Dahcotah - Mary Eastman
The day after the return of Fiery Wind, the boys of the village were to
attack a hornet's nest. This is one of the ways of training their sons
to warfare. One of the old warriors had seen a hornet's nest in the
woods, and he returned to the village, and with the chief assembled all
the boys in the village. The chief ordered the boys to take off all
their clothes, and gave them each a gun. He then told them how brave
their forefathers were--that they never feared pain or danger--and that
they must prove themselves worthy sons of such ancestors. "One of these
days you will be men, and then you will go on war parties and kill your
enemies, and then you will be fit to join in the dog feast. Be brave,
and do not fear the sting of the hornet, for if you do, you will be
cowards instead of warriors, and the braves will call you women and
laugh at you."
This was enough to animate the courage of the boys--some of them not
more than five years old pushed ahead of their elder brothers, eager to
show to their fathers, who accompanied them, how little they feared
their enemies, as they termed the hornets. And formidable enemies they
were too--for many of the little fellows returned sadly stung, with
swollen limbs, and closed eyes; but they bore their wounds as well as
brave men would have endured their pain on a battle-field.
After leaving their village, they entered the woods farther from the
banks of the river. The guide who had seen the nest led the way, and the
miniature warriors trod as lightly as if there was danger of rousing a
sleeping foe. At last the old man pointed to the nest, and without a
moment's hesitation, the young Dahcotahs attacked it. Out flew the
hornets in every direction. Some of the little boys cried out with the
pain from the stings of the hornets on their unprotected limbs--but the
cries of Shame! shame! from one of the old men soon recalled them to
their duty, and they marched up again not a whit discomfited. Good Road
cheered them on. "Fight well, my warriors," said he; "you will carry
many scalps home, you are brave men."
It was not long before the nest was quite destroyed, and then the old
men said they must take a list of the killed and wounded. The boys
forced a loud laugh when they replied that there were no scalps taken by
the enemy, but they could not deny that the list of the wounded was
quite a long one. Some of them limped, in spite of their efforts to walk
upright, and one little fellow had to be assisted along by his father,
for both eyes were closed; and, although stung in every direction and
evidently suffering agony, the brave boy would not utter a complaint.
When they approached the village, the young warriors formed into Indian
file, and entered as triumphantly as their fathers would have done, had
they borne twenty Chippeway scalps with them.
The mothers first applauded the bravery of their sons; and then applied
herbs to their swollen limbs, and the mimic war furnished a subject of
amusement for the villages for the remainder of the day.
CHAPTER IV.
It would be well for the Dahcotahs if they only sought the lives of
their enemies. But they are wasting in numbers far more by their
internal dissensions than from other causes. Murder is so common among
them, that it is even less than a nine days' wonder; all that is thought
necessary is to bury the dead, and then some relative must avenge
his quarrel.
Red Earth told her lover of the threat of Shining Iron, and the young
man was thus put on his guard. The sons of Good Road's first wife were
also told of the state of things, and they told Fiery Wind that they
would take up his quarrel, glad of an opportunity to avenge their own
and their mother's wrongs. It was in the month of April, or as the
Dahcotahs say in "the moon that geese lay," that Red Earth took her
place by the side of her husband, thus asserting her right to be
mistress of his wigwam. While she occupied herself with her many duties,
she never for a moment forgot the threat of Shining Iron. But her cares
and anxieties for her husband's safety were soon over. She had not long
been a wife before her enemy lay a corpse; his life was a forfeit to his
love for her, and Red Earth had a woman's heart. Although she could but
rejoice that the fears which had tormented her were now unnecessary, yet
when she remembered how devotedly the dead warrior had loved her, how
anxiously he had tried to please her, she could not but shed a few
tears of sorrow for his death. But they were soon wiped away--not for
the world would she have had her husband see them.
The oldest sons of Good Road were true to their word--and the son of Old
Bets was not the only subject for their vengeance. His sister was with
him at the moment that they chose to accomplish their purpose; and when
an Indian commences to shed blood, there is no knowing how soon he will
be satisfied. Shining Iron died instantly, but the sister's wounds were
not fatal--she is slowly recovering.
