LEGEND of the DAWN: The Complete Trilogy: LEGEND of the DAWN; AFTER the DAWN; BEFORE SUNDOWN.

by J. R. WRIGHT

  Word of what happened at Bluewater Creek had already reached Laramie by the time they arrived. It had been brought by a fifteen year old Oglala boy to his family, camped at the nearby village. He was out on a hunt with others when they heard the cannon fire. Bravely, he alone worked his way in close and had witnessed the devastation from a cliff top overlooking the valley. The boy’s name was Cha o ha (Among the trees), who often went by the chosen name Tasunke Witko (Spirited Horse, or frequently interpreted Crazy Horse). It was doubtful he would ever forget what he saw that day and anxiously passed it on to others, who took word of it to James Bordeaux. Bordeaux, in turn, passed it on to officers at the fort.

  Now he, Cola, Bright Moon, and Sarah, among others, watched in horror from in front of the store as the haggard prisoners, predominately women and children, even babies, were paraded past. They were also shocked upon seeing Luke was among them, appearing equally as haggard.

  “That’s Luke!” Sarah shouted when she first noticed him and dashed from the porch.

  James Bordeaux followed. He, too, was curious to know why his friend Tom Hill, a.k.a. Luke McKinney, was among the prisoners, sandwiched between two columns of armed soldiers.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded of the young lieutenant that led the detachment. “These are women and children! And what’s Tom Hill doing among them?”

  The lieutenant reined away from the group and said embarrassingly, “They’re prisoners. General Harney’s orders, sir.”

  “And Hill?”

  “He’s a prisoner too.”

  “Held on what charge?”

  “Treason, among others.”

  “Treason?” Bordeaux was shocked. “What the hell did he do that prompted Harney to charge him with that?”

  “Consorting with the enemy.”

  “Consorting with the enemy! My god, man, that’s what he does! He’s a scout! Consorting with the enemy is his job, for Christ’s sake!”

  “You’ll need to discuss that with General Harney.”

  “Where is Harney?”

  “They’re making a sweep of the plains, hoping to pick up the trail of Little Thunder and his followers.”

  “He couldn’t get Little Thunder, so he settled for women and kids?”

  “Something like that,” the lieutenant said and reined away so he could catch up with his troops before they reached the fort.

  Bordeaux ran to catch up as well. He wanted to hear from Luke’s own lips just what happened. And when he did catch up, he found it difficult to get Luke’s attention, with Sarah hanging on to his arm, wailing as they marched along.

  “Tom! What happened?” he shouted to be heard over Sarah and all the crying children.

  “Harney ordered us fired on when I was bringing Little Thunder in under a flag of surrender. Now he’s making out like it’s my fault they escaped. It’s all horse shit, James!”

  “Is he holding you for court martial?”

  “Yep!”

  “The lieutenant said the charge was treason?”

  “Yep!”

  “You do know that’s a hanging offense?”

  “If Harney had his way, they’d of hanged me out there. He couldn’t get the other officers to go along. Like I said, it’s all bull shit!” Luke took Sarah’s hands from his arm and handed her off to Bordeaux. “I’ll be alright!” he said to her as Bordeaux took her away, crying miserably.

  Standing aside as they marched Luke into the fort, Bordeaux did his best to comfort Sarah. “He’ll be okay, I’ll see to that,” he assured, taking her in for a hug. “Now let me go locate Thomas Twiss so we can get to the bottom of this.” Over Sarah’s shoulder, then, he saw Cola and Bright Moon coming. He turned Sarah over to them when they arrived.

  “What is it, James?” Cola asked, a concerned look on her face.

  He merely shook his head and walked away into the fort. “I’ll know more later,” he said over his shoulder and continued on. He had no desire to get into it again in front of Sarah, who was distraught enough as it was. No doubt she was hopelessly in love with that man, or she wouldn’t have been so hysterical. He hoped for her sake, as well as Tom’s, he could find a way to get the charges reversed. Otherwise these things had a way of escalating out of control – especially when a general was the accusing party. Lesser officers, concerned about their careers, often sided with the superior officer, regardless of the truth.

