Between the planting and the reaping lay the sun-smitten summer-time and
a battle with the weeds! It was a period demanding patience and
understanding in Curtis, for as the first flush of enthusiasm over the
sowing died away, apathy and indifference sprang up naturally as
thistles. These childlike souls said: "Behold we have done our part, now
let Mother Earth and the Father Sun bring forth the harvest. We cannot
ripen the grain; we can only wait. Besides, we are weary."
To them harvest should follow seeding without further effort. They were
like boys wearied with waiting for the trees to grow. The seed and the
apple were too far apart. Curtis, understanding this lack of training in
their lives, did not allow himself to express the impatience he
sometimes felt. He told them that the new life they were to lead
involved constant care, but care would bring a reward. "In the old days
when you hunted, these things were not so." He also made honorable
examples of men like Two Horns and Crane's Voice, who kept their gardens
clean of all noxious plants.
He organized mimic war-parties. "To-day," he said, "the warriors of Elk
will go forth with me against these evil ones, the weeds. Each man will
be armed with a bright hoe. Elk, old as he is, will lead, and I will go
by his side. We will work busily till the sun has climbed half-way to
his hill; then we will smoke."
His knowledge of their needs, their habits, their modes of thinking,
made all that he did successful. He allowed the women to bring cool
drinks, flavored with herbs, and to build little bowers to shade their
sons and husbands from the fierce sun while they rested. There was
grumbling, there was envy, naturally, but less than he expected.
On the first day of July he was confident of a big crop, and wrote to
Elsie, saying: "The potatoes are in bloom, the wheat is waving in the
wind like a green sea. I am waiting."
To this she replied: "Papa's mind turns to the mountains these hot days,
and so we are coming; also my heart yearns for a certain soldier in the
West--a commander of shining hoes and a leader of destructive red
ploughmen. I ought, for my own peace and comfort, to forget this
singular creature; but, alas! I cannot. My perplexity grows daily. I
long to see him, yet I am afraid!"
These words made him tireless and of Job-like patience. "You need not
wait till the harvest is ended," he wrote, in reply. "Come and watch the
grain ripen, so that you will be garmented duly and ready for the feast.
Moreover, we will snatch so many more days of joy out of the maw of
devouring time."
To this she answered: "Your expressed reasons are not overwhelming, but
as the sun is scorching now, we leave soon. We will reach Pinon City in
about ten days. Father is quite well, but restless with the heat. I am
well, but restless, for other reasons. I don't see that the problem of
our lives is any nearer solution, do you? What can I do? What can you
do? Is there any common ground?"
"There are no problems now that you are coming," he replied.
It was with a deep surprise and joy that she found herself trembling
before each of his letters. All the old-time ecstasy and breathless
passion of her girlhood came back to her, but enlarged, and based
deeper, a woman's care and introspection giving it greater significance
and power.
The next day after Elsie's definite promise Curtis rode over to the
first camp and called the people round him and said:
"Next week we will hold our feast to give thanks for the good things the
earth has given to us, and after we have councilled together we will
feast and have a dance. Let everything be in order. Come in your finest
dress. Let every garment be as it was of old. Let the young girls be
very beautiful in whitened buckskin and beads. I do not despise your
old-time dress; I like it. Hereafter, when you work you will need to
wear white man's clothes, for they are more comfortable; but when you
wish to have a good time, then your old dress will be pleasant. I do not
ask you to forget the old time. It is past, but it is sweet to you. I
want you to be happy, for I am happy."