Lakota Dawn

by Janelle Taylor

  As Chumani nodded permission, Chase put both objects in one hand and the child clasped the other. “I will fetch the pouch and return him soon, Dewdrops. I will guard him until he is in your arms once more.”

  Chumani watched the two walk away as Macha joined her and also observed the departing pair as the two males laughed and talked after Tokapa begged a ride on Chase’s back. “He has much love for my husband’s brother, as do I for saving my son’s life. He will be a good father when you two are blessed with a child.”

  “I yearn to have one, Dewdrops. I also yearn to help save our people as you did at Wind Dancer’s side long ago, but I cannot travel with Cloud Chaser and do such deeds, for I lack your prowess as a female warrior and hunter.”

  “You earned a large coup when you returned Cloud Chaser to life so he could help us during these dark suns,” Chumani said, “and you make him happy as his reward from the Great Spirit for his good deeds. Do not forget, Dawn, you showed large prowess and generosity when you helped save Tokapa’s life, the life of our future chief. Those things mean much to our family and people. We are fortunate you are a Red Shield, for Cloud Chaser’s love for you held him here until we accepted him.”

  “Your words are kind, Dewdrops, and give me much joy. You are wise, for I am in the place and walk the path chosen for me by Wakantanka. Now I must go finish my chores before the sun sleeps.”

  After Macha left to do her work and Chase returned with a laughing Tokapa, who held a pouch with the rock and pinecone, Chumani took the boy to her tepee to finish her own daily tasks.

  Chase joined his father’s wife as she worked at a cookfire near Rising Bear’s tepee. He smiled and greeted her. “Hau, Winona, anpetu waste.”

  The woman stilled her busy hands and glanced at the sunny sky. “Yes, Cloud Chaser, it is a fine day. I am happy you returned to us unharmed. You do many good deeds for us, and I thank you.”

  “As you do many good deeds for us as our chief’s wife, and as you did for me long ago when I was a child and my mother lived no more.”

  Winona put aside her task. “Walk with me in the forest while I gather wood and where we can speak away from the ears of others.”

  Chase followed her into the dense trees where she found a huge fallen pine and sat down upon it. After she motioned for him to sit beside her, he did so, then waited for her to speak. He saw her take a deep breath as if she were deciding what to say and how to say it. He was surprised when she clasped one of his large hands within her two smaller ones, then looked at him and began.

  “It is past the time for truth to live between us, Cloud Chaser. Long ago I was attacked by evil jealousy toward your mother, though Omaste was a good and kind woman, and I hid such wicked feelings from everyone. I feared the feelings which had drawn my husband to her and feared the bond between them in their son, though I knew he did not love her as a man loves a woman or as he loves me. After she was lost to us, I was afraid to accept and love you as my child, for I believed your White blood would take you from us one sun, or the Great Spirit would do so as He had done with Omaste. I understood my husband’s suffering and a man’s needs on the sleeping mat, and I forgave him for his one weakness, but I have not revealed to you my own weakness and wrongs and asked your forgiveness for them. Hatred has never lived in my heart toward you, Cloud Chaser, for you carry the blood of my husband and the Red Shields. Now, greater love fills it for you. I am happy and proud you are of our family and were returned to us. I believe Wakantanka has planned and controlled your existence since He created you from my husband’s seed. It is good you had the courage and prowess to return to us and to endure our tests and doubts before accepting you. Will you forgive my bad deeds and the sufferings I caused you?”

  Chase gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He was touched deeply by her enlightening words. “I did so long ago, Winona, for I envisioned what troubled you deeply, as it would anyone who walked in such difficult moccasins following your return from the Pawnee. You are a good mother to your children, a good grandmother to Tokapa, and a superior wife for our chief. You bring great joy to my father’s heart. The truth now lives between and within us. I am proud and happy to call you a second mother and a friend.”

  “As I am to call you my accepted son and a friend.”

  That night, Macha whispered to Chase, “I do not believe the union of Two Feathers and Robin is a happy one. After you rode away, she did not smile, laugh, talk, or work with other females, only with her mother and grandmother. After your cousin left our camp, she became as her past self again. Now that he has returned, she is once more the person she became after their joining.”

