Lakota Dawn (12 page)

Help me, Great Spirit, for You summoned me here. Tell me what I must do and say to become Rising Bear’s honored son. Protect Dawn from my cousin’s evil hunger, and help me to win her for my wife.

Three days later, Chase left on a second hunt with his two brothers and another large party. This time, Two Feathers rode with them. They had just begun the hunt when trouble struck. Almost simultaneously, Chase and the others heard ominous gunfire coming from over the next rolling hill and the buffaloes closest to them spooked at the noise and started running in the opposite direction, which fortunately was away from the workers and encampment.

One of the scouts came galloping toward Wind Dancer, who was near Chase, and War Eagle and others hurriedly joined them to assess the situation. All listened as the anxious brave told the next chief about six white men who were slaying the large beasts with “firesticks.”

Two Feathers scowled in anger. “We go challenge them.”

“Wait, my brother, do not ride in haste!” Chase shouted. “It could be a trick to lure you into danger.”

“They are the foolish ones to intrude on our lands and to slay our creatures! See how they frighten away the herd.”

“That is true,” Chase said to appease his irate cousin, “but does the treaty not say Whites can travel across these lands in safety? Take me with you, my brother, to speak with them, to urge them to leave. If you slay them, it will call down the soldiers on your camp and people.”

“Wind Dancer and War Eagle speak English. Your help is unneeded.”

Chase glanced at Two Feathers as he said, “That is true, my cousin, but they must not reveal such a powerful secret to the enemy. They speak English, so they will know all the Whites say to me and I say to them. Perhaps they will speak more freely if they do not know others understand. For certain, it is dangerous to attack them first.”

“It is a good plan,” War Eagle concurred with Chase. “We have much to do this season; we cannot war and hunt at the same time. If we do not hunt while it is hot, when the cold season comes, we will be hungry and will lack hides for shelter and garments.”

Wind Dancer eyed his half-brother and gave the matter a hasty study, realizing there was no way the man could deceive them, and his younger brother had made a good point. He glanced at Red Feather and his friend gave a slight nod. “We go, and you will speak for us, Cloud Chaser,” Wind Dancer agreed.

Chase watched the bearded white men observe their approach with their own awesome weapons at the ready. He surmised they must be curious about a half-breed dressed as a white man and signaling for a parley and riding with five wellarmed Indians. He reined in and drifted his tawny gaze over them and then over the dead animals, which two had been skinning. “Why are you hunting on Lakota lands when it’ll bring trouble for both sides?” Chase saw one burly man take a few steps beyond his companions, so he deduced that was their leader and spokesman.

“Name’s Jake Hardin. What’s yourn, stranger?”

“Chase Martin. So what are you men doing here?”

“The treaty says we kin hunt in this area. We hafta go where them buffalo are agrazin’. We don’t intend to take more ‘an fifty or sixty today; that leaves aplenty for them Injuns. Why you aridin’ with ‘em?”

“I’m staying with them for a while. I think it’s best if you men go hunt elsewhere. They’re hunting here for the next few weeks, and the area isn’t big enough to share with you. Staying around will only provoke them. No need to do that when you can hunt a day’s ride from here.”

“We done took down about twenty and they be ready to skin. We cain’t go alosin’ that much ball and powder and time. We’ll be gone by sun-up.”

“Like I said, Hardin, your gunfire is spooking the herd, so you need to move along before these Lakotas get riled.”

“You sayin’ them Injuns is gonna attack us if’n we don’t leave?”

“They got here first, five days back, and you’re intruding. It’s much easier for you men to move your camp than for them to do so. There’s no need to spark trouble when you can hunt elsewhere.”

“Like I said, Martin, we done got started on our work, so we cain’t be obligin’ you today. If they attack us, they’ll be in big trouble; soldiers will come and punish ‘em good and hard. You tell ‘em that for us. I’m takin’ it they knows what the treaty says and they agreed to honor it. Them is Sioux with you, ain’t they?”

“Sioux
is a white man’s word, Hardin, and it’s an insult to them, so I’d drop it from my vocabulary if I were you. These are Lakota warriors; they’re highly skilled and well trained, so I wouldn’t go antagonizing them.”

