Forever Ecstasy (20 page)

“What do you think of, Husband?” Singing Wind inquired.

Sun Cloud related his thoughts. “The Great Spirit and forces of nature helped our daughter this day as they helped me long ago. All within me cries out that she not be the one, for I fear it will take her from us.”

“If it is the will of Grandfather, we cannot battle it, Husband.”

“That is true. But I will pray she is not His choice.”

“As will I, my husband and love.”

Wednesday was a glorious day. Payaba came early to check on Morning Star. He asked if she was well and if she could do the contest.

“I am better, Wise One, but my strength is less than usual. I will try to win. Is all prepared?”

“Yes. Our people gather. Come.”

Morning Star accompanied Payaba to the chosen area. The ground was soft and wet, but was drying out from sun and breeze. She joined the others. Buckskin Girl did not look her way, and that saddened her. She listened as Wolf Eyes listed the thirteen events. He told how a stone would be given for each victory, and the one with the most stones would be the winner. There would be a drawing in case of a tie, he said.

Wanji,
the first event, was in self-defense. Her judge was war chief Lone Horn. The warrior who would test her was Hoka Inyanke, Running Badger, grandson of Plenty Coups and a skilled fighter. It almost seemed as if this first test was meant to eliminate her quickly, as if they doubted her skills and wits following her capture by the white men! At least she would battle the twenty-three-year-old man while she was at her freshest and strongest. She saw the ceremonial chief hand each of the five warriors a strip for binding the wrists of a captured girl— the show of defeat. The females were told they could run anywhere or try anything to elude their captors. The winner was the one who remained free the longest.

A signal was given. The girls fled in different directions. Running Badger raced after his target. He was fast and surefooted on the softened terrain, but so was Morning Star. When he closed the distance between them, his arms banded her chest. Quickly she lifted her arms and slipped from his grasp like a slimy eel, causing him to hesitate in surprise. She whirled, rammed her head into his abdomen, and sent him stumbling backward— a tactic she had seen Joe use in the enemy camp. Off she ran once more.

Gaining on her, Running Badger reached the large rock behind which she took refuge to recover her wind. They circled it a few times as the warrior laughed and grinned, but Morning Star never took her eyes from his. Her father had taught her that was where a man exposed his next move if you learned how to read the signs. She didn’t drop her attention or laugh when he told her she was as slippery as a wet fish in a greasy hand.

She saw Running Badger step one way, turn rapidly, then flip himself over the obstacle. She got her breathing back under control, dodging his body and eluding his grasping fingers. She ran toward a tepee, but his hand snaked out and seized one of hers. Morning Star yanked it to her lowered head and bit him! When his other hand sought to loosen the one under attack, she clawed at it and jerked free. Once again, she fled.

Running Badger caught up and lunged at the maiden, throwing her off balance. As she landed on the ground, she grabbed a handful of wet dirt and flung it into his face, but it did not have the same effect as when dry and dusty. Thinking fast, she entangled his ankles with hers and tripped him, another trick she had seen Joe use while fighting Zeke. She was up and behind a horse before the warrior could react.

Over the animal’s back, the man teased, “You battle dirty.”

“Only to win,” she retorted. “Today you play my bad enemy, not my good friend. I must do all to defeat you.” As those last words left her lips, she stooped and sent her foot upward into his groin beneath the animal’s belly. It was a naughty action she hated to use, but felt it necessary.

Running Badger, who had been standing with his legs spread, dropped to his knees and moaned. He saw the sneaky girl race away and knew he must recover and pursue quickly, as his male
pride was stung.

A quick glance toward the ceremonial chief told Morning Star the others were captured and bound. Still free, she ran to the war chief’s side and asked, “Do I continue, Lone Horn?” To conserve energy, she hoped he would say no.

Wolf Eyes responded for the judge. “The others are bound,” he said. “You run free. You fought well. You are winner. Give her a stone, Hawk Eyes.”

Morning Star clutched the hard-won prize, then handed it to her father to hold. They exchanged smiles, his eyes full of pride.