  “If she is unhappy, why does she not speak the parting words before their tepee flap and choose another before there is a child between them?”

  “She does not do so out of false pride and great fear. I am certain of it, for I see such feelings in her eyes and movements.”

  “You believe she fears him?”

  “That is so, my husband.”

  “But he would not dare harm her if she leaves him by our custom.”

  “Have you forgotten from the bad and bold way your cousin treated you and still treats you in private that Two Feathers dares what he wills? And it would shame Robin and her family to speak against a member of our chief’s family and to part with him unless he abuses her before others. If he harms her in their tepee, he leaves no marks upon her face and body which others could see. Perhaps he only wounds her with cutting words and deeds, for Two Feathers is a sly and cautious man.”

  “Your words are wise, my beloved wife. But if Robin lacks joy and finds courage, she will part with him. Let us think and speak of sad things no more. Let us find our own joy and courage in the journey before us.”

  Macha looked at him in confusion. “What journey, my husband? Do you speak of the one to Bear Mountain soon?”

  “No, I speak of this one, Sunshine of my heart,” Chase disclosed with a grin as his mouth sought and found hers, and he eagerly pulled her close.

  When it was Chase’s turn to scout the surrounding area for enemies and other perils, he chose Bent Bow to ride with him, which elated the young brave. They armed themselves, took food and water, and left camp early that morning, as their task would require all day.

  As it had been peaceful since reaching that winter location, the two men didn’t think they would encounter any threats yet, both stayed alert for dangers.

  It was shortly before midday when trouble struck.

  Chase reined in his sorrel and told his companion, “Look there,” as he motioned to fresh prints on the ground. “Iron shoes of a white man’s horse.”

  “Two horses, and they ride into the sacred hills,” Bent Bow deduced.

  “We must track them to see where they go and what they do here.”

  Without further words or hesitation, the two men followed the trail a long way from their camp into the forested foothills and canyons. They halted when they heard gunfire and glanced at each other to signal caution. They dismounted and moved with great stealth toward the ominous noise, taking cover behind large boulders on an incline which overlooked a rushing stream.

  Using fieldglasses, it did not take Chase long to assess the situation and locate their positions. He listened as the two White aggressors shouted back and forth between them.

  “Don’t waste no more ammo, Hank; he ain’t got no more arrows, so let’s rush ‘im and kill ‘im pronto.” He referred to the one Indian concealed in a rocky area against the other side of the canyon wall. “We cain’t have ‘im escaping to bring down a bunch of redskins on us afore we stuff our pockets and saddlebags with plenty of gold. It’s just laying there waiting fur us to pick it up, and my hands are itching to oblige it.”

  “You sure he ain’t got no more arrows?”

  “He’da done fired another one by now if’n he did. Good thing he’s a bad shot and we saw ‘im first, or we’d be in big trouble, probably dead.”

  “Let’s give him a few
more minutes before we charge him. You know these red devils are meaner than a snake and tricky as a fox. He ain’t going nowhere stuck in them rocks with no way out; he can’t make a run for it; we’d cut him down in the open.”

  “Well, we cain’t waste much more time on ‘im; it’s acosting us plenty of nuggets and flakes. We gotta be outta here come morning.”

  “Hold your horses, Sam; we got plenty of daylight left. Nobody knows there’s gold here excepting us, or these hills would be crawling with miners and prospectors, Injuns or no Injuns.”

  “We’re sure lucky we wuz the ones who stumbled on to it whilst watering our horses. We’re gonna be rich men soon.”

  “If we stay alive. We won’t if he gits away.”

  “He won’t. We’ll just collect enough to last us until summer. After them Injuns head fur the Plains to hunt buffalo, we’ll sneak back and git plenty more whilst it’s safe.”

  Chase squatted and whispered to Bent Bow, “Two white men; they seek the yellow rocks to steal. Two Feathers is entrapped by them; he has used all of his arrows. They seek to slay him so he cannot flee and bring others to slay or capture them. We will sneak up on them and defeat them,” he decided and revealed his bold and dangerous plan.

