Lakota Flower (31 page)

War Eagle halted and said, “I can give you no more pain, Heart Flower. Surely these injuries are enough to trick the soldiers.”

“Do not blame yourself, my love,” she whispered as she stroked his jawline. “It is my people’s evil that forced us to do this to me.”

War Eagle wiped the blood from her lower lip and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly for a few moments, then loosened his grasp and leaned back his head to seal their mouths. He kissed her with tenderness, enormous pride, and unrelenting love. “We must go. We have far to ride.”

They joined the others, who looked at Caroline and also winced at what she must have endured, in silence and willingness. Many nodded approval of her courage and prowess. All seemed to believe she was doing this difficult task as much for Cloud Chaser as for her brother. Chumani, Macha, and Hanmani embraced her in friendship, gratitude, and affection. Wind Dancer, Rising Bear, and Nahemana rubbed the back of her hand to show those same feelings. Little Turtle, the shaman’s wife, gave her a soft rabbit pelt to keep her hands warm during their journey. Even Pretty Meadow, the mother of Broken Lance and the deceased Two Feathers, gave her a leather pouch of nut and berry bread.

Caroline thanked all of them for their kindnesses, her throat too tight with heartfelt emotion to say anything more.

After the party of eleven mounted to leave, War Eagle bound her wrists snugly before her, then nodded in encouragement and pride.

Caroline returned the gesture, knowing the emotions behind it.

As soon as farewells and hopes of good fortune were spoken
to them, the eager group rode away to head overland at a rapid pace to reach the selected attack point first, with her on a horse belonging to Rising Bear.

As they traveled through canyons and hills of the Paha Sapa, Caroline glanced down at her arms with their discoloration and felt her swollen lip, deciding they would be perfect and misleading bruises by the time the soldiers saw them. She realized she must look terrible, but this sorry condition was needed to carry off her ruse. It had been Nahemana, she recalled, who had persuaded the others to use her plan, disclosing that it had been revealed to him in a sacred dream not long ago.

Please, God,
she prayed as she snuggled in the confines of a warm buffalo robe,
let this scheme work. Let us save David and Cloud Chaser. And, if at all possible, don’t make it necessary to slay the soldiers.

For over three days, War Eagle, Caroline, and the others traveled fast and for long hours after leaving the concealment of the rugged Paha Sapa. They traversed open plains of vast grasslands and rolling hills; rode through valleys; skirted steep slopes; crossed the Cheyenne, White, and Niobrara Rivers and many streams and creeks; and entered an area of awesome buttes and scattered foothills at the Platte River. They halted to camp and await the soldiers’ arrival near what emigrants called Scotts Bluff—a tan-colored promontory eight hundred feet high and a landmark on the trail. The site was about ten miles east of Horse Creek, where the peace treaty had been signed in 1851. This was about twenty miles east of the place where Grattan and his troops had attacked a Brule camp and been slain, an event that had provoked the current conflict and Harney’s presence.

While the others made camp following the arduous journey, though most of the terrain had been easy and swift to
cover, one man was posted eastward to watch for their targets’ approach and to bring them a message as soon as the soldiers were in visual range. Since they did not know how far in advance they had reached this area, though they were certain they had done so first, all they could do was sit and wait while the men took turns with the observation task from an elevated point up the road.

After tending their horses and allowing the animals to drink and graze while their companions talked and/or played games with marked stones of a near-flat surface on both sides, War Eagle and Caroline took a walk. He said it was to loosen sore muscles from days on horseback and to calm their restless spirits, but it was to have privacy to talk and kiss before confronting peril—possible death or capture—within the next day or two. As soon as the couple was out of their companions’ sight, but not hearing range if a threat struck, they embraced and melded their mouths in sweet bliss.

They kissed many times and thrilled to the love and passion between them. Some kisses were long, slow, and tender; others were short, intense, and deep and exposed their enormous cravings and pleasures. Their eager hands roamed each other’s face, arms, and back as if exploring and mapping new terrain. Their questing fingers drifted through contrasting strands of hair and over susceptible flesh and aroused each other to ardent longing to unite their bodies as one force seeking victory and contentment.

Soon, they were breathless from their tantalizing actions and inflamed by rampant desire. They realized they must halt their fervent journey, as they could travel no further at that time and place. They hugged with her cheek pressed to his chest and with his jawline nestled to her head. They drew in deep lungfuls of chilly air to cool the heat assailing them, to clear their clouded wits, and to relax their taut bodies.