  Twiss would know what to do. He searched for him now.

  That very day the commanding officer at Fort Laramie, First Lieutenant Hugh Fleming, released all of the Indian prisoners to the Brule tribe camped near the fort. He simply didn’t know what else to do with them, since so many were sick and/or injured. To save himself, he couldn’t figure out why they were taken prisoner in the first place. Near eighty women and children? He didn’t know General Harney well, but wondered now if the man had all of his faculties. Certainly the troops who had brought the prisoners in thought him deranged and openly said so. Everything that happened there at Bluewater Creek was a travesty, according to them.

  To cover his own ass for releasing the prisoners, Lieutenant Fleming encouraged all those who confessed to him to put their version of the ordeal to paper. For those that couldn’t write, Bordeaux was asked to take their stories down, and he did.

  It was these letters that Thomas Twiss later copied and put with letters from Colonel Snively and other officers to be sent to Washington D.C. on behalf of Tom Hill.

  The swift court martial General Harney wanted when he returned from the field two weeks later never materialized. There were not enough officers to serve on the panel. All those on the expedition in question were actually witnesses, therefore, by law, could not serve impartially. That left only the two lieutenants stationed at Laramie. Not enough. A court martial panel must consist of at least three officers, plus one serving as judge. Harney wanted to fudge the rules by hastily promoting some loyal sergeants to the rank of lieutenant, but none of the officers from his command would go along with that idea, either.

  So angry was Harney that he would need to wait until spring to hang Tom Hill (it would take at least that long for a proper panel of officers to be brought in), he moved his army to Fort Pierre, that being newly acquired as a military post, for the winter.

  Of course no one at Fort Laramie was sorry to see Harney go. That fact, however, changed little for Luke, who was destined to wait out the time in an eight foot square cell. Harney saw to that by leaving two soldiers behind to serve as jailers. They were given firm instructions that Luke get only one meal and two escorted latrine breaks a day. Otherwise, he would be left to languish in the small cell, which was actually a storeroom off the mess kitchen, in the officers’ barracks. Fort Laramie had a small stockade, but with winter coming on, that would be too cold for humane incarceration, as determined by Lieutenant Fleming, commanding officer at Fort Laramie once General Harney was gone.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  The letter writing campaign started immediately, headed up by Thomas Twiss and James Bordeaux. Almost everyone that knew Luke as Tom Hill wrote one. And copies of all were sent to anyone who may be of help, even President Franklin Pierce. But the ones that did the most good were those published in popular newspapers throughout the east. The name Harney was associated with “Woman Killer” in most headlines and “Baby Killer” in others. This, of course, put pressure on congress to take action. Even those representatives who previously championed General William S. Harney as the man most likely to bring peace to the plains now wondered if in fact he had done quite the opposite with this most recent action. After all, that land out there, every square mile of the Great Plains, legally belonged to the red man. Without their blessing, we, as a government, could no longer operate forts, or the immigrants travel the various trails to and from Oregon, California or Utah. That, of course, would put a halt to far west expansion and literally rip the country in half.

  Of course we could always go to war, forcibly take back th
e land so generously given by Thomas Jefferson five decades previous. But what if the various factions of the Indian race united against us? Could we win? Not with the few thousand troops stationed in the west presently. Not when there were an estimated quarter of a million Indians residing on the plains presently. Tens of thousands of troops would be needed. And who would pay for that? Besides, the carnage would be unbearable – if not unsustainable.

  No, the only answer was to promote peace, and if that meant Harney needed to go, so be it.

  Now, what to do with this Tom Hill? Through all of the bantering between congress and the print media over the past month, it seemed that every week something new appeared, Tom Hill took on a hero status. The papers not only wanted the man released, they wanted him given an award for what he did. Some even suggested Tom Hill be promoted to the rank of general, and take over Harney’s command. Of course, most of that would never happen, but it made good press and sold newspapers.

