Every day on the trail, the kids were struck by the beauty and the vastness of the land. The mountains rising on their left were snowcapped and covered in forests and the clear blue skies left them in awe. Sometimes they would stop on a hill and look around them and marvel at the majesty of the land. There was an abundance of antelope and deer.
They stopped on the crest of a tall hill and watched a prairie storm in the distance. They could see the rain sweeping over a sea of grass.
They thought about shooting an antelope or deer but were afraid that someone might hear the shot. They never forgot the wagon and were always on the alert.
Beside the rifles packed on the packhorses, the three saddles had saddle holsters with Winchesters. Curly Bob’s, Slim’s and Dirty Earl’s gun belts were too big for the kids so they kept them looped over the saddle horns. Whenever they dismounted they would pull the pistols out of the holsters and stick them in their belts.
Day after day went by. They crossed streams and rivers but never changed course, always heading north.
Towards the end of the third week, Beth was conversing only in Cheyenne with Two Feathers. Two Feathers was walking more and more. He tried to ride a horse but even at a walk the jolting was too much for him and caused too much pain in his ribs.
Two Feathers was still weak from his ordeal and was asleep in the travois. While he slept Beth was on horseback next to Sonny and Jack. She said “We should be coming to Two Feathers’ village soon. He figures maybe two more days of traveling and we’ll be there. In fact, we have been following the village north from their winter hunting grounds in the south.
I also know why he won’t talk to you. He was reluctant to talk to me about it.” She stopped just to draw out the importance of the moment.
“Well?” said Sonny.
“Beth? Tell us!” said Jack.
“Well if you are going to be so pushy about it…..”
The boys knew she had them where she wanted them.
“Oh, please Beth,” said Sonny.
Beth looked at Jack.
“Please Beth.” he said.
“OK, now that you have said please. He’s embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed?” both boys said in disbelief. “What for?” said Sonny.
“First, he’s embarrassed that he let those clowns catch him. He was at the river getting a drink when Curly Bob and his boys came out of the trees catching him completely by surprise. He got on his horse and took off but one of the white men shot his horse out from under him, throwing him to the ground. He no sooner got to his feet when Dirty Earl ran his horse into him and they were on him before he could get up.
Then he’s embarrassed that it takes two scrawny white kids to save his life.”
“Scrawny white kids!” said Jack. “Well that’s gratitude.”
“Yeah!” said Sonny.
“Well actually, he called you warriors.”
“Warriors? He called us warriors.” Sonny said with surprise and awe in his voice.
“Warrior, eh?” Jack said looking a little cocky.
“If you’re going to get the swell head, I won’t tell you the rest.”
“OK, Beth, OK, we’ll behave. Jack put a sock in it.”
Jack was going to protest but thought better of it and kept his mouth shut.
Beth continued, “Two Feathers doesn’t think much of white people. Actually, he hates them. After the massacre at Sand Creek he has had nothing but hatred for the whites.
So it is embarrassing for him to owe his life to two men, he did call you men, who are so young and on top of it, white.
He is apparently a warrior of some note amongst the Cheyenne and all of this has shaken him and was a blow to his pride.
He has nothing but respect for you. He said that you fought like men and are true warriors. He said that if you were his sons and I was his daughter his heart would be filled with pride for all of us. He’s a remarkable man and what he said about you two, about us, is quite touching.”
Beth paused. The boys said nothing. They had to think about what she had said.
“I’ve come to respect him. He has a reverence about this land and his people. It’s different than what we feel for the United States. There is a mystical bond between him, his people and the land. We feel patriotism. He feels love. It’s hard to explain.”
Jack said, “Men, huh?”
“Warriors.” Sonny said. The boys gave a high five.
“Honestly, you guys are such jerks.”
“Hush, woman,” said Jack. “Don’t you know your place when you are with warriors?”
“Yeah,” said Sonny “shouldn’t you be riding about five paces behind us or something?”
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you. I knew this macho crap would happen. You nitwits.”
She nudged her horse a few feet ahead of them so she wouldn’t have to look at them.
“You’re going the wrong way, Beth. It’s five paces behind, not ahead,” said Jack.
They laughed and snickered and thought that they were so clever. They were going to savor the moment as long as they could at Beth’s expense.
After a while, when she didn’t respond, it was no longer any fun and they started to feel just a little stupid. They pushed their horse alongside hers.
Sonny said, “We’re sorry, Beth. It’s just that we’ve never been called warriors before and …”
Jack cut him off “And we’re expert at making fools of ourselves. So we just like to do what we do best.”
“That’s right, Beth,” said Sonny. “What you told us gave us swell heads. You have to admit though, it’s pretty impressive that skinny little wimps like us would be called warriors.”
Beth was still upset but instead of coming back with a quick retort she said, “You’re right. Two Feathers is a Cheyenne war chief. Which means he’s seen his fair share of combat and lived to tell about it and for him to call you men and warriors is quite a compliment. I can see where a compliment like that would make assholes out of you.” When it came to the boys she never could hold a grudge too long.
The boys just grinned. They knew that they were back in her good graces.