Finally War Eagle broached a dreaded question. “After we save your brother, he must flee to far away or the white war chief will send soldiers to search for him and punish
him. He will ask you to go with him. I want you to stay with the Red Shields and join to me, for I love you and need you in my Life Circle. What words will you speak to him?”

Caroline lifted her head and locked gazes with him. “I will tell David of our love and plan to be joined. He will be sad for us to part, but he will understand and accept my feelings for you and my need to remain with you. As long as we are both safe, we will be happy for each other. In the seasons ahead when peace comes and Harney is gone, he can return to visit us.”

“You will be happy in my life and tepee, is that not true?”

“That is so, Wanbli, for I love you and need you as my husband for my Life Circle to be complete. We are destined to be together, to live here.”

“That is what I believe, Heart Flower, and it will come to be, for the Great Spirit has chosen us for each other,” he said with confidence.

They kissed once more before they returned to their companions, again pervaded by suspense of what loomed before them…

Nearing dusk the next day, Red Feather—best friend since childhood to Wind Dancer—joined his companions and related that the soldiers were nearing their location. But, the elite warrior continued, the two prisoners were riding close to the front of the group of twenty bluecoats who looked alert and whose rifles were at the ready as if they expected trouble and were prepared to challenge it. He did not have to point out the beginning of bad weather, which included chilly winds, dark clouds, and heavy humidity.

“Soon,” Red Feather reasoned, “they must halt and camp, for the sky and air warn of a storm this moon. When it strikes, they will lower their alert and be weakened, for they will not think that enemies ride in one.”

Caroline stood and said, “I will get ready to trick them.”

“No,” War Eagle countered, as another ploy filled his thought and he changed his mind about her perilous participation in a rescue attempt after learning of the captives’ positions amidst the enemy and upon hearing Red Feather’s clever last words. “Our brothers ride to the front and might see and know you. Your brother might shout your name in joy to find you alive and nearby. Or shout in worry at thinking you badly harmed or slain. It is too dangerous to use your cunning trick. The Air Spirit’s breath thickens into a white blanket. Soon, they must camp. We will sneak there when most sleep and the guards can not see us in the mist. We will strike their heads, free our friends, leave Pawnee possessions, and slip away. What do you think, my friends? Is it a good plan?”

The other warriors voiced agreement to the change, so Caroline sat down and nodded obedience. If fog engulfed them, she surmised, her beloved’s idea should work, and it was a safer one considering the odds of two to one and the unexpected circumstances. Too, it meant the soldiers would not be slain, just as she had prayed for during their departure from the Black Hills. She was glad War Eagle decided against their deaths, though tribal foes would be incriminated by the false clues they had brought along and would leave behind. If all went well tonight, she would see her brother again soon and David would learn she was alive and safe, and those realities delighted her.
Please, God, guide and protect all of them.

Swift Otter returned to their hiding place and revealed that the soldiers were asleep, except for two guarding the camp. Using the light of a match obtained last year by Cloud Chaser at Fort Laramie, he drew a sketch upon the soft ground of the attack area and their targets’ positions in it.

Using another match, as he motioned to the scratchings on the earth, War Eagle made the assignments. “Red Feather
will sneak up on this soldier. Tall Mountain will disable this one. Calls-the-Buffalo and Black Wolf will gather the horses of Cloud Chaser and Wahcawi’s brother. Bent Bow, Broken Lance, and Yellow Tree will watch the others for trouble and give the night bird’s call if any awaken. River’s Edge and I will free the captives. Swift Otter will protect Wahcawi and our horses while we are gone. We must move slow and careful, as we cannot see far into the mist and must make no sounds. Carry only your knives and the Pawnee tricks. Try not to slay them, for they must take blame on our enemy to the fort. We must not allow it to fall upon the head of any Lakota. Come, we go now.”

War Eagle exchanged smiles with Caroline before he and the others left her and his best friend behind and were swallowed up fast by fog.

Caroline sat on the moist ground on the buffalo robe she had been given at her honoring ceremony. Her knees were hugged to her chest where her heart thudded in worry, and it was difficult to calm her labored breathing. Her blond hair and tattered dress were damp, her body chilled by the crisp night air since a warming fire was hazardous. She noted that Swift Otter stayed on constant alert, ready to react to a threat, ready to save her just as his best friend had planned by leaving that elite fighter behind. All she could think about was the peril her loved ones and friends were facing at that moment, too aware that lethal defeat was a grim possibility…

War Eagle and his party used their superior prowess and the familiar landscape to their advantage as they sneaked toward their goals. In spite of the vision-obstructing fog, they moved along covered by dark buffalo hides, making no noise in passing and finally reaching their assigned destinations.

