Woman of Courage (4 page)

Amanda blinked. “Who are the Nimiipu? Is that how you say it?”

He nodded.

“But I thought we were talking about the Nez Percé Indians.”

“We are. Nimiipu is the name they call themselves. It means ‘real people.’ ”

“Then why do white men call them ‘Nez Percé’?” Amanda asked.

“Well, the way I understand it, when some French explorers arrived in 1805, they saw some Injuns with shells in their noses, so they gave ’em the name ‘Nez Percé,’ which means ‘pierced noses.’ ”

“Do all Nez Percé people pierce their noses?” Amanda could hardly believe anyone would do such a thing.

“Nope. It ain’t even a common practice from what I understand.”

None of this made much sense to Amanda. “What else do you know about them?” she questioned, pleased that she had remembered not to say
thee
.

“I’ve learned that most of ’em are friendly and peaceable—unless ya get their dander up. There’d be a heap of trouble if someone tried to take their land, or if another tribe, like the Blackfeet, made war on ’em.”

“Art thou—I mean you—saying that the Nez Percé aren’t hostile or violent by nature?”

Harvey shrugged. “I guess not, but they’ll fight to protect what’s theirs, and I sure can’t blame ’em for that.”

Amanda reflected on that, then asked if there was anything else Harvey could tell her about the Nez Percé.

“At one time, they ate mainly fish—especially salmon. They could dry and store it for winter use. Sometimes ice caves were used for storage, too.”

“You said ‘at one time.’ Does that mean they no longer eat fish?” she asked curiously.

“I suppose they do when they’re at their winter home, but durin’ the warmer weather, they travel to the high country to dig roots and bulbs, like
kouse
.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a kouse root. What do they do with it?”

“After it’s cleaned, they boil the root whole or grind it into mush. Sometimes it’s shaped into small cakes and dried for later use.” Harvey rubbed the back of his neck. “By July the Indians move farther onto the prairie to gather sweet camas bulbs. Then after the harvest of bulbs, most of the Nimiipu return to the rivers to fish for salmon, while some of the men hunt for elk, deer, moose, and bear. Durin’ the winter months, the Injuns live on whatever small game they can capture, as well as the food they’ve dried or buried under the ground.”

Amanda let go of Betsy’s reins for a moment to wipe the perspiration from her forehead. “You seem to know a lot about the Nimiipu Indians, while I know so very little in comparison.”

“Just what do ya know, missy?” Harvey asked.

“I know from what I’ve read that they need to be educated—to learn the white man’s ways, and of course, to know God in a personal way.”

Harvey grunted. “I doubt they’d wanna learn the white man’s ways, but I guess they do wanna learn about God, or they wouldn’t have sent a party of men to St. Louis a few years back to ask for Bible thumpers.”

Amanda tipped her head. “Bible thumpers?”

“Yeah. Folks like you and your preacher pa. Ya carry a Bible and preach from it, don’t ya?”

She nodded.

“I’m guessin’ you ain’t never been called a ‘thumper’ before?”

“Not until now.”

Harvey gave a low grunt.

Amanda was surprised at how he could be so chatty one minute, and then go silent the next. Well, a time of silence was alright, she decided. It gave her time to think and pray.

They rode along quietly until midday, when Harvey announced that it was time to stop and water the horses and mules. Amanda was thankful for that, as she really did need a break.

After Harvey helped Amanda down from her horse, he led the animals to a small pond surrounded by a cluster of trees. Their presence spooked a mule deer that had been drinking there, and it quickly scampered away. It was a beautiful animal, a buck, Amanda noted, and much bigger in body than the white-tailed deer back home. Ever since they’d begun this trip, her nerves had been rattled, but seeing the deer with the beginnings of his new rack had given her a sense of peace.

Amanda took her valise and stepped behind a clump of bushes, wondering if she’d ever get used to using the bare ground as her toilet. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for life in the wilderness. Perhaps Harvey was right, and she should have returned home.
No, I am not a quitter
, she reminded herself.
God will give me the strength to complete my journey, and perhaps I will be stronger for whatever trials I must endure
.

