Lakota Winds (Zebra Historical Romance) (33 page)

As early-morning sunlight splashed across the windy Plains, the Red
and White Shields gathered beyond their tepees for the ritual to begin
the first of many hunts during the summer season. Men who had been
chosen to carry out the initial task-including Wind Dancer, War
Eagle, Red Feather, and Rising Bear-sat upon their buffalo horses and
awaited the signal. The men who had been selected to remain behind
to act as protectors and leaders-including Tall Elk, Fire Walker, and
Blue Owl-gazed at the mounted riders with an emotion close to envy
in their hearts for what loomed before the others. The women who had
been assigned to go with them on their quest-including Winona and
Hanmani-waited nearby with their travois, ready to follow the hunters
to all of the slain creatures to prepare their meat and hides for hauling
back to camp.

Chumani's gaze settled on her husband who sat straight and proud
on his swift and sure-footed horse who had been specially trained to
race with the massive and unpredictable beasts. Wind Dancer, like the
others, wore only a breechclout and moccasins. A bow encircled his
torso and a quiver filled with arrows with his markings rested upon his
broad back. His knife sheath was suspended from the belt which banded
his waist and secured his only garment to his stalwart body. His ebony
hair was braided to prevent it from blowing into his eyes and obstructing
his vision for even a moment at such a time when peril could strike
without warning. He wore no adornments-no wristlets, armbands,
hair feathers, or medallions; nor did his mount. A small and light water
bag also hung from his belt. Today, he hunted for those in need, for
those women who had lost mates and not yet replaced them and for
families with men and women too old or disabled to do that part of
the task themselves. Later, she would go with him to seek their winter
needs.

Nahemana and Sees-Through-Mist stood together before the large
crowd. Both were clad in ceremonial regalia: buffalo cap headdresses
and flowing buffalo robes with colorful adornments of dangling rawhide
strips with beads and various feathers and many attached weasel tails. Hairbone breastplates rested upon chests which had lost much of their
strength. Their remaining garments were decorated with beads, hackle
feathers, and enemy hairlocks. White hair whipping around their agefurrowed faces and their stooped shoulders gleamed like silver in the
morning light. Both were loved and respected by their people, and
esteemed by their allies. Each shaman lifted a painted buffalo skull with
wrinkled hands and held it high as they sent forth prayers to Wakantanka
in voices strengthened by the stirring occasion.

Nahemana spoke first as he earnestly evoked, "Great Spirit, Creator
of all things, Provider of our needs, Protector of our lands and people,
we stand before You this sun and ask You to give us much success on
our many hunts. Grant our warriors the skills to find and slay enough
buffalo to feed, clothe, and shelter Your people during the cold season.
Guard our hunters and women as they work upon the grasslands; return
them to us alive and unharmed and loaded with our means of survival.
Ask Mother Earth to share her bounty with us as our women seek other
needs upon her face. Hear and see us, Great One, as we send our
message to you."

Sees-Through-Mist fervently requested, "Great Mystery, Knower and
Seer of all things, see and hear our prayer to You. We give You honor,
thanks, and loyalty for all You give and bring to us. Share Your creature's
skills with our hunters. Give them keen eyes like the eagle's, the strength
and courage of the grizzly, the cunning of the wolf and fox, the swiftness
and stamina of the deer. Make them as one with their horses. Send
their arrows on a true flight. Grant us these needs, Great Spirit, and
we will honor You in song, dance, and offerings when our task is
finished."

Afterward, eight men beat on a large drum as the two shamans danced
around their buffalo skulls which had been placed atop hides where a
bunch of dried sweetgrass and herbs, four eagle feathers, grizzly claws,
deer antlers, and the tails of a wolf and fox lay. When the drumming and
dancing halted, ceremonial arrows with sacred markings were pointed in
the direction in which the scouts had located an enormous herd. Both elderly men shouted, "It is time to ride, for the buffalo await your
coming!"

With the signal given, the mounted riders whooped and yelled and
galloped off to seek their prey. The women left shortly behind them.

As the shamen spoke for the last time, Wind Dancer glanced at his
wife, then nodded and smiled as a farewell message. His heart warmed
when she returned those gestures. Though he would be gone for only
a few days, he knew he would miss her. Yet, he carried her image in
his head and the remembrance of last night to give him comfort during
their separation.

Wind Dancer was confident in his prowess and in his horse's skills.
He raced like the wind from which had come his name, speeding across
open grassland with low hills here and there. As he topped the final
one, his gaze took in a sight that always filled him with awe: an enormous
herd of immense creatures extended far beyond his sight, as if a dark
blanket had been spread across the green surface and it slowly wafted
in the wind. The huge animals either moved along in leisure as they
grazed or they lay or rolled in wallows they had made. Females tended
their calves and kept them close by; they would not be slain so the herd
could survive to feed them in seasons to come. Some of the males still
wore partial ragged winter coats, but most had rubbed them off not
long ago. He knew rutting season would not begin until after the next
one or two full moons. When that season came, the humpbacked,
bearded beasts would bellow challenges to both rivals and intruding
men, and they would be dangerous in that state. For now, Wind Dancer
decided, hunting should be easy and safe.