It was but yesterday that we visited the grave of the dead warrior. On a
hill near the St. Peters his body is buried. The Indians have enclosed
the grave, and there is a "Wah-kun stone," to which they sacrifice, at
his head. No one reposes near him. Alone he lies, undisturbed by aught
except the winds that sigh over him. The first flowers of Spring are
blooming on the spot where he played in childhood, and here, where he
reposes, he often sat to mourn the unkindness of Red Earth, and vow
vengeance on his successful rival.
But he is not unwatched. His spirit is ever near, and perhaps he will
again live on earth. [Footnote: The Sioux believe in the transmigration
of souls. Many of the Indians near Fort Snelling say they have lived
before on earth. The jugglers remember many incidents that occurred
during some former residence on earth, and they will tell them to you
with all the gravity imaginable.] His friends believe that he may hold
communion with Unk-ta-he,--that from that God he will learn the
mysteries of the Earth and Water; and when he lives again in another
form, he will instruct the Dahcotahs in their religion, and be a great
medicine man.
Good Road is quite reconciled to his sons, for he says it was a brave
deed to get rid of an enemy. In vain does Old Bets ask for vengeance on
the murderers. Good Road reminds her that Shining Iron had made a
threat, and it was not proper he should live; and the chief insisted
more upon this, when he added that these children of her's were by a
former husband, and it was natural his sons should resent their father's
preference for them.
So after all Old Bets doubts whether she, or the Chief's first wife, has
got the best of it; and as she dresses the wounds of her daughter, she
wishes that the Dahcotahs had killed her mother instead of adopting
her--lamenting, too, that she should ever have attained to the honor of
being Good Road's wife.
WENONA;
OR,
THE VIRGIN'S FEAST.
Never did the sun shine brighter than on a cold day in December, when
the Indians at "Little Crow's" village were preparing to go on a deer
hunt. The Mississippi was frozen, and the girls of the village had the
day before enjoyed one of their favorite amusements--a ball-play on the
ice. Those who owned the bright cloths and calicoes which were hung up
before their eyes, as an incentive to win the game, were still rejoicing
over their treasures; while the disappointed ones were looking sullen,
and muttering of partiality being shown to this one because she was
beautiful, and to that, because she was the sister of the chief.
"Look at my head!" said Harpstenah; "Wenona knew that I was the swiftest
runner in the band, and as I stooped to catch the ball she struck me a
blow that stunned me, so that I could not run again."
But the head was so ugly, and the face too, that there was no pity felt
for her; those dirty, wrinkled features bore witness to her contempt for
the cleansing qualities of water. Her uncombed hair was hanging in
masses about her ears and face, and her countenance expressed cruelty
and passion. But Harpstenah had nothing to avenge; when she was young
she was passed by, as there was nothing in her face or disposition that
could attract; and now in the winter of life she was so ugly and so
desolate, so cross and so forlorn, that no one deemed her worthy even of
a slight. But for all that, Harpstenah could hate, and with all the
intensity of her evil heart did she hate Wenona, the beautiful sister of
the chief.
Yesterday had been as bright as to-day, and Grey Eagle, the medicine
man, had hung on a pole the prizes that were to be given to the party
that succeeded in throwing the ball into a space marked off.
The maidens of the village were all dressed in their gayest clothing,
with ornaments of beads, bracelets, rings, and ribbons in profusion.
They cared not half so much for the prizes, as they rejoiced at the
opportunity of displaying their graceful persons. The old women were
eager to commence the game, for they longed to possess the cloth for
their leggins, and the calico for their "okendokendas." [Footnote
"Okendokendas." This is the Sioux word for calico. It is used as the
name for a kind of short gown, which is worn by the Sioux women, made
generally of calico, sometimes of cloth.]
The women, young and old, were divided into two parties; but as one
party threw the ball towards the space marked off, the others threw it
back again far over their heads, and then all ran back, each party
endeavoring to reach it first, that they might succeed in placing the
ball in the position which was to decide the game.
But the ball is not thrown by the hand, each woman has a long stick with
a circular frame at the end of it; this they call a bat stick, and,
simple as it looks, it requires great skill to manage it.
Wenona was the swiftest runner of one party, and Harpstenah, old and
ugly as she was, the best of the other. How excited they are! the
snow-covered hills, majestic and silent, look coldly enough upon their
sport; but what care they? the prize will soon be won.
The old medicine man cheered them on. "Run fast, Wenona! take care that
Harpstenah does not win the game. Ho, Harpstenah! if you and your
leggins are old, you may have the cloth yet."
