Full Circle

by Rosanne Bittner

  Desmond was ordered to step down, but before he could, Katy stood up. “Wait!” she called out. “Sergeant Desmond is lying!” she spoke up.

  The room broke into a rumble of voices, and Katy looked at Evelyn, tears running down her cheeks, but a new pride in her eyes. The judge pounded his gavel for order, and Evelyn glanced at Black Hawk, who had turned to look at Katy in surprise. The judge shouted that he would have order or the entire room would be cleared. Evelyn turned her gaze to Sergeant Desmond, who was gripping the arms of his chair and leaning forward, looking like a wildcat ready to pounce on Katy. The look in his eyes gave her shivers.

  The room finally quieted, and Katy glared at Desmond as she swallowed back her tears and drew on all her courage to face him. She was stronger now, and she was tired of having to keep the secret. If she let this go, she would have to live the rest of her life with a guilty conscience. She couldn’t bear the pain Miss Gibbons was suffering, nor could she allow Black Hawk to die for something as despicable as what Sergeant Desmond had done. Reverend Phillips and Evelyn Gibbons both had taught her about God, that she should trust in Him to guide and protect her. She had grown to like Little Fox very much, and she could not let the boy lose his precious father when there was something she could do to stop it. She looked down at Lucille. “I know the truth, Lucy. I have to tell. We both have to tell. I’m not afraid anymore.”

  Their eyes held, and finally Lucille nodded, taking her sister’s hand and also rising. She also did not want to live in fear of Jubal Desmond for the rest of her life. Something had to be done, and she took courage in her sister’s bravery.

  “Sergeant Desmond is lying,” Katy repeated to the judge. “I can tell you what really happened. I saw it all.” She pointed her finger at Jubal Desmond. “He killed Seth Bridges!”

  Another uproar rose up from the crowd, and Desmond charged out of the witness chair. “You lying little sluts!” he shouted.

  Katy stood firm, holding her chin high, and Lucille put a protective arm around her. The truth was going to be heard today, and Jubal Desmond was going to get his due!

  Thirty-two

  “She’s a lying little bitch!” Sergeant Desmond repeated, his icy eyes blazing with rage. “Both of them are! And Lucille Bridges is nothing better than a whore!”

  “They are innocent young girls who have been too frightened up to now to tell the truth!” Evelyn exclaimed, rising from her seat.

  “You’ve prompted them to tell lies to save your Indian man!” Desmond shouted back. “That white whore is Black Hawk’s lover!” he yelled to the judge, pointing at Evelyn.

  The judge continued to pound his gavel. “I will have silence in this room, or you’ll all be put in jail!” he shouted. “The rest of the public here had better quiet down, or you will have to leave!”

  Evelyn ignored Jubal’s remarks, determined not to let them stop her; nor would she allow herself to look or feel ashamed. She moved to stand behind Lucille and Katy, putting her arms around their shoulders. “Don’t be afraid, girls,” she said quietly. “Just tell the truth. Whether it helps Black Hawk or not, we can at least prove Sergeant Desmond for what he is. People will realize the truth in the end.” She gave them a light squeeze. “God is with you.”

  The crowd quieted, and the judge turned to Jubal. “You will step down for a moment, Sergeant, and you will refrain from shouting insults to these ladies present!”

  Jubal stepped away from his chair. “They’re no ladies,” he growled. He walked over and took his seat, glowering threateningly at Katy and Lucille.

  “I would like to say something before the girls tell you what they have to say, Judge Hooper,” Evelyn spoke up.

  The judge sighed. “Fine. Step up here.”

  Evelyn breathed deeply for courage and walked up to the judge’s table. There was no jury. Evelyn took hope in the fact that the ultimate decision here today would be made by one man. “I prefer to stand,” she told the judge as she approached the witness chair.

  The judge leaned back in his chair. “Whatever makes you comfortable, ma’am. And you are?”

  “I am Evelyn Gibbons, a schoolteacher here on the reservation. I am paid by the government and was sent here on the approval of Mission Services. I received my teaching degree from Ripon College in Wisconsin, and I speak the Sioux tongue.” She moved her eyes from Judge Hooper to look at Black Hawk lovingly. “So far no one has said one word in Black Hawk’s defense.” She scanned the crowd then. “In this country all men are supposed to be equal, with equal rights to defend themselves. I am telling all of you that Black Hawk is not the man he has been made out to be. He is a gentle, loving father, and he is very proud.”