War Eagle and Macha’s twin brother slipped to the tree where Cloud Chaser and David Sims were bound, one on each side of it, no doubt to make certain the captives could
not reach each other’s bonds to untie them. As planned, each rescuer placed a hand over his objective’s mouth to silence any shriek of surprise at being startled by their arrival, doing their tasks simultaneously as other Red Shields incapacitated the two guards.

Cloud Chaser struggled to see and made out the grinning face of his wife’s brother as River’s Edge moved away his hand and cut his restraints.

War Eagle whispered to David, “You safe, No speak, I free you. I Chaser’s brother. We come to save. Must hurry.”

After David nodded, War Eagle severed the ropes confining the man. “Walk slow, careful.”

David saw Chase Martin follow another Indian into the shadows, so he did the same with the one who had freed him. He could not remain a captive heading for a trial and prison or a hangman’s noose. He had to stay alive to find his beloved sister, which meant trusting Chase and his friends. He used caution so he would not awaken the soldiers, surprised and grateful they hadn’t been slain. He kept close to the warrior ahead of him, wondering where he was being taken.

Caroline threw aside the warm robe, leapt to her feet, and hurried to greet her shocked brother. “We have to be quiet. Noise travels easily and far over this kind of terrain.”

Cloud Chaser said in a low voice, “She’s fine, David. She’s been safe with my people. You two must talk later. We have to ride now. Hello, Caroline, it’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you again, Cloud Chaser, my friend. Dawn and your son are fine.”

Cloud Chaser smiled. “Let’s go, but be quiet. We’ll walk for a ways before we mount. Stay close and tight in this fog. We don’t want anybody getting lost or stumbling into another soldier’s camp.”

David nodded compliance, then glanced at his sister in rising intrigue.

In the Wild Cat Hills nearby, they wound their way single file amidst numerous eroded pale gray bluffs and scattered rocks of various sizes and through forests of mainly pine with intermingled juniper, cottonwood, box elder, and willow. At last, they halted to camp in a secluded and sheltered area of rugged formations and dense trees. They had walked their horses for a time until it seemed safe to mount and ride into that region to camp for the remainder of the night. Yellow Tree had stayed hidden near Scotts Bluff—which was visible from elevated locations—to observe how the soldiers reacted to the discovery of the missing prisoners and to see which direction they took to report that strange incident to others.

The Red Shields thought it was divine intervention when the threat of bad weather vanished during their short journey. The fog had dissipated, the sky had cleared, the winds had lost much of their strong force and even some of their chill, and a half-moon glowed overhead to give them sufficient light to see the ground and each other.

After they dismounted and embraced, David asked Caroline, “Where have you been, Caro? What happened to you? I’ve
been worried near to madness over your disappearance. What are you doing here with these… men? Are you all right? You look terrible, little sister.”

“I’m fine, David, honestly; and my appearance was a ruse to dupe the soldiers. I was gong to lie in the road and feign injury to get them to halt so my friends could rescue you and Cloud Chaser, but the plan was changed when you two were riding up front and the weather took a bad turn.”

“Cloud Chaser? Is he the one named Chase Martin?”

“That’s the name he uses when he roams in the white world. His real name is Cloud Chaser; he’s the son of the Red Shield chief; they’re Oglala Lakotas. I’ve been living with them since I vanished en route to join you.”

“He’s a chief’s son? He’s an Indian?”

“Yes, and so is the man who rescued you. They’re brothers.”

“I met Chase, Cloud Chaser, at Fort Laramie, but he didn’t mention you were with his people when we talked several times. I’ll have to question him about that deception. How have they treated you?”

“I have endured no abuse from them. They’re good people, truly.”

“How did you come to be with them? A search party couldn’t find any clues as to what happened to you and your escort.”

“It’s a long and complicated story, big brother, I’ll—”

“Reveal everything to him in the morning,” Cloud Chaser interrupted her in a gentle tone. “It’s late and we need to sleep. We’ll need our rest and strength if trouble strikes soon and we have to leave fast.”

“But she’s been missing for months. I want to know what hap—”

Caroline injected, “Cloud Chaser is right, David. We need to get to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning, I promise. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

David looked at the man beside Caroline and persisted, “I have one question that has to be answered tonight, now. You knew how worried I was about her, so why didn’t you tell me at Laramie she was alive and safe?”

