Lakota Dawn

by Janelle Taylor

  Hanmani, with her back to her family, grinned as she pretended not to awaken during their whisperings Surely, she reasoned, their concerns for Cloud Chaser were good signs, even if they must stay hidden for a while. She assumed her best friend was awake and worrying, too.

  As time passed and nature’s fury increased, brisk winds raged against Leaning Tree’s tepee as if trying to topple it. Macha tossed on her buffalo mat and fretted over Cloud Chaser’s safety and condition during the severe storm’s assault. Rain beat down on the conical abode as if each drop was a hard stone which was flung with great strength. Thunder growled almost like a provoked bear, and she knew from hearing the noisy bolts that lightning streaked across the sky. She feared one of its fiery lances would strike her vulnerable beloved or hit the tree at his campsite and a heavy limb would fall upon him. She could not endure losing him again and forever! She yearned to race to his side, to cuddle with him, and to face such awesome peril in his arms so he would not be miserable and alone amidst it.

  Why, she fumed, was it taking so long to make a decision about his fate? Could everyone not see he was speaking the truth and was worthy of rejoining their band? What was it going to take for him to be accepted? How could it be that only she and Hanmani believed him? Even in the face of so much rejection and distrust, surely the two of them could not be wrong. Perhaps others did want to befriend him—such as his brothers and hers—and were as entrapped by the current situation as she and Hanmani were.

  Great Spirit, protect and guide Cloud Chaser along the path You have chosen for him to walk, she implored. Soften our people’s hearts toward him. Make him a Red Shield again. Send peace and safety to our people and land. Join our Life-Circles, for I love him and need him as my mate.

  Ignoring the fierce storm, a drenched and excited Two Feathers went to Rising Bear’s tepee the next morning. After the flap was unlaced and he was invited inside, he gazed around and saw only four people present, which greatly pleased him. “Cloud Chaser has fled, my chief; he and his possessions are gone,” he announced. “I searched the forest for him to see if he had taken cover there, but he had not. He must be pursued, captured, and punished before he brings enemies to our camp to attack us. We cannot wait for the storm to halt; I will lead the hunting party to find and return him.”

  War Eagle concealed his anger as he asked in a calm tone, “Did you look to see if his horse is missing?”

  “It is still among yours. He must have stolen another’s to ride. Surely he goes to betray and endanger us. We must not allow his victory.”

  War Eagle allowed his exasperation to show as he scolded, “Your bad feelings for him misguide and ensnare you, my cousin. Cloud Chaser escapes the powerful forces of nature inside the tepee of our brother.” He observed Two Feathers’ astonishment and disappointment before they were masked.

  “He is with Wind Dancer?”

  “That is true. Return to your tepee and look into your heart and head to find what causes such evil to stalk you, and destroy it before the next sun rises and we break camp.” He watched Two Feathers nod and depart in a hurry, no doubt concerned about being thwarted before Rising Bear. He turned to his parents and sister, who had remained silent. “It is time I speak to you of my cousin’s bad deeds,” he said, then exposed the man’s recent words and actions.

  “Why does he seek so hard to defeat Cloud Chaser?” Winona asked.

  “I do not know, Mother, for I have not seen or heard Cloud Chaser provoke or challenge him. Two Feathers does not want him here.”

  “That is for Father and the Great Spirit to choose,” Hanmani said.

  “Your words to him were wise, my second son,” Rising Bear said. “We must pray to the Great Spirit to purify him of such bad feelings.”

  “If that does not happen soon, Father, he will cause trouble, for his hatred of my brother is large.”

  “Watch him with cunning eyes to see what you can learn. When his troubled spirit calms, speak to him of such bad feelings. Say nothing to his family and others about this matter, for soon it may be gone. If not, I will speak away from camp with the son of my sister.”

  War Eagle nodded obedience, but was doubtful his cousin’s feelings would change. All he could do to help was to keep the men apart. “After we eat,” he said, “I will go to my brother’s tepee to see what I can learn there. I will speak of all I hear and see when I return, but my visit may be long.”

  “Come, sit, the food is ready,” Winona told them.

