by D. J. Holmes
* * *
“Father, have you always gone on this same trail?”
“Yes, my Son. Father showed me the way. All of our fathers, as far back as story tellers have told their stories, have traveled south. Some of the story tellers have said that our families came from there, and we continue to go back to keep our family ties. At the same time, we bring things that we have grown and have learned to make, and they trade their abundance and new discoveries with us. In this way, though we don’t live in the same village any more, we still help each other to continue to exist.”
“So, the people that we trade with are family?”
“It use to be that we were all family. But in recent years things have changed. Other people have come to our land and have become part of our trading system also.”
“So how long will it take to get back home, Father?”
“We left on the full moon. There have been two full moons since we started. Have you noticed that each evening we come in sight of another tribe?”
“Yes.”
“And we visit and trade with them, don’t we?”
“Yes, Father. I have met many people on our travels.”
“It would take us years if we traveled to where our ancestors first came to this country. We are going a few moons away, but we should be back home within six full moons, unless the snows come early, then we will have to wait until spring to return home.”
“Father, in our dances tonight and every evening, let us ask that the snows will come later so that we can quickly return home after our trading is over.”
“That is a wonderful request, my Son,” his father responds.
At their first stop, after a full day of trading, visiting, and celebrating in the evening, all are grateful for a good night’s sleep.
Chief Joseph, his two sons, Flying Eagle and Blue Cloud, along with his other tribal sons, continue their journey the next morning. This journey is taken by their tribe every three years.
“Blue Cloud, my Younger Brother, why do you ride like you have a sore behind?” his brother, Flying Eagle taunts.
Blue Cloud looks back at his older brother, wishing that he was a better example of what an older brother should be.
“I don’t think that I am riding any different than you are, Elder Brother.”
Flying Eagle takes offence. Rides up next to Blue Cloud, and kicks him in his leg as hard as he can. The movement shocks his horse, and it begins to gallop, throwing Blue Cloud onto the ground.
As several of the other braves go to help Blue Cloud, Chief Joseph, notices that his youngest son is on the ground. He rides over to him and asks, “Why are you on the ground, Blue Cloud? You are a better rider than this.”
Blue Cloud says nothing, but looks at Flying Eagle with glaring eyes.
“Ah, Flying Eagle again,” his father says and he turns to his oldest son. With frustration he states, “Will you never leave your brother alone? Just because he is younger than you and a lot smaller than you are, does not mean that you treat him with disrespect. Go and find your brothers horse and bring it back to him. We need to continue our journey so that we can make it to our destination, before the sun goes down.”
“Come, my Brothers. Help me find Blue Cloud’s horse,” Flying Eagle asks his tribal brothers. They fan out in the direction Blue Cloud’s horse has galloped.
After a few minutes have passed one tribal brother points in the direction of a stream of water, “There he is, Flying Eagle!”
Riding over to where the horse is standing he says, “Thank you Wind-in-the-Face. I’ll take it to my brother if you don’t mind.”
“That would be fine, my Tribal Brother.”
Bringing the horse over to his younger brother, Flying Eagle leans over and hands the reins to Blue Cloud, quietly saying, “Watch your step, little Brother. You will never know when I am behind you.” Returning to his upright position on the back of his horse, Flying Eagle looks back smiling at his father, “He is fine father, we are ready to go.”
Riding faster to make up for lost time, they all arrive at the projected trading village, just as the sun is setting in the west.
“We are here, my Sons. Would you help me put the tipi up? Any of you that want to stay in the tipi, may stay here.”
After the tipi is up, Chief Joseph says, “Would any of you like to walk through the town to see who is here, and get a look at what they have brought to trade?”
Wind-in-the-Face responds, “Thank you, my Tribal Father, but I am very tired. I think that I will go to sleep early.”
“I’m with Wind-in-the-Face.”
“Me, too….”
The rest of the braves express that they are tired, and that they will walk with him in the morning.
