Latest / Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park / 014 - One Horn Shamer Of Crows
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Section fourteen of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park by
- 0:05Speaker 1: James Willard Schultz. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
- 0:10Speaker 1: Section fourteen. One Horn, shamer of Crows. It was in
- 0:16Speaker 1: the long ago time when all three of our tribes,
- 0:20Speaker 1: the Blackfeet proper, the Bloods, and we the Picunye, whom
- 0:24Speaker 1: the whites mistakenly called Blackfeet, were still living in the
- 0:28Speaker 1: north country. The camp of the Picuny was on Big River,
- 0:32Speaker 1: close up to the foot of the mountains. One of
- 0:35Speaker 1: the great chiefs of the tribe was One Horn. Very
- 0:38Speaker 1: brave he was, and very rich, for his band of
- 0:41Speaker 1: horses numbered more than a hundred head. He had two wives, sisters,
- 0:47Speaker 1: but no children. Many orphans called him father, for he
- 0:51Speaker 1: had poor old couples care for them, and kept them
- 0:55Speaker 1: all well supplied with meat and with skins for clothing.
- 0:59Speaker 1: He was a pig peculiar man, was One Horn. He
- 1:02Speaker 1: seldom visited in other lodges, and was a man a
- 1:05Speaker 1: few words. It was always difficult to get him to
- 1:08Speaker 1: tell of his brave deeds. One summer night, one Horn
- 1:12Speaker 1: had an uneasy dream about his horses, and with the
- 1:16Speaker 1: first faint light of coming day, arose, washed and dressed himself,
- 1:21Speaker 1: and took up his weapons, and went out to see
- 1:23Speaker 1: if his herd was anywhere in sight. He climbed to
- 1:27Speaker 1: a little rise on the edge of the plain, saw
- 1:29Speaker 1: them quietly feeding at a distance, and then saw something else.
- 1:34Speaker 1: Two men asleep in a coolie close under the little rise.
- 1:39Speaker 1: They were, he thought, young men of the camp, watchers
- 1:42Speaker 1: of the horse herds, and he concluded to surprise them
- 1:45Speaker 1: and scold them for sleeping when they should be watching
- 1:49Speaker 1: the plains for the approach of enemies, more from habit
- 1:53Speaker 1: than anything else. He drew his bow, fitted a war
- 1:56Speaker 1: arrow to it, and then, creeping close to the sleeping ones, shouted, awake, you,
- 2:01Speaker 1: lazy ones. Awake. To his great surprise, they were two
- 2:06Speaker 1: enemies who sprang up at the sound of his voice,
- 2:09Speaker 1: and he shot one of them in the breast, and
- 2:12Speaker 1: he fell. And as the other turned and ran, he
- 2:15Speaker 1: fired an arrow at him and struck him in the back,
- 2:18Speaker 1: but he kept on running, the arrow dangling and swaying
- 2:21Speaker 1: from his back, and he soon disappeared in the thick
- 2:24Speaker 1: brush bordering the river. One Horn went back to camp
- 2:28Speaker 1: and sent the warriors out to look for the wounded man,
- 2:31Speaker 1: but they never found him. Although a very brave warrior,
- 2:36Speaker 1: one Horn's voice was always for peace. He thought much
- 2:39Speaker 1: about the wars of tribe against tribe and the great
- 2:42Speaker 1: loss of lives they caused, and wished that he could
- 2:46Speaker 1: put an end to it all. He counted up the
- 2:48Speaker 1: different tribes with whom his people were at war, the Sioux,
- 2:52Speaker 1: the Acinnobuans, Cheyennes, Pawnees, Snakes, Bannocks, Pendareea, flatheads, nespers, say Kutenet,
- 3:01Speaker 1: and crows. And the worst of them all were the crows.