  As Chase ate the meal served to him by Chumani, he watched his nephew eating and talking in the space between Wind Dancer’s thighs. “The food is good, Dewdrops, and I thank you,” he told her.

  Chumani half smiled at him as she sat down and took Tokapa from her husband so Wind Dancer could eat and she could assist their son.

  Chase was calm, as he had slept fairly well for the remainder of the night while the storm assailed the tepee and surrounding area. It still raged outside, so the departure plan was postponed until the next day. He had not been asked to return to his campsite and would stay as long as Wind Dancer allowed him to do so, with hopes of worming his way into their affections and close-knit unit. He watched Tokapa eating.

  “You have a fine son, my brother. Many things seize his eye and tempt his hand,” Chase said of the inquisitive child who had been toddling around as his mother worked, and getting into mischief on occasion. Each time Chumani had retrieved and distracted him from an object of interest—once he had played with his saddlebags, another time he had tumbled on the strange bedroll, and yet another, wanting to see the rain, he tried to unlace the entry flap—the boy’s actions had greatly amused Chase. At one point, the boy had climbed into his lap to grasp the locket he wore around his neck, one which had belonged to his mother and bore pictures of her parents, the only way he knew how his other grandparents looked, as they were long dead. He had opened the locket and shown the pictures to the boy, whose stubby forefinger had touched them several times. He had been relieved Tokapa had not cried and fought when Chumani explained he could not have the locket and must not yank on it and break the gold chain. He was enjoying their child and those peaceful surroundings, and was wishing for his own even more than in past days.

  Wind Dancer nodded and smiled. “He learns much on every sun and keeps us racing after him in his busy quests. His legs are still slow like the turtle’s, but his mind runs as swiftly as the deer. If there is something unknown within his reach, he seeks to learn its mystery. Each time Grandmother tends him, she is weary before the sun is high above us; and Grandfather’s voice is weak from answering his many questions.”

  Chase noticed the loving looks which passed between the couple and knew their feelings for each other ran deep and strong. “The Great Spirit blessed you with a good wife and son,” he said to Wind Dancer. “You and Dewdrops are well matched.”

  “Did you leave a woman behind in the land far away?” Chumani asked as she removed their wooden bowls and the buffalo horn cups embedded in sturdy pine blocks to keep them erect. While she rinsed and stored the eating items, she listened and furtively watched him as he responded.

  “No white woman captured my eye and heart as you did my brother’s. Perhaps in the seasons to come, Wakantanka will choose a special female for me to join and we will have a fine son like Tokapa.”

  War Eagle looked at Chase and nodded a greeting when he arrived to join them, having overheard their last few exchanges as he unlaced and relaced the entry flap. As he sat down near the two men, he was reminded of his love and acceptance of Cloud Chaser when they were children and wished he could show them again. But he had become a warrior during his second brother’s absence and he hoped to become his people’s future war chief when Blue Owl was too old to carry that dangerous and demanding rank. With his current duties as Sacred Bow Carrier and future band chief if Wind Dancer was slain, he could not allow himself to be swayed by those feelings and memories. He knew it was the same for their father: Rising Bear feared it
would cast a stain upon his honor and cause dissension if Cloud Chaser failed to prove himself. Yet, he was eager to learn more about the man his second brother had become, just as this near-stranger needed to learn more about them. “Tell Cloud Chaser how you found Dewdrops and claimed her,” War Eagle coaxed, “and the many deeds you two did to save our people.”

  While Chumani sat a short distance away to bead and their son played beside her, Wind Dancer told Chase how he and Chumani had each lost a mate and son to Crow raiders and how he had been given a vision to go to the chief of the White Shield Brule Lakotas and lay claim to her as his Wakantankachosen wife and vision-quest companion in a bold and dangerous attempt to defeat the Crow in many ways and locations. He related the adventures they had shared. His voice filled with reverence and his expression with lingering amazement as he spoke about a mystical wolf-dog and Old Woman who had helped them several times, and Chumani’s hawk.