“From atop the canyon bluffs, we witnessed the surprise attack at Blue Water Creek and saw you try to help our allies in secret. When I talked with you at the fort, you were sending letters to the white leaders far away to tell them the truth of the grave offenses being committed here against Indians. Before I left my camp to scout the enemy at the fort, Caroline told me much about you and showed me your picture; that is how I recognized you at the battle scene. I believed you were a good man and could be trusted, but much was at stake to risk being wrong. If I had told you where she was and you did not believe she was unharmed, you could have sent soldiers to my camp to attack my people to rescue her. They could have done the same evil things we witnessed at Blue Water Creek. Did the note I gave to you not ease your fears and worries about her?”

“What note?”

“The note I slipped into your pocket when we bumped into each other the last time at the fort. It told you she was alive and safe and would get a message to you when the time was good.”

“I never found a note in my pocket.”

War Eagle observed the interaction, grasping most of their words. It was late, but he did not halt or intrude on the necessary talk. He was glad to get this chance to scrutinize his love’s brother up close and to learn how the two related to each other. He was aware that Caroline also was watching them, too focused on their talk to notice his presence and his keen study.

“Then, it is still there or it fell out when you withdrew something and was lost. I speak the truth, David; I stuffed a note in your pocket that day.”

David eyed the man closely and decided he was being honest. “I believe you, Chase, but I never found it. I wish I had, to ease my worry.”

“I thought you had guessed it was from me and that was why you tried to help me escape before your capture.”

“No, I was trying to help you because I thought if you had connections to the Indians you could help me find my sister and rescue her. I was planning to desert and leave with you if we could strike a deal.”

Caroline asked, “You were arrested for trying to help him escape?”

“That’s right. I hoped if I helped him he would help me find you. In a way, he has. Thanks, Chase. She’s all the family I have left and I love her.”

“It is good we can be friends. Now, we must sleep. We can have more talk tomorrow. Come and I will show you where to lie down for the night.”

“You, too, Caro. Heaven be thanked, it’s good to see you again.”

David hugged Caroline once more before he retrieved his bedroll and followed Cloud Chaser to a sheltered spot near a large gray bluff, assuming his sister would be close behind.

War Eagle came forward from the shadows and said, “He is a good man from what my senses tell me.”

“Yes,” Caroline concurred, “he is. And so are you,” she added as she locked gazes with him and exchanged smiles.

“We will speak on the next sun after you talk with your brother again. You have much to tell him and he has much to hear and accept.”

Caroline whispered, “Do not worry, Wanbli, for I love you and my life is here with you. David will understand and accept that truth.”

“My heart is filled with love for you, Kawa Cante. Come, we must sleep, for there is much to be done and said soon.”
I pray he will not change your mind about remaining here with me, for I can not lose you.

Caroline spread her buffalo mat between David’s and War Eagle’s, her heart rejoicing in the fact that both men she loved best were nearby. Yet, sensations of dread and suspense gnawed at her as she realized what loomed ahead tomorrow: she must explain to one of the two most important people in her life why she was choosing the other person over him, and convince him she knew what she was doing…

After they had risen, eaten, and prepared for a swift escape if one was necessary, Caroline and David secluded themselves a short distance away to talk. He asked the same questions he had voiced the night before, and she began answering them, slowly and carefully so he could absorb the news.

“I’m sure you know by now that a terrible conflict is raging here, much of it based upon misunderstandings and a lot of it upon deceits and greed from our people. I’ve witnessed and learned a great deal since I came to this territory, and I must say I’m ashamed of how our government continues to view and treat the Indians.” She related the things she had been told, had observed, and had overhead at Fort Pierre, during her ride across the grasslands with the soldiers, and in the Red Shield camp. She repeated the things Cloud Chaser had told her about past and recent events, including the incidents with white gangs posing as Indians, the Grattan episode, and the problems with inferior and scant annuities. “The settlers and soldiers have been led to believe the Indians are savages and hostiles who attack whites without provocation.”

Caroline was glad he did not interrupt during her lengthy disclosures and as she refuted those allegations. “That isn’t true, David. Most of them want to live in peace and in their ancestors’ ways, but they keep being harassed, insulted, challenged, and deceived. They see their lands being stolen, gradually gobbled up by homesteaders and forts and roads
and businesses. They see their game being hunted or trapped into extinction or driven far from their treaty-assigned territories, creatures they depend on for supplying food, clothes, tepees, and other necessities. They see their very survival at stake. But whenever they protest or defend their rights, they’re told to accept such offenses or they’ll be slaughtered and their possessions will be destroyed. You saw what General Harney did to the Brules at Blue Water Creek, all because a few of them killed and ate a cow that strayed into their camp and Grattan demanded a blood payment. The soldiers fired first on the Indians and murdered their leader, the very man the army had appointed as head chief of all the Lakota tribes. If our land and family were being attacked, we would have defended them.”

