towards where you are always facing, we stopped in a line and the
people sang a welcoming song. Then, because High Horse and I had
killed, we rode first around the circle inside the village, left to
right, which is the sacred manner, while the two others waited. Our
relatives had all blackened their faces and they were all together
watching and feeling proud of us. Our horses were tired, but we made
them prance around, and they were excited too. As I rode, I looked
straight ahead, singing to my drum, ‘Eagle Voice, you have said, I have
met an enemy and killed him.’ And when I had sung this four times,
High Horse sang the same about himself, and all the men cried, ‘_hiyay
hiyay_,’ and the women raised the tremolo all around the big circle.
“When we were at the opening again, the women came, with blackened
faces, to walk ahead of us around the circle inside the big village,
and we four rode abreast behind them with the scalps held high on our
coup-sticks. And as they walked, the women sang about the enemies we
had killed and the many horses we had brought them.
“Then when we came again to the opening, the four of us rode
to the center of the big village circle where they had made a
tepee-thrown-over-together, and there the chiefs and the councilors
sat waiting to welcome us. When we had got off our horses and sat down
in a row before the head chief, he prepared a pipe and offered it to
the six powers. And when we had smoked after him, he spoke to us and
praised us. I think he forgot about us running away, because of the
horses and the scalps. And all the people cried out with one voice.
“Then the victory dance began, and the feasting and the giving away;
and the night was old when it was over. Kicking Bear told the story
of our going to war _maka mani_ and of the vow we made on the hill.
Charging Cat made the tale longer with the taking of horses. High Horse
and I made kill talks, telling how it was. And all the people, hearing,
cheered each of us in turn, and the drums beat and the victory song
was loud. And after the men, the women danced in their best buckskin
dresses, beautiful with beads and colored porcupine quills.
“There was much giving away. It was time for the sun dance, and the
hearts of the people were strong. Our relatives gave horses to many,
showing their gladness for our safe return; and the four of us gave and
gave, until we had left only the horses we had before. If there had
been more, we would have given them too; for the heart grows stronger
with giving. I gave most of mine to old people, and some to old women
who were my grandmother’s friends. Maybe I was remembering the old
woman bouncing on her pony-drag, and the pony running away.”
XIV
“_Am I Greater Than the People?_”
When I had fed the fire again, the old man came slowly out of his
reverie and began fumbling for tobacco in his long buckskin sack.
I waited until the pipe was lit, and having drawn a few puffs, I
expressed surprise that High Horse had not saved any horses for Good
Plume’s father. Was not that the reason for his going to war? And did
he not get the girl after all?
Eagle Voice chuckled, and said: “I think when we got back he was not
sick any more. Our heads were full of great deeds and the victory and
the people’s praise and the sun dance. Maybe that made him well. Also,
the Shyela band went away after the sun dance. Maybe the girl got
another man. I do not know.”
“And I was surprised,” I remarked, “that you seemed a little sorry for
the old Crow woman bouncing on the drag when her son was killed and her
pony ran away. Also, you could have killed her grandson, but you let
him go. Were they not enemies?”
“They were enemies,” the old man answered slowly, regarding me with
his crinkled, quizzical look. “We were boys and maybe we were thinking
of our grandmothers. I could tell you a story about the time when a
war party of our people felt sorry for some Crow warriors. They had
no horses. They were starving and freezing in the deep snow, and they
could not fight any more. So our war party did not kill them. It
is a true story. But I will tell you about the time when the Crows
were sorry for the Arapahoes. It also happened. The Arapahoes tell
it themselves. We know their stories and they know ours, for we are
friends. While the people are getting ready for the sun dance, I will
tell you.
“It was many snows ago, before I was born. There is a place we call
Hide Butte, because the Lakotas once found there many hides staked out
to dry by the Crows, and no people anywhere around. It is in the big
bend of Duck River, not far from where the Niobrara heads. A whole band
of the Arapahoes had a winter camp there, and one morning when they
awoke, all their horses were gone. There was not a hoof left. It was
very bad. They knew it was the Crows who did it, so they organized a
war party and started out _maka mani_, following the trail of their
horses. It was very cold, the snow was dry and deep. Afterwhile a wind
began to blow, getting stronger. So they stopped to talk about it, and
they said, ‘We shall freeze looking for horses in this snow. Maybe it
is better to wait awhile until it is warmer, and then we can go.’ Sharp
Nose was the only one who did not say it was better to do that. He
said, ‘You can go back, and I will go on. If I find where the horses
went, I can come back and tell you. I will do my best.’ When he said
this, he thought some would be brave and say, ‘You are not going on
alone, for we are going with you’; but nobody said that, and the party
turned back towards the village.