Amanda was about to step out from the bushes, when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air. It was unlike anything she’d ever heard, and it left her trembling and unable to catch her breath. Maybe some wild animal had ventured to the pond to get a drink. Harvey had told her there were wildcats in this territory. Could it be a bobcat cry she’d heard?

Too frightened to look out, but afraid not to, Amanda clutched her valise and cautiously poked her head between the two bushes. Her legs started to cramp in the crouched position, but she didn’t move. What Amanda saw made her flesh crawl, and she felt sure that her heart had nearly stopped beating. Amanda would have much rather seen a wild animal, but instead, in the middle of the clearing were a dozen half-naked Indians on horseback.

One of the red men had already seen her. Her legs were nearly numb, but Amanda’s fear got her up. Moving quickly, she started to run. She could hardly feel her feet as they whisked over uneven ground. The Indian caught up with her, reached down, jerked off her bonnet, and grabbed a handful of her hair so roughly that the combs came loose from her bun. Amanda gasped as her hair tumbled down her back in a tangle of curls.

“Ouch! Thou art hurting me!” she cried, tears stinging her eyes as she held on tightly to her valise. It felt like her hair was being pulled out by the roots, and Amanda’s only defense was to slap the man’s horse with her valise. To her surprise, the horse didn’t budge, and the Indian merely gripped her hair tighter.

“Don’t fight him, or it’ll only get worse,” Harvey hollered from across the clearing, where he stood with his arms pinned behind his back. One of the Indians stood behind Harvey, with his knife held dangerously close to Harvey’s throat.

“Oh!” Amanda squealed. “What art thou going to do about this, Harvey?”

“There ain’t nothin’ I can do. At least, not yet,” he said through tight lips.

The Indian holding Amanda by the hair let loose, stepped down from his horse, and yanked her roughly to his side. His face was painted with yellow-and-white stripes, and his long, coal-black hair hung loosely down his bronzed back. He was tall and muscular, with foreboding, deeply set, dark eyes. His strong jaw was accentuated by a long, jagged scar.

Despite her fear, Amanda couldn’t help thinking,
Here it is early spring, and these Indians have bare skin showing. How can they not be cold?

Her mouth went suddenly dry, and she shuddered as she closed her eyes, clasping the leather valise to her chest.
This is it
, she thought fearfully.
Unless God performs a miracle, I am about to join Papa in the Promised Land
. While Amanda felt certain she would go to heaven, she wasn’t quite ready to die. Unbidden tears slipped onto her hot cheeks and she began to silently pray.
Oh Lord, if Thou art still with us, please show Thyself in some way. Protect Harvey and me from these savages, and I pray it will be soon
.

The Indian turned Amanda’s body toward his, so that her full weight pressed against his rock-hard chest. Looking at one of the other Indians, he mumbled something in a deep guttural sound—something she could not understand.

The Indian holding Harvey captive grunted and said something in response, but it was completely foreign to Amanda.

“Aapi ahki,”
Amanda’s captor said, releasing his grip on her with one hand and running a finger down the side of her face.

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,”
she quoted to herself.
If this is my time to die, Lord, then help me not to be afraid, and give me a sense of peace
.

“I can’t speak the Blackfoot language,” Harvey shouted, “but I think he wants you for his woman.”

Amanda gulped. She had not come all this way to be taken captive; she would rather die first. If only there was something she could do to dissuade the hostile Indian.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at the man and said, “Please, let me go.”

“That ain’t gonna do ya no good, ’cause he can’t understand a word you’re sayin’,” Harvey hollered. “If my hands weren’t bein’ held behind my back, I could try signin’ or make pictures in the dirt to let ’em know we have goods to trade. For that matter, I’d gladly give the stuff to the redskins if it meant savin’ our hides,” he quickly added.