The others were cut free for
nunpa,
the second test: English. Thunder Spirit, son of White Arrow, was to quiz and judge her, as he spoke the white man’s tongue.

When the event was over, there was a tie between Morning Star and Buckskin Girl, whose father was as skilled in English as his brother, her judge, and he had taught his daughter well.

Hawk Eyes held out his closed fists to the woman he had been wooing for a long time for her to choose first. When he opened the one Buckskin Girl tapped, the second stone was awarded to her.

Morning Star was upset that her best friend had denied her a second victory. Now each possessed one stone. She wondered if the medicine man had intentionally stared at the hand which held the coveted prize.

Yamni,
test number three, was to play the part of a squaw, the role which would be used at Joe’s side. Each girl acted out a part before the council, who voted on their performances. Each was told why she lost. Morning Star heard that she talked too much and kept her eyes up: squaw should be quiet and humble and almost grovel in fear of her owner! The stone was handed to Flying Feather, who held it up and giggled.

Topa,
test number four, was with the bow and arrow. Tracks Good was Morning Star’s judge. She tried not to dwell on the two losses and three-way tie, but had trouble keeping them off her mind.

Flaming Star whispered to her to take her time, as he knew she had been ill and weak. He, too, wondered why his child was competing.

When all five of her arrows struck the center of the target,
Morning Star won her second stone. She took a deep breath that did not lessen her tension. She knew she was tiring again from her recent sickness. She also knew what loomed before her.

Zaptan
was a knife-throwing test. Buckskin Girl won the fifth stone easily, tying her friend once more with two stones each.

Sakpe
was a lance-throwing test. Morning Star ordered her arms to stop trembling. She grasped the lengthy weapon and flung it with all her might, but it did not hit the center of the circle drawn on the ground. She watched with apprehension as the other girls hurled theirs. She mopped away glistening perspiration before she handed her third stone to Sun Cloud.

Wolf Eyes announced a break for the girls to rest and to take refreshments. They were given thirty minutes until the next event.

Morning Star went to her tepee and lay down. She had to relax. She had to gain strength. She had to win. She kept recalling what her brother had said about the shame of losing after being so cocky about winning. She admitted that her pride had been too large. The contest was not the “simple” victory she had envisioned it to be.

“Toniktuka he?”
Singing Wind asked how she was.

“Weak as a rabbit the moon of its birth,” the maiden responded.

“Must you do this, Morning Star? There is no shame in stopping because you are weak from sickness. It is worse to continue and lose.”

“As Morning Star, would you quit a task so important?” she asked.

“No, my daughter, I would continue.”

Thank you, Mother,” she replied, grateful for the honesty.

Payaba arrived and gave Morning Star soup and tea laced with herbs. “They will give you strength, precious one. Do not be discouraged.”

Morning Star consumed the liquids and rested until it was time to rejoin the others. She noticed Hawk Eyes speaking with Buckskin Girl, praising her and wooing her. A surge of anger, frustration, and disappointment engulfed the daughter of Sun
Cloud, and she hurriedly quelled those feelings.

Sakowin
was a test for reading tracks and trail signs. Catch the Bear was her judge. It included fourteen parts. She guessed the three smoke signals correctly: one puff for
danger,
two puffs for
all is safe,
and three puffs for
send help.
As each Indian nation had different moccasin prints, it was vital for a tracker to be able to recognize those he found and trailed. She guessed correctly for the Crow, Dakota, Cheyenne, and Pawnee prints. Trail signs were tested, as they gave crucial information: directions, warnings, water locations, and so forth. Most were made of grass bunches tied differently, or rocks stacked in certain patterns and numbers, or cuts made on trees. Morning Star read all seven accurately.

Pleased with herself, she waited for the others to finish. It was another tie between her and— this time— Gray Squirrel for the seventh stone. Tracks Good, her grandfather, had taught her competitor well.

The drawing did not go in her favor, and she lost another stone. It was terrible to lose an event she had done successfully! At least, she reasoned, she was still ahead by one victory. She had to try harder!