“So Sharp Nose went on alone. He came to a ridge, and when he looked
back to see the others going yonder, there was one lone man coming.
He waited, and it was his woman’s younger brother, hardly old enough
for war yet. We can call him Little Bear. And Sharp Nose said,
‘Brother-in-law, why are you coming?’ And Little Bear answered, ‘I
wanted to come before, but I thought some older men would come and I
would go with them; but nobody came, so I am here. I will go wherever
you go. I will die wherever you die. That is why I am here.’ And Sharp
Nose said, ‘You are a brave young man.’ So they went on in the deep
snow, Little Bear behind Sharp Nose, following the trail of the horses.
Sometimes it was covered with blowing drifts, but they would find it
again. That night they made a shelter of pine bows in a bend of a creek
against a high bank that broke the wind, and made a fire; and when they
had roasted some _papa_ and eaten, they slept.
“When they awoke, the snow was drifted deep about them; and when they
had eaten again and started walking, they could not find the trail at
all. Then Sharp Nose said, ‘The crows have our horses, and we will go
on to where the Crows are.’ So they went, Little Bear behind Sharp
Nose. The wind was strong and cold; the snow was deep; it was hard
walking, and it was hard to see for the flying snow.
“When the day was getting old and it was time to make a camp for the
night, all at once they could see big dim bodies about them in the
blowing snow, and it was a stray band of buffalo just standing there
with their heads down. It was like dreaming about buffalo to see them,
for the air was like a whirling fog, and night was coming. They did
not seem to notice the men, and when Sharp Nose shot a cow back of the
shoulder so that she dropped and did not get up, the others drifted
away with the wind and were not there any more. It was like dreaming,
but the dead cow was there anyway. So they had to skin the cow, and
it was hard to do that because the wet hide froze their fingers. But
before it was black dark, the skinning was done, and when they had
taken some of the hump meat, the liver, and the bladder, they rolled
the cow off the hide, and that was very hard for them to do. Then they
found a bank that broke the wind, for they were following a creek
that ran towards Crow country so that they might not get lost. There
they dragged the fresh hide into a clump of brush and made a shelter
of it. That helped them to make a fire, and when they had eaten all
they wanted of the raw liver they felt good and slept. The wind died
in the night, and in the still cold morning they walked again, taking
the bladder, some hump meat and some tallow with them. I do not know
how many camps they made, but afterwhile they came to the Greasy Grass
[Little Big Horn] which is the Crow country. By now a great warm wind
was coming from beyond the mountains, roaring all day and all night,
and snow was melting on the slopes towards the sun. It was like the
time when the tender grasses appear, but it was winter yet. And Sharp
Nose said, ‘We will go on down the Greasy Grass, and maybe the Crows
are camping on the Big Horn yonder; but we must be very careful.’ So
they made a camp; and when they had eaten, they rested and slept until
it was dark. Then they started walking again, Little Bear behind Sharp
Nose. And when the day was coming, there was a ridge, and they went
up there to look. It was the Big Horn yonder, and in the valley among
trees there was a big Crow village, and the tepee tops were beginning
to smoke. They were careful to keep from being seen, and when they had
found a deep gully full of brush, with the big ridge between them and
the village, they made a camp and even had a little fire. Then Sharp
Nose said to the boy: ‘We have come to get back our horses; but you
have seen that there are many people yonder. We have come a long way,
and it would not be good to go back with only a story. We cannot steal
all the horses we have lost. If we steal any, the Crows will follow
us, and we shall die. So it will be just as well to die in there among
them, and in the morning when we have gotten ready, we will go in
there. And Little Bear said, ‘I came to go wherever you go and to die
wherever you die.’ And Sharp Nose said to the boy, ‘You are a brave
man. Now we will get ready.’
