TRAILING A WAR PARTY
At daylight the Sioux peered anxiously toward the grove. It was some
time before the little cluster of trees emerged from the shadows. At
that moment the Kiowas appeared.
"See, there are our enemies," said Sun Bird.
"Watch sharp," White Otter cautioned him.
Although the Kiowas were too far away to be counted, the Sioux saw at
once that it was a large company. They felt sure it was a war party.
The Kiowas had turned toward the north. White Otter watched them with
considerable uneasiness.
"It is bad," he said. "There are many warriors. They are riding toward
the lodges of my people. We must follow them."
"Yes, yes, we will follow them," declared Sun Bird.
They watched closely as the Kiowas rode slowly across the plain. They
were a long distance to the westward of the ravine, and were moving
directly toward the north. As they drew nearer, the Sioux began to
count them. There were sixty horsemen in the company. They made an
imposing spectacle as they rode along in pairs. Even at the distance
the Sioux noted that some of the warriors in the lead wore great war
bonnets, and they knew that those men were chiefs and war leaders.
Then several riders left the column and galloped away in advance of
the company.
"The scouts are going ahead to watch for enemies," said Sun Bird.
"Hi, they are coming this way," cried White Otter.
Two riders had turned toward the east, and were riding toward the
ravine. They were some distance to the southward of the Sioux, but the
latter were greatly alarmed. They felt quite certain that the crafty
scouts would follow along the top of the ravine to make sure that it
was free of foes. The Sioux were in despair. They feared that they had
run into a trap. There seemed to be no way of escape. Discovery seemed
certain.
"They will find us!" cried Sun Bird.
White Otter watched the horsemen in thoughtful silence. He was
searching his brain for a way out of the predicament. The scouts had
covered three-quarters of the distance to the ravine. Delay was
perilous. Roused by the thought, White Otter suddenly determined to
race away in full sight of his foes.
"Come," he cried, as he scrambled wildly into the ravine.
"The Kiowas are coming!" Sun Bird told Little Raven.
"Jump on your ponies and follow me," shouted White Otter.
They rode boldly out upon the plain, and turned toward the east.
Glancing back they saw that the Kiowas had stopped at sight of them.
The scouts made no effort to follow.
"It is good," cried White Otter. "The Kiowas do not know what to do.
We will fool them."
Convinced that their foes had no intention of pursuing them, the Sioux
slackened the speed of their ponies. Then, when they had gone a safe
distance, they turned to watch the perplexed Kiowas. The latter were
gathered in a close group, and appeared to be holding a council.
"Well, we are far enough away, now we will wait here and see what
those people propose to do," said White Otter.
"Do you believe they know who we are?" Little Raven asked him.
"No," replied White Otter.
A moment afterward the Kiowas resumed their advance toward the north.
The scouts had joined their comrades. White Otter was perplexed. He
had expected the war party to turn in another direction. If the Kiowas
really were bound for the Ogalala camp he believed they would attempt
to conceal their intentions. The fact that they continued boldly on
their way aroused his suspicions.
"I do not know what to make of it," he told his companions. "If those
people are going to my village, I believe they will turn around to
fool us."
"I do not believe they know who we are," said Sun Bird. "Perhaps they
took us for Pawnees or Cheyennes. Perhaps they do not believe we will
follow them."
"Yes, yes, I see that what you say is true," White Otter replied,
hopefully. "They do not know who we are. I believe they take us for
Cheyenne hunters. It is good. If they keep going ahead, we will circle
around and get ahead of them. Then we will go to tell my people. When
the Kiowas come to fight us, we will be waiting for them."
The Kiowas had urged their ponies into a canter. The scouts were
riding toward the ravine. The Sioux watched curiously. They wondered
if the Kiowas intended to ignore them.
"It is mysterious," White Otter declared, suspiciously. "My brothers,
I believe those people are trying to fool us. We must be sharp."
The scouts turned and rode along the top of the ravine, and the war
party continued toward the north. Sun Bird and Little Raven waited for
White Otter to announce his plans. The latter, however, remained
silent. He seemed bewildered by the unusual behavior of the Kiowas. He
was watching the two scouts. They glanced back at frequent intervals
to make sure that the Sioux were not following them. Otherwise they
showed little interest.
"It is mysterious," White Otter said, again. "I do not know what to
make of it. Come, Sun Bird, tell me how you feel about it."
