the children and cut off their heads also, the biggest ones first and
then the smaller ones. And out of all their necks came running water.
So Wazya and his woman and his children were dead, all but one little
boy, the smallest of them all. And when Falling Star saw this one, he
said to himself, ‘This is the boy who sometimes sneaked away from home
and fed the old people. I will chase him, but I will let him live.’
So he chased the smallest boy into a big crack in the ground, and you
could see frost coming out of the crack where the smallest boy hid. If
Falling Star had not let that one get away, maybe there would be no
winter at all. That is what my grandmother thought. I do not know. But
old, old men always say the winters used to be much harder than they
are now. Deeper snow! Colder, much colder! Maybe that was before Wazya
and his woman and children got their heads cut off. I do not know this,
and I must be careful what I tell.
“So the people of this village feasted and danced and sang, every
tepee-top gave smoke, and all the valley was green.
“Then the chiefs and the councilors and the _akichita_ and the
_wichasha yatapika_ got together, and in the center of the happy
village they made a big tepee of many tepees. And into this place they
brought Falling Star that each might thank him in turn for saving the
people. And when they had thanked him, the oldest of the _wichasha
yatapika_ stood up on three legs, and said, ‘Falling Star, the people
want you to live with them and be their great head chief forever.’ And
when the people heard this, they all cried, ‘_Hiyay! Hiyay!_’
“Then Falling Star stood so tall that the people had to look straight
up and far to see his face; and it was so bright that it blinded them.
But in the darkness of their eyes there was the voice of Falling Star,
and the voice said, ‘I cannot live with you always, my people, for I
have much to do and a long journey to go. But in the moon when cherries
blacken, look for me and I will always come again.’
“And when the voice was still and the people looked about them, Falling
Star was gone and the high sun was shining on the happy village in the
wide green valley.”
No Water ceased, and sat in silence, gazing as upon something far
away, while Moves Walking and Eagle Voice leaned forward waiting. At
length Moves Walking broke the silence with a forceful whisper. “_White
crow!_” he prompted.
With that mildly grieved, questioning look of his, No Water turned upon
Moves Walking. “Falling Star has gone on a long journey,” he said.
“I was waiting to see where he went. You know this story so well,
Grandfather, you tell it yourself.”
“_Dho_,” said Moves Walking explosively, the off-eye glaring, the
other revealing a suppressed amusement. “I know this story from my
grandfather. Don’t bother me, and I will tell it right.”
Evidently No Water had become an eager little boy, hands on knees,
leaning to hear.
“So Falling Star had to go on another long journey,” Moves Walking
began, “and he was far away already. He was walking, walking--walking;
and my grandfather said you could see where he walked by the flowers.
And while he was walking he came to the top of a hill. An old man was
standing there, and this old man said, ‘_Hun-hi_, Grandson, where are
you going? And Falling Star said, ‘I am on a journey, Grandfather.’ And
the old man said, ‘Grandson, you are going to meet some difficulties.
There is a big village yonder. In that village there is no meat, and
the children are crying for it. What you must do will be hard, so you
must remember me and I give you this.’ It was a grasshopper. Falling
Star thanked the old man and started walking again. When he looked
back, a meadowlark was standing on the hilltop yonder, and that made
him feel very kind.
“So Falling Star walked far, and afterwhile he came to another hilltop,
and in the valley yonder was this big village the meadowlark man told
about. It looked as though nobody was young down there--people sitting
by their tepees with their chins on their breasts, boys walking around
like old men without canes. And when you listen, you hear little
children whimpering and crying, like being very hungry and no meat.
“While Falling Star was looking, he saw a little tepee made of old
skins patched together; so that is where he went. And when he lifted
the flap an old, old man and an old, old woman were sitting inside with
their chins on their breasts. When the old man lifted his head to look,
it was shaking, and he said, ‘_Hun-hun-hi_, here is my grandson! Sit
down.’ When the old woman lifted her head to look, it was shaking too,
and she said, ‘It is good that you came, my grandson, for the people
are all starving. I can see that you are Falling Star.’ And the old man
said, ‘It is true. We are all starving. When the hunters go out, there
are bison; but there is a white crow that talks, and he tells all the
bison to run away for the hunters are coming. So no bison are there
when the hunters come, and we are starving.’”
“_Sheetsha! Sheetsha!_” commented No Water and Eagle Voice, their heads
shaking with feebleness.