“So he began making a medicine bundle, and that was the first time the
boy knew why Sharp Nose wanted the bladder and the tallow. Maybe he
was too bashful to ask, because he was only a boy and Sharp Nose was a
great warrior. Of course, Sharp Nose had his pipe with him, also some
tobacco mixed with red willow bark. He kept these in a sack made of
red flannel that he got from a trader, and he would need that also.
So he mixed some sacred tobacco and red willow bark with the buffalo
tallow, which was sacred too, because in his vision quest he had seen
a spirit buffalo. Then he placed this in the buffalo’s bladder, and
around the bladder he tied the red flannel; and red, you know, is a
sacred color. This is the way he made a medicine bundle, and all tribes
know that it is a very sacred thing. But when he had done this, he was
not yet ready, for he had to take off his clothes and paint his body
with sacred red paint. This he made by mixing tallow with some red
paint dust that he always had with him. Last of all he fastened one
eagle feather in his hair, so that it would hang down over the back of
his neck.
“When he had done all this and was ready, the sun was high; and he said
to Little Bear, ‘We will go into the village now. You will carry my
clothes and gun and the bow and arrows, and you will follow after me.’
So they started.
“When they had crossed the top of the ridge, they saw many horses
grazing on the slope and in the valley, and some of these they knew
for the horses that had been stolen from their people. When they were
about halfway down to the village, a Crow, who was out looking for some
ponies, came riding out of a gulch all at once, and when he saw the
naked man all painted red and the boy following after, he yelled and
rode back fast to the village. But Sharp Nose went on walking towards
the village with the medicine bundle on his back and his pipe in front
of him, and behind him came Little Bear with the clothes and the gun
and the bow and arrows in a bundle.
“Then there was shouting down yonder, and they saw that many Crow
warriors were charging up the hill. When these came close and saw the
naked man all painted red with the sacred bundle on his back and the
pipe held out in front, they swung to one side and rode around him in a
circle, for he was a mysterious man painted so and carrying the sacred
bundle and the pipe; and each feared to strike him first. The boy was
not mysterious, so they rode around him, crowding in to coup him many
times, and the clothes and gun and bow and arrows they took away from
him. They wanted to kill him because he was an enemy, but they were
afraid to do that because he was the mysterious man’s helper and maybe
something very bad might happen. While they were doing this, a chief
who was among them got off his horse and went up to Sharp Nose, who
just stood there holding the pipe in front of him with both hands. When
the warriors saw the chief do this, they swarmed around the mysterious
man. They were hungry dogs yelping and snarling because they smelled
fresh meat; but somebody was keeping them away from it with a big club.
The chief looked hard into the eyes of Sharp Nose for a while. Sharp
Nose held the pipe tight and looked back just as hard. Then the chief
reached for the pipe and took it; and when he held it up before the
warriors, they quit yelling and fell back behind the boy, for there is
sacred power in the pipe.
“So now they all started down the hill towards the village. First
went the chief with the pipe; then came Sharp Nose, naked and all
painted red, with the sacred bundle on his back and the one eagle
feather in his hair; then Little Bear with his big bundle; and after
him the warriors on their horses. That is the way they came into the
Crow village, and all the people crowded in about them, buzzing and
wondering about the mysterious man and the boy.
“When they came to the chief’s tepee and the chief motioned for the
strangers to go in, Sharp Nose took the sacred bundle from his back and
held it with both hands in front of him; for I think he was afraid and
wanted the sacred power to protect him. So he went into the chief’s
big tepee with Little Bear close behind him. When they were sitting
down inside, the chief sent a crier about the village telling all the
sub-chiefs to come into his lodge for a council. So they came; and
when they were sitting in a circle about the fire, they began arguing
about the two strangers and what should be done with them. Some wanted
to kill them right away, for were they not enemies? Maybe it was only
a trick they were playing, so that some great harm might come to the
people. But there were others who could see only that the man was
painted red all over and that he had a sacred bundle. Was it not clear
that the man was _wakon_ and not to be harmed? Then why not kill the
boy and have only one to watch? But was not the boy the sacred man’s
helper, and therefore at least a little sacred too? Then why not just
keep the gun and bow and arrows and drive the strangers out of the
village? But might not something very bad happen if the man were really
sacred and brought a sacred gift that was refused? But was it a sacred
gift that he brought, or was it only something he had put in a dirty
red rag?
