Lakota Flower (16 page)

“Yes. She does not respond out of fear for her safety and life.”

“Are her love and desire strong enough to give up her world and ways for you, to turn her back against her people, against her brother? You know what she will be called by them and how she will be treated if they steal her back from us. Is she willing to have her hand held in the fire with yours?”

Would she, War Eagle wondered, endure such shame and anguish? Did he know her well enough to answer that question in her stead? “I have not asked her to join me. I have not asked her about her feelings for me. I have not told her I love and desire her and want her for my mate. I did not think the time had come for speaking such things to her. But she has much cunning and wits, so surely she has grasped them.”

“You show wisdom with your caution and delay. Allow more suns to pass while she becomes more acceptable to our people. After we return from our journey, we will choose what you must do about her.”

“That is good and wise, my brother, and I thank you.”

After Cloud Chaser returned to his tepee, he told Caroline, “I ride with War Eagle and others at sunrise to learn the plans and location of General Harney and his troops. The council met today and chose us to carry out that task. We do not leave to ride against them, for they are too many and too strong for a small party to challenge. While we are gone, our friend Bent Bow, son of the war chief, will hunt fresh meat for you and Dawn and will protect you if our camp is attacked by enemies. If Two Feathers tries to harm or harass you, go to Wind Dancer and tell him of such trouble, and he will handle it for you. Do not let him frighten or injure you. I trust you, Caroline, so I know you will not attempt to escape
during my absence. Do all you can to help Dawn and Casmu, and be good and respectful to our people.”

“I will obey your words, Cloud Chaser, I promise. Thank you for telling me what to do about Two Feathers if he causes us trouble,” she told him, though she suspected, hoped, that idea was War Eagle’s. “Be careful.”

“I will be alert and take no unnecessary risks, and so will my brother and our companions. If the Great Spirit so guides me, I will seek out your brother and study him. If he seems safe, I will speak to him about you.”

Caroline smiled and thanked him. “I would be forever grateful, Cloud Chaser, but do not speak to David if it endangers you and your people. Perhaps you could …” she began, then asked, “Do you know how to write English?” After he nodded, she smiled again and suggested, “Perhaps you could slip him a note telling him I’m safe and alive without speaking directly to him and letting him see your face and learn who has me captive.”

Cloud Chaser grinned, then chuckled. “You are as smart and cunning as War Eagle said. That is a clever idea. Go to sleep now if you want to get up early to watch us ride away.”

Caroline smiled and nodded, before she took to her buffalo mat. Lying on her right side and facing away from the couple, she nestled her cheek against the soft fur and let her joyous and inquisitive mind roam for a while. So, they had talked about her. What had they said? More importantly, what had War Eagle said about her? Had he revealed their actions and feelings to his brother? If so, what had Cloud Chaser thought and felt and responded? Was that why he had told her to “be good and respectful to our people,” so she could win them over as friends? Was that why he thought she might want “to get up early to watch us ride away” so she could see War Eagle for a last time before a lengthy absence? If he was in the know, it didn’t appear to disturb, offend, or anger him. Unless, Cloud Chaser believed, hoped, it was only a passing fancy for his brother. Could that be true in more than one
way? Was War Eagle only temporarily intrigued by a forbidden temptation?

With the aid of a small fire providing light, Caroline rolled to her stomach, turned her head, and sneaked a peek at the couple on the other side of the tepee. They were cuddled together and whispering too softly for her to overhear their words. Perhaps, she reasoned, he was telling Macha about his talk with War Eagle. Or maybe they were only saying bittersweet farewells. If secrets were being exposed over there, surely she would guess the truth tomorrow or soon, according to Macha’s gazes and behavior. For now, she had best get to sleep or she’d slumber through her love’s departure.