“_Dho_,” Moves Walking agreed. “It was bad, very bad. So Falling Star
said, ‘Grandfather, I think you should call the head men of the village
here, for I want to say something to them.’ The old man felt much
stronger now, so he went and told the head men. And when the head men
were there, they all said, ‘_Hun-hun-hi!_ It is good! Our grandson,
Falling Star, has come to visit us!’ And the head chief said, ‘We have
no meat to give you, for we are all starving. There is a white crow
that talks. He always flies ahead of the hunters and tells the bison to
go away; and when the hunters come, no bison are there at all, and we
are starving.’
“Then Falling Star said to the head men, ‘You must do what I say. Set
up a tepee in the center of the hoop and make it tight without even a
smoke flap; for nobody is going to live in this tepee. Make a little
fire in there before you shut it tight. There are bison not far away.
I will go there and change myself into a bison. When you come to hunt,
there will be only one bison left, for the white crow will tell the
others to run away. This one bison will be I, but do not fear to kill
and butcher me, for you cannot hurt me. Do not take any meat for
yourselves--only enough for the little children who are crying. Then
you will see.’
“So Falling Star asked for a bison robe, and this he tied about him.
Then he began rolling on the ground and bellowing. All at once he was
a big bison bull, and he galloped away to where the other bison were
feeding, and the white crow was hopping around among them.
“Soon the hunters were coming, and the white crow began flying around
over the bison and screaming, ‘Run! Run! The hunters are coming!’ All
of them ran away from there except one big bull, and he just went on
feeding. So the white crow flew down onto the bull’s back and began
pecking and screaming, ‘Did you not hear me, bad one? I told you to run
away! The hunters are coming!’ But this big bull just made thunder in
his belly and went on feeding.
“The hunters were close now, and the white crow had to fly away. But he
was watching while the hunters killed and butchered the big bull. When
they had butchered they took some tender meat and good warm liver for
the little children who were crying, and went back to the village.
“Then the white crow came flying around and around the bull that was
butchered, and he was thinking, ‘I must be careful. Maybe this is a
trick.’ But the fresh meat smelled so good that he could not stay away
from it. So he hopped around the butchered bison, with his head on this
side, then on that side, then on this side, then on that side. [Three
heads wagged, illustrating the point.] All the while he was hopping a
little closer. When he could not wait any longer he pecked at one of
the eyes. But the way the other eye looked at him, he was frightened,
and he said, ‘This looks like Falling Star’s eye.’ So he flew away and
sat on top of a plum thicket to watch.
“While he was watching, the black crows and the magpies and two hawks
smelled the fresh meat and came swooping down on it to feast. This made
the white crow hungrier than before, and very angry too. So he came
flapping and screaming, ‘Get away from my meat! This is my meat, and
I will eat it myself!’ But nobody listened. So he hopped right inside
the butchered bison and began poking around for some good warm liver.
_Peck-peck. Peck-peck-peck. Peck-peck-peck-peck._ The meat was good and
he was greedy, so he forgot to be afraid.
“That is just what Falling Star was waiting for, and all at once he was
not a butchered four-legged any more; for he changed himself into a
two-legged and caught white crow by the legs!”
Having silenced the exclamations of triumph with a lifted forefinger,
Moves Walking continued: “Don’t bother me. I must tell this right.
‘_Squawk! Squ-awk! Squ-awk-k-k!_’ the white crow screamed; ‘Let me go!
Let me go! I will give you my power if you will let me go!’ But Falling
Star said, ‘You have been bad to the people long enough. I will not let
you go.’ So he went back to the village; and when the people saw him
coming with the white crow that was flapping and screaming, they all
cried, ‘_Hiyay! Hiyay_,’ with one big voice.
“Then Falling Star went to the tepee that the head men had made tight
with a little fire inside, and he pushed the white crow in under the
bottom of it. All at once it is like Thunder Beings fighting inside
that tepee! People all watch and listen! Hardly breathe! _Squawk!
Squawk! Flap! Flap!_ Big noise in there! Looks like that tepee is going
to fall down! People come running to hold it up. Everybody holding that
tepee up. Then all at once, the tepee-top breaks open, and out flies
the white crow with the smoke!”
Moves Walking clapped his hands violently, then paused, open-mouthed,
to follow the escaping culprit with one astonished, and one angrily
glaring eye.
“_Sheetsha! sheetsha!_” muttered the others, deploring the unfortunate
situation. His excitement having subsided, Moves Walking continued.