“So the argument went ’round and ’round the circle, while the man and
boy sat there wondering when they were going to die, for they could not
understand what the council was saying. While the argument was going
’round and ’round, the day grew old and the sun went down. Then the
sub-chiefs went away, still arguing; and it was night; and afterwhile
the man and the boy slept with guards watching about them.
“When the sun came back, the sub-chiefs came too, and the argument
began all over again, going ’round and ’round the circle; and the man
and boy sat there wondering when they were going to die. But afterwhile
the day began to get old, and the voices were not so angry as they
had been. Then the head chief stood up tall and looked hard into each
face about the circle; and there was stillness waiting for his words
to fill it. And after he had looked hard for a while, the chief said,
‘I heard many words yesterday, and today I have heard many words. They
are all the same. I have closed my ears, for they are tired. Now I will
receive this gift the mysterious stranger brings us.’ As he said this,
he stooped and took the sacred bundle from Sharp Nose, and when he was
standing straight and tall again, holding the gift with both hands,
he said, ‘I have received it and with it I am willing to die. If you
want to kill me with this bundle, here I stand.’ When the sub-chiefs
heard these words, they all cried, ‘_hiyee! hiyee!_’ as though they had
but one mouth. Then one stood up and said, ‘I too will die with the
stranger’s gift; and, one by one, all the others stood and said the
same.’
“Of course, only a _wichasha wakon_ [holy man] could untie the sacred
bundle, and there was one among the sub-chiefs who did this. First he
took some red coals from the fire and placed them in front of him. Then
upon the coals he put some pieces of dry buffalo dung; and when these
gave forth a flame, he lit his pipe therefrom, and presented it to
the four quarters and to the sky and to the earth. Then he was ready
to untie the bundle, and as he took it from the chief, there was no
sound in the tepee but what the fire made, and the ring of eyes looked
hard upon the bundle. When the holy man had untied the red flannel, a
sound went round the circle, ‘_ah-h-h_,’ for all could see that this
was not just something tied up in a dirty rag. Then the holy man gave
the bundle to the head chief, who took it and cried, ‘_Hiyee-thanks!_’
The crowd of people outside, hearing the words of the chief, cried out
the same, as with one mouth, ‘_Hiyee_-thanks!’ Then when the chief had
touched his body all over with the sacred gift, he passed it on to the
sub-chiefs, and, all around the circle, each in his turn received the
sacred gift, crying, ‘_hiyee_-thanks!’ But this is not all they did;
for when each had cried out thus and touched his body all over with the
bundle, he gave a gift to each of the strangers--one horse, two horses,
fine buckskin clothing, three horses or maybe four, so that when the
sacred bundle had gone all around the circle, the strangers had all
that they could wish for themselves, except food and drink. Then the
head chief called for water to be brought, and they drank. After that,
they smoked, and all shared the pipe with them. Then food in plenty
was brought and they ate like hungry dogs, for they had eaten nothing
those two days, nor had they drunk till then.
“Now that gifts had been given and received, it was time to question
the strangers. Who were they? Where was their home? What were they
doing here? What did they want that had not already been given? Who
made the sacred bundle and sent it to the Crows? They had smoked the
peace pipe and must tell the truth.
“These things were asked of the strangers in the sign language that all
the people knew. When Sharp Nose answered, he had a few Crow words to
help him, and this is what he told.
“He and his boy helper were Arapahoes; had come out of pity for their
own women and children who were all standing on a hill yonder crying
for their horses; for without their horses, they would starve. He and
his helper had come to die for their people among the Crows who had
taken all their horses, and not a hoof was left. The great Arapahoe
chief had made the sacred bundle and sent it as a gift to plead for his
crying women and children. The Crows were kind to him and his helper,
and he gave them thanks. Would they not be even as kind to all the
women and children crying yonder on a hill?
“Sharp Nose was a good man, but, of course, he had lied; for it was not
the great Arapahoe chief, but Sharp Nose himself, who made the bundle.