Caroline stood close to Macha and held Casmu while the couple said good-bye and embraced for a final time, their strong bond evident in the ways in which they looked at and touched each other. She smiled and nodded at Cloud Chaser when he told her farewell and asked her to take good care of his wife and son during his absence. He mounted and took his place with the other riders: Swift Otter, her beloved’s best friend; River’s Edge, also a friend and Macha’s brother; Broken Lance, their first cousin and brother to her nemesis; and War Eagle, the man who had stolen her heart with ease and speed. All five men glanced at her and Macha and the men’s parents, who were nearby to observe their sons’ partings. She wished Cloud Chaser good luck and coaxed him to be careful, then glanced at War Eagle to let him know those words also applied to him. She saw her beloved give her a slight nod to reveal he had grasped her unspoken message. Then, the party of five walked their horses out of camp to avoid disturbing those who might still be asleep this early. Sadness and worry tugged at her heart and mind as they vanished from sight, off to scout the “enemy,” Harney’s massive forces.

As she and Macha reentered the tepee, Caroline prayed
for everyone’s safety and survival.
Please, Heavenly Father, forgive me if it is wrong to have such love and desire for this particular man. You know these are good people, so protect them from the greed and misunderstandings of mine. I beg You to find some way to evoke peace between our two cultures. If there is any way I can help bring about harmony, please show me how to do so.

As Caroline did her morning chores, she was aware that autumn would make its vivid presence known in a few weeks. She wondered what would happen when winter followed that colorful season and this area—as she had been told at Fort Pierre—was assailed by heavy snow and strong winds. Surely, she reasoned, soldiers could not travel the countryside in such harsh conditions, so the Red Shields would have a reprieve from their threat. Unless, her troubled mind refuted, General Harney was so determined to crush the Indians that he would take any and all risks to do so.

Caroline called to mind things Cloud Chaser had revealed to her. Why, she fretted, had Lieutenant Grattan foolishly and recklessly provoked the Indians into a new conflict last August over the slaughter and devouring of one stray cow when the majority of the tribes and band in this vast area had agreed to peace with ally and enemy alike only four years ago? Didn’t her government and the army realize Grattan had drawn first blood when his nervous men had fired on friendly Brules, slaying the leader they had appointed as the head chief of all Dakotas? Didn’t they know Grattan took two cannons and a drunken and insulting interpreter with him to demand either the cow’s return or the brutal punishment of those who had slain and eaten the sorry beast? Didn’t they understand that the Brules were only defending themselves and their home when they retaliated? Why would a great man like Secretary of War Jefferson Davis send in General William “By God, I’m for battle—not peace” Harney to handle what was being called a “bloody uprising” that must be quelled at any price and action? How could they order every Indian—men, women,
children—to leave their land—a territory designated to them in the Laramie Treaty or they would be viewed as “hostile” and in peril of being slain or captured and sent far away?

Cloud Chaser had told her that Harney was closing in fast with a force of thirteen hundred or more heavily armed soldiers, including cannons, with orders to punish the dreaded “Sioux” and “restore order.” He said the War Department was humiliated and infuriated by Grattan’s “massacre” and held all Dakotas to blame for that incident and other deeds, even though only certain Brule bands and a few Lakota allies were involved in them. He said the government and army feared that unless punishment was swift and hard, worse trouble and more deaths would ensue. She had to concur with Cloud Chaser that the cow’s loss had been only an excuse for Grattan to intimidate, ridicule and attack the Indians. Now, Grattan’s loss was being used as another excuse to subjugate or exile the Indians from these lands.

It was an injustice and a tragedy, Caroline decided, one that might be prevented if the two sides would talk and an understanding could be reached, but she somehow knew that would not happen. Just as she knew her people were wrong in this grave matter. She hoped and prayed their cruel and antagonistic actions would not taint her currently good image in the Red Shields’ eyes and spoil her accomplishments there. Yet, it would be only human nature for at least some of them to turn against her…

War Eagle and his small band headed southward toward Ash Hollow on the North Platte River to parley with Spotted Tail and Little Thunder, who were camped there according to the messages they had received recently. Their task was to learn if any bands had moved out of the specified Lakota territory as ordered by General Harney through Indian Agent Twiss. If so, they wanted to know which bands, where they had gone, and why they had agreed to the white war chief’s
unreasonable demand. They also needed to ascertain Harney’s location and strength, and future plans if possible.

