THE ABANDONED CAMP
Early the following day the Cheyennes came in sight of their village.
They looked anxiously across the plain, hoping to see something which
would quiet their fears. They were a long way off, however, and it was
impossible to learn what they wished to know. They rode furiously
toward the lodges. As they approached they began to shout fiercely,
and look for the Kiowas. There was no response from the camp.
"It is bad," Running Crow cried, in alarm.
When they finally came within bowshot, they suddenly realized that the
village was deserted. Their hopes died at the thought. They rode
frantically to the edge of the camp. It bore grim testimony to the
success of the Kiowa attack. The corral was empty. Many of the lodges
were burned. Still, silent forms lay about the village. A dog howled
dismally.
"Our people have been wiped away," Running Crow cried, dolefully, as
he rode his frightened pony into the camp.
The Cheyennes followed silently behind their leader. They looked
solemnly upon the valiant friends who had given their lives in defense
of the village. Grief overcame them. They were unable to speak.
"It is bad, it is bad," White Otter said, bitterly. "What I was
thinking about has come to pass. Red Dog and his people have been
killed."
The Sioux moved about the camp with bowed heads. It was a scene which
stirred their sympathy and filled them with gloom. Many of the
Cheyennes had dismounted, and were entering the lodges which had
escaped the flames. It was evident that they were searching for
friends and relatives whom they had failed to find in the camp. Other
riders were searching about the plain in the vicinity of the village.
Then Running Crow suddenly called them to the center of the camp.
"My brothers, a terrible thing has happened to our people," he said.
"The ponies are gone. The lodges are burned. Many brave friends are
dead. Our enemies, the Kiowas, have done this thing! Remember it. Keep
it in your hearts. Keep thinking about it. It is useless to talk about
it. You are Cheyennes. You see what I see. You feel what I feel. It is
enough.
"My brothers, listen sharp. Many brave warriors are lying here, but
many of our people are missing. Where are the women? Where are the
children? Where is Red Dog? Where is Ghost Bear? Where are Cloud
Eagle, and Two Dogs, and Walks Alone, and Hairy Robe and Lame Bear?
Where are Painted Weasel, and Running Buffalo, and Thunder Hawk and
White Horse? What has become of those people?----"
"I will tell you!" cried a voice from the edge of the camp.
The Cheyennes turned in alarm. Old Ghost Bear, the Medicine Man, was
tottering into the village. They gazed upon him with frightened,
superstitious eyes. He looked like one who was dead. He stood before
them, swaying dizzily, and holding his hand across his eyes. The
Cheyennes waited silently for him to speak. It was some moments before
he was able to control himself.
"Cheyennes, Cheyennes, Cheyennes, look about you!" he cried.
"Everything has been wiped away. The Kiowas were too strong for us. We
held them off a long time. We waited for you. You did not come. Then
the Kiowas got into the village. We fought hard, but we could not
drive them out. They killed many of our people. They ran off the
ponies. They burned the lodges."
Ghost Bear suddenly covered his face with his hands, while his aged
body shook with grief. The Cheyennes looked upon him with compassion.
It was the first time they had seen him betray emotion, and they
realized that the great catastrophe had broken his heart. They feared
he was about to die. He had dropped to his knees, and was moaning and
sobbing like a child. Running Crow went forward and placed his hand
upon him. Ghost Bear dropped his hands, and looked wildly at his
tribesman.
"Come," said Running Crow. "You are a great Medicine Person. You must
help us. Tell us what has become of the women and children. Tell us
what has become of Red Dog. Tell us what has become of all those
warriors."
"Yes, yes, I will tell you about it," said Ghost Bear, as he struggled
to his feet.
He gave a thrilling account of the desperate battle with the Kiowas.
The Cheyennes listened with breathless interest. Their eyes flashed as
he told how Red Dog got the women and children safely out of the camp.
Then he told how the Kiowas had entered the village, and speedily
overwhelmed the little company of Cheyennes. He said that some of the
Cheyennes reached the ponies, and fought their way from the camp. He
saw Red Dog kill two Kiowas.