Now Wenona's party is getting on bravely, but the ball has been caught
and thrown back by the other party. But at last it is decided. In the
struggle for the ball, Harpstenah received a blow from an old squaw as
dismal looking as herself, and Wenona catches the ball and throws it
into the appointed place. The game is ended, and the medicine man comes
forward to distribute the prizes.
The warriors have looked on, admiring those who were beautiful and
graceful, and laughing at the ugly and awkward.
But Wenona cared little for the prizes. She was a chief's sister, and
she was young and beautiful. The handsomest presents were given her, and
she hardly looked at the portion of the prizes which fell to her lot.
Smarting with pain from the blow she had received, (and she spoke
falsely when she said Wenona had struck her,) stung with jealousy at the
other party having won the game, Harpstenah determined on revenge, "If I
am old," she said, "I will live long enough to bring misery on her; ugly
as I may be, I will humble the proud beauty. What do I eat? the
worthless heads of birds are given to the old woman for whom nobody
cares, but my food will be to see the eye of Wenona fall beneath the
laugh of scorn. I will revenge the wrongs of my life on her."
Commend me to a Dahcotah woman's revenge! Has she been slighted in love?
blood must be shed; and if she is not able to accomplish the death of
her rival, her own life will probably pay the forfeit. Has disgrace or
insult been heaped upon her? a life of eighty years is not long enough
to bring down vengeance on the offender. So with Harpstenah. Her life
had not been a blessing to herself--she would make it a curse to others.
CHAPTER II.
In the preparations for the deer hunt, the ball-play has been forgotten.
The women are putting together what will be necessary for their comfort
during their absence, and the men are examining their guns and bows and
arrows. The young girls anticipate amusement and happiness, for they
will assist their lovers to bring in the deer to the camp; and the jest
and merry laugh, and the words of love are spoken too. The ball-play has
been forgotten by all but Harpstenah.
But it is late in the afternoon; and as they do not start till the
morning, something must be done to pass the long evening. "If this were
full," said a young hunter, kicking at the same time an empty keg that
had once contained whiskey, "if this were full, we would have a merry
night of it."
"Yes," said Grey Iron, whose age seemed to have brought him wisdom,
"the night would be merry, but where would you be the day after. Did you
not, after drinking that very whiskey, strike a white woman, for which
you were taken to the fort by the soldiers, and kept as a prisoner?"
The young man's look of mortification at this reproof did not save him
from the contemptuous sneer of his companions, for all despise the
Dahcotah who has thus been punished. No act of bravery can wipe away
his disgrace.
But Wenona sat pale and sad in her brother's wigwam. The bright and
happy looks of yesterday were all gone. Her sister-in-law has hushed her
child to sleep, and she is resting from the fatigues of the day. Several
old men, friends of Little Crow's father, are sitting round the fire;
one has fallen asleep, while the others talk of the wonderful powers of
their sacred medicine.
"Why are you sad, Wenona," said the chief, turning to her; "why should
the eyes of a chief's sister be filled with tears, and her looks bent on
the ground?"
"You need not ask why I am not happy," said Wenona: "Red Cloud brought
presents to you yesterday; he laid them at the door of your wigwam. He
wants to buy me, and you have received his gifts; why do you not return
them? you know I do not love him."
"Red Cloud is a great warrior," replied the chief; "he wears many
feathers of honor; you must marry him."
The girl wrapped herself in her blanket and lay down. For a time her
sighs were heard--but at length sleep came to her relief, and her grief
was forgotten in dreams. But morn has come and they are to make an early
start. Was ever such confusion? Look at that old hag knocking the very
senses out of her daughter's head because she is not ready! and the
girl, in order to avoid the blows, stumbles over an unfortunate dog, who
commences a horrible barking and whining, tempting all the dogs of the
village to outbark and outwhine him.
There goes "White Buffalo" with his two wives, the first wife with the
teepee on her back and her child on the top of it. No wonder she looks
so cross, for the second wife walks leisurely on. Now is her time, but
let her beware! for White Buffalo is thinking seriously of taking
a third.
But they are all off at last. Mothers with children, and corn, and
teepees, and children with dogs on their backs. They are all gone, and
the village looks desolate and forsaken.
CHAPTER III.