As they journeyed over flat terrain or rolling hills covered with grass, wildflowers, scattered trees, and scrub bushes, they saw or encountered rutting buffaloes and herds of pronghorn and intermingled deer. With the sacred Paha Sapa to their right, each knew the leaves of hardwoods growing in abundance in the black mountains and its foothills would be putting on their colorful garments soon. Various grasses and wildflowers would either die or sleep as the bears until Mother Earth renewed her lovely face, most of them to slumber beneath blankets of snow. Spirits of fallen flowers would drift skyward to form the bands of rainbows whose edges kissed the ground one final time before rejoining the Creator to beautify His surroundings and those of Dakotas who had been summoned into His presence. Days were warm now, not hot; and nights were cooler, often enticing small fires to ward off a chilly one. Yes, the next season was approaching at a steady pace.

After those perceptions were noted by War Eagle, he thought about Caroline, her mute message to him, and her close proximity to his spiteful cousin. He wished Two Feathers was like Broken Lance, but the two brothers were as different as the buck and the badger. He admitted he would miss Caroline greatly, but he must not allow such feelings and needs to distract him from his duty or provoke him to rush to complete it to hurry back to her. For now, he must think of his people and their allies, not the woman who had captured his heart as surely as he had captured her body.

Four days after War Eagle and his companions left camp, Caroline went to Wind Dancer’s tepee and removed Chumani’s stitches. After the task was completed, one mildly embarrassing for both women, Caroline smiled and said, “You are
healed, Dewdrops. I will turn around while you use your white man’s mirror to see for yourself.”

Chumani retrieved a “magic glass,” which she had purchased at Fort Pierre four summers past when she performed a brave and clever deed of spying there. While Caroline was turned away from her, she positioned the mirror and visually examined her private parts. She looked at the captive’s back and said, “I am ready. You said the cut flesh would rejoin. You said Inunpa’s tepee head would grow round as it should be. You spoke true words. You have great medicine skills, Caroline. You are a good friend. Thank you.”

“I thank you, Dewdrops, for trusting me and making me a friend.”

After she checked on her newborn daughter who was sleeping nearby, Chumani revealed, “Grandfather wishes to know your medicine skills.”

Caroline was confused. “I thought you were from a Brule band far away. I did not know you had family in camp. Who is your grandfather?”

Chumani laughed and explained, “My husband’s family became my family after we joined. Nahemana is now a grandfather to me. If you learn our tongue better, you can speak with him about healing skills.”

Caroline was surprised by that news, as the shaman was considered sacred and wise. He actually wanted to learn something from a captive? As she allowed that suggestion to settle in, she said, “You speak English well. Cloud Chaser said a trapper taught you long ago.”

“That is true. He lived and trapped among the White Shields for many circles of the season. He was white, but a friend to my father. Before his family died and he came to our land, he was a teacher in a white man’s school. He taught me English so I could speak with any whites who came to our camp after he left. For years, we had what he called ‘class’ almost every day. I learned how to speak and translate English,
but I cannot read or write such words. Cloud Chaser does that task for us, for he knows all ways of English. If you learn Lakota, you can teach Nahemana the great magic you know, and he can teach you his healing skills. If you become as one of us, when Grandfather’s eyes, hands, and head cannot do healing skills, you could become our medicine woman. With war coming fast and our shaman growing older and weaker, you can help those who are sick and injured.”

Caroline was amazed by the woman’s proposal. If what Chumani said was accurate and if she was accepted by them in such a rank, would that make a relationship with War Eagle permissible? “Is that possible for a captive? Would others trust me to treat them?”

“All know what you did for me and Inunpa, and we are family of the next chief who trusted you and allowed you to save our lives. If you become as one of us and Nahemana says it is good, it will be so.”

Caroline’s heart raced in excitement and elation. “How do I become as one of you? Become an adopted Red Shield?”

“Only the Great Spirit knows such secrets and magic. If it is the Creator’s will for you to join our band, He will make it happen.”