  Using all of the prowess they possessed, Chase crept toward one man while Bent Bow did the same with the other. Though they knew Two Feathers’ life was in jeopardy, they could not move fast, as dislodging a rock or stepping on a small branch would expose their presence; they had ample cover from boulders, trees, and bushes to conceal their advance. Soon, both were positioned to attack the enemies who were focused on Two Feathers to make sure he did not make a daring escape attempt; or if he did, to be sure they killed him, as their weapons were loaded and aimed in that direction.

  Chase sneaked up behind his target and rendered the prospector unconscious with a blow to the head. He sent forth a certain bird call to let his companion know he had succeeded, then waited until it was answered to indicate Bent Bow had achieved his objective. After he heard that signal, Chase stood and shouted to his cousin, “We are here, Two Feathers, and our enemies are defeated! It is safe to show yourself!”

  Chase watched his cousin come forward with a scowl on his face, dangling a bow in one hand and an empty quiver in the other. Chase grasped the prospector’s arm and dragged the man to where the second gold-seeker lay on the ground with Bent Bow standing over him. He smiled. “You earned a large coup, my friend. You are brave, skilled, and cunning. Your father will be pleased with your victory.”

  Bent Bow grinned. “We make good companions, Cloud Chaser.”

  Two Feathers joined them, glanced, still frowning, at each in turn, and glared at the two disabled white men. “You stole my coups,” he said angrily.

  Chase shook his head. “You were trapped; we saved your life.”

  “I did not need your help to defeat only two foolish Whiteeyes,” Two Feathers scoffed. “I would have found a way to trick them and survive.”

  “It did not look that way to us,” Chase refuted.

  “Your arrows are gone and you were ensnared,” Bent Bow added.

  “I have a knife, cunning, and strong hands. And the Great Spirit provides many weapons nearby—rocks, limbs for clubs, dirt for blinding.”

  “You could not reach your enemies with them,” Bent Bow argued. “Soon, they would have charged you and slain you with their firesticks. Cloud Chaser heard their words and told them to me. Your peril was large.”

  Two Feathers glared and retorted, “If I could not have reached them with such weapons from Mother Earth, he who failed at the Sun Dance, I could have waited there and sneaked away beneath a blanket of darkness.”

  “You insult me with such words, Two Feathers; that is cruel.”

  “I speak only the truth, weakling son of our war chief.”

  “Your tongue is sharp and cutting on this sun, my cousin,” Chase scolded the irate man, “so you must sheathe it and practice the Four Virtues and honor your Sacred Bow vows. I will fetch the felled prospectors’ horses to transport them to our camp. Bind their wrists for loading them,” he ordered and left to do so, as they should allow his father and their council to decide the men’s fates.

  When Chase returned with the animals, his tawny gaze widened in shock, then narrowed in anger; and Bent Bow was staring at Two Feathers with a similar expression on his own face. “Why did you slay them when that should be our chief and council’s choice?” he demanded as he viewed the men’s slit throats and the wet red blade in Two Feathers’ hand. The wicked warrior casually wiped the victims’ blood on dried grass and sheathed his knife.

  “They are evil and had to die,” he said flatly. “There was no need to take them to our camp and risk them being seen going there or being found there.”

  Chase quelled the urge to strike him. “The deed is done, so we must hide their bodies and possessions and free their horses. It would be perilous to have such things found on our land and near our camp.”

  “Do as you wish, Cloud Chaser, but I ride for camp. They are unworthy of my touch. Let the forest and sky creatures devour them.”

  Chase and Bent Bow watched Two Feathers hurry to his horse, leap upon its back, and gallop away. Chase took a deep breath to calm himself. “We must cover the men and their belongings with rocks and brush, my friend, for no White-eyes or Bluecoats must find them in this condition.”

  “That is wise, Cloud Chaser, for our people’s safety. Your cousin seeks to flee the place of his great shame and weakness and flee from the eyes of those who witnessed it and saved his life. He did not give us thanks for our good deed; that is bad.”