- 3:05Speaker 1: He determined to go to the crows and try to
- 3:07Speaker 1: make peace between them and his people. Another thought came
- 3:12Speaker 1: to him. It was best to say nothing to his
- 3:14Speaker 1: people about his plan, for many would make serious objection
- 3:18Speaker 1: to it. If he succeeded, they would know all about
- 3:21Speaker 1: it upon his return. If he failed, he would never
- 3:25Speaker 1: tell them where he had been. So one evening he
- 3:28Speaker 1: gave his women orders what to do, and kept his
- 3:31Speaker 1: horses close in around his lodge. Late that night, when
- 3:35Speaker 1: all the camp was asleep, down came the lodge. The
- 3:39Speaker 1: pack and twavros horses were quietly loaded, and he and
- 3:42Speaker 1: his women headed southward, he driving his big herd in
- 3:46Speaker 1: the lead. The next morning, the people found that they
- 3:50Speaker 1: had a mystery that they could not solve. One Horn
- 3:53Speaker 1: was gone, with all his belongings, gone without telling them
- 3:57Speaker 1: one word of his intentions. Why had he left them
- 4:01Speaker 1: so secretly? And whither had he gone? They never ceased
- 4:05Speaker 1: talking about it and wishing that he would return. They
- 4:08Speaker 1: felt safe when he was at their backs. Traveling south
- 4:12Speaker 1: day after day along the foot of the mountains, one
- 4:15Speaker 1: Horn and his women at last struck the River of
- 4:18Speaker 1: many Chiefs. Gathering and following it up, came in sight
- 4:22Speaker 1: of the big prairies at the foot of the lower
- 4:24Speaker 1: one of these inside lakes. It was thin dusk, but
- 4:28Speaker 1: not so dark, but what they could see that there
- 4:31Speaker 1: was a big camp of people at the edge of
- 4:33Speaker 1: the timber bordering the lake shore, said one Horn. They
- 4:37Speaker 1: must be the ones I seek the mountain crows. As
- 4:40Speaker 1: soon as they sleep, we will go on and put
- 4:43Speaker 1: up our lodge near theirs. Early the next morning, an
- 4:47Speaker 1: old man stepped out from his lodge and saw a
- 4:50Speaker 1: strange lodge standing by itself, just outside the circle of
- 4:54Speaker 1: the big camp. He looked at it a long time,
- 4:57Speaker 1: and the growing light at last enabled to to see
- 5:00Speaker 1: that there were two huge bears painted on its new
- 5:04Speaker 1: white leather skin. He turned and hurried to the lodge
- 5:08Speaker 1: of the head chief of the camp aroused him and cried,
- 5:11Speaker 1: here is a mystery, something to be looked into. Just
- 5:16Speaker 1: outside the circle of our camp. A strange lodge is standing.
- 5:20Speaker 1: It belongs not to us mountain crows, nor to our
- 5:23Speaker 1: brothers the river crows. I know that, for it has
- 5:27Speaker 1: painted upon it two big bears, and neither of our
- 5:30Speaker 1: tribes has that medicine. The chief hurried to get up
- 5:35Speaker 1: and dress, and so did others, and they soon left
- 5:37Speaker 1: their lodges and approached the strange lodge. There was a
- 5:41Speaker 1: fire within it. Voices were heard in low toned conversation.
- 5:45Speaker 1: Close around, a few horses were picketed, and further out
- 5:49Speaker 1: grazed a large band of them, mostly grays and blacks.
- 5:53Speaker 1: It was evident that the owner of the lodge was
- 5:56Speaker 1: a chief, a bare medicine man, a very rich man.