"Then I ran away, and I do not know what became of Red Dog and those
brave warriors," Ghost Bear continued. "Perhaps they were killed. I
ran a long ways. Then I crawled into some bushes. It was very dark,
and the Kiowas could not find me. I heard them passing around me many
times. Then they went away. I heard them running off the ponies, and
singing the war songs. Pretty soon I saw the lodges burning. I felt
very bad. Well, my brothers, I waited in those bushes until you came
here. At first I took you for the Kiowas. I wanted to die, so I came
to the village. Then I saw you. Now I have told you all I know about
it."
"Ghost Bear, you have told us how this thing happened," said Running
Crow. "You have told how the women and children got away. It is good.
You say you do not know what became of Red Dog and those warriors. We
will try to find out about them."
Running Crow called several warriors, and told them to circle far out
over the plain in a search for the missing Cheyennes. He feared that
they might have been killed beyond the camp. The scouts rode away. The
Cheyennes watched them closely, as they rode carefully about the
plain. It was a long time before they returned. They said that they
had found the tracks of many ponies going toward the north. They
declared that there were no dead Cheyennes outside of the camp.
"It is good," cried Running Crow. "I believe our brothers got away.
Perhaps they have gone into the country of the Ogalalas. I believe Red
Dog went with them."
As he finished speaking, a warrior at the edge of the camp cried out
and said that several riders were approaching from the north. The
Cheyennes hurried from the village to see them. The riders instantly
discovered them, and stopped the ponies. There were three. They were
far away.
"I believe they are our people," Running Crow declared, excitedly.
"They are coming back to find out about this thing. Come, we must let
them know who we are."
One of the warriors rode forward and raised his arm high above his
head. Then he rode rapidly to and fro. It was the rallying signal. A
moment afterward the riders galloped forward. As they came nearer,
they again became cautious. Then the Cheyennes began to call to them.
They heard them, and raced the ponies toward the camp. As they came
within arrow range, the Cheyennes recognized them. They were Painted
Weasel, and Thunder Hawk and White Horse.
"Our brothers have come back--it is good," cried the Cheyennes. "Now
we will find out about this thing."
"Well, my brothers, I see that you are alive--it is good," said
Running Crow, as he met them at the edge of the camp.
"There are only a few of us left," Painted Weasel replied, soberly.
"Where are the warriors who were with you?" inquired Running Crow.
"They are following our people toward the lodges of the Ogalalas,"
Painted Weasel told him.
"Is Red Dog with them?" Running Crow asked, anxiously.
"No," said Painted Weasel. "We do not know what became of him. We came
back here to find out about it. He was with us when we were fighting
to get away. He was very brave. I saw him kill two Kiowas."
"Yes, yes, I saw him kill them," cried old Ghost Bear.
"What became of him?" Painted Weasel asked him.
"I cannot tell you that," said Ghost Bear. "I ran out of the village,
and did not see any more of him."
"I was close beside him," declared Thunder Hawk. "Then the Kiowas
rushed at me, and I had a hard time of it. When I looked around I did
not see anything more of Red Dog. Then I heard my brothers riding
away. I went after them. I thought Red Dog was with them. Well, my
brothers, he was not there. No one knew anything about him."
"Perhaps he was killed," said White Horse. "Did you look all around?"
"Yes, we looked sharp," Running Crow told him. "We did not find him."
"Then I believe the Kiowas must have carried him off," said Painted
Weasel.
The Cheyennes were crushed by the possibility. Dismay kept them
silent. They knew only too well the fate that awaited Red Dog if he
had fallen into the hands of his enemies. Their courage rose at
thought of his peril. They determined to save him, or avenge his
death.
"Yes, my brothers, I believe the Kiowas have carried off Red Dog,"
White Horse told them. "We must try to save him. There is only one
thing to do. We must go to the Kiowa Camp, and try to take him away."
"My brothers, I have listened to your words--they are good," said
Running Crow. "I believe the Kiowas caught Red Dog. It is bad. He is
our chief. He has done many good things for his people. We must try to
help him. Now I will tell you how I feel about it. White Otter is a
great war chief of the Ogalalas. He has done many big things. He has
helped us fight the Pawnees. He has helped us fight the Kiowas. We
know that he is a good war leader. He has been to the Pawnee village.
He took away the great chief Wolf Robe and that great Medicine Person,
Yellow Horse. He has been to the Kiowa camp. He went into that camp
and ran off ponies. White Otter knows how to do big things. My
brothers, I am going to ask this great Ogalala war chief to lead us to
the Kiowa camp."
