Ten Bears

Previously:

The traveler comes to a Comanche tribe and meets Ten Bears, the tribe storyteller.

Chapter 10

Ten Bears said, “In the first days, a powerful being named Humpback owned all the buffalo. He kept them in a corral in the mountains north of San Juan, where he lived with his young son. Not one buffalo would Humpback release for the people on earth, nor would he share any meat with those who lived near him.

“Coyote decided that something should be done to release the buffalo from Humpback's corral. He called the people to a council. 'Humpback will not give us any buffalo," Coyote said. 'Let us all go over to his corral and make a plan to release them.'

“They camped in the mountains near Humpback's place, and after dark, they made a careful inspection of his buffalo enclosure. The stone walls were too high to climb, and the only entrance was through the back door of Humpback's house.

“After four days, Coyote summoned the people to another council and asked them to offer suggestions for releasing the buffalo. 'There is no way,' said one man. 'To release the buffalo, we must go into Humpback's house, and he is too powerful a being for us to do that.

"'I have a plan,' Coyote said. 'For four days, we have secretly watched Humpback and his young son go about their daily activities. Have you not observed that the boy does not own a pet of any kind?'

“The people did not understand what this had to do with releasing the buffalo, but they knew that Coyote was a great schemer and they waited for him to explain. 'I shall change myself into a killdeer,' Coyote said. 'In the morning, when Humpback's son goes down to the spring to get water, he will find a killdeer with a broken wing. He will want this bird for a pet and will take it back into the house. Once I am in the house, I can fly into the corral, and the cries of a killdeer will frighten the buffalo into a stampede. They will come charging out through Humpback's house and be released upon the earth.'

“The people thought this was a good plan, and the next morning, when Humpback's son came down the path to the spring, he found a killdeer with a crippled wing.

“As Coyote had foreseen, the boy picked up the bird and carried it into the house. 'Look here,' the boy cried. 'This is a very good bird!'

"'It is good for nothing!' Humpback shouted. 'All the birds and animals and people are rascals and schemers.' Above his fierce nose, Humpback wore a blue mask, and through its slits, his eyes glittered. His basket headdress was shaped like a cloud and was painted black with a zigzag streak of yellow to represent lightning. Buffalo horns protruded from the sides.

"'It is a very good bird,' the boy repeated.

"'Take it back where you found it!' roared Humpback, and his frightened son did as he was told.

“As soon as the killdeer was released, it returned to where the people were camped and changed back to Coyote. 'I have failed,' he said, 'but that makes no difference. I will try again in the morning. Perhaps a small animal will be better than a bird.'

“The next morning, when Humpback's son went to the spring, he found a small dog there, lapping at the water. The boy picked up the dog at once and hurried back into the house. 'Look here!' he cried. 'What a nice pet I have.'

"'How foolish you are, boy!' Humpback growled. 'A dog is good for nothing. I'll kill it with my club.'

“The boy held tight to the dog and started to run away crying.

"'Oh, very well,' Humpback said. 'But first, let me test that animal to make certain it is a dog. All animals in the world are schemers.' He took a coal of fire from the hearth and brought it closer and closer to the dog's eyes until it gave three rapid barks. 'It is a real dog,' Humpback declared. 'You may keep it in the buffalo corral, but not in the house.'

“This, of course, was exactly what Coyote wanted. As soon as darkness fell, and Humpback and his son went to sleep, Coyote opened the back door of the house. Then he ran among the buffalo, barking as loud as he could. The buffalo were badly frightened because they had never before heard a dog bark. When Coyote ran nipping at their heels, they stampeded toward Humpback's house and entered the rear door. The pounding of their hooves awakened Humpback, and although he jumped out of bed and tried to stop them, they smashed down his front door and escaped.

“After the last of the shaggy animals had galloped away, Humpback's son could not find his small dog. 'Where is my pet?' he cried. 'Where is my little dog?’

"'That was no dog,' Humpback said sadly. 'That was Coyote the Trickster. He has turned loose all our buffalo.'

“Thus, it was that the buffalo were released to scatter over all the earth.”

I never knew anyone who had as many stories as Ten Bears or anyone who could tell them as well. The Indians had a real gift for storytellin'. He had lots more stories, but I've forgotten most of them. One of them concerned a skunk and a coyote, but it never made much sense to me.

_______       _______       _______

As I walked around the camp, I created quite a stir. Most of the Indians had never seen a white man. A live white man anyway. Some children ran to see the strange, tall creature with brown hair.

“Look. He has blue eyes, like Sarah.”

I gathered that some of the children had grown fond of Sarah. The adults had different feelings about her. She had failed the tests. She could not live among human beings.

I saw Running Horse. He was made to sit with the squaws and do women's work. He was no longer considered a brave warrior. He kept his head down, and his eyes on the ground. The men would have nothing to do with him. He had the misfortune of choosing the wrong wife.

Dark Waters watched me. “Do you come from the same tribe as Sarah? Have you seen her?”

Dark Waters told me about Sarah's time among them. “I am ashamed of what we did to her. She tried to help us, but she had a demon, and we couldn't drive it out. We tried, but it was no use. The demon forced her into the wilderness.”

I spent several days with the Comanche. They were anxious to hear about my exploits in the war. They didn't know who won, and they weren’t interested. They didn't have a dog in the fight. They figured that when white men killed each other, they would leave Indians alone.

Indians feared the day that white people would get tired of killing each other, and start killing Indians in earnest. With their guns and experience on the battlefield, they would make short work of Indians armed with bows and arrows.

Some said that white people fought the war just for practice. When they decided to make war with the Indians, this would be the real war. I found the Comanche to be friendly and accommodating. They were willing to share their food, and their women, and I took advantage of both.

The Indians even had a sense of humor, not like you and I have, but their own brand. Indians thought it was funny to see how much pain a man could endure. I found no humor in this and didn't take part in their games of hurting each other.

They would hold hot, burning sticks and laugh until one dropped his. They could entertain each other for hours this way. I suppose this is what made them fearless in battle. It was the ultimate game to them.

Buffalo were still plentiful then. At night, the Indians would sit around the fire, and tell about the great hunts they had been on. To hear them talk, they had killed so many buffalo that it made you wonder how there were so many left. They always thanked The Great Spirit for the unending supply of buffalo He gave them.

They said life had continued this way for hundreds of years. The white man was considered an inconvenience that The Great Spirit would remove when He was done punishing the Indians for some past transgression. They never forgot to ask The Great Spirit to kill the white man. I never took it personally.

One day, Running Horse got it in his head that he could regain his warrior status by killing me. As I was sitting around the fire with a group of Indians, he ran at me screaming as if he were in battle. He had painted himself for war. He lunged at me and plunged his flint knife into my chest. The knife struck my breastbone and the tip broke off.

To this day, I still have a piece of flint in me. It reminds me of that day. Sometimes, I rub my chest and think of Running Horse and Sarah.

Running Horse's attempt on my life brought even more disgrace on him. Now, even the women shunned him. They would turn their backs to him as he approached.

Running Horse took to walking around pounding on his chest, and weeping loudly. One thing you have to say, Indians knew how to express sorrow. Running Horse may not have been a man anymore, but he sure could show sorrow like one.

Eventually, Running Horse walked into the desert and was never seen again.

This was the west for Running Horse, a brave Comanche who chose the wrong wife.

To be continued . . .