Sweet Savage Surrender (19 page)

A name popped into his head.
Maybe he could get his father’s friend, Henry Sedgwick, to put in a good word for him. He might pack some weight. He was only a
lieutenant colonel and so didn't outrank Chi
vington, but
Henry had some high ranking friends
, including John’s own father, and had always been a help to the Hanlen family whenever possible. He had spent a great deal of time at John’s home in
Missouri
when John was just a boy, and his promotion to lieutenant colonel had been the senior Hanlen’s doing.

He hadn't seen
Sedgwick very often since then.   The lieutenant colonel
had been transferred  from
Missouri
to
a place near
Ft.
Lyon
a couple of months ago when the call for some good  officers went out.   John
hadn’t thought much about it them, but it could prove to be a godsend.
A
sking his help
now seemed the logical thing to do.
The next time Sam Dunham came to see him he would send a message
via Sam to Lieutenant Colonel
Henry Sedgwick
,
asking for his help in getting him out of this  hell hole

Chapter Nineteen

Life at the new Arapaho village, nestled among the cottonwoods, settled back into a normal routine as the days passed.  Skyraven continued t
o t
an hides, do porcupine  embroidery  and other works of art when she had a few moments t
o spare.  There were many chores
that had to be
performed
each day
,
however.  Only after taking care of the
day’s necessities
could she spare time to do the things she
truly
enjoyed.
But no matte where she was or what she was doing, she was
nev
er too busy to think about her white soldier, wondering where John Hanlen was at that moment and if he was all right. He was like the sun’s light, warming her heart, her soul. Oh, how she wanted to be with him again. Would he come back to her as he had promised?

A long, peaceful quiet settled over the area. The braves who had agitated contention had left with Lone Wolf.  If Skyraven could not be truly happy without John Hanlen by her side
,
she had at least settled down to a semblance of contentment. Now that Lone Wolf was gone
,
it did Whispering Wind no good to belittle Skyraven.  She had tried to find new ways of finding fault and blaming Skyraven for Lone Wolf's disappearance at first, had tried to make  life miserable for Skyraven
,
but it did not work.  Skyraven was well liked by the village women.  Whispering Wind was  not.   Her sharp tongue had stung too many, too frequently.  Nor had her emotional display endeared her to the other women.  It h
ad shamed them that an
Arapaho
woman would act
in such a shameful manner.
It was no wonder
then that
Whispering Wind pulled herself into her own little shell and refu
sed to mingle with the others.

Today, as Skyraven walked along the creek collecting drift wood, she felt vibrantly alive.  Last night
,
for the first time there had been a lessening of the tension between her grandfather and herself.  She hoped that she had softened his heart and that he at last fully understood how she felt about her soldier.  With a long, drawn out sigh he had agreed to approve of the marriage when John Hanlen came back, had even said he would perform the ceremony.  Was it any wonder t
hat this morning she smiled. 

In moments such as this
,
when her work was
completed
and she had time for pleasure, Skyraven had time to  let her thoughts wander.   At such times
, she
usually thought ab
out John Hanlen.  As she thought
about him now she knew the reason why she felt vibrantly alive.  She was in love and it was such a wonderful feeling.
As she pass
ed by the men and boys were
watering their horses she waved, giving vent to her heartfelt joy. 
Perhaps it was time for her to gather together what possessions she had so that when John Hanlen came for her she would be ready for the ceremony.  That thought was on her mind as she   bent down to take a drink of the clear water. Could anything in this life taste as refreshing?  And just as the water soothed her thirst, so di
d John Hanlen enrich her soul.

It was a perfect kind of day.  Autumn had turned the leaves of the trees red, yellow and a pleasant shade of brown.  Just like her tribesmen
,
the animals were preparing for the change in the seasons. How she loved to watch the wild life scamper about, she thought as she picked up dead twigs and branches, gathering an
armful
for the fire.   The beaver were busily building a new home for themselves, the
squirrels
were storing food  in a hole in a tree, a large mother
raccoon
was teachi
ng her
little
ones how to fish.

"Ah, that is just what I should be doing,"  Skyraven said aloud.  "Thank you for the splendid suggestion sister
raccoon
.  Grandfather would enjoy a fine young trout for his dinner tonight. "   She hurried back to the teepee, dropped the drift wood she had collected near the entrance and went in just long enough to get a ne
t in which to catch a fish.

"Where are you off t
o in such a hurry, Skyraven?"  o
ne of the young mothers called to her
as she dashed past her teepee.

"I'm going to offer grandfather a slight change in diet tonight.  I'm off to set a net to catch
a large fish for his dinner. "

"Oh, what a fine idea.  Will you take my net along with you and catch a fish for my husband's  dinner too?"  The young mother did not wait for an answer but went into her teepee and returned with a small net which she handed to Skyraven.  "You are always so good about helping others, Skyrave
n.  I knew you wouldn't mind."

"Of course I don't.  I can just as well catch two fish as one."  Skyraven took the other net, chucked the baby under the chin
,
and dashed off toward the creek again.  It was the Indian way to help the others of the tribe.  She had little doubt but that in some way the young mother would repay her for the fish  in a
similar act of friendliness.

She walked toward where the horses were grazing on her way to the stream.  Although she missed her brown and white mare and knew that no horse could ever replace her, she was sure that John Hanl
en would take good care of
Running Antelope
.
She found her new  mare, one she was training herself,  and patted her gently on the nose.  The white horse was graceful and gentle whereas Running Antelope
had
been powerful and strong.  Skyraven loved them both.  Her instincts told her that the new horse would be a good riding horse in time and with enough training.  When John Hanlen came back with Running Antelope
,
she would challenge him to a race, just
to see which horse would win.
             