“Don’t make no never mind to us who or what they be, ‘cause we got a right to be here. You start trouble and the soldiers’ll finish it.”

“If you men don’t ride out now, we’ll have to capture you and take you to the fort to check out your claim that you have
permission to be hunting here today. It’s my guess, the soldiers don’t want you causing trouble they’ll have to resolve. Why don’t we just pack up and ride in to check out your story? Of course, accidents do happen along the trail, so I hope we can make it there without any of you men getting injured or killed, if you catch my meaning.” Chase saw the man and his companions eye the Indians closer, no doubt assessing the warriors’ strengths and weaknesses.

“Tell me, Martin, why are you sidin’ with them Injuns?”

“They’re my friends, and I’m trying to prevent unnecessary trouble. I’m sure the soldiers will agree with my line of thinking.”

Jake huddled and whispered to his companions, then turned and said, “We’ll be agoin’, but don’t go acrossin’ paths with us again. Might not be healthy for you or them, if you catch
my
meanin’.”

“Fair enough,” Chase scoffed at the implied threat. As the Whites galloped off, he again stressed to Wind Dancer, “We must get our hands on that treaty, my brother, to know all it contains.”

“I will think on your plan,” was all Wind Dancer could say at that time, though he thought it was a good idea.

“Why not have the women skin and butcher the slain buffalo since the kills and meat are fresh?” Chase suggested.

“No, for their iron balls taint the meat,” Two Feathers snarled.

“Cut off the area where the iron ball entered the animal,” Chase reasoned, “but use the rest of it. If the meat is prayed over and cooked well, surely that will purify it of any evil.”

“If Whites watch us, they will think we frightened them away so we can take their kills. We do our own hunting. Is that not true, our leader?”

Wind Dancer felt compelled to agree with his cousin to prevent trouble, and he saw Two Feathers grin in victory. “We will let the coyotes, sky birds, and others feast on their carcasses. Come. We must hunt before the sun sleeps.”

* * *

When they returned to camp at dusk, Rising Bear and a large group of men were waiting for them to get a report on the day’s events.

After the news was given, Winona’s brother asked, “What will we do if the Whites return and bring more men and weapons with them and scare away the buffalo? Will we move to another place or will we fight them?”

“You must not attack them, Strong Rock,” Chase urged, “or soldiers will come to punish the Red Shields. The White hunters said the treaty gave them permission to hunt here. Do you remember if that is true, Father?”

“I do not remember such things being told to us at Long Meadows.”

Chase was pleased that his father had responded directly to his question. Before he could speak again, Strong Rock made an accusation.

“The White leaders tricked us and put in words you were not told.”

“Perhaps that is true, Father,” Chase agreed with the older man. “Let me ride to Fort Laramie and get the papers with the treaty words so we will know what they say. I can read the white man’s marks for you.”

Runs Fast, the father of Two Feathers and Broken Lance, said, “It is dangerous to steal the treaty words. The soldiers will follow you and attack our camp.”

Chase glanced at Runs Fast and hoped the man did not possess his first son’s irascible traits. “I will sneak into the fort and find where the papers are stored. I will write them on other paper, return the others to their place, and bring my words to you so we will know what they say. I will be careful and cunning.”

“I say it is dangerous to let Cloud Chaser ride to the fort.”

Chase’s concern over the man increased. He knew others were observing them and feared the man would incite mistrust and dissension. “Why is it dangerous, Runs Fast?”

“You could betray us while you are there.”

“I would not endanger my family and people. I want them
to remain unharmed and alive. Things are changing swiftly in these lands and the Red Shields must learn other ways to survive. I will teach my people to farm and we can cut and sell wood to the trading posts and steamships to earn money to buy goods and we will not need to depend on Whites and their treaty trade goods. We can buy cattle to raise to prepare for the season when the buffalo and other game have been slain and there are not enough to clothe and feed our band. Perhaps that is why the Great Spirit summoned me here.”

“The white man’s animals are too skinny to feed us,” Two Feathers argued. “We have seen those given to others; they have only hide and bones and little meat.”