- 6:00Speaker 1: The crow chief thrust aside the door curtain of the
- 6:04Speaker 1: lodge and entered, the others following. A fine appearing man
- 6:09Speaker 1: at the back of it gave them the sign for
- 6:11Speaker 1: welcome and motioned them where to sit he lifted a
- 6:15Speaker 1: big filled pipe and lighted it and passed it. The
- 6:20Speaker 1: crow chief smoked first, and then one by one those
- 6:23Speaker 1: with him. Having passed on the pipe. The crow chief
- 6:27Speaker 1: signed to the stranger, you are a blackfoot. Yes, I
- 6:32Speaker 1: am a blackfoot. One Horn answered, you are wondering why I,
- 6:36Speaker 1: an enemy, have come here and set up my lodge
- 6:40Speaker 1: beside you. You shall know I have come to try
- 6:43Speaker 1: to make peace between your people and my people. I
- 6:47Speaker 1: am tired of all this war and its wasting of
- 6:50Speaker 1: men's lives and making women and children mourn. You say, well,
- 6:56Speaker 1: your talk deserves attention. Peace between us would be good
- 6:59Speaker 1: for us both. I will talk to my people about it,
- 7:03Speaker 1: said the crow chief, And just then one Horn's women
- 7:08Speaker 1: set before him and the other crows dishes of rich berry, pemmican,
- 7:13Speaker 1: the best of dried meat, and back fat, and they
- 7:17Speaker 1: ate with the outside chief. Then they smoked again and
- 7:21Speaker 1: went home, the crow chief saying that he would soon
- 7:24Speaker 1: give a call for a council and would send for
- 7:27Speaker 1: the blackfoot to join in it. It was not until
- 7:30Speaker 1: near sunset, however, that a youth came to invite one
- 7:33Speaker 1: Horn to the crow Chief's lodge. He found assembled there
- 7:37Speaker 1: all the head men of the tribe, and the chief
- 7:40Speaker 1: told him that after long talk, they had decided that
- 7:44Speaker 1: they too were tired of war and would be glad
- 7:47Speaker 1: to make peace with the Blackfeet, but be not in
- 7:50Speaker 1: a hurry to return home. The crow chief concluded, make
- 7:54Speaker 1: us a long visit, and during it we will decide
- 7:57Speaker 1: together where and when are two tribes shall meet to
- 8:01Speaker 1: make this lasting peace treaty. Answered one Horn, I shall
- 8:06Speaker 1: be glad to camp here with you for the rest
- 8:08Speaker 1: of this moon. And all those present signed to him, yes,
- 8:13Speaker 1: remain here with us for a time. One Horn and
- 8:17Speaker 1: the crow chief became friends. They hunted together, visit it
- 8:21Speaker 1: often in each other's lodge, and together were invited to
- 8:25Speaker 1: other lodges to feast and smoke and join in the
- 8:28Speaker 1: warrior's tales of raids and battles and adventures along far trails.
- 8:34Speaker 1: The river crows were at this time encamped just over
- 8:37Speaker 1: the ridge from the Inside Lakes on Little River, and
- 8:40Speaker 1: some of them came frequently to visit their mountain brothers
- 8:43Speaker 1: at the foot of the lakes. Among others came a
- 8:46Speaker 1: man who was always counting his coup. In a gathering
- 8:50Speaker 1: of the warriors, he would wait until all had told
- 8:53Speaker 1: what they had done in war against their enemies, and
- 8:56Speaker 1: then he would count one coup, only one that was
- 9:00Speaker 1: far greater than any of theirs. On a day when
- 9:03Speaker 1: one Horn was visiting in the crow Chief's lodge, this
- 9:07Speaker 1: man was one of the guests. The talk was of war,
- 9:10Speaker 1: and after many there had told what they had done,
- 9:14Speaker 1: he said that with a friend he was approaching the
- 9:16Speaker 1: Blackfeet camp, and they were discovered and surrounded by all
- 9:20Speaker 1: the warriors of the tribe. His friend soon fell as
- 9:25Speaker 1: full of arrows as a porcupine is full of quills.
- 9:28Speaker 1: But that he charging this way that way, shooting arrows
- 9:32Speaker 1: fast and killing many Blackfeet, made them give way before him,
- 9:37Speaker 1: and he escaped from them, although wounded in the back.
- 9:41Speaker 1: Later on, when safe from pursuit, he had drawn out
- 9:44Speaker 1: the arrow, and still had it proof enough of the
- 9:48Speaker 1: truth of his tale. This man then turned to one
- 9:51Speaker 1: Horn and said, by signs of course, we have all
- 9:55Speaker 1: of us here told about our fights, and now it
- 9:58Speaker 1: is your turn. All of your brave deeds, I have
- 10:02Speaker 1: nothing to say that will interest you. Mine have been
- 10:06Speaker 1: just the common experiences of those who go on raids. No,
- 10:10Speaker 1: I have nothing to say. He answered, but you must
- 10:14Speaker 1: tell us one great thing that you have done. The
- 10:17Speaker 1: river crow insisted, and again one horn answered, what I
- 10:21Speaker 1: have done would not interest you. I have nothing to say.