The party encamped about twenty miles from the village. The women plant
the poles of their teepees firmly in the ground and cover them with a
buffalo skin. A fire is soon made in the centre and the corn put on to
boil. Their bread is kneaded and put in the ashes to bake, but flour is
not very plenty among them.
The next day parties were out in every direction; tracks of deer were
seen in the snow, and the hunters followed them up. The beautiful animal
flies in terror from the death which comes surer and swifter than her
own light footsteps. The hunter's knife is soon upon her, and while
warmth and even life are left, the skin is drawn off.
After the fatigues of the day comes the long and pleasant evening. A
bright fire burned in the wigwam of the chief, and many of the Indians
were smoking around it, but Wenona was sad, and she took but little part
in the laughter and merriment of the others.
Red Cloud boasted of his bravery and his deeds of valor; even the old
men listened to him with respect, for they knew that his name was a
terror to his enemies. But Wenona turned from him! she hated to hear the
sound of his voice.
The old men talked of the mighty giant of the Dahcotahs, he who needed
not to take his gun to kill the game he wanted; the glance of his eye
would strike with death the deer, the buffalo, or even the bear.
The song, the jest, the legend, by turns occupied them until they
separated to sleep. But as the warriors stepped into the open air, why
does the light of the moon fall upon faces pale with terror? "See!" said
the chief, "how flash the mysterious lights! there is danger near, some
dreadful calamity is threatening us."
"We will shoot at them," said Red Cloud; "we will destroy their power."
And the Indians discharged their guns in quick succession towards the
northern horizon, which was brilliantly illuminated with the Aurora
Borealis; thus hoping to ward off coming danger.
The brother and sister were left alone at the door of the teepee. The
stern warrior's looks expressed superstitious terror, while the maiden's
face was calm and fearless. "Do you not fear the power of the woman who
sits in the north, Wenona? she shows those flashes of light to tell us
of coming evil."
"What should I fear," said Wenona; "I, who will soon join my mother, my
father, my sisters, in the land of spirits? Listen to my words, my
brother: there are but two of us; strife and disease have laid low the
brave, the good, the beautiful; we are the last of our family; you will
soon be alone.
"Before the leaves fell from the trees, as I sat on the banks of the
Mississippi, I saw the fairy of the water. The moon was rising, but it
was not yet bright enough for me to see her figure distinctly. But I
knew her voice; I had often heard it in my dreams. 'Wenona,' she said,
(and the waves were still that they might hear her words), 'Wenona, the
lands of the Dahcotah are green and beautiful--but there are fairer
prairies than those on earth. In that bright country the forest trees
are ever green, and the waves of the river flow on unchilled by the
breath of winter. You will not long be with the children of the earth.
Even now your sisters are calling you, and your mother is telling them
that a few more months will bring you to their side!'
"The words were true, my brother, but I knew not that your harshness
would hasten my going. You say that I shall marry Red Cloud; sooner will
I plunge my knife into my heart; sooner shall the waves of the
Mississippi roll over me. Brother, you will soon be alone!"
"Speak not such words, my sister," said the chief; "it shall be as you
will. I have not promised Red Cloud. I thought you would be happy if you
were his wife, and you shall not be forced to marry him. But why should
you think of death? you saw our braves as they shot at the lights in
the north. They have frightened them away. Look! they flash no more. Go
in, and sleep, and to-morrow I will tell Red Cloud that you love
him not."
And the cloudless moon shone on a happy face, and the bright stars,
seemed more bright as Wenona gazed upon them; but as she turned to enter
the wigwam, one star was seen falling in the heavens, and the light that
followed it was lost in the brightness of the others. And her dreams
were not happy, for the fairy of the water haunted them. "Even as that
star, Wenona, thou shalt pass from all that thou lovest on earth; but
weep not, thy course is upward!"
* * * * *
The hunters were so successful that they returned to their village soon.
The friends of Wenona rejoiced in her happy looks, but to Harpstenah
they were bitterness and gall. The angry countenance of Red Cloud found
an answering chord in her own heart.
"Ha!" said she to him, as he watched Wenona and her lover talking
together, "what has happened? Did you not say you would marry the
chief's sister--why then are you not with her? Red Cloud is a great
warrior, why should he be sad because Wenona loves him not? Are there
not maidens among the Dahcotahs more beautiful than she? She never loved
you; her brother, too, has treated you with contempt. Listen to my
words, Red Cloud; the Virgin's Feast is soon to be celebrated, and she
will enter the ring for the last time. When she comes forward, tell her
she is unworthy. Is she not a disgrace to the band? Has she not shamed a
brave warrior? Will you not be despised when another is preferred
to you?"