"The Kiowas are going toward your village--it looks bad," Sun Bird
told him.
"We must follow them," said White Otter. "Come, we will try to fool
them."
He rode away toward the east. The two Minneconjoux asked no questions.
They looked upon him as the leader, and they were content to rely
upon his judgment. As they cantered across the plain they glanced back
at the Kiowas. The two scouts had stopped, and appeared to be looking
after them.
"Those scouts are watching us," said Little Raven.
"It is good," laughed White Otter. "We will fool them. Come, ride
faster."
They galloped the ponies. Then, as they again looked back, they saw
that the war party, too, had stopped, far away to the westward. White
Otter laughed gleefully. He turned to the southward, toward the ridge
which they had left the day before. His companions believed that he
was planning some wily stratagem to deceive his foes.
"Keep watching," cautioned White Otter. "Perhaps those scouts will
follow us."
The Kiowas, however, showed no intention of riding after them. One of
the scouts was racing toward the war party. The Sioux believed he had
gone for instructions. They kept looking back to see what he would do
after he had talked with his companions.
"See, see, he is riding back to that gully," cried Little Raven.
"Perhaps they are going to follow us."
"No, I do not believe it," said Sun Bird.
The war party was moving on toward the north. A few moments afterward
the scout rejoined his companion. Then they, too, rode northward along
the top of the ravine. It was apparent that the Kiowas had decided to
pay no further attention to the Sioux.
"The Kiowas are sly," declared White Otter. "I cannot tell what they
propose to do. Perhaps they are going to the lodges of my people.
Perhaps they are trying to fool us. We must follow them and find out
about it."
When the Sioux finally reached the ridge, the Kiowas had already
disappeared into a dip of the plain. Once over the ridge, White Otter
and Sun Bird left their ponies with Little Raven, and climbed the
slope to watch. They had little doubt that the crafty Kiowa scouts
were similarly employed far away to the northward.
"Now I will tell you why I came here," said White Otter. "I do not
believe the Kiowas know who we are. I believe they take us for scouts.
Perhaps they take us for Cheyennes. The Cheyenne village is behind us.
I came this way to make them believe we were going there. When those
scouts do not see us, they will believe we have gone away. Then they
will go ahead. We will follow them."
"It is good," Sun Bird told him.
They had not watched long, however, before White Otter became
impatient. He realized that he was wasting valuable time. He wondered
if he had blundered. If the Kiowas really intended to go to the
Ogalala camp, he feared that he had given them a big advantage. They
were a long distance ahead of him, and he knew that it would be
necessary to ride hard to beat them to the goal. The thought shook his
confidence. He began to doubt the wisdom of his maneuver. Each moment
added to his uncertainty. He studied the plain for a way to follow the
war party without being seen. The ridge offered the only opportunity.
It extended a considerable distance toward the north, and by riding
along the east side of it he believed he might again come in sight of
his foes.
"Come, Sun Bird, we will ride along behind this hill, and try to
follow the Kiowas," he said.
Then Little Raven called, and when they turned they saw him pointing
excitedly toward the north. Looking across the plain, they discovered
a riderless pony running toward the west.
"Bring up the ponies! Bring up the ponies!" White Otter called, in
alarm.
They hurried down the ridge and met Little Raven. Then they sprang
upon the ponies, and galloped over the ridge. Once over the top, they
ran back to watch, while Little Raven took charge of the ponies. Two
horsemen had already appeared in pursuit of the runaway pony. The
Sioux realized that they had barely escaped discovery.
"They did not see us," declared Sun Bird.
"It is good," said White Otter.
They watched the race with great interest. The riders soon overtook
the pony. Then they turned about and cantered away toward the east.
The Sioux looked inquiringly at one another. Who were the strange
riders? Where had they come from? Was another war party in the
vicinity? The alarming questions flashed through their minds. They
were puzzled.
"I believe it is the Kiowas," White Otter declared, finally. "I
believe they have turned toward The-place-where-the-day-begins."
"Then they must be trying to fool us," said Sun Bird.
"I do not know what they are trying to do," White Otter replied,
suspiciously.
In the meantime the distant horsemen had disappeared, and the plain
seemed free of foes. The Sioux looked toward the east. They examined
the tops of the knolls and ridges, and watched closely for dust, but
saw nothing to convince them that the war party had gone in that
direction.
"This thing is mysterious," said Sun Bird.
