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008 - Shooting Of The Red Eagle · Old Native American Legends

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  Speaker 1: Old Indian Legends by Zitkala Shah, section eight. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Old Indian Legends, Section eight. Shooting of the Red Eagle.
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  Speaker 1: A man in buckskins sat upon the top of a
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  Speaker 1: little hillock. The setting sun shone bright upon a strong
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  Speaker 1: bow in his hand. His face was turned toward the
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  Speaker 1: round campground at the foot of the hill. He had
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  Speaker 1: walked a long journey hither he was waiting for the
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  Speaker 1: chieftain's men to spy him. Soon four strong men ran
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  Speaker 1: forth from the center Wigwam toward the hillock where sat
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  Speaker 1: the man with the long bow. He is the Avenger,
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  Speaker 1: come to shoot the red Eagle, cried the runners to
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  Speaker 1: each other, as they bent forward, swinging their elbows together.
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  Speaker 1: They reached the side of the stranger, but he did
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  Speaker 1: not heed them. Proud and silent, he gazed upon the
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  Speaker 1: cone shaped Wigwams beneath him, spreading a handsomely decorated buffalo robe.
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  Speaker 1: Before the man, two of the warriors lifted him by
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  Speaker 1: each shoulder and placed him gently on it. Then the
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  Speaker 1: four men took each a corner of the blanket and
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  Speaker 1: carried the stranger with long, proud steps toward the chieftain's teepee.
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  Speaker 1: Ready to greet the stranger, the tall chieftain stood at
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  Speaker 1: the entrance way. How you are, the avenger with the
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  Speaker 1: magic arrow, said he, extending to him a smooth, soft hand,
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  Speaker 1: How great, chieftain, replied the man, holding long the Chieftain's hand.
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  Speaker 1: Entering the teepee, the chieftain motioned the young man to
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  Speaker 1: the right side of the doorway while he sat down
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  Speaker 1: opposite him, with a center fire burning between them. Wordless,
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  Speaker 1: like a bashful Indian maid, the avenger ate in silence,
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  Speaker 1: the food set before him on the ground in front
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  Speaker 1: of his crossed shins. When he had finished his meal,
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  Speaker 1: he handed the empty bowl to the chieftain's wife, saying,
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  Speaker 1: mother in law, here is your dish. Han my son,
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  Speaker 1: answered the woman, taking the ball with the magic arrow
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  Speaker 1: in his quiver. The stranger felt not in the least
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  Speaker 1: too presuming in addressing the woman as his mother in law.
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  Speaker 1: Complaining of fatigue, he covered his face with his blanket,
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  Speaker 1: and soon within the chieftain's teepee, he lay fast asleep
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  Speaker 1: The young man is not handsome after all, whispered the
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  Speaker 1: woman in her husband's ear. Ah, but after he has
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  Speaker 1: killed the red eagle, he will seem handsome enough, answered
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  Speaker 1: the chieftain. That night, the starmen, in their burial procession
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  Speaker 1: in the sky, reached the low northern horizon before the
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  Speaker 1: center fires within the teepees had flickered out. The ringing laughter,
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  Speaker 1: which had floated up through the smoke lapels, was now hushed,
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  Speaker 1: and only the distant howling of wolves broke the quiet
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  Speaker 1: of the village. But the lull between midnight and dawn
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  Speaker 1: was short, indeed very early. The oval shaped door flaps
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  Speaker 1: were thrust aside, and many brown faces peered out of
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  Speaker 1: the wigwams toward the top of the highest bluff. Now
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  Speaker 1: the sun rose up out of the east. The red
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  Speaker 1: painted avenger stood ready within the campground for the flying
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  Speaker 1: of the red eagle. He appeared, that terrible bird. He
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  Speaker 1: hovered over the round village as if he could pounce
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  Speaker 1: down upon it and devour the whole tribe. When the
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  Speaker 1: first arrow shot up into the sky, the anxious watchers
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  Speaker 1: thrust a hand quickly over their half uttered hinnun. The
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  Speaker 1: second and third arrows flew upward, but missed by a
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  Speaker 1: wide space. The red eagle, soaring with lazy indifference over
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  Speaker 1: the little man with the long bow all his arrows
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  Speaker 1: he spent in vain. Ah, my blanket brushed my elbow
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  Speaker 1: and shifted the course of my arrow, said the stranger,
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  Speaker 1: as the people gathered around him. During this happening, a
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  Speaker 1: woman on horseback halted her pony at the chieftain's teepee.
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  Speaker 1: It was no other than the young woman who cut
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  Speaker 1: loose the tree bound captive. While she told the story,
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  Speaker 1: the chieftain listened with downcast face. I passed him on
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  Speaker 1: my way. He is near, she ended, indignant at the
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  Speaker 1: bold impostor. The wrathful eyes of the chieftain snapped fire
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  Speaker 1: like red cinders in the night time. His lips were
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  Speaker 1: closed at length. To the woman, he said, how you
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  Speaker 1: have done me a good deed. Then, with quick decision,
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  Speaker 1: he gave command to a fleet horseman to meet the
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  Speaker 1: avenger clothe him in these my best bockskins, said he,
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  Speaker 1: pointing to a bundle within the wigwam. In the meantime,
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  Speaker 1: strong men seized Iktomi and dragged him by his long
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  Speaker 1: hair to the hilltop. There upon a mock pillared grave.
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  Speaker 1: They bound him hand and feet. Grown ups and children
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  Speaker 1: sneered and hooted at Iktomai's disgrace. For a half a
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  Speaker 1: day he lay there the laughing stock of the people.
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  Speaker 1: Upon the arrival of the real avenger, Iktomi was released
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  Speaker 1: and chased away beyond the outer limits of the camp ground.
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  Speaker 1: On the following morning, at daybreak peeped the people out
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  Speaker 1: of half open door flaps. There again, in the midst
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  Speaker 1: of the large campground was a man in beaded buckskins.
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  Speaker 1: In his hand was a strong bow and red tipped arrow. Again,
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  Speaker 1: the big red eagle appeared on the edge of the bluff.
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  Speaker 1: He plumed his feathers and flapped his huge wings. The
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  Speaker 1: young man crouched low to the ground. He placed the
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  Speaker 1: arrow on the bow, drawing a poisoned flint for the eagle.
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  Speaker 1: The bird rose into the air. He moved his outspread
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  Speaker 1: wings one, two, three times, and lo, the eagle tumbled
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  Speaker 1: from the great height and fell heavily to the earth,
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  Speaker 1: an arrow stuck in his breast. He was dead. So
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  Speaker 1: quick was the hand of the avenger, so sure his sight,
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  Speaker 1: that no one had seen the arrow fly from his
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  Speaker 1: long bent bow in awe and amazement. The village was dumb,
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  Speaker 1: And when the Avenger, plucking a red eagle feather, placed
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  Speaker 1: it in his black hair, a loud shout of the
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  Speaker 1: people went up to the sky. Then hither and thither
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  Speaker 1: ran so singing men and women, making a great feast
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  Speaker 1: for the avenger. Thus he won the beautiful Indian princess,
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  Speaker 1: who never tired of telling to her children The Story
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  Speaker 1: of the Big Red Eagle and of Section eight, read
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  Speaker 1: by Robert Scott, July the thirty first, two thousand and seven.