“Chase, I mean Cloud Chaser, told me some of the history and trouble of the Indians and this area and I saw what happened during that massacre, so I understand their fears, distrust, and retaliations. But how did you come to be with these Indians? What happened to you, Caro? You’re a mess.”

“A small party of Red Shields attacked the soldiers escorting me to Fort Kearny. They were all slain, but not tortured before or mutilated after death like the rumors I heard at Fort Pierre. They were hauling cannons and weapons to be used during imminent attacks on Indians, so the Red Shields believed they had to destroy them. The soldiers were slain because, if they had been allowed to live, they would have reported who was responsible for that raid and the Red Shields would have been attacked and slaughtered like the Brules were for the Grattan incident. The soldiers were buried in a secret place, not left to rot or feed scavengers like Harney did with his victims; and the weapons were dumped where they can’t be recovered and used against any Indian camp. The had no choice, David. I wasn’t harmed in any way. I was captured and taken to their village. I’ve been living in the tepee of Cloud Chaser and his wife. I help her with
chores and with tending their infant son. I’ve also taken care of sick or injured band membe’ I even delivered the future chief’s daughter when a hazardous problem arose. I have Grandfather’s medical kit with me and you know how I used to work with him in his office. The Red Shields like, respect, and accept me among them because I’ve done those and several other good deeds for them.”

“Such as?” David prompted, intrigued by her astonishing tales.

Caroline revealed the things she had done in their camp and how she had been honored by them, even given the Lakota name of Sunflower and a coup feather. She saw her brother stare at her in amazement, then smiled in love and pride. “The reason I look so terrible is a ruse,” she began and explained the initial rescue plan, her preparation to take part in it, and why it was changed. “I’ve made many close friends there, and I’ve been fine.”

“I’m very proud of you, little sister. You’ve shown great courage and intelligence and kindness. I was worried about you and I blamed myself for allowing you to come here and be endangered. I would never have forgiven myself if you had been slain or injured.”

“We made the right decision about my coming. Besides, we had no choice after the bank took everything following Mama’s and Papa’s deaths. At least they went fast. Merciful heavens, I still miss them terribly.”

As they comforted each other with an embrace, David murmured, “So do I, Caro. I guess it seems less real to me because I was so far away. It’s hard to believe I won’t ever see them again. I should have been there.”

To get his mind off of undeserved guilt and to assuage his anguish, she said, “I’m sorry you couldn’t come home for their funerals and burials, but I handled everything properly. I never expected to lose our home and land and possessions. I imagine that’s what helps me understand the Indians’ feelings
and reactions so well. I suppose the bankers told the truth about Papa’s debt to them. If they lied, there was no way I could prove it.”

David clasped her hands in his and said, “I’m sorry you had to face those ordeals alone, Caro, but the army refused to grant me a leave.”

“You would have been there if possible, so don’t blame yourself. I was lucky our letters got passed along so quickly. I certainly didn’t want to become a beggar and burden to any of our friends. I would have sought out a respectable means of support, but you know what kinds of jobs single women are offered and how sorry they’re paid. And I certainly couldn’t marry that William Crawford to get myself out of dire straights.”

“I’m glad you didn’t turn to him. I never liked that arrogant dandy, and you deserve better. We can’t stay in this area, not with the army sure to search for me soon. How does heading for Texas sound to you? I think we would like ranching. Of course, I’d have to work until I earned enough to buy a little land and stock. You think you might enjoy becoming a cowgirl?”

Caroline reached the moment and subject she had dreaded; it was time to reveal her secret plans and she prayed he would take the news well. She selected her words with great care and used a gentle voice to speak them. “I think it sounds wonderful for you, big brother, but not for me. I want to stay here.” Noticing his confusion, she hurried on. “I’ve met a man and we’ve gotten close, very close. We love each other and want to become man and wife. I’m sure you’ll meet a woman in Texas, get married, have a home and lots of children, so you don’t need to have me around,” she jested to lighten the heavy situation, but David neither smiled nor laughed.

“What man, Caro? You’ve only been here for a few months. Your stay at Fort Pierre was brief and you’ve been with the Indians since …”

When David halted and stared at her, she resolved the mystery for him. “It’s the man who rescued you, Cloud Chaser’s brother. His name is Wanbli. He’s the chief’s youngest son. If anything happens to his older brother, Wind Dancer, he will become the next chief when their father dies. He’s a good man, David. I love him and want to become his wife.”