“I also have some disturbing news.”
“What’s that?” said Sonny.
“That arrow that Jack pulled out of the Mule.”
“Yes?” Sonny.
“It belongs to a warrior in Two Feathers’ village named Spotted Horse.”
“Well that’s enough to make me nervous,” said Sonny.
“Yeah, it makes you wonder what kind of reception we are going to receive when we get there,” said Jack.
“Two Feathers assures me that we have nothing to fear from his people.” Beth said.
“I hope so.” Sonny said.
The next morning Two Feathers had Beth tell the boys to dismantle the travois. Beth tried to talk him out of it. She knew that he was still weak and in pain. Two Feathers stood his ground and the boys took the travois apart. It puzzled them as to why Two Feathers would do this but they were soon to have the answer.
Two days later they had still not come upon Two Feathers’ village. They were on a long plain approaching a hill when from over the hill rode nine Indians at a gallop.
Two Feathers and Beth were walking a little to the side of the boys. The four of them stopped. The Indians rode up until they were about fourteen feet away from them.
Two Feathers stepped forward and said something to the men. Three of the men wheeled their horses and rode back the way they came.
Two Feathers mounted Beth’s horse and Beth came over to Jack’s horse and climbed up behind Jack.
When they crested the hill they looked down on a large flat plain. Half a mile away was a river and on the other side of the river was a village. Jack estimated that there were about seventy to seventy-five teepees.
When they entered the village, it looked as if the whole village came out to meet them.
Two Feathers swung easily off of Beth’s
horse. If he was in pain, he didn’t show it. Beth and the boys knew that he must have been in pain but they also knew how proud he was. They knew that he would have rather died than to have walked into the village or to have been carried in on the travois.
The village crowded around him ignoring the three white children. The kids could hear Two Feathers talking and soon the crowd turned from looking and listening to Two Feathers and to their uneasiness, everybody was looking at them.
The crowd moved towards them and soon was surrounding them. A large Cheyenne warrior smiled and clapped Jack on the back and said something to Jack and Sonny.
Beth said in a low voice “Don’t worry they are just curious and the big guy that swatted Jack on the back was congratulating him on killing Dirty Earl. I think everything is OK.”
There was a commotion in the back of the crowd. The crowd parted and an old man made his way towards the kids. He stopped and motioned the people to back away and to make room, which they did. The kids were standing in the middle of a large circle of about two hundred people.
The old man stood about three feet away from the kids and examined them. He walked around them looking them over very carefully. He then turned and walked toward Two Feathers and motioned Two Feathers to come to him. Two Feathers and a woman detached themselves from the crowd and met the old man about ten feet from the children.
The kids couldn’t hear what was being said. But it was clear that the old man was questioning Two Feathers and that Two Feathers was answering the questions and telling his story to the old man at the same time. The old man would look over his shoulder from time to time at the children. The look on his face was both of curiosity and concern.
Finally, he finished his questioning and he motioned Two Feathers and the woman to follow him back to the children. The old man stopped at arm’s length from Jack. He reached out and placed his palm on Jack’s forehead with his fingers and thumb on top of Jack’s head. He held his hand on Jack’s head for maybe two seconds and then pulled it away quickly and stepped back. As he did so his eyes widened and his face showed surprise. He sucked in a sharp gasp of breath.
He closed his eyes and gave a quick shake of his head and moved in front of Sonny. He placed his hand on Sonny as he had done with Jack. Whatever had happened when he had touched Jack happened when he touched Sonny, the same look of surprise and the same gasp.
When it was Beth’s turn it looked as if the old man was afraid to touch her. He put his hand out and then pulled it away. The crowd was mesmerized by what was going on. There wasn’t a sound. Before there was the normal sounds of a large crowd, a cough here, a murmur there but now nothing.
The old man slowly extended his hand. His hand shook as it approached her head.
Beth’s eyes were wide. Her mouth was open. She was breathing quick shallow breaths.
The old man’s hand slowly came down on her head. The kids didn’t know what to expect but what happened next caught them completely by surprise.
The old man’s head snapped back. His mouth flew open and he sucked in an even louder gasp of air than with Jack and Sonny. His eyes rolled back in his head. His knees locked and his body became rigid and he fell backwards to the ground as stiff as a board. When he hit the ground his body began to shake.
It reminded Jack of those evangelists with fat hair, a fourteen-hundred-dollar suit, a diamond pinkie ring and a Rolex watch who call the faithful on the stage and then thump the faithful on the forehead. The faithful get rigid, shake a little bit and fall backwards into the arms of one of the evangelist’s assistants. Well Beth wasn’t the one to fall backwards and there was no assistant to catch the old man.
The kids were stunned and didn’t know what to do. Should they give the old guy CPR, throw a blanket over him and treat him for shock or what?
The kids looked around and while all eyes were on the old man, no one moved forward to help him. They came to the conclusion that this must happen all of the time or at least with some frequency. Maybe the old boy was having a vision or something. They could only hope that where they were concerned that it was a good vision.
