When the tree flowered : $b An authentic tale of the old Sioux worldNeihardt, John G.
History
When the tree flowered : $b An authentic tale of the old Sioux world
Neihardt, John G.
Historical fiction; Oglala Indians -- Fiction
“So Against the Clouds and his woman had Plenty White Cows all for
themselves, and they were so fond of her that people said they were
foolish about her. Also, she loved them very much and was always
helping her foster-mother. It was not long before the foster-parents
noticed that she knew things she could not know unless a spirit told
her. Sometimes she would talk to people they could not see and learn
something that was true but that she could not know by herself. That is
the way she found her foster-father’s horse when it was lost and no one
could find it.
“I think it was two snows after this, and the Sans Arcs were traveling.
It was in the Moon of Black Cherries again. The people with their
pony-drags were crossing a deep creek and Hunkpapas were camped on
the other side. Some Hunkpapa men were at the crossing to help if any
should have trouble with the drags in the mud. One of these Hunkpapas
was the brother of the girl’s father, and when Against the Clouds and
his woman and Plenty White Cows came riding with their drag, this man
looked very hard at the girl; and when they had crossed, he wondered
and wondered. Then he went and told his brother, who was camping there,
that he had seen a girl who looked just like the one who died, only
maybe a little older. So when the Sans Arcs had camped not far from the
Hunkpapas, the real father and his brother went over to see.
“When they had walked part way around the village circle, they saw
Plenty White Cows helping her foster-mother at the fire in front of
the tepee. And when the real father saw her, he just stood with his
mouth open, looking, until the girl cried out and ran to hide behind
her foster-mother. Just then Against the Clouds came from staking
out his horses, and the real father said to him, ‘_Kola_, you have a
little daughter here who looks just like the little daughter I had, but
she died two snows ago just about this time. It was at Slim Buttes.
My woman still cries hard whenever we talk about our daughter.’ But
Against the Clouds and his woman looked down their noses and said
nothing. Then the real father and his brother went away.
“In a little while, the real father came back with the girl’s real
mother. And when the mother saw the girl, she screamed and hid her face
with her hands. Then she looked again, with tears running through her
fingers, and she wailed, ‘What do I see, O what do I see? My little
girl is dead! My little girl is dead! What do I see?’ This time the
girl did not run and hide. She looked with big scared eyes at the woman
who was crying so hard, and then she ran to the woman and the woman
seized her and held her, crying very hard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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