Old Indian Days | Page 3

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OLD INDIAN DAYS

BY CHARLES A. EASTMAN (Ohiyesa)

To My Daughters DORA, IRENE, VIRGINIA, ELEANOR, AND
FLORENCE I Dedicate these Stories of the Old Indian Life, and
especially of the Courageous and Womanly Indian Woman
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION

PART I. THE WARRIOR
I. THE LOVE OF ANTELOPE II. THE MADNESS OF BALD
EAGLE III. THE SINGING SPIRIT IV. THE FAMINE V. THE
CHIEF SOLDIER VI. THE WHITE MAN'S ERRAND VII. THE
GRAVE OF THE DOG

PART II. THE WOMAN
I. WINONA, THE WOMAN-CHILD II. WINONA, THE
CHILD-WOMAN III. SNANA'S FAWN IV.
SHE-WHO-HAS-A-SOUL V. THE PEACE-MAKER VI. BLUE SKY
VII. THE FAITHFULNESS OF LONG EARS VIII. THE WAR
MAIDEN
GLOSSARY

PART ONE
THE WARRIOR

I
THE LOVE OF ANTELOPE
I Upon a hanging precipice atop of the Eagle Scout Butte there
appeared a motionless and solitary figure--almost eagle-like he perched!
The people in the camp below saw him, but none looked at him long.
They turned their heads quickly away with a nervous tingling, for the
height above the plains was great. Almost spirit-like among the upper
clouds the young warrior sat immovable.
It was Antelope. He was fasting and seek- ing a sign from the "Great
Mystery," for such was the first step of the young and ambitious Sioux
[who wished to be a noted warrior among his people.
He is a princely youth, among the wild Sioux, who hunts for his tribe
and not for him- self! His voice is soft and low at the camp- fire of his
nation, but terror-giving in the field of battle. Such was Antelope's
reputation. The more he sought the "Great Mystery" in solitude, the

more gentle and retiring he be- came, and in the same proportion his
courage and manliness grew. None could say that he was not a kind son
and a good hunter, for he had already passed the "two-arrow-to-kill,"
his buffalo examination.
On a hot midsummer morning a few weeks later, while most of the
inmates of the teepees were breakfasting in the open air, the powerful
voice of the herald resounded among the pine- clad heights and green
valleys.
"Hear ye, hear ye, warriors!" he chanted loudly. "The council has
decreed that four brave young men must scout the country to the
sunsetward of the camp, for the peace and protection of our people!"
All listened eagerly for the names of the chosen warriors, and in
another moment there came the sonorous call: "Antelope, Ante- lope!
the council has selected you!"
The camp was large--fully four hundred paces across; but in that
country, in the clear morning air, such an announcement can be heard a
great way, and in the silence that fol- lowed the hills repeated over and
over the mu- sical name of Antelope.
In due time the four chosen youths appeared before the council fire.
The oath of the pipe was administered, and each took a few whiffs as
reverently as a Churchman would partake of the sacrament. The chief
of the council, who was old and of a striking appearance, gave the
charge and command to the youthful braves.
There was a score or more of warriors ready mounted to escort them
beyond the precincts of the camp, and the "fearless heart" song was
sung according to the custom, as the four ran lightly from the door of
the council teepee and disappeared in the woods.
It was a peculiarly trying and hazardous moment in which to perform
the duties of a scout. The Sioux were encroaching upon the territory of
hostile tribes, here in the foot-hills of the Big Horn Mountains, and now
and then one of their hunters was cut off by the enemy. If continual

vigilance could not save them, it might soon become necessary to
retreat to their own hunting-grounds.
It was a savage fetish that a warrior must be proof against the alluring
ways of pretty maidens; that he must place his honor far above the
temptations of self-indulgence and indolence. Cold, hunger, and
personal hard- ship did not count with Antelope when there was
required of him any special exertion for the common good. It was cause
to him of secret satisfaction that the council-men had se- lected him for
a dangerous service in prefer- ence to