Flying Eagle and Blue Cloud go with their father. As they walk the dirt road, watching the type of people that have gathered to trade their wares, one trader calls out to them, “Say, do you like dogs?”
“Yes, we do,” Chief Joseph calls back.
“Well, we just got a new one. It’s a mixed breed. It’s not for sale right now but as it gets older it will bring us a lot of money. Do you want to see it?”
“Sure. We want to see this money maker. Maybe we can get one of it’s litter when we see you again.”
“My name is Jasper.”
“I am Chief Joseph.”
“Glad to meet you. I’ll go get the dog.”
“I’ll wait here with my sons.”
In a couple of minutes he brings out something with a collar around it’s neck. The light is weak, but when it gets closer to the fire, Chief Joseph, Flying Eagle and Blue Cloud are taken back.
Quietly, Blue Cloud states, “Father, that’s not a dog.”
What he says is true. What they are really looking at is a small girl, with very unruly hair, dirt on her face and a filthy long dress. She walks on her hands and knees, as she is controlled and guided by a collar around her neck, attached to a leash and held by her owner.
Jasper explains, “Clyde and I went on our traditional trade route several moons further south of here. There was a family, who had sailed across the ocean with a group of their people, trying to make a new start in a new country because of war that had broken out in their homeland.”
“Apparently their enemies were trying to kill the whole group and particularly this girl’s father, because he was their group leader. They had sailed for months trying to lose their enemies, and finally headed directly west, knowing that they would, at long last reach land.”
“We stayed with them in their new home for two weeks and got to know the family quite well. They had so many children we didn’t think that they would miss her. So, after we told them good bye, we hid behind the trees and watched the children play. We grabbed her, when the other children and her parents weren’t looking.”
“You took her? You took her from her family?” Chief Joseph questioned.
“Yes. Can’t you see the potential she has? She looks different from all of the girls that we have ever seen. Because the sun has gone down, and her hair is really dirty, you can’t tell it, but her hair is light. It looks like the sun. And, her eyes are blue. Can you imagine all of the money that she will make for us when she gets older? Everyone will want to be with her, just because she looks different from the other women that they will see. Or we will be able to sell her as a wife for a huge sum of money.”
An angry Chief Joseph states, “You took her for money?”
“Well, yes. What other reason would we take her?” Disgusted, Chief Joseph stands up and says, “We will leave you now!” Flying Eagle and Blue Cloud follow their father, feeling the same way.
“What’s wrong with them, Clyde?” Jasper asks.
“I don’t know, Jasper. Forget them. Why don’t you put her back, and let’s go get a drink.”
“Now that’s my kind of thinking, Clyde!”
After walking a short distance, Blue Cloud suddenly ducks, and hides behind a water trough.
/> Looking back, Chief Joseph sees his youngest son squatting on the ground behind the water trough.
“What is he doing?” Chief Joseph says to himself. Motioning to Flying Eagle, “Follow me,” he says quietly turning around. They both walk back to the water trough and stand by Blue Cloud as he continues to squat.
Pretending that he is looking across the street Chief Joseph quietly says, “What are you doing, my Son?”
“I’m doing what I thought you wanted me to do,” Flying Eagle says.
“Not you, my Oldest Son. I’m talking to Blue Cloud.”
“Maybe he’s just tired. Why else would he be sitting on the ground, leaning up against a water trough,” Flying Eagle states with disgust.
“Flying Eagle, be respectful to your brother.”
“Father, I am the older brother. I am the person that should be respected.”
“Flying Eagle, have you learned nothing? We are all equal. We should have respect for every human being.”
“Are we going to get into this discussion again Father?”
“Actually, my Son, I have only begun. We’ll have a long discussion about this, on the way home. Right now, I need to know what Blue Cloud is doing.”
Blue Cloud says with a great deal of anger, “Father, I’m going to see where they keep this little girl. She’s just a little younger than I am and just as you were saying to Flying Eagle, no one should be treated like that!”
