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
“When Charger got to this place he always quit talking awhile; but you
could see the story going on. You could see how terrible the ghost
looked, the way grandmother waddled as she ran, the way grandfather
hopped with a lame leg, how mother covered her head with her blanket,
running and falling, getting up and running some more. And you could
see the father away out ahead going like a man in a foot race with his
braids standing flat out behind his head because he was getting out
of there so fast. You could see grandmother look back at the ghost
and faint because it was so terrible. Then grandfather looked and
fainted. Then mother looked and fainted. And then there was a big foot
race between father and the ghost. You could watch Charger and see
it--father puffing and grunting with his eyes almost popping out of his
head, the ghost puffing and grunting and looking terrible. By the time
the ghost caught up and father fainted, everybody was laughing so hard
that Charger would have to wait before he could finish his story. And
it was not easy to quit laughing, because Charger kept on looking so
sorry and surprised, as though he thought it wasn’t funny to be chased
by a ghost like that.
“Then the wild young man went back to the creek and washed himself all
clean, and threw the cow’s bladder away. And when he was dressed, he
got on his horse and rode around so that he could come galloping from
where he said he had lost something and had to go back for it.
“So he did that, and when he came to where the four old people were
huddled together waiting for him, he heard all about it, and he was so
brave that his father and mother and his grandfather and grandmother
were very proud of him. He said: ‘I will go and get that tobacco, and
if the ghost tries to chase me I will fight him.’ They begged him not
to do that because the ghost was so terrible. But he said: ‘Make a fire
here and I will get the tobacco and bring the drag and the ponies so
that we can eat and smoke. Maybe that ghost can chase old people; but
if he tries to chase me, there is going to be a dead ghost around here.’
“They tried to hold him, but he went anyway; and afterwhile he came
back with the tobacco and the horses and the drag. Then grandmother
said: ‘We are safe now, for I think the ghost is afraid of our brave
young grandson.’ But when they had eaten, the old people would not even
touch the tobacco.
“So the wild young man had enough for once.”
Eagle Voice chuckled for a while, enjoying the boyhood memory; and
then--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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