclosed he had seen the same event unfold in a dream long ago and had told it to Chief Tall Elk and to Chumani before she joined to Waci Tate.

  Wind Dancer turned to his wife beside him, his gaze inquisitive.

  Her own gaze wide with amazement, she nodded. "It is true, mihigna; our shaman spoke such words to me after an owl messenger came to him in a dream during a full moon. Our Wise One said he was told to make and give me a white garment and moccasins from the sacred buffalo. He said I would wear them two times during the coming season and both would be big medicine and I would help save our people from our enemies. He said they were left unbeaded so the enemy could not read our tribal markings and doubt my words. Sees-Through-Mist said the Great Spirit had been working in my life since birth and had trained me for such challenges. He said I would take another mate and together we would ride away and do great deeds. He said he saw me standing in our camp wearing the white garment during my joining ceremony and he saw me again standing on a high hill with Cetan upon my shoulder. Not many suns passed before you came and we were joined. He did not know where the hill was located or what I would do there, but that was revealed to Nahemana in his vision."

  "The dream and vision are powerful medicine and must be obeyed," Rising Bear remarked in awe.

  Both shamen nodded, as did most of those standing around them. While they talked, another rider-a stranger-galloped into camp with one of their scouts. Markings on his garments and weapons indicated he was an Oglala Lakota. The two men dismounted and joined the intrigued group.

  Rising Bear asked who he was, "Nituwe hwo?"

  "Waun He Topa, Mahpia Luta kola. "

  Chief Rising Bear of the Red Shields greeted Four Horns, friend of Red Cloud, an Oglala Teton chief of great fame, influence, and power, "Hau, He Topa. Why does Mahpia Luta send you to us?"

  "The Great White Chief far away has asked the ateyapi Broken Hand and his friend Mitchell to parlay for peace between the White-eyes and Indians and between warring tribes of all Indians."

  Rising Bear knew the one called Broken Hand was Thomas Fitzpatrick, the Indian Agent for the High Plains for the last five circles of the seasons, a white man who had been a fur trader and a guide for Whites long ago. He also knew the other man was named David Mitchell; he was called the Superintendent. It had been explained to him that Broken Hand was like a combined Shirt Wearer who resolved troubles between Whites and Indians and between tribes and a Pipe Owner who spoke for peace. Mitchell was compared to a Big Belly who gave Broken Hand his orders to be carried out. He listened as Four Horns continued his revelations.

  "The Great White Chief says he will give all Indians cows and steers and many other goods to replace our losses from the white man's passings across our hunting grounds and for the game and grass they take while doing so and the animals the hunters take to feed the Bluecoats and others if we allow the snow-covered travois to cross our lands without attacking them. Treaty talk will begin at Fort Laramie in seventeen suns from the one above us." He pointed skyward. "Many Dakotas and Cheyenne now pitch camps near the Bluecoats lodges. The wasicun leaders send word to all tribes, ally and enemy, through the traders and trappers at fur posts in all territories. Red Cloud sent me to you, for he has great respect for Rising Bear and Tall Elk and their people. Our shaman told him your people and the White Shields do many things to help all Dakotas battle the wasicun and Apsaalooke, though word of your deeds has not been sent to us. He waits to learn of such bold and brave coups when you gather with us at Fort Laramie."

  Rising Bear was amazed such a vision had been given to the Teton shaman. He knew that Fort Laramie to their southwest was called a "way station," land-marker, and fur trading post by the Whites. Two summers past, the Bluecoats had taken over the fort and made it even larger and more powerful, for many braves attacked the wagontrains which encroached on their lands, a path which had become known to Whites as the Oregon Trail. As more Whites came to stay or passed through and more Indians camped around the post, hatreds and hostilities had increased. He had been told that the emigrants were heading for "free land" offered by the Great White Chief in places called Oregon and California and some men sought the yellow rock in the latter location.

  "Why would we want to make peace with the wasicun and our enemies when they encroach on our lands and attack us?" Rising Bear reasoned. "Long ago, the numbers of traders, trappers, settlers, and travelers were few; now, more stay or cross our lands than number whole tribes. The settlers come while the grass is green; their animals graze upon it and their wagons cut deeply into the face of Mother Earth and they kill or chase away the buffalo and other game. We traded with those at Fort Pierre and Fort Laramie long ago, but we halted such foolishness. They cheated us, offered us whiskey to dull our wits, gave us terrible sicknesses, take our women as `squaws', and cause many braves to become weak and to seek all goods from them and to do their tasks. Many live around the posts and forts and become lazy; they forget the old ways or do not practice them. We must not become dependent on the wasicun for survival even in hard times, for it will give them great power over us."

  After most of the men concurred, Four Horns replied, "Red Cloud also says more Whites and Bluecoats will come each season with their powerful weapons and hunters to feed them. Our buffalo herds grow smaller and roam farther away with each increase. The White chief offers us much meat and many goods if we allow settlers to cross our lands in safety; such things will be needed if we are to remain strong to fight them one season, as war between us is sure to come as the White-eyes's greed grows larger than the grasslands and swifter than its spring blanket."