“You are right, my Son”
“Well, you can watch all you want little brother. I’m going to see what there is to drink around here,” Flying Eagle declares.
Chief Joseph says, “You know that I don’t like you to drink my Son. You know what it does to you.”
“Oh, are you finally talking to me, your oldest son?”
“Yes, I am talking to you!”
“You know I only drink when I’m on the trade route, Father. There’s nothing to drink back at the village,” Flying Eagle says, dismissing his father’s wishes.
“Blue Cloud, I’ll go back to the tipi. Find out what you can and tell me everything,” Chief Joseph says still looking across the street.
Flying Eagle walks across the street, and enters a make shift bar. Blue Cloud sneaks back to see where the little girl is being kept.
After a short while, Blue Cloud returns to his father’s tipi. “Father, I know where they are keeping her.”
“…Where is that, my Son?”
“She is in a small building behind their dwelling.”
“What do you think we should do, Blue Cloud?”
“Why can’t we take her back with us?”
“Do you know what the traders will do to us, if they find that we have taken their property?”
“Father, you are one of the greatest warriors I know, if we don’t help this little girl, who will?” Blue Cloud questions his father.
Continuing to express his feelings with authority Blue Cloud states, “She is a human being, Father. No human being should be owned by anyone else, much less treated like a dog. I know that we can save her, if you say that we can Father.”
“You are exactly right, my Son,” Chief Joseph responds with great pride. “Go. Find your brother. Tell him that I want him now!”
“Yes, Father.”
The moment Flying Eagle sees Blue Cloud enter the bar he says, “What are you doing here, little brother? Have you come to drink with your older brother?”
“No, Flying Eagle, Father wants you to come back to the tipi now! He needs you.”
“Come on, just one little drink,” spitting liquor onto Blue Cloud’s shirt.
“No, Flying Eagle, I’m not interested in drinking that stuff.”
“Come on, little brother. You can handle it!” he says, throwing him to the ground. Holding Blue Cloud down, Flying Eagle tries to pry his mouth open to pour liquor down his throat. Blue Cloud twists and turns, until his shirt is torn enough to get away from his brother. Then he quickly runs to his father.
Smelling liquor, and seeing his torn shirt, Chief Joseph asks, “What happened, my son?”
“Flying Eagle….” From all the years of turmoil with his oldest son, that’s all Blue Cloud had to say.
“Son, change your shirt while I go to get your brother.” Chief Joseph storms over to where Flying Eagle is, grabs his shoulder and says, “Come with me, NOW my Son!”
Flying Eagle knew that when he had pushed his father too far, he had better not go against him. He meekly follows his father to their tipi.
Furious, Chief Joseph states, “I’m tired of your treatment of your younger brother, Flying Eagle. We are leaving tonight. I want you and the other braves to take down our tipi as fast as you can. NOW, then put it on the pack horses. Blue Cloud and I will be back in a short while. Have everyone ready to leave as soon as we arrive.”
“All right, Father,” Flying Eagle respectfully responds.
Blue Cloud and Chief Joseph leave the tipi and walk toward the water trough.
“Now my Son, Where did you go from here?”
“I got up, dusted myself off and walked between these two buildings,” pointing to them with his index finger. “Then I went to the back and walked behind the buildings, until I got close to where the traders showed her to us. They were still by the fire talking to other people. Then, they took the girl to a small shack, right over there,” again pointing. “Do you see it?”
“I do.”
Chief Joseph and Blue Cloud quietly walk around the small building. The wood shack looks like it was hastily put together. The only thing holding it up is the frame of the front door which is now locked with a pad lock. The only opening is a small window, so that she can have some air.
“That’s too small for me to fit through, my Son. Do you think that you can get through it?”
“I’ll try, Father.”
“Don’t get caught on your shoulder pouch, Blue Cloud.”
“I’ll hold it close to my chest father.”
“And I’ll lift you up to the window.”