  Harney wasn’t relieved from command either. Most in congress felt that would be too embarrassing for them, as well as General William S. Harney. Instead, Harney eventually was transferred to the country’s farthest outpost, in the Oregon territory. There, at least, it would be difficult for the eastern press to reach him.

  Colonel Henri Snively, being the highest ranking officer of the Fort Kearny/Fort Laramie outpost territory, received the letter at Kearny. It was sent by special express messenger from the army’s Jefferson Barracks Headquarters located at St. Louis, Missouri. Excited by what it conveyed, Snively insisted on personally delivering it the remainder of the way to Fort Laramie and make the announcement himself.

  On his way past Bordeaux’s store, once arriving at Laramie, Snively informed all there that they should come to the fort immediately. Up to this point, no one there knew anything yet regarding the eventual fate of Tom Hill, as it pertained to the charge of treason.

  Knowing not what to expect, Bordeaux, Cola, Bight Moon, and Sarah quickly went about bundling the baby, Tom Too, and throwing on coats themselves. Even though it was a bright sunny day, it was, after all, early November – there was a bite to the air.

  Then the most startling thing happened. Just as they hurried from the store, a horseman appeared at the rail out front. It was Chaska, smiling broadly back at them.

  “I’ve come for my wife and son,” he got out before Bright Moon went screaming to him.

  Cola didn’t know what to think of this. This was the day she had dreaded for so long – the day she would lose her adopted daughter and beloved grandson. She wanted to cry, but put on a smile at the sight of the three of them happily together again.

  “You will come with us to the fort,” Bordeaux said. “We think it concerns your father – important news.”

  “Tom Hill? What has happened to him?”

  “You’ll need to come with us. It’s too long a story to tell now.”

  “Okay,” Chaska said, seeing the importance on Bordeaux’s face. “I will go with you.” He climbed down from the horse and walked along with Bright Moon, taking the baby from her for a good look. “He is getting big!”

  “Yep,” Bright Moon smiled broadly.

  “I’m Sarah,” she came up beside him. “I’m a friend of your father. It’s good to finally meet you. You do look like him, you know.”

  Chaska responded as he always did when a reference was made about his looks. “Body white – heart Indian.”

  “Yes,” she uttered, not knowing what else to say, while looking again at his long blonde hair, buckskin garb and moccasined feet. She wondered now if Luke’s heart may contain a bit of Indian as well, compassionate as he was about those people.

  At the fort they saw Colonel Snively on horseback, or muleback in this case, before the troops stationed there, all standing at attention. Just then Lieutenant Fleming came from the side with Tom Hill by the arm and took a position to his front.

  Sarah, anxious to be with Luke, started walking toward him, until Bordeaux reached out and pulled her back. Soon thereafter Snively began to speak loudly enough for all to hear.

  “I have here in my hand a letter from the congress of the United States of America,” Colonel Snively started out. “What it says, just so you’re not kept in suspense, Tom, is that you are a free man!”

  With that, everyone cheered uproariously, but none more than the little group at the back. They cheered, hugged, and cried together as if it was the greatest news ever received, and it was, except for one. And he was left confused.

  “I don’t understand,” Chaska said.

  “You will, when we tell you what happened,” Bordeaux explained.

  “Be happy,” Bright Moon suggested and clapped wildly.

  “What is that, you are doing?” he asked her.

  “Clapping,” she said. “It’s fun! Just do it!”

  So he did, but he didn’t much like it.

  “So now that you know,” Colonel Snively continued, “let me read the letter!”

  “On this day, October 17th, 1855, we, the 34th congress of the United States of America, hereby declare Thomas Hill free of all charges for any crime placed upon him by any person, government, or military institution, within the boundaries of this great land…”

  With that, everyone cheered again. That is, until Snively quieted them. “There’s more!”