  "To listen and sign their paper is only a trick?" Rising Bear asked.

  "That is true, for the white man will not hold to his treaty with us in the dark moons to come. We will take their gifts and make our signs on their paper, but we will not trust them to keep their word and we will remain ready to battle them when tricked and challenged."

  "What of our worst enemies, the Crow, Arapaho, and Pawnee?" Rising Bear asked.

  "The Pawnee, Comanche, and Kiowa will not come to talk, vote, and sign," Four Horns began his explanation. "The Arapaho, Shoshone, Gros Ventre, Assiniboin, and many tribes and bands of the Cheyenne and Dakota say they will do so if the words of the Great White Chief and Broken Hand are wise and fair and many goods are given in exchange for a truce. The Crow meet to talk and vote among themselves to decide if they will go. If they do not and join forces with the Pawnee against other tribes and Whites, trouble will come fast. It is good the Arapaho do not think the same way as their ally the Pawnee. Broken Hand also wishes to split ally from foe and halt our many wars by marking our lands into separate territories; any who invade the other's will be puni
shed."

  "Even if we do not agree and sign, Father, we must go to Fort Laramie to listen and observe."

  Rising Bear looked at his oldest son and took a deep breath. "What do you say, my people? Do we send a party to Fort Laramie to trick our enemies?" The chief glanced around as he saw all heads nod in agreement. "It is settled, He Topa; we will ride to the parlay to listen and talk."

  Four Horns said he must leave to rejoin Red Cloud's band which was en route to the Big Council, and he would tell his chief that the Red Shields and the White Shields would meet with them at Fort Laramie.

  After the Teton warrior was gone, Wind Dancer said they must carry out the plan of the vision and dream and scare the Crow into going to the parlay, as it would halt the battles between them for a while. A reprieve would give their people time to journey to the Black Hills, set up their winter camps, and finish their late hot season tasks there. As they did so, the five original visionquest companions could travel to where the Crow held their powwow and make sure they were forced into heading for Fort Laramie.

  As Chumani rode to their destination, she noticed the changing landscape. There were numerous huge and odd rock formations, boulders of assorted size, scattered buttes, higher and more frequent hills, many trees-cedar, spruce, pine, and hardwoods-scrubs, and rougher terrain. The grass offered many colors during that season: green, yellow, brown, and red. Porcupines, deer, antelope, coyote, vultures, and other creatures and birds were abundant in the area. They knew another section of vast grassland loomed beyond the rocks and forest. But their goal rested between those two contradictory landscapes.

  As they approached the enormous Crow village where many tribes were gathered to talk and trade, Chumani was aware her blood flow had not begun when she had expected. Perhaps, she reasoned, it was delayed by the Great Spirit and Mother Nature so she could complete her work, or perhaps she was with child. She would tell no one of that latter possibility. If she related it to Zitkala, her best friend might worry and tell others out of concern for her, so for the first time, she kept a secret from the other woman. If she revealed it to her husband, Wind Dancer would probably refuse to allow her to perform her perilous task; and she and Cetan were the only ones who could carry it out.

  Soon, they reached the area which War Eagle and his companions had reported as the Crow encampment. Using the fieldglass and a high boulder, they selected their action site, a furtive approach route to it, and finalized their daring plan.

  After everything was prepared, Chumani-dressed to appear as Bishee Chia Biakalishte, their name for Pte Skawin, White Buffalo Maidenlay on a high brownish gray rock overlooking the Crow village, atop a blanket to avoid soiling the unbeaded white garment. Scattered or clustered atop the low formation and around its wide base were many trees and bushes. Cetan had been dusted with finely ground powder from white and yellow soil and soft rocks to make him appear as a ghostly spirit. Upon her word, the hawk swooped down over the camp and dropped several large cottonwood leaves bound with long blades of grass into the center fire. As soon as the flames ate through the leaves containing stolen gunpowder, a loud and smoky explosion ensued, startling the people there and telling Chumani to leap to her feet. She heard many shrieks and shouts. She saw many women grab children and flee into tepees, and saw warriors retrieve their weapons and look about for the cause of the commotion.

  Red Feather, concealed from their sight to her rear by a downward slope on the high setting, tossed black powder into a small fire he had built there, but did so from a safe distance and closed his eyes against damage, skills he had learned from numerous games of toss-the-hoop. That second loud noise and puff of smoke drew the Crow's attention to her. They watched the odd-colored hawk fly to her and perch upon her shoulder; a thick leather strip to prevent his sharp talons from piercing her delicate skin was concealed beneath her snow-white garment.

  Chumani saw many armed Crow head in her direction from a distance of about ten tall tree lengths away. She shouted in their language, `Ikye!" to seize their attention. She held up her right hand and yelled for them to halt. That was the signal for Wind Dancer, concealed in thick bushes and by a grass-covered hide below her lofty location, to strike a match from the metal box to set fire to the semicircle of gunpowder he had spread around the gray base of the rock. From the center of that black trail, he sent sparkling and hissing snakes darting in both directions until the two reached their destinations where a large pile of gunpowder exploded.