- 10:26Speaker 1: The man then turned to the mountain crow chief and said,
- 10:29Speaker 1: this is a poor kind of a friend for you
- 10:31Speaker 1: to have. He has done nothing. He is no chief,
- 10:35Speaker 1: he is a woman. I do not know for sure,
- 10:39Speaker 1: but I think that he is a chief, that he
- 10:41Speaker 1: has a big war record. The host answered him, and
- 10:45Speaker 1: then the guests went their several ways, the river crow
- 10:48Speaker 1: laughing shrilly contemptuously as he left the lodge. It was
- 10:54Speaker 1: not long after this that the river crow came over
- 10:57Speaker 1: again from Little River, and again was one of a
- 11:00Speaker 1: party of guests in the lodge of the chief of
- 11:02Speaker 1: the mountain crows. Once more, the talk was of war,
- 11:06Speaker 1: and when it came this man's turn to talk, he
- 11:09Speaker 1: drew an arrow from his quiver, laid it on the
- 11:12Speaker 1: ground in front of him, and said, there no one here,
- 11:16Speaker 1: nor in the camp of the mountain crows, and the
- 11:18Speaker 1: camp of the river crows, has ever equalled what that
- 11:21Speaker 1: stands for. That is the arrow that I drew from
- 11:25Speaker 1: my back after my partner was killed, and I fought
- 11:28Speaker 1: my way single handed through the hundreds of Blackfeet warriors,
- 11:32Speaker 1: killing many of them and so frightening them that they
- 11:36Speaker 1: dared not pursue me. One Horn leaned over looked at
- 11:40Speaker 1: the arrow and gave an exclamation of disgust. That is
- 11:45Speaker 1: my arrow, he signed, I know this man now. At
- 11:49Speaker 1: dawn one morning, I discovered him and his partner asleep
- 11:53Speaker 1: near our camp. I crept up to them and shouted,
- 11:57Speaker 1: thinking that they were our horse heard watchers. And when
- 12:00Speaker 1: they sprang up, I saw that they were enemies. I
- 12:03Speaker 1: shot one of them dead. This man turned and ran,
- 12:07Speaker 1: never even firing at me, and I shot an arrow
- 12:11Speaker 1: into his back. But he kept on going and escaped
- 12:14Speaker 1: from me in the brush. Yes, that is the very
- 12:17Speaker 1: arrow I shot into him. It is a lie, a
- 12:21Speaker 1: big lie, the river crow said, and signed. For answer
- 12:25Speaker 1: to that, One Horn went to the door of the
- 12:28Speaker 1: lodge and shouted to his women to bring over his
- 12:31Speaker 1: quiver of arrows. It was soon handed into him, and
- 12:34Speaker 1: he said, I have here two kinds of arrows, hunting
- 12:38Speaker 1: arrows and war arrows. Here are the war arrows, and
- 12:42Speaker 1: he laid them beside the arrow in front of the boaster.
- 12:45Speaker 1: All there saw at once that they were exactly like
- 12:49Speaker 1: it in every way, had the same private mark just
- 12:52Speaker 1: back of the point. And suddenly, with jeers and cries
- 12:56Speaker 1: of liar cowered, they took hand of ashes and earth
- 13:01Speaker 1: from the fireplace and threw them in the river Crow's
- 13:04Speaker 1: face and on his head. And he ran for the
- 13:07Speaker 1: door and was gone, leaving the arrow behind one horn
- 13:12Speaker 1: picked it up and put it in his quiver, and
- 13:14Speaker 1: said that no doubt ends his lying bragging. Some days
- 13:20Speaker 1: after this exposure of his lying, the river crow, watching
- 13:24Speaker 1: his chance, entered the lodge of the Mountain Crow chief
- 13:27Speaker 1: and said to him that Blackfoot has shamed me. I
- 13:31Speaker 1: was a chief, but now all people laugh at me.