"It is good!" cried the Cheyennes. "White Otter is a great chief. He
must be the leader."
"Come, White Otter, tell us how you feel about it," said Running Crow.
"My brothers, I will lead you to the Kiowa camp," White Otter told
them. "Your people are my friends. We came here to help you. The
Kiowas are our enemies. They have killed many of your people. They
have burned your lodges. They have run off your ponies. I believe they
have carried away your chief. Red Dog is my friend. My heart is bad
against the Kiowas. I am going to the Kiowa camp to find out about Red
Dog. Yes, Cheyennes, I will lead you to fight our enemies. I believe
my people will come to help us."
"Hi, hi!" cried Running Crow.
When they learned that the Ogalala would lead them against the Kiowas,
the Cheyennes felt sure of victory. They had great confidence in his
ability, for his exploits had made him famous. For the moment they
forgot their grief, as they thrilled at the call of the war trail.
Their hearts burned with a fierce desire for vengeance, and they
believed that White Otter would give them an opportunity to retaliate
upon their foes. The thought stirred them. They began to sing the war
songs, and make savage threats against the Kiowas. Some of the
younger warriors began to dance. The village rang with their shouts.
The older men soon yielded to the excitement. In a few moments the
entire company joined in the wild antics of the war dance.
White Otter took no part. He, too, longed to shout, and sing, and
dance and make fierce threats against his foes, but he realised that
it was not the part of a great chief to yield to his emotions. Sun
Bird and Little Raven, however, took a prominent part in the dance.
White Otter heard their voices rising in the fierce Dacotah war cry,
and his blood tingled at the sound.
Then the Cheyennes finally brought the wild ceremony to an end, and
stood quietly beside their ponies, awaiting instruction from the
Ogalala chief. White Otter looked upon them with admiration. They were
a splendid body of warriors, and he was proud to command them. Tall
and sinewy, their stern faces and flashing eyes proclaimed their
courage. They compared favorably with the famous Dacotah fighting men,
and having seen them in battle White Otter knew that they were equally
bold and indomitable.
"Cheyennes, I see that you are ready," said White Otter. "It is good.
You have made me the leader. I will tell you how I feel about this
thing. I believe my people will come here to help us. Some of you must
stay here to watch for them. Then you must bring them to the Kiowa
camp. The rest of us will go ahead to fight the Kiowas. Their village
is two sun's travel away. They have reached their lodges. We must
follow them to their camp. When we get there I will tell you what to
do. I have finished."
As Running Crow translated the words, White Otter saw disappointment
on the faces of the Cheyennes. They began to talk softly to one
another. He knew at once that they were discussing who should be left
behind to watch. Each hoped to avoid the task. All wished to fight the
Kiowas. Then Ghost Bear suddenly offered a solution of the difficulty.
"Listen, my brothers," he cried, eagerly. "All of you are young men. A
young man must fight. I am old. I cannot ride the war ponies. I will
stay here and watch for the Ogalalas. If they come I will tell them
where to find you."
"If you stay here alone, perhaps something bad will happen to you,"
Running Crow told him.
"No, no, nothing will happen to me," Ghost Bear assured him. "I will
put away those brave warriors who are lying here. Then I will wait
for the Ogalalas. There is meat here. The Kiowas did not find it. I
will have plenty to eat. I am a Medicine Person, nothing can harm me.
If enemies come here, I will run away and hide in the bushes. Come, my
brothers, ride away and leave me. There is little time."
"Ghost Bear, you are very brave," declared White Otter, when Running
Crow told him of the old Medicine Man's proposal.
A few moments later the Cheyenne war party left the camp. They rode
across the plain, singing their war songs, and old Ghost Bear cackled
gleefully as he heard them. He watched until they were beyond range of
his dim old eyes. Then he moved slowly into the village. He stopped
and gazed sadly upon the forms of his friends.
"Listen, you Silent People," he cried. "The Kiowas have sent you on
The Long Trail. You were very brave. Our people will talk about you a
long time. Now our brothers have gone to kill many Kiowas. White
Otter, the great war chief of the Ogalalas, is the leader. Soon you
will hear a great noise. You will know it is the Kiowas. They will cry
like women when our brothers begin to kill them. Then you must laugh
at them."