The words of the tempter are in his ear--madness and hatred are in his
heart.
"I said I would take her life, but my revenge will be deeper. Wenona
would die rather than be disgraced." And as he spoke Harpstenah turned
to leave him, for she saw that the poison had entered his soul.
CHAPTER IV.
Among the Dahcotahs, women are not excluded from joining in their feasts
or dances; they dance the scalp dance while the men sit round and sing,
and they join in celebrating many of the customs of their tribe. But the
Virgin's Feast has reference to the women alone; its object is not to
celebrate the deeds of the warrior, but rather to put to the test the
virtue of the maiden.
Notice was given among the Indians that the Virgin's Feast was to be
celebrated at Little Crow's village; the time was mentioned, and all who
chose to attend were welcome to do so.
The feast was prepared in the neighborhood of the village. The boiled
corn and venison were put in wooden bowls, and the Indians sat round,
forming a ring. Those who were to partake of the feast were dressed in
their gayest apparel; their long hair plaited and falling over their
shoulders. Those who are conscious of error dare not approach the feast,
for it is a part of the ceremony that they shall be exposed by any one
present. Neither rank nor beauty must interpose to prevent the
punishment. Nay, sometimes the power of innocence and virtue itself is
not sufficient to guard the Dahcotah maiden from disgrace.
And was Wenona unworthy? The white snow that covered the hills was not
more pure than she. But Red Cloud cared not for that. She had refused to
be the light of his wigwam, and thus was he avenged.
Wenona advanced with the maidens of the village. Who can describe her
terror and dismay when Red Cloud advances and leads her from the sacred
ring? To whom shall the maiden turn for help? To her brother? his angry
countenance speaks not of comfort. Her friends? the smile of scorn is on
their lips. Her lover? he has left the feast.
Her determination is soon made; her form is seen as she flies to the
woods. Death is the refuge of the friendless and the wronged.
But as night came on the relatives of Wenona wondered that she did not
return. They sought her, and they found her lifeless body; the knife was
deep in her heart. She knew she was innocent, but what did that avail
her? She was accused by a warrior, and who would believe her if she
denied the charge?
And why condemn her that she deprived herself of life, which she deemed
worthless, when embittered by unmerited contempt. She knew not that God
has said, "Thou shall do no murder." The command had never sounded
in her ears.
She trusted to find a home in the House of Spirits--she may have found a
heaven in the mercy of God.
The fever of the following summer spared neither age nor youth, and Red
Cloud was its first victim. As the dying Harpstenah saw his body carried
out to be placed upon the scaffold--"He is dead," she cried, "and Wenona
was innocent! He hated her because she slighted him; I hated her because
she was happy. He had his revenge, and I mine; but Wenona was falsely
accused, and I told him to do it!" and the eyes were closed--the voice
was hushed in death.
Wenona was innocent; and when the Virgin's Feast shall be celebrated in
her native village again, how will the maidens tremble as they approach
the sacred ring! Can they forget the fate of their beautiful companion?
And when the breath of summer warms to life the prairie flowers--when
the long grass shall wave under the scaffold where repose the mortal
remains of the chief's sister--how often will the Dahcotah maidens draw
near to contrast the meanness, the treachery, the falsehood of Red
Cloud, with the constancy, devotion, and firmness of Wenona!
THE DAHCOTAH CONVERT.
"Tell me," said, Hiatu-we-noken-chah, or 'woman of the night,' "the
Great Spirit whom you have taught me to fear, why has he made the white
woman rich and happy, and the Dahcotah poor and miserable?" She spoke
with bitterness when she remembered the years of sorrow that had made up
the sum of her existence.
But how with the missionary's wife? had her life been one bright
dream--had her days been always full of gladness--her nights quiet and
free from care? Had she never longed for the time of repose, that
darkness might cover her as with a mantle--and when 'sleep forsook the
wretched,' did she not pray for the breaking of the day, that she might
again forget all in the performance of the duties of her station? Could
it be that the Creator had balanced the happiness of one portion of his
children against the wretchedness of the rest? Let her story answer.