- 13:34Speaker 1: I want revenge. Let me kill that friend of yours,
- 13:38Speaker 1: and I will give you three of my best horses.
- 13:41Speaker 1: What you ask is impossible, the chief replied, he is
- 13:45Speaker 1: my friend. We have smoked together, have eaten together. I
- 13:50Speaker 1: cannot allow you to kill him, and for your lying,
- 13:53Speaker 1: you deserve what you got. The river crow sneaked away,
- 13:58Speaker 1: but on the next evening, when none but the chief
- 14:00Speaker 1: and his women were at home, he came again, and
- 14:04Speaker 1: this time he said, let me do what I want
- 14:07Speaker 1: to do. You know what that is, and I will
- 14:10Speaker 1: give you five of my best horses and my beautiful
- 14:13Speaker 1: young daughter. And this time the chief did not give
- 14:17Speaker 1: him a short answer. He thought over the offer for
- 14:21Speaker 1: a long time. He knew that it would be a
- 14:24Speaker 1: terrible thing to betray his blackfoot friend, but the temptation
- 14:28Speaker 1: was great. His women were getting old, he wanted that
- 14:33Speaker 1: beautiful girl, and at last he gave way to the temptation.
- 14:37Speaker 1: It shall be as you wish, he told the man.
- 14:40Speaker 1: All is arranged for tomorrow we go with the hunters
- 14:44Speaker 1: on a big buffalo hunt, and there will be no
- 14:46Speaker 1: chance for you to do what you want to do.
- 14:49Speaker 1: Come the day after tomorrow, and I will help you
- 14:52Speaker 1: if you need my help, to kill the blackfoot. Very
- 14:57Speaker 1: early the next morning, the hunter started out after buffalo
- 15:01Speaker 1: one Horn, taking with him one of his women to
- 15:04Speaker 1: help in the butchering and packing in of the meat.
- 15:07Speaker 1: They were no sooner gone than one of the crow
- 15:09Speaker 1: chief's women hurried to one Horn's lodge and told his
- 15:13Speaker 1: other woman all about the plan to kill him. She
- 15:16Speaker 1: told it because she was jealous. She did not want
- 15:18Speaker 1: her man to take another wife. So it was that
- 15:22Speaker 1: when one Horn came home that evening, his wife ran
- 15:26Speaker 1: to him and embraced and kissed him as though she
- 15:29Speaker 1: would never let him out of her arms. This strong
- 15:32Speaker 1: showing of love was unusual with her, and he asked
- 15:36Speaker 1: her the cause for it, because tomorrow you are to die,
- 15:40Speaker 1: and sister and I are to become slaves. See now
- 15:44Speaker 1: what you have done by coming to try to make
- 15:46Speaker 1: peace with these crows. And she told him all about
- 15:50Speaker 1: the plot to end his life, but one Horn just laughed.
- 15:55Speaker 1: Wipe away your tears and take courage, he told her.
- 15:59Speaker 1: These crows will not kill me. A bare medicine man
- 16:03Speaker 1: and a chief, they cannot kill me. I will show
- 16:07Speaker 1: you tomorrow something that will surprise you. That night he
- 16:11Speaker 1: kept his favorite war horse picketed close to his lodge,
- 16:15Speaker 1: and the next morning he carefully dressed himself in his
- 16:18Speaker 1: beautiful war clothes, painted himself and his horse, took his
- 16:22Speaker 1: bow and arrows, his shield and spear, and rode into
- 16:26Speaker 1: the center of the big camp and called upon the
- 16:29Speaker 1: crow chief to come out. He did come out, also
- 16:32Speaker 1: dressed for battle, and one Horn cried out to him
- 16:36Speaker 1: at the same time, making signs so that he would
- 16:39Speaker 1: be sure to understand. Your plot is discovered. So you
- 16:45Speaker 1: and that river crow are going to kill me? Where
- 16:48Speaker 1: is he? Call him? I want to fight you both.