“Just a little bit higher, Father.”
Quietly squeezing through the small window, he drops to the floor of the small building.
“Let the little girl know that we are her friends, Blue Cloud. She’ll be afraid, since it’s so dark.”
“Did you hear that, little girl? We are your friends. We are here to help you.”
She backs up into a corner unsure of what is going on.
“Don’t worry little one. We have something for you to eat. Look, I have some jerky.” Moving from the shadows, she starts going through his shoulder pouch.
“Father, I don’t think that she understands what I am saying, but I think that she smells the jerky in my shoulder pouch.”
Chief Joseph says, “Leave your Jerky in your pouch. I’ve got some also. I’ll hold it up to the window.” She smells the jerky and walks over to the window.
“That’s what she wants, Father.”
“Help her up to the window, and I’ll pull her through it.”
Blue Cloud does as he is told. Chief Joseph pulls the little girl through the window. Finding a small box inside the shack, Blue Cloud steps on it and pulls himself up to the window. Chief Joseph helps his son the rest of the way, while the little girl is sitting on the ground, eating the delicious jerky as quickly as she can.
“Great work, my Son. Now we had better get out of here.” Chief Joseph picks up the small girl, who is still very happy, eating away at the jerky. Chief Joseph quietly runs behind the buildings, with her in his arms, toward their tipi. Blue Cloud swiftly follows.
Flying Eagle and his Tribal Brothers have worked quickly to follow their Chief’s orders. “Good work, my brothers. The tipi is down and on the pack horses. We are now ready to leave as soon as our Chief arrives,” Flying Eagle congratulates them.
Looking up, he sees his father running toward him carrying the little girl he had seen earlier. His younger brother is right behind his father.
“
What are you doing?” he inquires.
“I’ll explain later.” Chief Joseph commands. “Everyone grab the reins of your horses. Half of you walk with Flying Eagle and go behind the buildings in that direction. The other half of you go with me on the other side of the buildings across the street. The smaller our groups are, the less attention we will attract. Everyone meet at Tower Rock, three miles from here.”
“I’ll take the little girl on my horse,” Flying Eagle replies.
“No, I want her to go with Blue Cloud. They are both small. If they are on the same horse, it will be easier for the rest of us to make a distraction. If the traders follow us, we will go in one direction, and Blue Cloud and the little girl will go in the other. By using that tactic, we can help her escape from her captors.”
Everything goes as planned. When morning comes, Chief Joseph, the little girl, his two sons and the rest of his Tribal Sons, are a great distance from the trading post.
“I think that it would be safe to rest here by this stream for a while. Everyone is tired and the pack horses are slowing us down. Why don’t all of you rest while I keep watch here on the knoll?”
“Thank you, my Chief,” they all chorus.
Back at the trading post, the traders have gone out to the small building to check on the little girl. It’s light now. As the door is opened, Jasper can see that the room is empty. He yells to his partner, Clyde. “Look down the street and see if the Indian’s tipi is still there.”
Clyde looks down the street. “I don’t see any tipi.”
“They’ve taken her,” Jasper says angrily.
“What do you mean taken her?”
“She’s not here. The room is empty. They’ve taken her. That’s what I mean. Do you understand now?”
“Sure I understand. Just let her go Jasper, we can get another one,” Clyde says, tired from his partying the night before.
“I want that one. She’s pretty and will make a lot of money for us when she gets older. Where do you think we will find another girl that looks like her? Besides that, I don’t want to have to start over. Get your horse. We’re going after her.”
“Jasper, do you like this girl or is it the money?”
“Look, Clyde, we’re not getting any younger. I always thought of this girl as our stake! We could live for the rest of our lives on the money we could make off this girl.”
“You really think that we could make that much money?”
“I know we could!” From that moment on, all that Jasper and Clyde could think of was the money that they would be losing if they didn’t get the girl back.
“Can’t you get that horse to go any faster, Clyde?” Jasper barked.