It was a cool day, the air was filled with earth smells.  " Mother Earth has been very good to the Arapaho," she sighed to herself.  
As
she
sat on the edge of the bank, she thought how she
loved to look up at the trees rising high above the teepees
.
They reminded her of tall, strong warriors.  Dipping her net s in the water, securing them with rocks
,
she contented herself in watching the breeze stir the brightly colored leaves and branches.  One slim tree swayed gently in the wind, bending its branches as if reaching out towards another tree.  The symbolical embrace made her blood run hot as she thought about the lovemaking she had shared with her golden-haired lover.  At night sometimes
,
in her tepee
,
when she was lying naked beneath her buffalo robe
,
it was the same.  An aching hunger she could not fulfil
l.  A longing for her soldier.

"Hurry back to me, John Hanle....." she whispered to the wind.  As if in answer she seemed to hear him answer, "I will," then drew back in surprise.  It was as if somehow she had heard his voice.  Strange but a sudden discontent pushed away her sense of well-being.  She had a sudden feeling that John Hanlen was in some kind of trouble.  Peering into the
stream,
she tried to see a vision in the water as she had once before
,
but all she could see were two fish, trapped in the nets she had set.  Then just as quickly as the feeling had come over he
r,
it had vanished, leavi
ng her trembling and confused.

Skyraven hurried back towards the tepees, stopping by to leave one of the fish she had caught  at the tepee of her friend.  When she  reached her own teepee
,
she brought out the light weight, leather cooking pouch, placed it upon a tripod over the fire in front of the tepee, cut up the wild vegetables and started supper.   She scaled and gutted the large trout,  placed a skewer through it and hung it over the flame along w
ith the pouch of vegetables. 

"John Hanlen.  John Hanlen," she whispered.  "If you are in trouble let me feel it.  Think of me as strongly as I am thinking of you."  She tried to renew the strange vibrations she had felt at the stream
,
but somehow such feelings eluded her. 
She hoped she had only been imagining. Wherever John Hanlen was, she wanted him to be safe and comfortable.

Suddenly she knew she must see him, just to assure herself that he was not in some kind of trouble.  But how could she?  Surely she could not go to the fort.  She would be afraid.  Besides
,
he grandfather would never allow it.  He said that too many of the
white men
came without their women, that there was a shortage of women of their own kind,
which caused them to cast
lustful eyes at the Indian maidens they encountered.  Should she wait for  her yellow-haired soldier to come for her?  But how she could arrange to let John Hanlen  know her
whereabouts
now that the tribe had moved?  Several of the chiefs and her grandfather would soon be going to meet with an Indian agent about the slaughter of the buffalo.  Perhaps she could figure out a
way to go with them.

Perhaps because she was so anxious to pose the idea
to him
,
it
seemed to take her grandfather an inordinately long time to return to his tepee.  When at last he did return
from his meeting with the chiefs
,
he was at least in a jovial mood.  He gave her a pat on the shoulder and a wry grin
, then as always
he walked slowly toward the cooking pouch and peered in.   A man's stomach
,
he said
,
was all too often the
real ruler of his being. 

"What is this, Skyraven?"  When  he spotted the other
succulent
morsel roasting over the fire,  he cried out in delight.  "It looks  like a fine trout
will be our supper tonight."

"I thought that you would like something different.  We haven't had fish for a long time and I know how much you like it"  Skyraven thought for a minute
,
then smiled cajolingly as she had as a child when she had wanted he
r
way.   " Since I fixed such a nice supper
,
do you think I could talk you into taking me with you when you go to the
Cheyenne
camp?"

"What?"  Throwing back his head her grandfather laughed.  "So
,
my grand-daughter, you haven't changed a bit in all these years.
You think you can bribe me."

"No, I do
n't...."  But she did.  Hanging her head
,
Skyraven took on the same look she had always assumed  when she was a little girl and had been caught doing something her grandfather might not understand.  "My heart was not filled
with wiles
when I went to
the stream, but I thought..."

The hand on he
r
shoulder was warm with affection.  "Don't look so downhearted, Skyraven.  I had already decided to take you with me.  Your girlhood friend Desert Flower is expecting a baby.  She asked if I would bring you . She would like to have you with her when the baby is born.  Not only because you are such a good medicine woman but because you
are her trusted friend."

"Desert Flower is with child?"  A smile as wide as the overhead sky beamed across Skyraven's face. The young Indian girl had longed for a baby.  They had often talked about such things.  Now Skyraven had something else to discuss with her.  There were times when only a woman could possibly understand. Flinging her arms around her grandfather she hugged him.  "Oh grandfather can I reall
y go with
you to
Sand Creek?"

"I said that you could and
so
you can."  His eyes were gentle.  "I think it will good for you to see her and for her to have you by her side.  That is why I
told Desert
Flower that you were coming. The news made her joyful.  She wants you with her at this ver
y important time in her life."

"I can stay with her while you and the chiefs discuss buffalo with the white men."  Already she was making plans.  Somehow she would find out about John Hanlen and get a message to him.  The very thought of just seeing him again
caused her lips sweep upward.
             

"I am glad I have made you smile, little one."  Cupping her face in his hands he looked deep into her eyes.  "And have you some news for Desert Flower?" 

Skyraven
nodded.

"Then the two of you will have much to talk about to occupy your time."  As was her grandfather's habit
,
he opened the flap of the tepee and went inside to rest and relax before eating his supper.  He always told her that it was a sign of his old age t
hat he needed to nap so often.