  She faced the judge. “Black Hawk is a good and honest man. He did attack whiskey smugglers, but only because the Army has not been properly patrolling this reservation. He wants the whiskey smugglers kept out because he knows that whiskey hurts his people and keeps them weak, destroys their pride. It should be noted that in those attacks, no white man was ever killed. Black Hawk knows he cannot kill a white man, and if anyone would ask him, he will tell you he did not kill Seth Bridges. When he got to Seth’s farm, he knew the soldiers were right on his heels, and he decided to abide by the law and let the soldiers arrest Seth and take his sister out of that house. And do not forget that Many Birds was only thirteen. She was a sweet, innocent, pure young girl, not loose or willing! She was found tied to Seth Bridges’s bed, stone drunk on whiskey he had forced into her. She was covered with bruises, proof of that force. The girl has been shamed beyond endurance, and to this day she still sits withdrawn and silent in her grandmother’s tipi. I ask you, Judge, if it were your sister, wouldn’t your natural first reaction be to want to kill the man who violated her?”

  The judge sighed. “All right, Miss Gibbons, I understand what you are saying.”

  Evelyn looked out at the crowd. “There isn’t one man among you who would not at first verbally express his desire to kill the man who would do such an awful thing to a young girl he loved. But saying you want to kill someone does not make you guilty of murder. No one has pointed out that Black Hawk would barely have had time to search the farm, find Seth Bridges in the corn crib and kill him before the soldiers got there. No one has pointed out the fact that when the soldiers started shooting at Black Hawk, he was riding down toward them, had made himself visible to them.” She looked back at Judge Hooper. “He was going down there to get his sister from the soldiers so he could take Many Birds to their grandmother himself. The only reason he turned and ran is because the soldiers started shooting at him. He was confused, unarmed.” She looked at the crowd again. “I know for a fact that Black Hawk has been trying to comply with this new way of life. And yes, to quell all the rumors, I am in love with him.”

  As gasps and murmurs filled the room, the judge pounded his gavel again. Evelyn glanced at Black Hawk, saw the love in his own eyes. She looked back out at the crowd. “I am not ashamed to love an Indian man. In my eyes he is just a man, strong, proud, brave and honest. Black Hawk is very intelligent and a fast learner. He speaks English, and you should all know that he has a marvelous talent for painting.” Evelyn then related the happy news of her father making a successful contact for the sale of two of Black Hawk’s paintings, ending with the generous price the dealer was willing to pay.

  Black Hawk straightened in surprise as more murmurs and whispered exclamations moved through the crowd. This was the first Black Hawk had heard of this, and for a brief moment he felt new hope. Evelyn glanced at him and smiled. “This art dealer wants Black Hawk to sign a contract to do more paintings for his gallery. I have the letter from my father with me if you would like to see it,” she added, turning to the judge.

  “That will not be necessary, Miss Gibbons. I believe you.”

  “Black Hawk is too talented and too intelligent to get himself hanged or thrown in prison for killing the likes of Seth Bridges !” Again she turned to the crowd. “It
should be noted that Black Hawk can testify that Seth Bridges was involved with whiskey smugglers, and I have a feeling Lucille and Katy Bridges, his two daughters standing over there, can verify that. I am sure they will also verify that Sergeant Jubal Desmond helped their father by looking the other way when whiskey smugglers came through reservation borders. They—”

  “That’s a lie!” Jubal interrupted. “She can’t stand there and accuse me of such things!”

  Again the judge pounded his gavel. “Miss Gibbons, I cannot allow you to accuse a man of such crimes without proof.”