Saglogan
was another tracking test, a skill vital to survival and success: locating or avoiding enemies and finding game. Each girl was shown to a different starting point and told to return with a certain object. Morning Star’s was her father’s
wanapin,
his name and medicine symbol. The clues and tracks had been made and the objects hidden during the break. Whoever returned with her object first was the winner.

Morning Star followed the clues into the woods and located her father’s medallion. She hurried back to camp, but Gray Squirrel was there holding the eighth stone. She almost wanted to scold Tracks Good for teaching the girl such expert skills. Again, she had succeeded, but still had lost. Perhaps her renewed fatigue was slowing her down and dulling her wits. Now Flying Feather possessed one stone, Buckskin Girl and Gray Squirrel had two each, and Morning Star owned three. Ahead, she fretted, but in danger of being caught up to and passed. At least three of the remaining five events were in her strongest areas, if her lagging body didn’t fail her.

The test of
napciunka
should be easy for her: sign language, vital for communicating with friends and foes of other tongues. Hawk Eyes was her judge for the fifty-six chosen signals. She cautioned herself to make no mistakes. When the shaman spoke a word, Morning Star made the motions for it. Some included: counting, tribes, greetings, responses, foods, supplies, colors, trade, gratitude, names, and farewell. Her last two were for indicating tribes. For Crow, she signaled
bird
and
Indian;
for Dakota, she signed “throat cutter,” used by others over the correct
meaning, friends.

Hawk Eyes went to meet with the other judges. Then Wolf Eyes announced a tie between Morning Star and Gray Squirrel. The two females approached the shaman, and Gray Squirrel won her third, the ninth, stone to tie Morning Star in the running for victory.

The chiefs daughter was visibly dismayed and fatigued. Buckskin Girl touched her arm and smiled in empathy. At that moment, Morning Star did not feel kindly toward the woman who possessed the two stones she would have herself if Buckskin Girl weren’t a challenger. She sensed something was terribly wrong, as if dark forces were trying to defeat her. If only she could draw first one time; if there was another tie, maybe her luck would change! She chided herself for thinking the shaman was to blame for her losses.

“Kiinyanka iyehantu.”
Wolf Eyes called out it was time to race.

Event number ten—
wikcemna
— was to prove escape skills. The course was marked, and the council as a whole would observe and judge. The five females lined up, readied themselves, then took off at the signal.

Morning Star gave it her all, but she was too weak by now to keep up. After a stumble and near fall, she came in fourth. She watched with envy and discouragement as Comes Running accepted the tenth stone.

“Kuwa
iyehantu.” Wolf Eyes announced the hunt for food.

Morning Star was aware of her friend’s skill with the knife, as Buckskin Girl had taught her how to trap and slay small animals with one! This event was in two parts—
Ake wanji
and
ake numpa:
number eleven was with knife, and number twelve was
with a bow. In each, the first girl to return to camp with a kill by the specified weapon was the winner.

After Buckskin Girl accepted her third stone for skill with a knife hunting, there was a three-way tie between her, Morning Star, and Gray Squirrel. Hawk Eyes praised the oldest woman highly.

At the signal, Morning Star raced into the woods, determined not to lose another event and stone. Her pride was taking a beating, as were her body and spirit. She urged herself to win this hunt and the last test. She saw a fawn tangled in underbrush. She knew she must hurry. With reluctance, she lifted her bow, placed her arrow, and drew back the string. From the corner of her eye, Morning Star caught a glimpse of a beautiful doe. The mother deer moved about nervously, sensing danger and refusing to leave her baby imperiled.

Morning Star knew she could not slay the panicked fawn, and knew what her tender-hearted generosity could cost her. She put the bow aside and freed the small creature, who hurried to its mother. She watched the two race off into hiding. She retrieved her weapon, then heard noisy chatter overhead. She looked up and saw a fussing squirrel. Carefully she took aim and brought down the furry rodent. Size didn’t matter, only that she used an arrow and returned to camp before the other girls.

Morning Star succeeded, and claimed her fourth— the twelfth— stone. Again, she was one victory ahead of her two closest competitors.