by Rita Hestand
When Minola went home, Anya told as many of her tribe as she could about what she had told her.
Bear Paw had come back from the hunt for Big Knife, "I will find Black Wolf and tell him. I know about where they are, so it won't be hard to find him. But this will bring him so much bad news. And Nakota too."
"Yes, yes, go! He must know what has happened."
"Do not worry, I will find him. And pray to the Creator That Big Knife has not hurt Sasha."
"Sasha is with child, she could lose the baby."
The entire tribe prayed for Sasha and Black Wolf and Nakota. For the first time in a long time the tribe was upset about all that had happened. But this sudden sadness brought a unity to the two tribes that no one foresaw.
In the meantime Minola went to see Matooka immediately.
"I have to prepare you." She told Matooka
"For what, Minola?" Matooka was feeding her children when she came inside. She was barely paying attention to her when she first came in, but she saw such strife on her face, she stared at her, seeing her hands shaking in her lap. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want the children hearing whatever it was. She let them go outside so she could see them.
"What is it, Minola? Tell me."
"Sasha has been taken by Big Knife."
"What?" Matooka turned to look at her husband's aunt once more, as she set the dirty dishes aside for then.
"It is true. She was supposed to come to visit, and when she did not, I decided to see about her. She went berry picking in May and did not return. I am sure that Big Knife has captured her." Minola was beside herself with worry. "He is the only one that I know that would do such a thing."
"Oh my, but why?"
"Revenge for Naomie."
"But Sasha had nothing to do with that." Matooka protested.
"No, the revenge is on Black Wolf and Nakota. By capturing Sasha he can evoke revenge on them both for Naomie's death." Minola explained, her face turning a bright red.
A silence sliced the air. "And you must be very careful that he does not come back and get you or the children." Minola told her.
"What is wrong with him?" Matooka asked. "to want war with the blue coats was one thing, but to declare war on his own people like that."
"He has much hate in his heart, first it was the blue coats, then Black Wolf and Nakota, now he has Sasha and perhaps the fate of her child too."
"Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that." Matooka gasped. "she must be scared out of her mind."
"Bear Paw came back and now he will go find Black Wolf and Nakota to warn them of this deed. I will stay with you until they return." Minola told her.
"I would appreciate that." Matooka nodded. "Did he love Naomie that much?"
Minola sat down and shook her head, "I do not know, perhaps it was the child she carried."
"Oh my, would he hurt Sasha's baby?"
"I do not know. I thought I knew him, but I didn't. None of us did. And he is right, this will hurt both Black Wolf and Nakota."
"Oh yes, it will! Nakota is already so upset with Big Knife about them poisoning his father. Now to take his sister."
"The thing is, it's already been a month. She's been gone a month now. No telling what shape she is in." Minola cried. "Or if… "
"Do not worry so much, Minola, worry can kill you. Surely, Nakota and Black Wolf will get to the bottom of this."
"Yes, but they have been after him for a long time now and they have not captured him. He is cunning, but not too smart. Still, he is not captured yet."
The children ran outside yelping in play, "Stay close," Matooka told them.
They nodded.
Minola sat staring at nothing, then when Matooka laid a hand on her arm, she looked up. "Sasha was so happy about the baby. And Black Wolf could not be prouder."
"Yes, both of them were." Matooka nodded. "We must think good thoughts."
"You are right. Sasha is a smart girl and she might out smart him."
***
But when Bear Paw found Black Wolf and Nakota they were at scouring the caves of the mountains looking for Big Knife.
"Bear Paw, what are you doing here?" Black Wolf asked as soon as he spotted them.
Bear Paw hung his head as Nakota approached them too.
"I have bad news and it is urgent."
Black Wolf looked at him with surprise. "Bad news, well spit it out."
"I'm afraid they have taken Sasha captive." Bear Paw told them.
"Who has taken her?" Black Wolf demanded his eyes widening with shock as he came closer to Bear Paw.
"We suspect it is Big Knife. She was picking wild berries on the south side of camp she never returned. When we went to look for her, we found the berries strewn on the ground. There was no sign of her. And it has been a while as I only came back to camp as you know."
Nakota shot Black Wolf a frown and saw the distress on his face. "No!" Black Wolf shouted. "I will kill him; I swear I will kill him with my bear hands." He raised his fists to the sky, as a tear rolled down one cheek.
Nakota too was stricken. They both stood there and took leave of their senses for a moment. It was a long moment before either Nakota or Black Wolf could speak. Both men fisted their hands and cried out.
Bear Paw saw how upset they were and turned away as he realized the pain they shared. "We figure it was Big Knife, he's the only one that has a reason or thinks he does."
Black Wolf nodded, his muscles tensing in his shoulders and back. Nakota looked at Bear Paw, "Is Matooka alright?"
"Yes, so far." Bear Paw told them. "Minola will stay with her and the children."
"Then go back and stay with Matooka, the children and Minola. He is after our family. Protect them, get several men to help you. Stay with them until we return."
"What are you two going to do?" Bear Paw nodded.