The man holding Amanda said something else, releasing her hair but holding tightly to both of her arms.

Amanda, feeling light-headed and unsteady, feared she might be about to faint. If all Indians were like this, then she had to be out of her mind to embark on this terrifying trip to the West. “Harvey, please, canst thou do something?” she pleaded. “Offer them my horse. Maybe they would want her instead of me.” Amanda figured giving up Betsy wouldn’t be so bad. She would ride Papa’s horse instead.

“I wish I could, missy,” he growled, “but as you can see, I ain’t in no position to do much of anything right now.”

“Well, we can’t just stand here and let them murder us,” she retorted.

“If you’ve got any bright ideas, I’m all ears.”

The Indian tipped his head, apparently interested in what Amanda and Harvey were saying. He released his grip on her arms for just an instant, and she seized the opportunity to run. That was a mistake. One of the other Indians dismounted from his horse, stuck his foot out, and tripped her. Amanda’s valise flew out of her hand as she fell to the ground. There hadn’t been enough time for her to close it properly when she’d been accosted, so the handles easily flew apart, dumping the contents out.

Along with her personal items, Papa’s Bible had been inside the valise, and she reached out quickly to grab it. Clutching the Bible tightly to her chest, Amanda prayed out loud, “Dear God in heaven, please help us now!”

T
ime seemed to stand still as Amanda rose to her feet and continued to pray, her breath coming in shallow gasps. “Oh Lord, if they are going to kill us, then let it be done swiftly.”

The Indian who had held Amanda captive only moments ago backed slowly away, never taking his dark eyes from the Bible she held. When he reached his horse, he quickly mounted and shouted something to the other men. His face wore a look of fear, which made no sense at all since he had a weapon, while she had none.

The Indian holding Harvey shoved him to the ground, leaving him sprawled facedown, and skillfully jumped on the back of his painted steed. Amanda watched in stunned silence as the Blackfoot Indians rode quickly out of the clearing.

Harvey stood and brushed the dirt from his buckskin shirt and pants. “Well now, if that don’t beat all,” he said, slowly shaking his head.

Amanda’s shoulders tensed, and her voice trembled. “Are we safe now, Harvey?”

“Sure looks that way.” Harvey grinned widely, revealing stained, crooked teeth. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“I thank Thee, Lord,” Amanda murmured, looking upward in appreciation. “It was truly a miracle.”

“I’d call it luck,” Harvey said.

“I’m not sure what happened, but I think it may have had something to do with this.” Amanda held up her father’s Bible. “I could not understand what that Indian said to the others, but I believe he was afraid of the Bible.”

Harvey nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I’m thinkin’ that, too. Most Injuns don’t have a clue about Bibles or any other kind of books for that matter, but I think this one did.”

“God answered my prayers,” Amanda said reverently, although she could hardly believe it herself. “He heard, and He answered.”

Harvey shrugged. “Don’t know ’bout that, but I do know we need to hightail it outta here, in case them redskins change their minds and decide to come back.”

“I am sure they won’t,” Amanda said with conviction. “God drove them out, and they will not return.”

Harvey scratched his shaggy beard and frowned. “Just the same, it’s time we hit the trail. We’re wastin’ good daylight standin’ here, chewin’ the fat.”

Amanda pursed her lips. “What art thou talking about? I am not chewing any fat.”

“Gabbin’,” he snapped. “We’re wastin’ time flappin’ our gums!”

A slow smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, I think I understand now. Dost thou mean we are talking?”

“That’s what I mean, alright. Now gather your stuff that’s scattered all over the ground and mount up.” Harvey turned toward his horse but suddenly whirled around. “And one more thing—you’re still theein’ and thouin’, and I wish you’d stop. It makes ya sound too uppity when ya talk like that!”

Amanda grimaced. After what they had been through, the man was worried about the way she talked? “I am sorry if the way I speak offends you,” she said. “I will try to do better from now on.”