“Listen Jasper, my horse is going as fast as it can. I’m keeping up with you, aren’t I? I just lost my favorite hat because you were in a hurry. It blew off, and you wouldn’t let me stop and get it.”
“Oh, quit complaining. When we get the girl back, I’ll buy you another one!”
Jasper and Clyde push their horses as fast as they can go. In half a day, they have come within a short distance of Chief Joseph and all of his sons.
From the top of the knoll, Chief Joseph is watching the valley they have just traveled across. The rest of the braves, his sons and the little girl are resting by a stream.
“Are you thirsty, would you like some water?” Blue Cloud asks.
Grabbing the water pouch, she guzzles the water as fast as she can.
“Wait, wait, Little One,” motioning with his hands. “Slow down or you will become sick.” She begins to drink a little at a time rather than gulping the water.
“That’s it,” Blue Cloud says and she looks at him with a smile. “Ah, you know how to smile,” he observes with a smile of his own.
Chief Joseph begins to yell to his sons as he makes his way down the knoll, “Horses are coming our way. Pull everything together. We need to get out of here.”
As he approaches his sons, he says, “Blue Cloud, you take the little girl and wait over behind that ridge. Flying Eagle, the rest of my tribal sons and I will take the pack horses, and ride northeast, creating a distraction, and lots of flying dirt behind our horses. Hopefully they will follow us.”
“Quickly, Flying Eagle, get on your horse. Hold onto the pack horses and get out of here. The rest of the braves and I will follow you in a moment.” Flying Eagle obeys his father and rides off leading the pack horses behind him.
“Blue Cloud, our ancestors will be with you. Take the little girl now. Do as I have told you. After the traders pass here, ride north for three days journey, and wait at our traditional campsite. The rest of us will be there as soon as we can.”
“I will do as you ask father. I will meet you at the campsite.”
Chief Joseph motions with his hands, for Blue Cloud to move quickly. Blue Cloud walks his horse, holding the hand of the little girl over behind the ridge to hide.
Quickly, Chief Joseph and the rest of the braves, ride out from behind the hill, so that they can be seen by the traders.
Seeing the great amount of dust that is flying in the air behind the braves, Jasper says, “There they are, Clyde. Follow the clouds of dust.” The traders turn east, trying to catch Chief Joseph and his sons, so that they can retrieve their property.
Blue Cloud sees Jasper and Clyde follow his father and tribal brothers. In a few minutes, he mounts his horse and says “Little girl. I’m up here. Now give me your hand.” She looks at him. He holds out his hand, hoping that she will put her hand up and into his. Miraculously she does. “Hold tight, Little One. I will pull you up.” And they galloped off.
Blue Cloud and the little girl travel for two days. During this time Blue Cloud is continually talking.
“My father, the man that was with me when we took you from the building, is the Chief of our tribe. He goes by the name of Chief Joseph.”
“My grandfather was our Chief when I was small. When he died, my father became our Chief. The responsibility and title of Chief will be passed to either me, or my brother when my father dies, just as it did when his father died, and when his father before him died, and on and on. If I am Chief, my son will also be Chief.”
“My mother’s name is Mother Willow. She is the kindest person that you will ever meet. She takes care of all of us, making sure that we are all very strong and healthy. Someday I will have many children. I will teach them, as she has taught me, to love and respect all human beings. In this way, she can see the great example that she has been for all of us.”
As Blue Cloud continues, something begins to click in the little girl’s head. She begins to repeat some of his words.
“…Mother.”
“What did you say?”
“Mother… Father….”
“Yes, you’re getting it, Little One.”
“My mother’s name is Mother Willow, and my father is Chief Joseph. I have an older brother and his name is Flying Eagle.”
“Do….?
“Yes are you trying to say something?”
“Do you…..all.”
“Good job, keep going.”
“Do you…always…t…talk….th….this much?”