  Evelyn faced Jubal. “Fine. I will let Seth’s daughters give you the proof. They will tell you the kind of man Seth really was, and the kind of man Jubal Desmond really is. They have been afraid to talk until now, probably partly out of shame but also out of fear of the sergeant somehow finding a way to hurt them.” She looked at the girls. “But they don’t have to be afraid. God is with them, and they have friends now who will support and protect them.” She scanned the crowd once more. “One more thing that has not been emphasized is the fact that Jubal Desmond is the man who supposedly found Seth’s dead body. He was alone in the corn crib at the time. No one has asked how many minutes went by when the soldiers first arrived and began searching the grounds… surely plenty of time for Jubal himself to have killed Seth Bridges!”

  “Goddamn you, you lying bitch!” Jubal swore, charging out of his chair.

  Two other men jumped up and grabbed him before he had a chance to get too close to Evelyn. Evelyn smiled inwardly. The man was only showing the judge how despicable he was, what a temper and a foul mouth he had, while all through the hearing Black Hawk had sat quietly and calmly, saying nothing. She turned to the judge. “I only ask you, sir, to consider the possibility. For years the sergeant has hated Black Hawk. He is afraid of him.” She told how Black Hawk had found the sergeant next to his own dead wife and baby son at Wounded Knee, and how there was blood all over the sergeant’s sword. “Ever since then there has been bad blood between them,” she explained. “Jubal Desmond knew that Black Hawk had threatened to kill Seth Bridges. He knew that if Seth Bridges was found dead from a knife wound, Black Hawk would be blamed. He is the one who came running out of the corn crib shouting that Black Hawk had killed Seth, just before Black Hawk himself came riding down to meet with the soldiers. Why would Black Hawk show himself like that if he had just murdered a white man? Wouldn’t any intelligent man immediately run away from the scene just as fast as he could?”

  As more mumbling filtered through the crowd, Evelyn turned to face Jubal with a look of victory on her face. He sat glaring at her, his face livid with rage. Evelyn walked back to her seat, giving Katy and Lucille a look of encouragement. She had set up the picture for everyone. She was certain that anything the girls told the judge would only make Jubal look even more guilty. All that was necessary now was to shed doubt on the theory that Black Hawk killed Seth Bridges.

  As she sat down, Black Hawk turned to look at her, a new hope shining in his dark eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile when the judge called Katy and Lucille forward. Evelyn had made sure they dressed demurely, wearing simple, high-necked dresses, their hair in neat buns on top of their heads. She had hoped and prayed they would speak out today, would finally find the courage to tell the truth, whatever that truth was. She wanted them to look like the young, innocent children they were.

  “I don’t care which one of you speaks first,” Judge Hooper told them. “I just want you to tell the truth. Don’t be afraid. No one is going to hurt you.”

  The girls looked at each other, Lucille still clinging to Katy’s hand. She glanced at Jubal Desmond, and suddenly she was no longer afraid of him. He was showing his own guilt by his reaction to Miss Gibbons and his name-calling. She hated him even more than she had hated Seth, and now that she no longer had to be afraid of Seth or go back and live with him, she felt new courage. She looked, out at the crowd. “Sergeant Desmond raped me the night of the social dance at Fort Yates,” she said boldly.

  More gasps and murmurs erupted from the crowd. Lucille gripped Katy’s hand tightly, and she could feel the sweat breaking out on her body. She had said the words, and it felt good. The judge pounded his gavel for quiet, and through fits of tears, Lucille spilled the truth… about Seth, what he had done to her, how she cooperated only because he threatened to do the same to Katy… that he allowed her to go to the dance with Jubal Desmond only because Desmond had won her in a bet… how Jubal had raped her that night and other nights, coming to the house and paying Seth… how Seth continued to threaten to rape Katy if she did not cooperate. She told everything—that Jubal Desmond was involved in the whiskey smuggling, even to where the whiskey was hidden at the farm.

  “You can go there and see for yourself,” she told the judge. “It’s in the feed sacks in the barn and in the corn crib. Black Hawk was right when he accused our father of smuggling whiskey off the riverboat. It was in those feed sacks, and Jubal knew it, too.”