“No, Grandsons,” he said with a reassuring smile, “it was not bad. It
was good, very good. The white crow got away, but he was black, black
from the smoke, black all over just like all the other crow people.
No power any more. Tries to say something to the bison. _Squawk,
squawk_--that is all he can say. Bison let him squawk, go right on
feeding. Hunters come. Plenty bison. Children stop crying. Nobody
hungry any more.”
“_Washtay! Washtay!_” Eagle Voice and No Water applauded the happy
outcome.
“So there was a big feast in that village,” Moves Walking continued.
“Then Falling Star said to the old, old man and the old, old woman
in their fine new tepee, ‘Grandfather, Grandmother, there is another
village, and they need me over there. I must go on a long journey.’ So
he went.”
After a waiting silence, Moves Walking turned to Eagle Voice.
“Grandfather,” he said, “you started this. You finish it.”
“Chief’s arm!” urged No Water.
“_Dho_,” Eagle Voice began. “The chief’s right arm. It is stolen and
somebody must get it back. So Falling Star was walking again. When he
had walked far, he came to the top of a hill, and there was an old man.
And this old man said, ‘_Hun-hi_, Grandson, where are you going?’ And
Falling Star said, ‘I am on a journey.’ And the old man said, ‘You will
come to a big village, and there will be great difficulties. I do not
give you anything; but you must remember the gifts you have received
already, for you shall need them. This is going to be very difficult.’
Then Falling Star said, ‘I will remember all my gifts, Grandfather,’
and he went on walking.
“Afterwhile there was a high ridge, and in the valley below was this
big village. While he was looking, there was a little patched tepee
on one side, and he thought, ‘That is where I will go.’ So he turned
himself into a little boy like you, Grandsons--six, seven winters
maybe--and went to the little patched tepee. When he lifted the flap
and said, ‘_How_,’ there was an old, old woman sitting in there all
alone, with thin white hair and the point of her chin close to the
point of her nose. And she said, ‘Grandson, my Grandson, I am so glad
you have come! Your grandfather did not come back from the war-path. I
am always waiting, but he does not come, and I am all alone here.’ And
Falling Star said, ‘I will stay with you and bring you tender meat,
Grandmother.’
“So that is what he did. He would go hunting, and when he was out there
he would turn into a very tall young man. Every time he would come back
with plenty of tender meat for his grandmother. But when he came back,
he would be a little boy again. People did not know who he was, so they
called him Lives-with-his-Grandma; and that was his name.
“Then one day his grandmother said, ‘Something very bad has happened,
Grandson. The Thunder Beings have stolen the head-chief’s right arm,
and with only his left arm he has no power and cannot protect the
people. He has one daughter, and all the young warriors want her for
their woman. They have brought many horses, but he waves them away and
says, ‘Bring me my right arm and I will give her to you.’
“Then Falling Star laughed and said, ‘Grandmother, I think I will go
and peek at the head-chief’s daughter.’ So that is what he did. And
when he had peeked, he said to himself, ‘I will go and find that arm
and I will bring it back, for I am Falling Star, and even the Thunder
Beings shall not stop me!’
“There was a long line of young warriors waiting their turn to talk to
the daughter, and she sitting in front of her tepee. One by one, she
waved them away and said, ‘The arm! Go find the arm!’ So the long line
shortened, and Falling Star was the last one. He was a tall young man
now. When he looked at the daughter, his eyes were stars in a still
night. She looked back at him, and her eyes were stars too, shining
in a still clear night. And while they were looking, there was a soft
starlight that grew, and it covered them like a lover’s blanket, and
they were alone together in there.
“Then the daughter said, ‘You are Falling Star, and I have been waiting
so long. Go quickly and bring the arm, for it is so long that I have
waited.’ And when Falling Star heard this, all at once he was like the
sun when it is rising.
“Then he was gone from there. So Falling Star was walking again. And
afterwhile there was an old woman living by a creek. Maybe it was
Rapid Creek in Pa Sapa [the Black Hills]. My grandfather thought this,
but I do not know. And the old woman said, ‘Grandson, I know what you
are looking for. I saw the Thunder Beings with the chief’s right arm.
They came roaring through here. This is going to be the most difficult
thing, and you will need help. So I give you this piece of sinew. When
you need to go away fast from somewhere, just put a live coal on one
end of this sinew, and all at once you will not be there at all. When
you come near to Where-the-Bears-Live [Bear Butte], you will see your
grandfather, and he will help.’