- 16:53Speaker 1: I am a bear. I will fight like a bear.
- 16:56Speaker 1: Am hurry let us fight? Ah, I am going to
- 17:01Speaker 1: fight my true friend, the chief of the mountain crows,
- 17:05Speaker 1: he who smoked and ate with me, He who was
- 17:08Speaker 1: going to join me in making a lasting peace between
- 17:11Speaker 1: our two tribes. Come, let us fight. Shall it be
- 17:15Speaker 1: on horseback or afoot? I give you the choice. The
- 17:20Speaker 1: crow chief gave him no answer. Some of the people
- 17:24Speaker 1: looking on were beginning to show their anger and shame
- 17:28Speaker 1: at his betrayal of a friend. He turned and went
- 17:31Speaker 1: back into his lodge and would not come out again.
- 17:35Speaker 1: While this was going on, several men had hurried to
- 17:38Speaker 1: the river crow man, stopping in the far end of
- 17:41Speaker 1: the camp. Your plan to kill the blackfoot is discovered,
- 17:45Speaker 1: and he is dressed and armed and mounted waiting to
- 17:49Speaker 1: fight you. He is like a raging grizzly, and his
- 17:53Speaker 1: you know, is the bare medicine. What are you going
- 17:56Speaker 1: to do? The man did not answer them. He mounted
- 18:00Speaker 1: his horse, and, hidden from one horn's sight by the lodges,
- 18:04Speaker 1: struck out for the river crow camp on Little River
- 18:07Speaker 1: and fear was with him. He often looked back to
- 18:11Speaker 1: see if he were being pursued by this dreadful bare
- 18:14Speaker 1: medicine man who had once wounded him and was now
- 18:18Speaker 1: so anxious to meet him face to face. One Horn
- 18:22Speaker 1: rode back to his lodge. Take down the lodge, pack
- 18:26Speaker 1: up everything. We will not stay another day with these
- 18:29Speaker 1: treacherous crows, he told them, and rounded up and caught
- 18:33Speaker 1: what horses were needed for packing and riding. Just before
- 18:38Speaker 1: they were ready to leave, the crow chief sent one
- 18:41Speaker 1: of his women to say to one Horn that he
- 18:43Speaker 1: was sorry for what he had done, very sorry that
- 18:46Speaker 1: he had ever listened to the river crow, and wanted
- 18:50Speaker 1: to make reparation. He wanted to give his blackfoot friend
- 18:54Speaker 1: tin head of horses. Tell him that I will not
- 18:57Speaker 1: accept anything from him. One Horn answered the woman, and
- 19:02Speaker 1: he and his outfits started for the north and were
- 19:05Speaker 1: soon out of sight of the crow camp. Some days
- 19:09Speaker 1: afterward they arrived the camp of their people on the
- 19:12Speaker 1: Big River of the North, and had no sooner set
- 19:15Speaker 1: up their lodge than One Horn called a council of
- 19:18Speaker 1: the chiefs and told them where he had been and
- 19:21Speaker 1: for what purpose. Although I accomplished nothing, I am glad
- 19:26Speaker 1: I went. He told them I now know the Crows.
- 19:30Speaker 1: They are liars all and not to be trusted. I
- 19:34Speaker 1: advise that we began a steady war against them. The
- 19:39Speaker 1: other chiefs agreed to that. Messengers were sent to the
- 19:42Speaker 1: brother tribes, the Bloods and the North Blackfeet, and to
- 19:46Speaker 1: the Grovantra, friends of the Blackfeet, and the war was
- 19:50Speaker 1: started little by little. Summer after summer, they drove the
- 19:55Speaker 1: Crows southward, killing many of them, and were not satisfied
- 19:59Speaker 1: until they forced them to the country south of the
- 20:02Speaker 1: Elk River, where they have ever since remained. So because
- 20:07Speaker 1: of their treachery, the Crows lost a great and rich country.
- 20:13Speaker 1: End of Section fourteen.