Black Wolf drew breath, "He has left us no choice, we are going to find him and kill him. If we fail," Black Wolf walked up to Bear Paw once more and put his hand on his shoulder. "It falls to you to take care of Big Knife."
Bear Paw nodded slowly as he looked from one to the other. "I am sorry I brought you such bad news, but we figured he might try to use her as a shield."
"How long ago did he take her?" Black Wolf asked his breathing labored from withheld anger.
"She's been gone a month."
Black Wolf hit a tree with his fist so hard it brought blood.
"Pass the word in both camps that any sighting of him, kill him. Do not pause, do not think about it, kill him!" Black Wolf cried out.
"I will my brother, I will!" Bear Paw left as swiftly as he arrived.
Nakota turned to look at Black Wolf, "We will find him."
"And if there is a hell, we will send him there!" Black Wolf promised.
"Yes, my brother, I agree!"
"The baby, may the Gods strike him dead if he touches the baby!" Black Wolf cried.
Nakota touched Black Wolf's arm, "Stay strong my brother, as we will need our wits about us."
"You are right. What angers me is, I did not see this coming. I did not get protection for Sasha. It is my fault."
"No, it is not! Neither of us could foresee his intentions."
"I should have known. Things have gotten very peaceful on our reservation, and I haven't been thinking about the anger in this man. I know he liked Naomie, but I thought not that much about it. The child I could see being important to him. And when she died, the baby died, so he had nothing. I should have known he would want revenge. For some reason he thinks we killed her."
"Yes, but why would he think it. We didn't even know she was there until it happened. I didn’t think of it either. I guess we both got too comfortable in our camps."
"A hard lesson to learn, but we have learned it well now. We only have one more peak to climb to have checked all the caverns and caves. Surely we will find him in one."
"What will we do when we do find him?" Nakota shook his head. "If he sees us first, he c
ould kill Sasha and the baby and have his revenge."
"We must make a plan. And we must be very careful."
"I agree!"
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sasha sat in the darkest corner of the cave, wondering if anyone even knew she was gone yet. She feared every day would be her last.
Big Knife's men spat at her, called her a whore, flung her on the ground several times. But at least they hadn't tried to rape her. She protected her stomach as much as she could, so as not to hurt the baby through this.
She barely ate, she didn’t see the point in it, except for the baby's sake. She'd made a bit mistake telling Big Knife she was pregnant, and she feared for her child as much as herself.
It was Black Wolf's child and she would protect it with her life.
She was forced to cook for the men every day. Her mind wandered at night to Black Wolf, and Nakota. Where were they? Would they get here in time, and would they be able to fight all of Big Knife's men, as he had gathered a few more since he captured her.
She heard them talking about getting more men and wondered if they would take her along or leave her here. Although she was not tied up while they were there, if they left her there, they would tie her, she was sure of it. And they'd leave a guard on her.
She tried to use her head to figure a way to escape but someone was always watching her.
His men were hateful to her, and none seemed friendly. She knew a few of them, but none of them had liked her much.
She felt so dirty and needed a bath but there was no chance of that.
Every night she prayed to the Creator that she would somehow manage to get home. But as time passed, she began to give up any hope of ever seeing Black Wolf or her family again.
If she stayed much longer, Big Knife might kill her and take her baby from her.
What Big Knife did not know was that she had a small knife hidden in her boot. She just had to find the right time to use it. If she did, she would have to be fast and accurate. She knew he would kill her without a thought, and his men would too.
One evening as she prepared his food, she handed it to him and sat away from him. "Why did you kill my father."
"I did not kill him!" Big Knife corrected her.
"You talked Naomie into doing it, didn't you?" She asked boldly.
"Your father was too old, and he would never war with the blue coats again. But we the young of the camp would gladly war with them and run them out of this country."
"You didn't have to kill him."
Big Knife whipped around to look at her. "Some of our people listened to him, thinking him wise. He was not wise, as he was merely tired of fighting. Had I known of Black Wolf sooner, I would have killed him too."
"You lost the challenge with Black Wolf. You think you can kill him so easily?"
"When he finds me, I will use you as a shield and he will not fight me any longer. If he tries, you will die. And I did not lose the challenge, I gave it up."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"I loved Naomie truly. I only wanted to marry you to seek your father's favor with the tribe."
"I see. At last you tell the truth. Strange how you can be honest now, and not before to my face. You have so much hate inside you, why?"
"Our camp needed a strong leader, instead we had an old man. We did not want to come here to the Wind River Valley. We belong here in the mountains. It is our home, that is why I can outfox Black Wolf. I know where the caves are, he doesn't."
"How many of our tribe have to die for you to realize you cannot fight blue coats and win?" Sasha said bravely.
"At least we will die with honor."
"Will all these men die, for your cause?"
"Most yes."
"You try to steal their guns and they will bring more. You try to kill them all, more will come. Have you not seen this for yourself?"
"The Arapaho give up too easily, they are cowards."
"You are an Arapaho too, Big Knife."