“Do I always talk this much? Not really, I’m just trying to make the time go faster until we get to our meeting place.”
“Good.”
Laughing to himself, Blue Cloud decides to ride in silence for the rest of their journey.
Luckily, the little girl is use to traveling. She has been no bother to Blue Cloud, quietly sitting on the back of the horse, with her arms snugly around his waist.
Before long, they arrive at their destination. “We will wait here Little One.”
Getting off of the horse, both of them sit down on a small patch of grass under a tree, while the horse grazes near a creek. Blue Cloud puts his bow and quiver of arrows down next to him, as Little One looks up at Blue Cloud with a smile.
“You’re doing great, Little One. Here’s your blanket.
Stay ni
ce and warm.” After resting for a while, he decides to walk around.
“Little One, I’m going to gather wood, so that I can build a fire before it gets any darker.”
“…Alright.”
“You understood what I said?”
“Yes.”
Blue Cloud begins to pick up dead branches that have fallen off the bushes and nearby trees. As he walks by a large boulder, he sees paw prints in the dirt. Bending down to get a closer look, his eyes widen, “Mountain Lion!” he says to himself. Following the prints down to the nearby creek, Blue Cloud realizes that the paw prints are relatively new. At that moment, he hears the movement of his horse, nervously prancing around, pawing at the ground and whinnying.
Running with his hands full of wood to get back to Little One he hears a loud growling shriek. His horse becomes frantic as the growling gets closer.
“Come over here, little girl.”
Running over to Blue Cloud, she climbs up on his back. Wrapping her arms around his head and unintentionally covering his eyes.
“What are you doing? I can’t see a thing with your hands over my eyes.”
Finally, he is able to pry her tiny hands off of his eyes. Looking in the direction of the growls he says to himself, “An adult mountain lion.” Realizing that their survival is in his hands, a picture of the tree they both rested under flashes in his mind.
“Climb the tree, little girl. If anything starts to climb the tree, take this stick with you to hit its nose as hard as you can.
I’ll hold it off from down here.”
He motions to the little girl to begin to run for the tree, while he gathers as many rocks as he can.
The mountain lion finally has enough courage to come into view. Prancing to his left, and then to his right, he tries to measure up the human that is standing in front of him. Blue Cloud starts throwing rocks, trying to hit his nose, hoping to hurt it enough to scare it away. As soon as he runs out of rocks, the mountain lion looks straight at his prey, shrieking as loud as it can. Blue Cloud stands his ground.
Little One turns her head toward Blue Cloud. Realizing the danger that he is in, she bends down grabbing the bow and arrows that Blue Cloud had put on the ground.
Putting most of his weight on his back legs, the mountain lion pounces toward his prey. While he is in the air with his mouth wide open, and his claws spread wide open ready to attack, several unexpected arrows fill the air, directly hitting their target. The mountain lion lands with a thud on the ground, just in front of Blue Cloud, dead from the arrows that Little One has just shot.
Shocked, Blue Cloud asks, “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”
“My father,” she says as a matter-of- fact.
Looking back at the mountain lion, Blue Cloud’s legs become wobbly. He faints, falling to the ground and hitting his head on a rock.
Within a short time, Blue Cloud wakes up. Looking at Little One, he takes a couple of breaths trying to recollect what has just happened.
“Wow! I never would have expected that,” he says with appreciation. “You’re just one big surprise Little One.”
“My father taught me how to shoot my own bow and arrow to get rabbits for dinner,” the little girl says.
“You can really speak. I mean, it’s not just a few words. You actually know how to make conversation!” Blue Cloud says with excitement.
“Yes. I have always been able to speak. I just didn’t want the traders to know. I wanted them to think that I was younger than I am.”
“Why didn’t you talk to me?”