  The warriors jerked their bodies at those sounds and were halted by their chiefs and shamen. All eyes gazed at her in either awe or suspicion.

  Ahkuxpatchiahche, Apsaalooke!" she yelled to the astonished Crow. "Do not approach or attack me or I will destroy you as I destroyed the Dakota brave who tried to do so when I took the Sacred Pipe and Seven Sacred Ceremonies to his people as their Creator commanded. This sun, I have been sent by Akbaatatdia to bring you a message."

  Red Feather, who had crawled upward on his belly and hidden behind a dense cluster of fragrant spruce, called upon his talent with a game he often used with children to amuse them. In the Crow tongue and throwing his disguised voice outward, he made it appear as if his words were coming from Cetan who clacked his beak and fluttered his large wings at Chumani's command. Red Feather said in a loud and strange voice, "I was sent by Dakaake Suua to command you to listen to her words and obey them. If you do not, I will return to Dakaake Suua and tell the Thunderbird Spirit not to send any rain in coming seasons to grow your sacred tobacco plants and to grow the grass your horses need. Do not come near her, for she is big medicine and is protected by the Creator."

  Chumani observed the Crow's amazement and fear as the hawk spoke, jerked his feathered head about, his round eyes watching them intently. Without moving her lips, as Red Feather had taught her, she whispered for Cetan to cease his clacking and movements, and he settled himself again.

  The most powerful chief who was in charge of the powwow, took two steps forward and shouted, "What message do you bring from the Creator? Speak Old Man Coyote's words. We will listen and obey."

  Chumani had practiced this event many times, but she spoke slowly and carefully so she would not make a mistake and use a Lakota word or sign. "Go to the Big Council at Fort Laramie and make truce with the Whites, Dakotas, and other enemy tribes" she instructed. "Leave these lands forever or more evil will visit you, just as it was sent to Sroka's tribe when it invaded Lakota lands to attack its people when it should have been hunting and preparing for winter in their own territory. It is foolish and lazy to raid others for what should be earned with your own hands, wits, and skills. Go to the parlay and sign the white man's paper for truce. Then return to your lands where the stones are yellow and the ground boils and spews forth water and to the land where powder marks the banks of its large river; there, the Creator and his forces will protect you and provide for you, my people."

  She took a quick breath and gave more force to her voice. "If you do not obey this message, Mother Earth will not grow your sacred tobacco within her belly; any seeds you plant in her will wither and die," she warned. "The Little People will not give your arrows strength or true aims, and your enemies will slay you. The Thunderbird will turn his eyes from you and deny you the rain you need. If you do not believe such things will happen as punishments, ask the tribe of Sroka which was twice attacked by such forces in warning to them. When the son of Rising Bear of the Oglala Red Shields was snared by Sroka, whom all know his name and coups, Akbaatatdia sent His spirit-helpers to free their captive, for he turned the eyes and wits and hands of Sroka's people from their seasonal tasks. Old Man Coyote filled their hearts with such hatred and anger against Sroka that they slew their greatest warrior with many arrows. Are my words not true, Sroka's tribe?"

  Chumani watched as that chief stepped forward and nodded, shocking the others present. "Hear me, all Apsaalooke, for you will not be warned again. I will send my helper to Akbaatatdia with your answer," she said as she stroked Cetan's
chest. "What will you do, my people?"

  A vote was taken and a reply given to her. She smiled and nodded, then told Cetan to take flight. All eyes followed his path and their bodies turned away from her as if to see where their Creator dwelled. That distracting tactic allowed her the time and chance to seemingly vanish as she hurriedly sneaked down the rock's decline with her grinning companion. With haste, she, Red Feather, and Wind Dancer crept to another site, using the series of large formations to conceal their presence and passings, along with the rabbit furs secured over their feet in the event someone climbed and checked the site.

  The three joined Zitkala and War Eagle at their horses. They mounted and walked for a long distance behind high hills and around rocky upheavals until they knew neither they nor their dust could be sighted by the enemy. Soon Cetan gave a shrill cry from overhead as he caught up with them. Then they galloped toward the Paha Sapa and their people.

  Following a glorious night of fiery passion in their tepee, which had been erected during their absence by the women of their families and with help from other friends, Chumani stood with Zitkala at the edge of their camp to watch Wind Dancer and Red Feather ride away.

  Chumani wished her husband had been left in charge of his people, since his father and brother were going, but War Chief Blue Owl was to have that important duty. Red Feather and many other warriors had gone with them, as had her father and many of the White Shields, though her brother had been left in charge of his band's protection, an action which greatly pleased his wife. She was elated that the White Shields were camped nearby for the winter; that would allow her to visit her family and friends often, to help Rainbow Girl when her baby was born, and to assure her of their safety. Yet, she was apprehensive about her loved ones' journey to Fort Laramie, perhaps to face great perils. With so many enemies-Indian and White-gathered there, conflicts were inevitable.