"No longer. But I will die with honor and bravely." Big Knife told her.
"You are a renegade, not a leader." She touted.
"Be silent, no more talk of the cowards!" Big Knife came closer.
She backed away. "Kill me and you will have no shield." She protested.
"I can scar your face so your man will not want you any longer." He told her coming close to her face now.
"What kind of man are you to torture women?'
"Enough, get out of my site now!" he told her.
She moved to another corner, shivering with a cold fear for only a moment.
The next day Big Knife prepared to leave to recruit more men. "Tie her hands and feet. Feed her once a day."
One of the braves stayed with her, he was mean and ugly man and he taunted her with his big knife in his hand.
Sasha figured if she could get the drop on this one man, she could escape. Of course on foot, with no horse about, she'd have a hard time getting away. She would pray to the Creator for a way.
Claw Foot stayed with her, he was a big man, and very powerful. She'd need a weapon to knock him out, but with her feet tied, how could she do it.
When Claw Foot grew hungry, she prepared him a meal. "Can you untie me so I can fix your meal?"
"No," he grunted.
"Then I guess you won't eat, because I cannot move about to cook if you don't." she insisted.
Claw Foot shot her a murderous glance.
She waited.
When she did not move to fix him something to eat, he came over and untied her hands, but not her feet.
"I cannot move without my feet loose." She complained.
He grunted and untied them too.
She went to the stove and began making him a meal. He watched her as he sat down across from her.
She was frying some fatback and when it was good and hot, she threw it in his face. While he scrambled to get the hot grease off his face so he could see, she pulled her knife and stabbed him hard in the belly then in the lower back.
At first, she thought he would not die. Blood went everywhere. She stabbed him once more, for good measure. For he reached for her and held her down, but he finally succumbed to the knife and fell dead across her.
It took all her strength to get him off her, but she finally managed after a struggle. She looked at him and shook her head, "I'm sorry I had to do that. But I must get back to my people. I think the Creator will understand."
She stuck her knife back in her boot after cleaning it. She grabbed the fatback and stuck it in a small skin one of the men used to clean their guns with. She would wash it later. She grabbed a skin of water and threw it on her shoulder. Sure she had a bed to make, a meal to eat, she lit out quickly.
No one was about, but she wasn't sure which way to go. She felt the ground slope a certain direction so she went what she thought might be south. There was a man above the cave, but she waited until he went to feed his horse before she took off in the other direction. He wouldn’t be going inside until night, so she'd be safe for a while. She got a small branch that had fallen in her path to wipe away her tracks.
She had to get her bearings, as the woods looked the same in every direction.
She traveled for a long while. She only hoped Big Knife would be gone long enough for her to get away.
If she only had a horse, she might make it.
Since it was late spring, she didn't have to worry about freezing to death, but there were many animals to worry over in the mountains. She doubted she could fight off a cat, or bear.
She had to get down the mountain as quickly as she could. But they were at the highest peak and it would take a long while on foot to get to the bottom.
She made a small fire that first night and washed the fatback off and ate it. She went to sleep quickly and got up just before dawn to travel some more.
By noon the next day she was tired and stopped to rest. She had a little more fatback. She used her food and water sparingly, just enough
to give a bit of energy. She was wearing a deerskin dress and leggings, she was glad she had worn the legging that day to pick berries, as her moccasins were not as padded.
Her feet hurt after two days of traveling though and she knew she would have to do something about her food supply before long.
By the third day her feet began to bleed some, as she had walked on many rocks and some were sharp as knives. Her energy was ebbing quickly now.
She made a search for some berries along the way and found some bird eggs. She ate the eggs raw and picked enough berries to nibble on throughout the day.
So far, she'd been lucky.
She looked around her. She seemed to be going southward and that was a good thing. It was beautiful in the mountains in summer, the trees were so green, and wildflowers decorated the landscape. She couldn't help but admire it.
She saw a camp of Sioux, but she didn't get too close. They would take her prisoner too.
If only she had one of their horses though.
She looked around the camp, if maybe she could steal one…
But they had bunched the horses in one place and roped them in. They were a smart tribe. She would have to continue on foot.
Three days later she realized her folly. She was without food, and her water was nearly gone. She needed to find water.
The next day she found a waterfall, spilling from the top of the mountain to a beautiful creek. She threw her clothes away and bathed, enjoying the clean water, even though it was a bit chilly. It revived her some. She cleaned her feet and soaked them in the water.
Filling her skin with water, she trekked onward.
But a week of trekking around the mountain, and she was threadbare. She was hungry, and weak and so very tired.
That's when she felt the first movement of her baby and she shrieked, not knowing what was happening to her. She caught her belly and felt it again. "Oh, it is you little one. You are with me, aren't you? I am so glad I am not alone… "
She rubbed her belly softly and smiled. It was such a comforting moment.
Until she heard the sound of a cat.
She froze. "Oh please, not that!"
But about the time the cat decided to jump, a shot rang out and the cat fell dead from the tree it was perched on, and at her feet.