“I was so use to acting that way, it was hard for me to remember how to act any other way. At first, it was hard for me to speak, because I hadn’t spoken for so long. Then, I wanted to find out what kind of people you and your father were. So I waited. Then I saw the mountain lion in the air ready to kill you. At that moment, it felt like I came out of a cloud that was covering my mind. I remembered the way that I would act with my real family. I have finally come back to my real self. Thank you, so much.” She says as she wraps her arms around Blue Cloud’s neck.
Blue Cloud smiles, “Let’s go back over to the tree. The branches are big enough for us to sleep on. We should be safe there for the rest of the night.”
“Let me get something for the cut on your head first.” She brings water to clean his wound, and then gathers medicinal leaves to clot the bleeding. Cutting branches from a nearby willow tree, she asks him to chew on them. “This will help relieve the pain,” she says.
Climbing onto the branches of the tree, they rest for a few hours.
The stars fill the sky and the full moon has left just enough light to see who the riders are, that are entering their camp.
Looking down Blue Cloud announces, “Little One, it’s my father. Please don’t let him know that I fainted.”
“Don’t worry, it’s our secret.”
Taking the cloth bandage from his head, Blue Cloud slips down the tree to greet his father and the other braves.
“What has happened here?” Chief Joseph asks.”
“A mountain lion wanted me for dinner, but Little One saved me. Look at the arrows that she shot.”
“You were lucky that she was such a good shot, my Son.”
“Yes. I know.”
“It’s good for us also. We ran out of meat. Everyone is very happy that they have something to eat. Flying Eagle and Wind-in-the-Face get out their knives and begin skinning the mountain lion.
Chief Joseph states “Come here Little One.” Walking over to him, she listens as he continues. “I am so grateful for your courage and the fact that you saved my son.”
Blue Cloud adds, “You should have seen her Father. She knows how to shoot a bow and arrow as well as I do! And guess what? She knows how to speak.”
“She does?”
“Yes. She was just pretending to not understand anything.”
“Pretending?” Confused, Chief Joseph asks, “Blue Cloud I think that you had better start from the beginning and tell all of us everything that happened.”
Blue Cloud acts out each part of his story, much to the delight of everyone. First, he is Blue Cloud finding the paw prints. Second, he is the mountain lion finding his prey and shrieking at Blue Cloud. Third, he is Little One shooting her arrows. Fourth, he is both the mountain lion flying through the air, and falling to the ground, as he stands tall and strong looking down at his feet, where the mountain has landed. All the braves celebrate by patting him on the back, laughing, yelling and eating their meat.
Chief Joseph turns to the little girl and says, “Thank you once again, for saving my son, Little One. We will take you to our village, if you like. You will become part of our tribe. Or if you want, we can take you back to your country and try to find your family.”
“I would love to be with my own family, but it has been years. The traders blindfolded me, and I don’t know the land well enough to know where my family would be.” The little girl smiles, “If everyone is as nice as you are, I would like to be part of your family,” she says.
“Let’s talk about it again, Little One. Change can be very difficult.”
Turning to everyone else, Chief Joseph says to his braves, “We will rest here for a few days since we have food, then we will go home. I am proud of all of my sons. You did as I asked, riding high in the mountains, out maneuvering the traders.”
Blue Cloud asks, “Do you think that they will be able to ever find us?”
“No, my Son, we made sure of that.” Looking at Blue Cloud, he quietly says, “They are not of this world any longer. Anyone that takes another human being as a slave does not deserve to live. We continued to climb higher and higher on the mountain. Our horses were use to it, but their horses were not and they fell to their deaths.”
“Well, I guess that we don’t have to worry about them then, do we?”
“No, Blue Cloud, we can go home in peace.
A few days later Chief Joseph asks, “Little One, I want t
o ask you again. Are you sure that you would like to become part of our family?”
“Yes. I would like to become part of your tribe.”
“But our ways are not your ways.”
“When my family sailed across the great waters I remember my father saying, “The new land that we will live on has people that look different than we do. They dress different. Their customs are different. They speak differently. But always remember this, they are still good people.”