  Chase was saddened by the losses of their first families and knew it must be agonizing to have a mate and a child slain by enemies; he realized how a hunger for revenge must have gnawed viciously at the two of them. He was astounded to hear how Chumani had raised the hawk Cetan from a young age for both, how that bird had assisted them with such intelligence, and how Cetan had found a mate and returned to the wild. As he glanced at the lovely and feminine woman of twenty-seven, he was astounded that she had become a skilled warrior andhad ridden on such a dangerous mission at her husband’s side. He knew there was no one better to be the wife of a future chief than the daughter of a chief and ally, a woman who could defend his home and family when he was away hunting or warring, a woman who clearly adored and respected him, and a woman who possessed his love and esteem. You’re one lucky man, my brother, and I hope I have the same good fortune with Dawn.

  “Do you remember the story Grandfather told us as boys about the Old Woman Who Quills At The Edge Of The World and her companion?” War Eagle asked when his second brother remained quiet.

  Chase only nodded from a sense of shared awe.

  “We believe our helpers were the Old Woman and her wolf-dog,” War Eagle disclosed, “for when they came and went, they left no moccasin or paw prints upon the face of Mother Earth.”

  Chase thought about all the adventures Wind Dancer and Chumani had shared and asked her, “Were you not afraid when you sneaked to a Crow camp to rescue my captive brother, and when you appeared to the large encampment of many Crow bands as White Buffalo Maiden, and when you walked inside the wooden poles at Fort Pierre Trading Post to trick them?”

  “Fear squirmed within me as a snake trying to find a place to strike and slay me, but it was fear for the safety of my beloved husband and friends and a dread of failing in my sacred tasks. I believed the Great Spirit was guiding and protecting us and had sent others to help us. Perhaps in the dark suns ahead, He will send them to us again as helpers.”

  Chase remembered what the Whites would call myths or legends, but he believed life contained many inexplicable mysteries and powers. He had heard the story of the beautiful White Buffalo Maiden, Pte Skawin, who had come to the Dakotas long ago to give them their Seven Sacred Ceremonies and other rituals and the Prayer Pipe. He knew the story of their creation and the Great Flood which had cleansed the world of evil and then been repopulated by The Chosen Ones: a great chief and a brave maiden, which reminded him of the Biblical flood with Noah and the union of Adam and Eve. He had not forgotten the tale about the Old Woman who quilled daily on a buffalo hide, whose work was unraveled by her wolf-dog companion when she went to add wood to her fire and stir her soup; for if she ever completed her task, the Dakota World would end.

  He looked forward to meeting the best friends who had ridden with them: Red Feather and Zitkala. “The Creator gave you many skills and much wisdom, Dewdrops, and you used them with great cunning and courage at my brother’s side when you defeated the enemies. When I find a mate, I hope she possesses your many good traits.” And I’m sure Dawn does.

  “I thank you for your kind words, Cloud Chaser, but both enemies—the Crow and Whites—seek to strike at us again. Peace often is as short as the night flower’s life. Yet, while it blooms, it gives much beauty and joy.”

  When his brother began speaking, Chase had to halt his mind from racing back in time to his first meeting with Macha, who had been gathering night-blooming flowers, so he could listen to Wind Dancer’s words.

  “My wife speaks with much truth. With the death of Broken Hand Fitzpatrick, more conflicts will arise with our White and Indian enemies. The new agent does not think and act like Broken Hand, for Thomas Twiss does not know us as Fitzpatrick did. Already Spotted Tail and Little Thunder and other Brule chiefs challenge the Bluecoats and settlers, and all Lakotas are held to blame. The treaty will not halt either side from taking or doing as they desire, for all desire the same land and its gifts.”

  War Eagle took over when Wind Dancer grew silent. “The Bluecoats put up many forts on Lakota hunting grounds and on those of our allies and our enemies. The settlers do the same with trading posts to supply their people and to buy furs from Indians. During the last hot season, those called Mormons chased Bridger from his trading post on the Green River for selling and trading powder and lead balls to Indians for hunting and raiding, for those strange Whites said Indians used those weapons to attack their people and other settlers. The largest and most powerful are called Fort Laramie and Fort Kearny. We were told our enemies the Pawnee sold the Whites land at the Platte River for Fort Kearny, but the Pawnee did not own that area; all land belongs to the Great Spirit for the use of His people and animals. The Bluecoats say forts are to protect peaceful tribes from enemy attacks and to protect the settlers who travel the path called the Oregon Trail. That is the path you journeyed?”