“We can fatten them on the Plains, my cousin, for there is much grass there, and we can grow corn and other grasses to give them during the cold season. In the hot season, we can fence in areas to protect them from roaming too far from our camp; and in the cold season, they can graze in canyons with one entry. They will provide much meat and hides.”

“Animals are not to be trapped by wood and ropes,” Two Feathers scoffed. “They must be free, as we must be free. We must enslave no creature.”

“The Red Shields must prepare for dark days ahead when the buffalo are few, my cousin, or they will go hungry, naked, and without shelter. The cows we raise will supply the same things we get from the buffalo: hides, meat, horns, hooves, stomachs, sinew, bones, and such. The females give milk which is nourishing for the young and old.”

“You try to make white men of us. Next, you will ask us to dress, look, speak, and live as they do. We will never do so, will we, my Lakota brothers? Your mind has been stolen by evil spirits and you speak foolish.”

Chase realized Two Feathers was attempting to rile the people against him. He saw nods of agreement from others.
Think and talk fast and smart, or you’ll lose another battle to that sorry snake.
“No, my cousin, I try to find ways to help my people survive the changes the white man brings with him. I speak from all I have seen and learned about them. Their numbers are great and their weapons are powerful; it will be
hard to push them out of these lands, for they have a strong grip upon it. You must think of peace, my father and people, for many of the Whites are not very different from Indians.”

Two Feathers laughed aloud. “How are our enemies like us?”

Chase tried to explain the similarities between the two cultures and that many settlers only wanted freedom and peace. “There are good and bad people on both sides,” he clarified. “Do not forget how one tribe wars with another from a different nation, how hunting grounds are taken by the strongest, how some tribes enslave their enemies, and how they raid them for possessions; it is the same with the Whites. Even if real peace is not possible, trick the Whites and enemy tribes into believing it is for as long as you can; for with each passing sun and moon, our band grows stronger and larger for the day when such enemies must be challenged.”

“If you truly want to become a Red Shield, yield to the Sun Dance and vision-quest to prove your words and feelings,” Two Feathers said. “If you are strong and true, you will find victory at the cottonwood pole.”

“I have told you, my cousin, this is not the time for me to do so. I believe the sun will rise when I must ride among the Whites and soldiers to learn their secrets. If I submit to the Sun Dance, I will have scars to expose who and what I am.” Chase saw his cousin frown when the shaman lifted his hand for silence and started to speak to the group.

“I will seek a sacred vision soon and the Great Spirit will tell us what we must do,” Nahemana said. “Until that sun, we must continue our work. When you talked with the encroachers, did you believe their words?” he asked Cloud Chaser.

“No, Wise One; I think they spoke with false tongues.”

“Why did you not slay them and hide their bodies?” Nahemana asked.

“Others might know they are here or might be watching and would ride to summon the soldiers to attack us. All should learn English, so—”

“We become White except for our skins? Your words are—”

Nahemana sent Two Feathers a silencing stare. “Let him speak.”

“No, my cousin, I do not wish to make Whiteskins of my people. I say learn their tongue, so when contact is made anyone can pick up potential deceit. I beg you, Father, let me go scout for you at the forts.”

“If he meets with our enemies, he will reveal our secrets.”

Chase stared at his tenacious first cousin.
What bloody “secrets” do you keep talking about? Obviously there’s something I don’t know
…

Rising Bear frowned at Two Feathers and said, “We will do nothing until after Nahemana’s vision-quest.”

“If the Great Spirit orders him slain or banished, will you do so?”

Rising Bear studied the persistent son of his only sister and realized Wind Dancer and War Eagle were right about the younger man’s distrust and animosity toward Cloud Chaser, and was concerned and mystified by it. “You should know by now, I always obey the commands of the Creator. Go to your tepees, my people, to eat and rest for our tasks on the new sun.”

Chase nodded and returned to his secluded site, worried about the way many of the men had looked at him during his talk. He feared the Red Shields were not ready or willing to accept the truth about the grim situation facing them. It seemed to him as if he had to do something soon, something daring…