Soon the shaking stopped and Two Feathers knelt down to help the old man to his feet. The old man waved Two Feathers off and called to the large man that had swatted Jack on the shoulder. The large man helped the old man to his feet. The old man looked at the kids again with that look of curiosity and concern. He said something to the large man and they went off towards the center of the village.
The crowd began to break up and Two Feathers said to Beth “Come with me to my lodge.” Both he and the woman turned and walked away.
Beth said, “He wants us to follow him.”
They followed him a short distance to a teepee where Two Feathers turned and faced them. He said formally “This is my lodge and if you so wish, will be your lodge.”
Beth translated.
She looked at the boys.
Sonny said, “Sure, sounds good to me. Jack?”
“I don’t see that we have any other choice. We shot and killed a man and stole Curly Bob’s and Slim’s horses, goods and money. Where else can we go?”
Beth turned to Two Feathers and said, “They said it would be a great honor to share your lodge. Thank you.”
Two Feathers looked pleased.
Jack said, “What are we going to do with all of this stuff that we have?” gesturing to the horses and the bundles on the packhorses.
“I have an idea.” Beth said.
She told the boys what she thought. At first they objected, but then thought that they had no other choice and agreed with her.
She turned to Two Feathers and said, “We are just children and need help with the horses, food and guns we took from the white men. Will you take them and use them as you see fit and when we become adults give us what we need to make our way in the world?”
When she had finished Two Feathers seemed moved by her proposal and said, “The food can be used by the tribe. The horses and guns I will hold for you. We can use the blankets in the winter. Now come into my lodge.”
They followed Two Feathers into the Teepee and following Two Feathers example sat down. Soon the woman reappeared with bowls of hot food. They later found out that it was buffalo stew. Made with buffalo meat, wild onions, wild peas and prairie turnips. After a three-week diet of beans and corn fritters, the bacon had long since given out, they thought it was delicious and they each ate several bowls.
After they had eaten, the woman sat down next to Two Feathers. She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder and said to him “I thought you were dead. I knew in my heart that you were alive but my thoughts told me you were dead. Gray Dog said he looked everywhere for you but only found two naked white men tied to a log. He said one of the white men smelled like piss.”
Two Feathers chuckled and said, “This shameless woman is my wife Falling Moon Woman. She never knows when to keep her mouth shut.”
Beth thanked Falling Moon Woman for the food and said to the boys “Let’s leave them alone to themselves. We’ll tend to the horses.”
She said to Two Feathers “We will leave now and come back later.” She thought to herself “I’m beginning to talk like him. ‘We will leave you now and come back later? Huh!’”
Two Feathers nodded approval and the kids got up and left.
When they got outside the horses were gone but the saddles, packs, guns and all of the gear from the packhorses were stacked neatly outside the teepee.
The children wandered through the village and down to the river. No one seemed to pay too much attention to them. Those that did showed indifference. Some of the little children would run up to them and then run back to their mothers.
When they got to the river they sat down on the bank.
Sonny said, “I want to get rid of these clothes. I want to dress like them. I want to learn how to hunt with a bow and arrow. I want to learn how to tan hides and make buck skins. I want to learn their language. I want it all!” He
was clearly excited.
Beth said, “We went into a real Indian Teepee. A real one, not some tourist trap teepee but a real one used by a real Plains Indian. Wow!”
“Save your enthusiasm.” Jack said. “We still have to figure out how to get home.”
“Of course we do,” said Beth. “But until then, let’s live the life. Let’s savor the moment. You’ve got to admit this is exciting.”
Jack thought for a moment before he answered. He smiled slowly and said, “You’re right. This is an adventure that people dream about and we’re living it. We’re on the Great Plains in a Cheyenne village. Unbelievable.”
It was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set so they stood up and walked back to Two Feathers’ teepee.
That night Two Feathers and Falling Moon Woman took them to a large open area in the center of the village. All of the tribe was either seated around a fire near the center of the open area or were just walking into the meeting place. Seated at the top of the circle was Hopping Bear the civil chief of the tribe. He was sort of like the mayor or governor of the tribe. Standing behind him was Gray Dog a member of the Elk Soldiers Society, an elite band of warriors that acted like a police force. Sitting to Hopping Bear’s left were three lesser civil chiefs, on his right sat the old man that had touched the kids on the foreheads. He was the tribe’s medicine man Whistling Elk.
Whistling Elk was a very important man in the tribe. He was respected as a sage and as a medicine man. He was revered for his ability to interpret dreams and predict the future and he was loved because of his generous nature and his wisdom.
Two Feathers took his place next to Whistling Elk. Two Feathers was the leader of the Elk Soldiers and the primary war chief of the tribe. Falling Moon Woman sat behind Two Feathers.
Two Feathers indicated that the children should sit next to him.
For such a large group everything was orderly and there was no talking. It was as if everybody was waiting for something to happen, which they were.
Hopping Bear pulled out a long stemmed pipe from an elaborately decorated hide sheath and lit it. He took a couple of puffs and passed it to the three chiefs on his left. They each in turn took a couple off puffs and then passed the pipe back to Hopping Bear who then passed it to his right.
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