  “I do not know why, Bent Bow, but my cousin hates me,” he repeated the sad observation. “It does not please him I was one of those who rescued him from certain death. He killed the Whites as revenge on me for my White blood.”

  “I could not halt him. When I turned to fetch my weapons where I had placed them to free my hands to strike the man, he drew his knife and took their lives. It is wrong for him to have such bad feelings for you. He shames himself with them and his actions.”

  “That is true, my friend.” Sensing Bent Bow’s dismay, he coaxed, “Do not blame yourself; you did not fail in your duty. My cousin is sly and quick, and you could not read his wicked thoughts before he carried them out.”

  The son of Blue Owl nodded his gratitude.

  As Chase noticed the excellent condition of the two breechloaders, a Hall carbine and Sharp’s ‘48 rifle, he said, “We will keep their weapons, and I will teach you how to use them on another sun.” He also kept the ammunition, as it might be needed later. He noted that the two roans had telltale brands, so he decided to free their horses and hide their other possessions. “It would be dangerous for them to be discovered in our camp,” he told Bent Bow. “Let us do our tasks now, return to our scouting duty, and then ride for our camp.”

  At dusk in the meeting lodge, the Red Shield chief and council sat in a group with Chase, Bent Bow, and Two Feathers positioned before them as they listened to the revealing episode and observed their demeanor.

  After each had given his version of the incident, Rising Bear asked Two Feathers, “Why did you ride alone and hunt so far from camp?”

  “That is what my restless spirit told me to do. When I saw the White-eyes, I tried to slay them to prevent them from gathering the yellow stones and stealing them. If they showed them to others, more would come here. They used their powerful firesticks against me,” he reminded them.

  “None of your arrows struck them?” an elder asked.

  “That is true, for my enemies hid behind rocks.”

  “Why did you insult those who rescued you?” another elder asked.

  “I did not need their help, so they stole my coups.”

  “Coups belong to the warriors who earn them, to the ones chosen by the Great Spirit to receive them for good deeds,” Nahemana said.

  “Since I was guided to our enemies, Wise One, does tha
t not mean I was chosen to earn them, but others intruded and stole them?”

  Nahemana shook his head, but Blue Owl pointed out, “You were helpless when they arrived and were guided by generosity to save you. It is bad to use knifing words on companions and band members, and it is bad to slay the captives of another warrior and to defy a scout’s orders.”

  Two Feathers repeated the things he had told Chase about how he could have defeated the prospectors if given the time, and he considered it his right to deal with his attackers in the manner in which he chose.

  Bent Bow, delighted by his father’s pride and defense of him and Chase, repeated his responses and actions—and those of Chase—at the scene.

  Following more questions and remarks, the chief and council huddled to discuss the matter in whispers and reached their decision swiftly.

  “It is good Cloud Chaser and Bent Bow rode the path shown to them by Wakantanka,” Rising Bear said. “It is bad what Two Feathers said and did after his rescue. Two Feathers must enter the sweat lodge and purify himself of his weakness, shame, and wickedness. During these suns and moons, great danger surrounds us as a mist we cannot see through and battle. We must not slay Whites unless there is no other action to take, for all Lakotas are being watched for attacks and raids, and to do them will call down the Bluecoats’ anger and big weapons upon us. We will tell the Shirt-Wearers to give our words to all warrior societies, who will tell their members. Until war is thrust upon us, we will not provoke it.”

  “But what if we are challenged to a fight, my chief and council?”

  “If so, Two Feathers, we,” Rising Bear said as he gestured to himself and the elders, “will decide what action must be taken on that sun. Do not forget, we voted for peace at the great war council.” He did not think it was necessary to add, If you seek out more Whites to slay, you will be punished, perhaps banished, as their decision implied that grave warning.

  Following the tense meeting and Two Feathers’ hasty retreat, Blue Owl spoke to Chase outside the buffalo hide lodge. “I thank you for helping my son remove the stain on his face and against his honor; you have done many generous deeds for him. If war comes, my son will ride to my right and you will ride to my left when I lead our force against our enemies.”