  Through more tears she told how suddenly Seth seemed to want to be nicer. They had hoped he was changing his ways so that they would not tell on him. He had even encouraged them to have a friend, suggested they make friends with Many Birds. She began sobbing then, saying she didn’t know Seth meant to hurt Many Birds. She didn’t know the day he gave them money and let them go alone to the trading post that he had plans to hurt Many Birds, who he knew would come visiting that day. The picture she painted left no doubt that Many Birds was forced to give her body. Her testimony also left no doubt that Jubal Desmond and Seth Bridges were more involved than anyone knew, and Evelyn’s suggestion that Jubal had motive for killing Seth was now more believable. Jubal’s shouts that Lucille was lying held no water compared to the honest tears the girl shed. The room hung silent so that all could hear. Evelyn noticed that the few women present were quietly crying, dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs.

  Lucille told how Seth had attacked her with a knife and cut her, how she had gone for help and told Katy to hide in a special place she had found in the corn crib between two walls, where they had been hiding money so they could run away.

  The corn crib! Everyone came more alert at the words, and Evelyn noticed Black Hawk straighten. She looked over at Jubal Desmond, whose red face had now grown pale. This was the first time she had heard any mention of Katy hiding in the corn crib. Lucille broke down into bitter sobbing, mortified at all she had had to tell those who listened. Evelyn rushed to her side and put an arm around her, helping her to a seat, while Katy stood glaring at Jubal, all the old feisty fire back in her eyes.

  “Your name is Katy?” the judge asked gently.

  She turned to look at him. “Yes, sir. And it’s true I was hiding in the corn crib when the soldiers first came. After they left I ran to the house and changed my clothes because I was all dirty from hiding in the wall all night. I didn’t know what to do then, because the soldiers had left, and after what I saw, I was afraid Jubal would come after me, so I hid in the cupboard.”

  “And what did you see? Why were you afraid of Sergeant Desmond?”

  Katy swallowed. “Because he did bad things to Lucy, and he told us if we ever said anything about it, or about the whiskey, he would take us downriver and sell us to bad men who would make us do bad things with other men.”

  Whispers of shock moved through the crowd. Evelyn felt more relieved with every word Lucy and Katy told. Katy’s small size made her seem even more pitiful. Evelyn could tell everyone in the room sympathized with her.

  Katy turned to look at Jubal. “That’s why I was even more afraid after what I saw in the corn crib. I was afraid Jubal would stick his knife in me, too.”

  Jubal’s eyes widened in horror, and he gripped his chair so firmly that his knuckles grew white.

  “Did you see Sergeant Desmond stick a knife in someone, Katy?”

  Katy nodded turning back to the judge. “Yes, sir. I was hiding behind the wall when Seth cam
e into the corn crib looking for me and Lucy. He was real drunk, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just his pants and a jacket. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He fell down and passed out from being so drunk. I was scared to come out because I was afraid he’d wake up and beat me, or do something bad to me like he did to Many Birds and to Lucy, so I just waited. Then the soldiers came. I could hear their horses and hear them shouting. Then Jubal came into the com crib. He saw Seth laying there. Seth was kind of awake. He said something to Jubal about Many Birds, but he could hardly talk. Jubal was mad that he did that to Many Birds because he said it might get both of them in trouble. He said bad things to Seth, but Seth just layed there. Then Jubal looked all around, and he took a big knife from down by his boot. I remember it had a white handle. He looked down at Seth, and he said ‘I’m sorry, Seth.’ He raised the knife, and Seth reached up and grabbed at him, but he was too drunk to stop Jubal. Jubal stabbed him in the chest with the knife while Jubal was grabbing his jacket. Jubal jumped back when blood spurted out. Then another soldier yelled from outside, and Jubal hurried up and wiped off the knife on Seth’s coat and put it back in his boot. Then he yelled that he was in the com crib and that he had found Seth and that Black Hawk had killed him.”

  “She’s lying!” Jubal shouted above a rumbling crowd. “She can’t prove it. It’s just her word, and she hates me because of Lucille.”

  Evelyn smiled. By those words, Jubal openly admitted having abused Lucy. The judge pounded his gavel again.

  “Yes, I can prove it,” Katy said boldly. She reached into her pocket and turned to the judge. She handed something to him. “This is a button off of Jubal’s uniform jacket. Seth must have pulled it off when he reached up to try to stop Jubal from stabbing him, he must have grabbed it tight and pulled it off as he lay dying. I saw it happen, sir, and after they took the body away, I found the button on the floor of the corn crib and I kept it.”