They realized that they were in an awkward predicament. They knew that
if scouts were loitering in the vicinity of the spot where they had
last seen the Kiowa war party it would be perilous to remain on the
western side of the ridge. Still, if they crossed the ridge and
attempted to advance along the other side they feared they would be
discovered by scouts watching somewhere on that side of the plain. For
some moments they were undecided as to just what to do.
"My brothers, I will tell you how I feel about this thing,"
Sun Bird said, suddenly. "If the Kiowas have turned toward
The-place-where-the-day-begins, I do not believe they are going to the
lodges of our people. If that is true, it would be foolish to follow
them. I believe there are many enemies in this country. We must not
stay here. Come, we will ride around and find out if the buffaloes
have come into this place. Then we will go back to our people."
"Sun Bird, before we go away we must find out about this thing," White
Otter told him. "Perhaps it is true that the Kiowas are not going to
the lodges of my people. We are not sure about it. Perhaps they know
who we are. Perhaps they turned around to fool us. Perhaps if we do
not follow them they will circle around and come to the lodges of my
people. My brothers, we must find out where those Kiowas are going."
"How can we do that?" inquired Little Raven. "A war party leaves
scouts behind. If we try to follow the Kiowas before it gets dark
those scouts will see us. If we wait until it gets dark the Kiowas
will be too far away."
"Listen sharp, my brothers, and I will tell you how I propose to do
this thing," said White Otter. "It would be foolish to follow along
this hill. If we do that the Kiowas will see us. We will do something
different. We will cross over this hill, and ride away toward
The-place-where-the-day-begins. If the Kiowas are watching they will
say, 'Hi, those scouts were hiding behind that hill. Now they believe
we have gone away. See, they are going to tell their people about it.
They are riding toward the Cheyenne camp. They must be Cheyennes.' We
will keep going toward the Cheyenne lodges. Then we will circle
around, and try to find the Kiowas. If we do not find them over there,
we will know that they have gone to fight my people."
"It is good," agreed Sun Bird.
"We will go," said White Otter.
They crossed the ridge, and rode boldly away toward the southeast, in
the direction of the Cheyenne camp. They had little doubt that
sharp-eyed Kiowa scouts were watching them. They glanced back many
times, but saw nothing to confirm their suspicions.
Toward the end of the day they came in sight of another little grove
of cottonwoods. They circled about it many times before they finally
ventured within arrow-range. The grove was unoccupied, and contained a
tiny pool. They killed several sage grouse in the timber.
"It is good," said White Otter. "We will stay here until the sun goes
away. Then we will circle around and try to find the Kiowas."
At the end of the day they left the grove and rode off toward the
north, hoping to cross the trail of the war party. Twilight had
already fallen upon the plain when they finally found the fresh tracks
of many ponies. The trail led toward the east. The Sioux felt sure
that it had been made by the Kiowas.
"Now we know that your people are safe," declared Sun Bird.
"Yes, I believe it is true," replied White Otter.
He was gazing thoughtfully across the plain. A new possibility had
suddenly suggested itself. He felt certain that he had guessed the
destination of his foes. He turned eagerly to his companions.
"Now I know about this thing," he told them, excitedly. "I believe
those Kiowas are going to fight the Cheyennes. Yes, now I see how it
is. They took us for Cheyennes. They tried to fool us. When we went
away they circled around and came over here. Yes, yes, those Kiowas
are going to fight the Cheyennes."
"I believe it is true," said Sun Bird. "Now we know about it. Well, we
will not follow them. We will go back and look for buffaloes."
White Otter was silent. His friends saw that he was thinking about
something. They waited for him to speak.
"The Cheyennes are our friends," he said at last. "Once we went with
them to fight the Pawnees. Once we went with them to fight the Kiowas.
We took away some good ponies in that fight. The Cheyennes are very
brave. Red Dog, their chief, is our friend. My brothers, I am thinking
about these things."
"How do you feel about it?" inquired Sun Bird.
"I will tell you," said White Otter. "We are Dacotahs. The brave
Cheyennes are our friends. The boastful Kiowas are our enemies. A
Dacotah helps his friends and fights his enemies. I am going to tell
the Cheyennes about the Kiowas."
"It is good," declared Sun Bird.
"Hi, we will go to the village of our brothers the Cheyennes, and help
them fight the Kiowas," Little Raven cried, enthusiastically.