After everyone arrived and stood poised on the hilltop, the charge
began as they plunged headlong down the gentle incline and galloped
toward the furry fringes. It took a while for the buffaloes to realize what
was happening, especially those farther away from the attack scene. As
if news was passed along by their grunts and stirrings, the herd began
to move onward, their pace increasing as the full reality of their peril
sank in; and the hunters pursued them with vigor. They would slay as
many as the women could skin and butcher today, rest for the night, and begin the task again at sunrise. They would continue that routine
for several days, then retrace their path to camp, where another group
would head out to do the same.

Back in the encampment, Chumani, her mother, Zitkala, and Rainbow Girl went about their chores as they awaited the return of travois
loaded with meat and hides to prepare, as the first ones should arrive
before late afternoon. As soon as they were unloaded, the young braves
would guide them back to the hunters and butchers for another haul.

The women checked drying racks, put stews on to simmer for future
times when they were too busy to cook, gathered firewood, fetched
water, and collected berries and plants which grew nearby. River rushes
were cut to make sitting mats and herbs were plucked, bound, and
hung up to dry to be used in foods and medicines.

Chumani knew why her husband and the rest of the vision companions went on this first hunt; they could not leave for Fort Pierre Trading
Post until her woman's flow had come and gone in a few suns. She
knew Wind Dancer would be reluctant to allow her to accompany him
on the next adventure is she were carrying their child. She and other
women erected a hut near the river, using the shade of cottonwoods to
keep the willow cansakawakeya interior cooler than on the sunny Plains.

As she worked, Chumani daydreamed of her husband, of the past
suns with him since their joining, and of their passionate night together.
She loved and desired him completely, and would be tormented if she
lost him. Again that strange and alarming chill swept over her body, as
if she were being sent a grim message which she could not grasp.

For the past three suns, Chumani had labored with the other women
who had been left in camp during the first hunt. When her blood flow
revealed itself on the morning of the fifth sun since their arrival, she
hurried to the willow hut in a contradictory state of joy and sadness.
She yearned for their baby, but she also yearned to remain a part of
the sacred vision tasks. At least she was not responsible for choosing which path to follow; that was in the hands of the Great Spirit and
Mother Nature, and They had spoken.

During her second day of confinement, Chumani heard a commotion
which indicated the first group had returned to camp from their hunt.
She peered between spaces in the willow branches, straining her eyes
and ears for a sight and sound of her beloved. When she spied him
and knew he was back safe and unharmed, she smiled and thanked
Wakantanka.

At sunrise following the afternoon of her departure from the willow
hut and carrying out her purification custom, Wind Dancer, Chumani,
and the others in their vision party mounted their horses to leave for
Fort Pierre as their people began the second buffalo hunt. Riding quickly,
they would reach the trading post in a few suns and would confront
one of their greatest and most perilous challenges.

For days, they traveled near the bank of the Sica River where trees and
scrubs and other vegetation would provide quick concealment if needed,
as its waters flowed straight to their destination. They also had a full
moon which would enable them to see a possible threat approaching
at a long distance. The daytime sky was vivid blue; early-summer air,
temperate; the sun, radiant; and the wind steady. At night, the air was
cooler but pleasant, and no campfire, which might reveal their presence,
was needed for warmth. Nor was one required for cooking, for they
had brought plentiful supplies which were ready to eat.

Crossing relatively flat terrain for most of the way, the ride was easy,
the pace swift. Their spirits heightened and anticipation mounted daily.
Often they rode through gaps in buffalo herds and were careful not to
overly disturb the animals and provoke them into a race across the
Plains which would trample anything and anyone caught in their thunderous path. They sighted numerous antelope and deer, some scattering
in panic and some ignoring them as the riders passed near them. They
also saw many other creatures foraging on the lush landscape or seeking
live prey. Birds, small and large, darted by or hunted overhead. Wildflowers bloomed in colorful profusion, and insects feasted greedily upon
them.

Although the journey seemed a safe and serene one, each knew that
trouble could strike at any given time, from enemy or powerful nature. They did not talk during the day as staying highly alert was necessary.
They knew they must be ready to make a rapid decision to fight or
make a hasty retreat if the odds were too great to challenge. When they
did share words at night in camp, they could not plan their impending
task, as they did not know what loomed before them until Chumani
and Zitkala completed their scouting inside the post. Each was aware
anyone-or everyone-in their party could be slain in battle or captured
and held as prisoners to be "executed" by the Whites or soldiers. Yet,
even at the risk of their lives, this deed must be done for their people
to survive and for their hunting and sacred grounds to be retained.

As they neared their destination, the plateau grasslands gave way to
low, rolling hills which eventually became higher and broader ones.
Ravines and gulches became more frequent sights where the face of
Mother Earth had been eaten away by heavy rains and melting snow.
Trees and scrubs dotted the lumpy region and flourished in abundance
along the two rivers and their offshoots. They left the watery course
they had followed for days and made their way to the last group of
hills overlooking the post. There the men could use the landscape for
concealment as they waited the women's return. They dismounted and
climbed the grassy rise before them. Hugging the ground with their
stomachs and hidden by thick vegetation, they checked out the setting
while Wind Dancer and Red Feather enlightened the women about it.