  “That is true, my brother, but it is a long and dangerous one. Oregon is not like the Plains. It has many rivers, trees, and mountains. Its mouth touches great waters I could not see beyond. Many forts and trading posts sit along the trail to far away, but reaching the next one is long and hard, and many settlers cannot continue and many die or are injured. We saw markers where many were buried, dwellings where some halted and stayed, bones of their animals, and discarded possessions, for many wagons were too heavy to cross such high and steep mountains or animals became too weary to pull them, and some were slain for food. Evil white men and hostile Indians attacked and robbed some on the fringes. Strange illnesses assailed them, but Lucy Martin kept me safe. When supplies ran low, she made sure I was fed before she ate; and sometimes she went without food so I could have hers to get strong enough to heal.”

  “Why did the settlers endure such hardships to find new land?”

  “To be free, Dewdrops, and to have land to call their own, for Whites put up their abodes and live in one place in all seasons. There are many troubles between the Whites in the land where the sun rises. Many have nothing: few garments and little food. To live in the Sunrise Land is like…” Chase paused to come up with a way to explain the North/South conflict which many Americans felt would lead to a great war one day. “It is like being a slave to the Crow or Pawnee, and they seek to escape far away where they can be safe and happy. But some Whites go to the land where the Sun sleeps to…” How do I explain, to get rich? “To gather many coups and possessions, for they are greedy and selfish. They are bad even to their own kind, for their hearts are evil. Their lives and customs are different from ours, and I lack the words in our tongue to reveal such things to you, for if you have not experienced what I have, you will not understand.”

  “That is why we cannot live in peace together,” War Eagle asserted, “for we are too different and we must be enemies.”

  “Not all Whites are evil, my brother,” Chase refuted in a gentle tone. “The Martins were good people who only wanted freedom, joy, and a way to live off of the land. They taught me to farm, and gave me my horse Red.” He told them how the Martins had earned and saved money until they had enough to purcha
se the animal as a gift to him, and explained how the Whites celebrated the day one was born each year. “Do you remember when your mother was stolen by the Pawnee and you believed she was lost to you forever?” he asked Wind Dancer, who nodded.

  “My mother Omaste took care of you and loved you as if you were her son. You told me you came to love, trust, and accept her as a second mother until Winona’s return. I felt the same about Lucy Martin. I became Chase Martin, her son in all ways but blood. But in my heart, I was sad and lonely for my father, brothers, and sister; it pained me to think my family and people were dead, lost to me forever, just as your heart and mind were attacked when you lost your first son. It was filled with happiness when I was told my people still lived, and I was eager to return to them. I was reared by Whites, my brothers, but I did not become one in heart and spirit. After Tom Martin died and I learned the truth, I could not leave unprotected the woman who had made me her son. Was it wrong to be kind, generous, and forgiving to an old one who loved and needed me? If so, I am guilty of those deeds and mistakes. I will do what you say to purify myself to regain my honor and place here.”

  “Only the Great Spirit can answer your question and make a path for your return to us,” Wind Dancer said. “Wait to learn if He does so.”

  Chumani had observed the three men during their long talk and had come to like, respect, and trust Cloud Chaser, and to enjoy his company. Yet, his fate was not in her hands. Certain her husband could use a reprieve from the arduous meeting, she stood and smiled. “The storm has passed. I will go fetch water and wood and do other chores. Do not forget, my husband, you must go to speak with Red Feather. Cloud Chaser can return to his camping place until we leave on the new sun.”

  Wind Dancer told his cunning and thoughtful wife, “I will take Tokapa with me while you do your tasks, for he is restless and needs to run about to calm himself before he rests.” To War Eagle he said, “You must meet with the Sacred Bow Carriers to be certain all plans are made for our journey on the next sun, for many dangers may strike at us along the way.” To Chase he said, “Go to your camping place and prepare yourself for our long ride. I will come for you at first light.”