It was a bad thing to lie when he had taken the peace pipe that was
offered him; but he did it for his people, and he did not care what
happened to him.
“When the Crow chief and sub-chiefs understood the story, Sharp Nose
told in the sign language with his few Crow words, they just sat still
for a while and looked at the ground. Then the head chief said to Sharp
Nose, ‘How long will you stay here?’ And the other answered, ‘About
four days.’ For a while after that, the chiefs all huddled together
and talked with low voices; and then the head chief turned to Sharp
Nose and said: ‘The gift you have brought is sacred and we could not
refuse it. Also, we have heard the Arapahoe women and children crying
yonder on the hill. When you go back after four days, you shall not go
alone, but thirty of our warriors shall go with you, and with these all
the horses our warriors have taken from your people. Not even a little
colt shall we keep. Also with these shall go one of our chiefs; and his
woman and his son shall go with him, to show that our hearts are good.’
“When they understood what was said, the two Arapahoes stood up and
raised their hands, thanking the Great Spirit; then they stooped and
touched earth, the mother of all!
“So on the fifth day, when the morning star had seen the sun below and
was getting dim, the horse-guards had all the Arapahoe ponies bunched
near the village, and it was a big herd. Also, the thirty warriors were
ready with the chief and his woman and his son. So were Sharp Nose and
Little Bear, all dressed in the fine new clothing the Crow chiefs had
given them.
“And as they started towards the new sun yonder, people sang.
“The weather was still warm, although it was winter. The snows had
melted in the valleys and on the slopes that faced the day, so that
there was good grazing for the horses; and every evening there was
feasting in the camp, for the hunting was good and the hunters many.
“When they came to the Powder River, they had a last big feast, and
then the thirty Crow warriors turned back towards their homes; for
beyond that was the hunting country of the Lakota, Arapahoe, and
Cheyenne, and it was safe. So Sharp Nose, Little Bear and the Crow
chief with his son moved the herd onward a little every day, and every
evening the chief’s woman fed her family well from a full pot. And
afterwhile they were getting near to Hide Butte and the village of the
Arapahoe. Then Sharp Nose said to the others, ‘You will camp here and
watch the horses, for I must go and tell the people to be ready.’ So
that is what they did.
“All the people were happy when Sharp Nose came back to the Arapahoe
village, for his story traveled fast among the lodges. The first thing
he did after he had seen his father, was to tell the head chief all
that had happened; and then he said, I have done a good thing for the
people, but to do it I did a very bad thing. I lied, although I had
taken the pipe; for I said that you made the sacred bundle and sent us
with it as a gift to the Crows, that it might plead for our horses. And
now I ask you to do a bad thing also for the good of the people. When
the Crow chief comes, tell him that you made the bundle and sent it.’
“When the head chief had smoked and passed the pipe to Sharp Nose, he
sat silent for a while and thought. Then at last he spoke. ‘This is a
hard thing you ask me to do; it is a very hard thing.’ Then he sat a
long while and looked at the ground. And afterwhile he said, ‘If the
pipe speak with a forked tongue, who can be trusted?’ And after that
again he sat a long while without speaking. Then he spoke again. ‘It is
a great thing you and the boy have done. Alone you went forth into the
country of the enemy to die, and it was not for honors that you went,
but for the people. If you had died, it would have been a great thing.
If you had died, the people would have a great story to tell, but how
could they live to tell it without horses? Now they shall live and have
both the horses and the story. It is a bad thing, this that you ask me
to do; but it is a good thing also, being for the people. Am I greater
than the people? I will do it.’
“So while the Arapahoes were getting ready to receive the Crow chief
and his family, and to celebrate the strange victory without a scalp,
Sharp Nose went back to the little camp where the big herd was waiting,
and with him went many Arapahoe warriors to help in bringing the horses
back home.
“When the party with the whole herd, and not a colt missing, came near
to the Arapahoe village, the Arapahoe chiefs and councilors came forth
to meet the visitors, singing welcome as they came. And when these had
surrounded the friendly strangers, three softly tanned robes, ringed
round with only chiefs and councilors to carry them, were stretched
that the visitors might be carried therein. Thus the Crow chief and his
woman and his son entered the village of their old enemies that now
were friends, all singing welcome with one great voice.