Stands with Horses ~ by Cassie

I am Stands With Horses and this is the story of the Kiowa

Life was good until the winter of 1841when the white settlers started to migrate on the Oregon trail. With them came diseases and fur trappers. I was not as big or strong as the other boys. I was still too young to hunt. I could barely even skin a hide. About the only thing I could do was ride a horse. I still did not have one, but my brother taught me how to ride before he died. My father died of sickness, and my brother was beaten to death by the white men. My little sister, Mom, and I were the only family we had left.

It was a cold fall; the bison had been hunted to near extinction, and the tribe was going through some bad times. Smallpox had flooded through the tribe infecting women and children. We had been surviving on trout and elk for most of the summer, and we needed to find some bison to get us through the coming winter. The able bodied men went in search of the few remaining bison on the Pawnee lands several kilometers away. The bison skins we used for warmth were taken and draped over the hunters. They would dress and act much like a bison. On all fours they would crawl across the ground, herding the bison over cliffs. This was a dangerous job, and sometimes they too were stampeded over the cliff. It could take months for them to find a herd. The slaughter would take a day and then the men would come back, leaving the rest of the work for the tribe. We would go to help skin and tan the hides as well as process the meat by leaving it on hot rocks in the sun to cook. All parts of the bison were used. We were not wasteful. Always after a successful hunt, we gave thanks to the gods for our good fortune. Whenever the men left on a hunt, the anxiety was high while waiting for them to return. For sometimes...they would come back empty handed.

White Man Disease:

"Mom, leave me alone!" I thought to myself, for to say such a thing out loud would mean a punishment. My little sister was annoying me, and I wanted to be free to do what I liked. But instead, I was stuck with the sick, dying women and children. I ran off to play with my friends. We pretended to be older, to be hunters and warriors. We left in search of food. We knew we would not find anything but prairie dogs. We had no use for them, but we fed them to the wolf pups. They were as hungry as we were. We spent one night in the forest.

The morning we returned, the chief came to me with sorrow in his eyes. "Stands with Horses come. Your mother and sister are very ill."
In the tepee I saw my sister laying there so small and innocent. The pale white of her face was as if the moon had come out early.
"While you were gone, they got White Man sickness." The chief said. "We can not stay much longer; it is almost winter and we are at the summer range." He told me we had to move our tepees. We had made them out of the last bison hides. The hides were held up by lodge poles from the nearby forest that had been striped of their bark. I knew my family would die if we tried to move.
"These white people are like animals; they brought diseases to us," the chief yelled in his tent. "The spirits cursed our nation. White Man sickness is spreading through all the Indian Tribes. It has killed half the population." Chief White bone was cursing.

"Mom, you can't die, you can't!" Who will feed and take care of me? Dances With Wolves, you are the best little sister, stay with me. You have to live; I can not lose another family member. Please don't die, please." My sister was closing her eyes. I shook her back awake. "Don't die!" I screamed.
"I won't,” she said. I started to cry. The chief took me out of the tepee; it was a struggle.
"I will go get the medicine. I am the only family member left. Please let me go," I said.
"No, it is way too dangerous; you could be caught by the white men," Chief White Bone said.
"If so, they can kill me and I will be with my brother and father again. I am the only family that knows the way to the medicine. My dad has died and the other men are on the hunt. If I don't go, my family will die... And so will the others."
The chief was listening. "All right you should take some food with you and leave in the morning; that is the safest time. But if I leave then it could be too late."
"NO! If you go, you leave tomorrow that is finale." He was furious.



The Journey:


I left the chief's tepee and went to visit my mother. After being with her, I was walked through the village thinking to myself, I didn't care what the chief said,if I am to save my mom, I have to go tonight. I gathered food from the berry field and left that night. My mind was set and nothing could stop me. My sister would die in a short time if I didn't get the medicine. The other tribe is a two-day walk but if I took a horse I will get there and back in half the time! I searched the camp for a a horse, but they had all been taken for the hunt. I would have to walk. But, if I saw a white man's camp, I would look for a horse. At midnight I left. I took some jerky, a pouch of berries, and a bow that was made for me by my mom. I put them all in a bag made from the belly of a bison, and strung it around my back.

That night while walking through the desert I saw a light up ahead; it was a white man's camp. They probably had horses, I thought to myself. If I could steal one, I could reach Flying Eagles village by dawn, I told myself. For once I was right. They had a horse pen, and I could see horses. There was one in the corner. He had his head down; the rope would slide on easy if I encouraged him to stay calm. Then my mind flashed back to the warning our tribe had received. My brother had been beaten to death for simply touching a white man's horse. I wondered what would happen if I got caught stealing one.
I stood paralyzed with fear, until my memories shifted to my sister's pale face and my mother sick in bed. I had to do it. I slowly crept towards the pen and put the rope around his neck. He was still, so I hopped the fence and got on his back. I urged him forward. He moved up to the gate; I opened it and we were free. The horse was in a gallop, and then I realized I had forgotten to shut the gate. I didn't care. The dawn was breaking, and I had been riding for about three hours since the white man's camp. I was getting a little depressed, thinking I would never make it in time. Then, I saw smoke on the horizon a short while later, and my heart lifted when I saw the outline of tepees starting to appear in the distance. I knew that my sister would be okay. Soon Flying Eagle's village was so close I could smell the meat cooking.
"Stands With horses you are a brave young boy. The medicine is over there. You may take some and a little food." It was then I realized my own hunger; I had not eaten for two days. The bag that I had packed was still full and on my back.
"If I may, can I eat my food here?" I asked.
"Yes, you may," he said to me. I ate hurridly and got ready to ride home. Before I left, Flying Eagle told me that the spirits would look upon me with great honor. This made me proud.

I rode the horse back to my tribe only to find out the bad news; my sister had passed on. I was taken aback. She died before I could return. My mother lived on, but her life was changed forever. The chief came out to greet me; I gave him the horse that I had stolen. He hugged me, and I handed him the bottle. He handed the bottle over to one of the other tribe members. She in return handed him something. I was awestruck when I saw the horse he had ready for me. "How did you know that I was alive and was coming home?" I asked. "We had faith in the spirits that they would bring you home safe and sound. Here," he said as he handed me the rope that was attached to the horse. It was a beautiful Buckskin with a blue eye. I had never seen one like this before. "The eye color means strength," Chief White Bone said. Then he handed me a huge war shield that had the face of a bear and an elk. You are so brave. You risked your life for others and now we should celebrate. "You are strong and brave,” he said to me, then the feast began. Life was better!

As you can see anyone can be a hero no matter how small. It took them a few years but the bison started to re-populate and the tribe had food. The spirits were happy again. In fact, even the dogs seemed happier.

By ~ Cassie H.