“Falling Star thanked the old woman and went on walking. Soon he saw an
old man standing by his tepee with a blanket around him. ‘_Hun-hun-hi_,
Grandson, you are doing a very difficult thing, I have heard! Come in
and eat.’ So they went inside the tepee, and it was full of eagles
lying down with their wings stretched out--like a robe of eagles on the
ground. And while they were eating the old man said, ‘As you go, there
is a place called He-Ska [White Buttes, north of the Black Hills]. Your
grandfather lives there. Be sure to see him before you get to where you
are going. And take this feather with you.’
“Falling Star thanked the old man with the eagles and went on. Then he
was coming to He-Ska, and on top was a tepee. And from the tepee an old
man called down to him. ‘Grandson, I am your grandfather. Come up and I
will help you.’ So Falling Star climbed up, and the old man said, ‘It
is very difficult, what you are doing, I have heard. I am small but I
can help you. Take this.’ Then Falling Star saw that the old man was a
split-tail swallow, and it was one of his wing feathers that he gave.
‘Go on with this,’ the old man said. ‘You are very near now.’
“So Falling Star thanked the old man and went on into a wide flatland
deep in grass. And in that flatland was a big village. I think maybe
the people were dancing in that village, because Falling Star could
hear drums--like thunder when it sleeps and snores under the edge of
the world.
“When Falling Star was going into the village where the thunder slept,
there was a thin little voice coming from a bull-berry bush. He looked,
and it was a wren. And the wren said, ‘I am not much of a man myself,
but I can help. Take this feather from my wing, but I want it back. The
chief’s right arm is in that big tepee you see yonder. Put the feather
in your hair and fly over to that woodpile by the big tepee. Then you
must say, “_Zuya wahi! Zuya wahi!_ [On the war-path I come].” They will
hear and let you in. And be sure to give me back my feather.’
“Then Falling Star said, ‘You make me thankful, Holds-back-the-Buffalo
[for that was his name]. I will not forget, little Grandfather.’ So he
put the feather in his hair. All at once he was a wren, and he flew
over to the woodpile by the big tepee.
“There was a little boy Thunder Being who came out of the big tepee and
heard what the wren was saying on the woodpile. So he went back inside
and said, ‘There is a wren sitting on the woodpile out there, and he
says he has come on the war-path.’ Falling Star could hear Thunders
laughing inside, and a big voice said, ‘A wren on the war-path! Ho ho!
Bring him in! A wren on the war-path! Ho! ho!’
“So the little boy caught the wren and took him inside the big tepee
that was made of cloud. There were giants sitting around a pot, and the
pot was boiling. Falling Star knew they were Thunder Beings the way
their bellies rumbled when they laughed, and there were blue jagged
stripes all over their bodies. He could see something wrapped in hide
hanging from a pole, and what do you think _that_ was?”
“_Chief’s right arm!_” exclaimed Moves Walking and No Water in unison.
“_Dho_, the chief’s right arm! The wren knew it too, and he began
saying, ‘_Zuya wahi! Zuya wahi!_’ as loud as he could. Then one of the
Thunder Beings roared with laughing, seized the wren and threw him into
the boiling pot.
“But the wren was Falling Star, and when he flapped his wings, the
boiling soup whirled like a great storm and fell on all the Thunder
Beings. They howled with pain; and the way they were feeling around for
the wren while they howled, you could see they were nearly blind with
the scalding soup in their eyes.
“Then Falling Star seized the arm and flew out of the tepee built of
cloud and all on fire with sharp lightning. First, he flew to He Ska
where his grandfather Wren lived, and he said, ‘Little Grandfather,
here is your feather. You have made me thankful. I must hurry.’ Then he
put the feather of the split-tail swallow in his hair. And as he turned
into a swallow, all the Thunder Beings came roaring and howling and
flashing with sharp fires. If you have seen how split-tail swallows fly
in front of a storm, that is how Falling Star flew. Up and down, back
and forth, rise and swoop, he flew and dodged so fast that the arrows
of the lightning could not hit him.
“The Thunder Beings were howling and roaring close behind when he
came to where his Grandfather Swallow lived; and he said, ‘Quick,
Grandfather! Take your feather! You have made me thankful! I must
hurry!’
“Then he put his eagle plume in his hair. You may think he changed into
an eagle, but that is not what he did. He changed into an eagle feather
that floated and flew on the back of the great wind ahead of the
Thunder Beings. When he came to his grandfather of the eagles, he said,
‘Quick, Grandfather! Take back your plume! You have made me thankful. I
must hurry!’
