White Eagle was a young Iroquois boy. His favorite friend was Shining
Star, a young Indian girl from his tribe. The small village in which
they lived stood on the shore of a large and beautiful lake that could
become very dangerous in a sudden storm.
Scattered in the lake were many small islands. When parents were sure
that their children could handle the tribe’s canoes safely in the lake,
they allowed them to explore these islands. A favorite sport of White
Eagle and Shining Star was to paddle to one of these islands to search
for berries and other wild fruit.
One sunny summer day, White Eagle and Shining Star decided to take a
canoe trip to one of the islands farthest from their village. As far as
White Eagle knew, the island they planned to visit was at the other end
of the long lake. Excitedly, the two children went down to the shore and
set out on their adventure across the calm, blue lake. They enjoyed
paddling in the sun because its beams seemed to warm them to their
hearts.
They had been paddling gaily and laughing a great deal for some time
when Shining Star suddenly turned to White Eagle with an unhappy look on
her pretty face.
“White Eagle,” she said sadly, “I am getting tired. I think we should
visit one of the islands nearer home. I don’t think I can help you
paddle all the way across this great lake and back again.”
“Very well,” said White Eagle kindly, “there is an island over there
that we have never visited before. We will go ashore there and hunt for
berries.”
Without saying any more, the children turned their canoe and headed for
the island about one hundred paces away. Soon their canoe was scraping
bottom on a sand bar that seemed to lead from the island into the water.
Stepping from the canoe, White Eagle steadied it while Shining Star
stepped ashore. Finally, he pulled the canoe up onto the shore so that
it would not be carried away from the island into the lake and leave
them stranded. Then, hand in hand, the children began to explore.
Now these islands were not small and, if one were not careful, he could
really get lost for a little while. So the children were careful to mark
their trail with broken branches as they went. In their eagerness to
explore this island they forgot what they had actually come for.
“We have never been on this island before,” said White Eagle. “At least,
I don’t remember having been on it before now.”
“No,” answered Shining Star. “We have never been here before.”
“Well, the only thing to do is look around.” Maybe White Eagle was
thinking of himself as an Indian warrior when he added, “Let’s see if we
can find any enemies.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, White Eagle! We won’t find any enemies on this
island,” Shining Star said, laughing and forgetting how tired she had
been.
“Don’t fool yourself, Shining Star. My father tells me that sometimes
the enemy will set up camp on an island near a village to keep watch on
the tribe. Then when they feel that the village is off guard, they
attack.”
White Eagle said this with such a serious face that Shining Star became
frightened. “Let’s go home, White Eagle, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t be silly, little one, I was only fooling.” (Now he played the
part of a warrior again.) “There is probably no living thing upon this
island but ourselves. Come on! We’re wasting time. Let’s start
exploring.”
The two children continued to investigate the island, always making sure
that they were leaving a plain trail so that they could return to their
canoe in safety. After several hours, they decided that there were no
berries on this island so they might as well return home. They turned
around and started back for the shore, trying to follow their trail
carefully.
Sooner than he had expected, White Eagle could see the lake waters, but
when they reached the shore he realized that this was not where they had
landed. And there was no canoe. Looking out across the water, White
Eagle knew that they were on another side of the island. Perhaps they
had followed a fresh trail someone else had left.
Shining Star seated herself on a log about ten paces from the shore to
rest and wait for White Eagle to make a decision.
“Come, Shining Star,” he said confidently, “we will walk along the shore
until we reach our canoe.”
So taking hands once again, the children started along the shore of the
island. Suddenly, the sky became black, a strong wind came up, and dark
storm clouds started moving in over the lake.
“Hurry, Shining Star!” he said with just a touch of fear in his voice.
“A storm is coming over the lake. We must hurry if we are to reach home
before the waves get so high that we can’t paddle our canoe.”
Shining Star started to run, but stumbled and fell, twisting her ankle.
She cried out in pain and White Eagle knelt by her side.
“Oh, I’ve hurt my ankle,” Shining Star told him, holding back her tears.
White Eagle lifted the young girl in his arms and started carrying her.
Soon they reached the place where the canoe was beached. Placing her
gently into the canoe, White Eagle shoved the canoe into the water and
climbed inside.
The sky had become very dark. They could hear thunder and see flashes of
lightning across the lake. Rain was beginning to fall fast. Now even
White Eagle was afraid, but he tried his best to hide his fear from
Shining Star. Using all the strength he could muster, he paddled
furiously toward home, but the winds now were pounding the light canoe
and seemed to drive him further and further from their village. Shining
Star lay quietly in the bow of the canoe. She was too brave an Indian
girl to cry but her eyes, peering through the driving rain toward White
Eagle’s face, pleaded with him to get them safely home.
And then, without warning, a great gust of wind caught the bow of the
canoe and swung it hard. White Eagle leaned in the opposite direction to
balance the canoe. Suddenly, the wind shifted. Before White Eagle had a
chance to turn the bow into the wind, it caught the canoe again and,
with a loud swish, turned it over into the lake.
Amidst his surprise and confusion White Eagle’s first thought was for
Shining Star. He heard the girl sputtering and coughing. He looked to
see her head just appearing above the water beside the canoe. Reaching
his hand out, he grasped her arm and pulled her to him. Then grasping
the underside of the overturned canoe, he pulled Shining Star so that
her arms rested on the canoe and she was able to grasp the keel.
Thus the two children hung on for what seemed like hours but actually
was only a few minutes. The water was cold. White Eagle began to shiver,
not so much because the water was cold, but because the rain was colder
and the biting wind made it even worse.
And then as quickly as the storm had come, it was gone. White Eagle
tried, but did not have the strength to hold on to Shining Star and turn
the canoe. Just when he was giving up any chance of getting to shore,
strong hands gripped his arms. It was then that White Eagle realized
that he was losing consciousness. Everything went black.
When he finally woke, he found that he was in his bed in his own wigwam.
His mother was kneeling by him with a cup of hot broth. Slowly he
sipped. And then he could hold back no longer.
“My mother, what of Shining Star?”
“She is all right, my son. You have done well this day. It was feared
that you children would be caught in the storm, so your father and
Shining Star’s father set forth in their canoes and reached you both
just as you were slipping from the canoe. You are a brave lad, White
Eagle, and your father is proud as is the father of Shining Star. You
saved her life and she was brave, as you were.”