Little One continues, “Just because they are different from us does not mean that they are bad. Don’t ever think that all people in one culture are bad. On the other hand, don’t ever think that all people in another culture are all good. There are good people in every land, in every culture, in every family. It is our job to find those good people.”
My father also taught us, “It is our job to be kind and respectful to all people, to adopt the good in their traditions into the good of our traditions. By keeping only good traditions, we create a good and noble people.”
“Your father sounds like he is a good man.”
“He treated everyone he met like they were family.”
“It’s too bad that all people aren’t like that, Little One.”
“You are, Chief Joseph. All I have ever seen from you is kindness and goodness in your actions. I think that my father would be proud if I became part of your tribe since I can’t be with them.”
“Your father raised a great daughter.”
“We had a wonderful relationship. He was as proud of me, as I was of him. My mother was a great mother and set many great examples for me. I will miss them. But I look forward to my new family.”
“We will be proud to have you, Little One.
Finally arriving back to their tribe, Chief Joseph greets his wife, Mother Willow. He talks to her about Little One. Between the two of them, they decide that Mother Red Rose would be the best mother for Little One.
Even though it’s late, in the evening, Chief Joseph walks to Mother Red Rose’s tipi and says, “I have brought someone back for you.”
“…Someone?”
“Yes, a little girl. Mother Red Rose, she saved Blue Cloud’s life. She’s kind, respectful, small and graceful. She comes from a different country far across the waters, and was kidnapped from her family. Her hair is the color of the sun and her eyes are as blue as the sky.”
“Since she can’t be with her family, she would like to become part of our tribe. You haven’t been able to have any children so far. Would you take this small girl that I have brought back into your home, and treat her as your own?” Chief Joseph asks Mother Red Rose.
“Yes, my Chief. I would love to,” she replies.
“Ok, I’ll bring her to you.”
“Thank you, my Chief.”
Chief Joseph goes to Little One, “I have just talked to Mother Red Rose. She would love to have you as her daughter.”
“Then, I would love to have her as my mother.”
“Come. We will go to see Mother Red Rose together.”
Walking back to her tipi he says, “Here is the little girl that I told you about.”
Turning to the little girl he says, “This is Mother Red Rose. She will be your mother. She is the kindest woman that my wife and I know.”
“Hello, Little One.”
“Hello, Mother Red Rose.”
“I’ll leave so that both of you can become acquainted.”
“Good-bye Chief Joseph,” they both reply.
Mother Red Rose hugs the little girl. “Shall we rest for a little while? And as soon as the sun shines we will get you cleaned up. Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, Mother, that would be fine. I’m tired from the trip.”
As the sun begins to light their village, Mother Red Rose wakes up. With excitement in her voice she says, “My Little One, shall we wash your hair?”
“That would be nice, Mother.”
While her hair is drying, Mother Red Rose brings out a new dress, with beautiful matching moccasins. “Do you like this dress Little One? I made it for my niece. But she has many dresses and I think that you would look beautiful in it.”
The little girl’s eyes widen. “I have never seen such a beautiful dress.”
“I’m glad that you like it. Now let’s braid your hair and put color on your cheeks.”
A short time later, Mother Red Rose says, “Let me look at you, Little One.”
As Little One twirls around she says, “Mother Red Rose, you have made me so beautiful!”
“It is your beauty that has made everything else look so wonderful. Come with me. It is time to present my daughter to the rest of the tribe.”
Proudly standing before the rest of the tribe, Mother Red Rose states, “This is my new daughter. From this day forward she will be known as Snow Flower. Since I have taken her as my daughter, if I hear of anyone being mean to her, you will hear from me! We are all children of the Great Spirit. We are all one family. From this day forward treat her with love and respect.”
* * *
A smile is on Evan’s face. His feeling is one of great happiness to have Snow Flower as part of their tribe. He begins to remember his best friend and tribal brother Black Bear. They are now older teenagers and Chief Joseph calls for both of them to come to his tipi.