“Then he put a live coal on the end of the sinew. And when it sizzled
and began to shrink and curl, all at once he was not there at all. He
was right in front of his old grandmother’s tepee in the big village
he had started from. When he looked back, he saw a big, boiling, black
cloud full of Thunder Beings that were howling and roaring and shooting
blue fire arrows as they came. They were coming fast, and Falling Star
thought, ‘I have used the powers of the wren, the swallow, the eagle,
and the sinew. What can I do now?’ He still had his grasshopper and
hawk feather, but the hawk would be too slow. When he touched the
ground in front of the old grandmother’s tepee, he had changed into a
little boy again, the one they called Lives-with-his-Grandma.
“He was going to change into the grasshopper so that he could hide in
the grass until the Thunder Beings had gone by. But he did not do this,
for just then his old grandmother came running out of her tepee with a
hatchet. She was very angry, and she was yelling at the Thunder Beings.
‘What are you doing to my grandson?’ _Whack!_ ‘This is my little
grandson, and don’t you dare hurt him!’ _Whack! Whack!_ ‘You go away
from here, you bad Thunder Beings!’ _Whack! Whack!_ The last stroke
of her hatchet cut right through the boiling black cloud, and the sun
blazed out. That made the Thunder Beings turn and fly away as fast as
they could fly, and you could hear them rumbling and howling, rumbling
and howling until they were back under the edge of the world.”
“_Washtay! Washtay! Washtay!_”
Eagle Voice waited for the applause to cease. After it had ceased, he
still sat in silence, as though enjoying the golden peace of a world
delivered.
“Maybe he can have the girl now--?” No Water ventured timidly.
“Chief’s daughter!” Moves Walking exclaimed.
“_Dho_,” said Eagle Voice, smiling benignly upon the two. “The chief
has his right arm again and Falling Star has the chief’s daughter.
Also, he still has his first eagle plume and the hawk’s feather and the
grasshopper. He did not need these powers; but he is going to have a
son when the young grass comes again, and his son must have these, for
there are more villages that need help, and his son will help them.
“You come back with the young grass and I will tell you all about it
then.”
XX
_The Battle in the Blizzard_
“There was strength in that meat,” remarked Eagle Voice, when next
we sat alone together in his tepee and the pipe was passed. “Almost
as strong as fat bison cow, and even I could chew it. Good meat and
stories told with friends make young awhile. When I was getting wood
this morning I could smell melting in the wind. It is far to the young
grass yet, but I think there will be a little water running before the
wind changes. It was like that to eat good meat with No Water and Moves
Walking and you, and to remember together.”
When we had talked awhile about our two guests at the late feast, the
old man said: “They are younger than I am, but Moves Walking is not
much younger. No Water was only a boy when we fought the soldiers of
the Gray Fox [General Crook] on the Rosebud, and when we rubbed out
Long Hair [Custer] on the Greasy Grass. But Moves Walking was almost a
young man already, the winter when the thirty Lakota were killed. That
was the winter after my first sun dance that I have told you about.
“Yes, Moves Walking was with us when the thirty were killed, and I will
tell you how that was. After our fall hunt when we made our winter
camp on Powder River with plenty of _papa_ and _wasna_, High Horse and
Kicking Bear came back from Pa Sapa [the Black Hills] and the hunting
with their people yonder. We had talked, the way I told you, about
great deeds that we would do that winter; and so they came. It was when
the Moon of Falling Leaves was young that they came, and there was not
yet any snow.
“Charging Cat was going along with us again, for he had helped us when
we drove off all those Crow horses. Nobody ever noticed him much, and
he did not talk until he had to do it, like saying, ‘Yes,’ or, ‘No,’
maybe, or ‘We can do that.’ He had a long jaw, and he looked sad, like
an old horse. But whatever we would say, he wanted to do that. The four
of us were going alone, _maka mani_ like the last time. It would be
braver that way, and if we found deep snow, there would be no horses to
starve--until we got some from the enemy.
“When we were getting ready, people noticed us because we had made
names for ourselves. Young men came to us, and said, ‘We are men too,
and we are going with you.’ So when we started, there were many of us.
Some were hardly more than boys and some had sons, and some had scars
from many fights.
“So when we were all ready, we started southwest, for we were going
against the Shoshonis over where the mountains are. We called them
snake men, because that was their sign-language name. When we had slept
twice, there was a creek with plenty of wood and good water and signs
of game, and there we camped to hunt and rest and eat fresh meat.