  “In addition, this congress finds it within its powers to award Thomas Hill the Congressional Certificate of Merit for his display of exceptional bravery during the Battle of Bluewater Creek…”

  Again there was cheering. However, there was little joy felt by Luke McKinney. He saw this as nothing more than congress sweeping what happened at Bluewater Creek under the rug. Giving him an award wasn’t in any way going to change his mind about the atrocities that happened there. It was wrong what Harney did, and he vowed now to tell that to anyone who would listen for the rest of his life.

  “And that’s not all,” Snively said, “listen to this: Congress is giving Tom a ten thousand dollar cash award. He’ll receive that when he appears for the merit award presentation. It says so right here.” He held up the letter, then got down from the mule in order to personally congratulate him.

  “I want to thank you for what you, Bordeaux, and Twiss did,” Luke said and took the hand offered.

  “It was only right, Tom,” Snively returned. “When will you go to Washington?”

  “We’ll see,” Luke said, but in his heart he knew he never would. Besides, he was still a wanted man from fifteen years ago. What if someone recognized him from the engravings the newspapers would surely print of him, once he arrived? No way would he take that chance, even at this late date.

  Sarah, standing by for Snively to finish, found she could wait no longer and came in for a hug. “Isn’t it wonderful, Luke?” she whispered in his ear. Then, before he could answer, she said, “Chaska’s here.”

  “Where?” He looked around anxiously. He had been worried about him ever since Harney left for Fort Pierre, figuring he may have made another pass by the Black Hills.

  “Come,” Sarah clutched his hand and led the way through the crowd to where Chaska, Bright Moon, Cola, and Bordeaux stood near the open gates.

  Luke rushed up and pulled him in for a manly embrace. “Good to see you, son,” he said, then laughed from the joy that had suddenly come over him. Being freed of a charge that could have gotten him hanged and seeing his long absent son all in the same day was overwhelming.

  “Father,” Chaska responded. He then said in Lakhota, so others wouldn’t know what he was saying, “Too bad my white mother is not here to see this.” Bordeaux had just finished telling him why they were here and of the great honor his father had just received from the wise old men that rule from afar.

  With that, Luke looked into his blue eyes briefly and drew him in again. “I believe she is. I see her in your eyes.” Luke couldn’t help but tear up and turned to Bordeaux to shake his hand for all he had done in securing his release.

&nbs
p; “Thanks for everything, James. And you, Cola,” he shook her hand too.

  “What did I do?” Cola responded.

  “Sarah tells me it was you that took testimony from many of the women brought back from Bluewater Creek and converted it to English.”

  “In their eyes you are quite the hero, Luke. They all credit you with saving their lives,” Cola said. “And you’ll never guess who I saw while I was down there?”

  “Wakinyan Kitala?” (Little Thunder) Luke guessed, saying the name in Brule Sioux so those gathered around would not know the name he mentioned.

  “He came for the remainder of his children before going on to Canada to join up with the rest of his tribe.”

  “And his wife?”

  “She was killed, along with his oldest daughter,” Cola said sorrowfully. “He wanted me to know he holds you in no way responsible, Tom. In fact he credits you for saving the three kids he has left.”

  “That’s good to know,” Luke said. “I was worried they may blame me.”

  “None of them in the village do,” Bordeaux chimed in. “You’ll get a hero’s welcome wherever you go now, Tom.”

  “The only place I’m going is to that little valley Sarah and I discovered three days’ ride west of here. If you ever want to see me again, except for twice a year when I come for supplies, you’ll need to come there,” he said and smiled broadly at all the faces he adored, surrounding him.

  “Mister Hill,” a slender, but tall man wearing a floppy wool hat approached. “My name is Gottley. I rode over to Fort Kearny with the express messenger that delivered that letter from congress, and then on to here with Colonel Snively. I was wondering, sir, if I could have a moment of your time.”